Hosea 01

Hosea speaks of its king as "our" King, he was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom. He occasional reference to Judah but his message was to the Northern Kingdom.
With about the last 40 years of the Northern Kingdom he began his ministry when Israel, was under Jeroboam II and he was at the zenith of its power. Hosea was a younger contemporary of Amos; an older contemporary of Isaiah and Micah. When Hosea was a child he may possible have know Jonah. The kings in whose reigns he prophesied were Jeroboam II king of Israel and Uzziah, Hezekiah, Ahaz, Jotham, kings of Judah.
KINGS OF ISRAEL, THE NORTHERN KINGDOM
Jeroboam II (790-749) A reign of great prosperity
Zechariah (748) Reigned 6 months. Was killed by Shallum
Shallum (748) Reigned 1 month Was killed by Menahem.
Menahem (748-738) Unspeakably cruel. Was a puppet of Assyria
Pekahiah (738-716) Was Killed by Pekah
Pekah (748-730) Was killed by Hoshea. Galilee capivity (734)
Hoshea (730-721) fall of Samaria (721) End of Kingdom
KINGS OF JUDAH, THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM
Uzziah (787-735) A good King
Jotham (740-734) A good King
Ahaz (741-726) Very Wicked Galilee Captivity (734)
Hezekiah (726-697) A good king Fall of Samaria (721)
Some of these dates overlap, and are a little confusing. The minimum period in which Hosea could have prophesied would be about 750-725 and the maximum period would be 790-697 B.C.
CHAPTER 1, 2, 3 HOSEA'S WIFE AND CHILDREN
God had sent the prophets Elijah, Elisha, Jonah and now Hosea. Some 200 years before Hosea's time the Ten Tribes had set up independent Kingdoms and were worshiping the Golden Calf as its offical national god.
God wanted the people to see God's for the wayward Israel. So He commanded Hosea to take a wife of "whoredom" (v 2) His wife represented Israel God's "bride". (Ezekiel 16:8-15) Israel giving herself to the worship of other gods, as a married woman yielding herself to another man. It is the simple natural implication of the language is that it was an actual experience in Hosea's life.
Hosea's wife a woman who was chaste at first afterward proved unfaithful to him and left him for another man who would better satify her fondness for luxury (2:5) and whom Hosea still loved and bought back (3:1-2) With the idolatrous worship of the land was so universally accompanied with mmoral practices (4:11-14) that it would be hard for any women to be chaste and faithful. Hosea's recovery of his wife (3:1-5) but required her to remain for a while with out the privilege of a wife. As Israel went many days without king and without sacrfice before they return to God and David they king. (3, 4)
Hosea named his children after the main message of his life to the warrening of Israel. . Jezreel (1:4,5) his first born; Jezreel was the city of Jehu's bloody brutality (II Kings 10:1-14) The valley of Jezreel was the age old battle field on which the kingdom was about to collapse. By naming his child Jezreel he was trying to tell the King and people of Israel that they needed to return to God the Retribution of punishment is coming.
L--ruhamah (1:6) was the name of the second child meaning "No more mercy"
Lo-ammi (1:9) was the name of the third child meaning "No longer my people"
Ammi (2:1) the name of the next two children meaning " of the time when they would again be God's people: be the day when other Nations would called them the People of God (1:10) Paul's passage which was quotes as meaning the extension of the Gospel to Gentiles ( Roman 9:25)

PRPHETS	PROPHESIED TO OR ABOUT	KINGS WHO RULED DURING PRPHET'S TIME	APPROX DATES (D.C.)
Hosea	Israel	Jeroboam II, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoshea	Befor Northern Kingdom of Israel Captivity (780-731)

KING JAMES BIBLE

1 THE word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

KING JAMES 1611

1The word of the Lord that came vnto Hosea, the sonne of Beeri, in the dayes of Uzziah, Iotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah kings of Iudah, and in the dayes of Ieroboam the sonne of Ioash king of Israel.

2The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea: and the Lord sayd to Hosea, Goe, take vnto thee a wife of whoredomes, and children of whoredomes: for the land hath committed great whoredome, departing from the Lord.

3So he went and tooke Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, which conceiued and bare him a sonne.

4And the Lord said vnto him, Call his name Iezreel; for yet a little while, and I will auenge the blood of Iezreel vpon the house of Iehu, and will cause to cease the kingdome of the house of Israel.

5And it shall come to passe at that day, that I will breake the bow of Israel in the valley of Iezreel.

6 And shee conceiued againe and bare a daughter, and God sayd vnto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more haue mercy vpon the house of Israel: but I will vtterly take them away.

7But I will haue mercy vpon the house of Iudah, and will saue them by the Lord their God, and will not saue them by vow, nor by sword, nor by battell, by horses nor by horsemen.

8 Now when shee had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she couceiued and bare a sonne.

9Then sayde God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for yee are not my people, and I will not be your God.

10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot bee measured nor numbred, and it shall come to passe, that in the place where it was said vnto them, Yee are not my people, there it shall be said vnto them, Ye are the sonnes of the liuing God.

11Then shall the children of Iudah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselues one head, and they shall come vp out of the land: for great shalbe the day of Iezreel.

Compare Verses to Verses

II == Deut 31:16 ; Ps 73:27 ; Jer 2:13 ; Ezek 23:3-21 ; Hos 3:1

IV == 2nd Kings 10:11 ; 15:10 , 12

V == 2nd Kings 15:29

VI == 2nd Kings 17:6 , 23

VII == 2nd Kings 19:35 ; Zech 4:6 ; 9:10

X == Gen 32:12 ; Hos 2:23 ; John 1:12 ; Rom 9:25-28 ; 1st Peter 2:10 ; 1st John 3:1

XI == Isa 11:12-13 ; Jer 3:18 ; Ezek 34:23 ; 37:16-24

THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE

1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel.

2 In the beginning of the LORD'S speaking to Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: Go, take a harlot wife and harlot's children, for the land gives itself to harlotry, turning away from the LORD.

3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived and bore him a son.

4 Then the LORD said to him: Give him the name Jezreel, for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed at Jezreel And bring to an end the kingdom of the house of Israel;

5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

6 When she conceived again and bore a daughter, the LORD said to him: Give her the name Lo-ruhama; I no longer feel pity for the house of Israel: rather, I abhor them utterly.

7 Yet for the house of Judah I feel pity; I will save them by the LORD, their God; But I will not save them by war, by sword or bow, by horses or horsemen.

8 After she weaned Lo-ruhama, she conceived and bore a son.

9 Then the LORD said: Give him the name Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.

COMMENTARIE

v 1. Hosea’s name means Salvation, similar to Joshua, Jehovah is Salvation. Hosea is the first minor prophet and goes clear back to Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in Judah, but he is a prophet to the northern kingdom.

v 2,3. Hosea is commanded or permitted by God to marry a woman who will prove to be unfaithful. This would be an example of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. Her first son, Jezreel, is named for the place Jehu killed Ahab and Israel’s later defeat.

v 4,5. Jehu went beyond the call of God and killed some of the house of David, so God brought vengeance on him by chopping him off at the fourth descendent. This also was the time of Israel to Assyria.

v 6,7. The second child, Lo Ruhamah, meant unpitied or not loved, so God was withdrawing His visible love to Israel for a while. The mercy shown Judah was when God slew 185,000 of the Assyrian army in one night, breaking the siege of Jerusalem.

v 8,9. The third child, a son, Lo-Ammi meant Not My People. God would cease to walk among His people as promised in Lev. 26:12, After judgment, Israel will again multiply as the sand of the sea and be called sons of the living God. Judah will also spring up and they will be one nation, and victorious in the Millennium as Joshua was over Midianites at Jezreel, Jud. 7.