Doomed or Redeemed? "Hosea, is a prophet in the last years of the kingdom of Israel (up to 722 B.C.E.) and author of the Book of Hosea. (Hosea is) the first of the 12 minor prophetic books of the Bible. Most of Hosea's prophecies were oracles of doom --- the people of Israel had forsaken the Covenant, lost faith in God, and become corrupt and immoral. Because of these transgressions, God would punish the people. But Hosea describes the relationship of God and the people of Israel as essentially one of love, like that between a man and a woman, and prophesies that the divine punishment will be similar to that befitting an unfaithful wife, i.e., God will cast Israel out of its home and into exile. However, Hosea was the first prophet to introduce the theme of repentance, proclaiming that through repentance, Israel can return to its former glory. The love of God for Israel is eternal; thus, God will eventually restore His people to their land." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Israel Compared to Unfaithful Wife: "In the aggadah, great emphasis is placed on God's command to Hosea to marry a harlot and beget children of harlotry. God evidently wanted Hosea to experience the bitterness of being married to an unfaithful woman. This theme of Israel as the unfaithful wife appears frequently in the Prophets." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Husband/Wife Relationship: "Jeremiah used the favorite image of the earlier prophet Hosea that the relationship between God and Israel is like that of husband and wife and that Israel, in deserting the true faith, had been like an unfaithful wife. He urged the people to acknowledge no other God than the God of Israel, and to submit to Him totally." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Gateway of Hope: Hosea is to be understood as a motivator of choosing the right, which opens the gateway of hope. "Petah Tikvah is a city seven miles east of Tel Aviv, was founded in the 1870s by a group of religious Jewish pioneers from Jerusalem, who decided to become farmers and establish a village. They called it Petah Tikvah ("Gateway of Hope") after the divine promise uttered by the prophet Hosea (2:17): "And I will give her... the valley of Achor for a gateway of hope. "It was the first Jewish village in the country, and later became known as "the mother of the moshavot," or cooperative smallholders' villages." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Hosea Leads Us to Atonement: "Hosea’s recurring reminder for repentance is repeated in Jewish Sabbath services that lead to the Day of Atonement. That day is a fasting day and the entire book of Jonah is read. Its symbolism of atonement is in the three nights and three days of Jonah’s experience and the Savior’s use of Jonah’s experience as a sign of His atonement for our sins." "Shabbat Shuvah is the Sabbath which occurs between Rosh Ha-Shanah and the Day of Atonement. The name is derived from the first word of the Haftarah, "Return (shuvah) O Israel unto the Lord" (Hosea 14:2) read on that Sabbath. The main feature of the day is the sermons of repentance delivered by the rabbis to prepare the congregants for the Day of Atonement." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

King David’s Example: Hosea’s words are still full of hope even though he uses such strong metaphors of wickedness. He uses the good part of the life of King David in a prophesy of the latter-days also mentioned at other times by Jeremiah (30:9) and Ezekiel (34:24). Remember, the Hebrew use of the word return is the same word as repent. "Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days." (Hosea 3:5)

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