The Life And Marriage Of Hosea Religion Essay

Hosea was a prophesier who lived and prophesied merely before the devastation of Israel in approximately 722 BC. During this clip, the prophesier Hosea was prophesying in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He began his work as a prophesier after Amos. This was likely before the terminal of Jeroboam II ‘s reign. It is believed that he continued to reign until after the Assyrian had captured Samaria in about 721 BC. It was the troubled times before the autumn of Samaria.

The author says that, during this unsafe period, Hosea seemed to disregard menaces that the Assyrians had imposed. Alternatively he was really much concerned on what he sees as root causes of Israelite ‘s jobs. He farther says that ‘Hosea loved the land, he loved his people and he was certain that God loved them excessively ‘ ( Drane, 1987:126 ) . It seems as if he was particularly concerned about the devotion of the people and their fidelity towards God.

THE MARRIAGE OF HOSEA

If we read Hosea 1:2f, we see how the Lord foremost spoke to the state of Israel through the prophesier Hosea. God gave Hosea the message that was seen through a personal calamity in his on life. The message that he received from God was that he should travel and acquire married to a adult female called Gomer. He was besides told that his married woman would be unfaithful. But Matthews argues that, was Hosea a Levite? If he were a Levite, it would intend that he was non traveling to make the responsibilities or execute in the Northern Kingdom as a priest due to the wickednesss of Jeroboam that would except him from the cult. ( the wickednesss of Jeroboam were the actions taken by King Jeroboam I to set up a separate individuality for the northern land. These wickednesss became the trademark of an ‘evil male monarch ‘ ) ( 2001:182 ) .

However, Matthew asks a inquiry in his book whether Gomer was a cocotte before Hosea married her. He argues that if ‘Gomer was a cocotte, so the tenseness between his prophetic function and his priestly background would be heightened, since a Levite would hold been forbidden by jurisprudence to get married a cocotte harmonizing to Leviticus 21:14-15 ‘ . He does non hold that Hosea was a Levite for the metaphor to work. However, the author argues that Hosea ‘s dysfunctional matrimony was functioning as a metaphor for Yahweh ‘s bad relationship with Israel ( 2001:75 ) .

Some bookmans believed that Hosea ‘s married woman Gomer was a temple cocotte that the prophesier would get married. This was harmonizing to his ain apprehension of God ‘s relationship with his people Israel. However, bookmans believe that her sexual behavior was rather unexpected.

There after Hosea married Gomer as a married woman, the girl of Diblaim. Hosea bears three kids to his married woman, nevertheless, in chapter 1:3, the Bible provinces that Hosea went and took Gomer and she conceived and bore him a boy. We therefore see that the bible says that she bore him the first boy, but the remainder of the kids are non clear. It seem as if Gomer got the other two kids out of harlotry as seen in other bookmans like Wellhausen, who argues that when Hosea was impairing his married woman, he did non recognize that the married woman was unfaithful boulder clay after the birth of the kids ( Bentzen, 1959:131 ) . These three kids were given symbolic names that would convey a message about the ruin of the state.

In 2 Kings 9:15-26, the first-born was called Jezreel. He was given this name as a reminder about the strategic vale where Jehu had defeated the boy of Ahab. This merely intend that the King who was at that place during that clip was a descendent of Jehu, who owed his power to Yahweh. And Yahweh could easy acquire his power. It is believed that this vale was the most fertile topographic point of Israel. Furthermore, in Hosea 2: 9, Yahweh says that He will take back all his gifts. This name Jezreel was like a warning that the compact between God and Israel will be dissolved. In fact the name Jezreel was a prophecy name following the devastation of the dynasty.

The 2nd Born was given a name called unloved. The 2nd kid symbolizes that Yahweh would non hold commiseration and have no clemency after the unfaithful. This was a declaration that the people of Israel seemed to hold gone beyond the love and forgiveness of God. In Hosea 1: 6, it clearly shows that Yhwh lost his forbearance with his people. It was during this clip that Hosea was reprobating the societal unfairnesss of his clip.

The other was called non my people. The Israelites individuality as Yahweh ‘s people was cancelled. Hebrewss were really proud of themselves as God ‘s chosen state. Harmonizing to Hosea 2:8-9, we see how God had made a promise with the Hebrewss that He would give them land and kids. It was the compact that God had made with the people of Israel. However, the people of Israel had destroyed the compact by been unfaithful to Yahweh. For them to hold abundant crop, they started to idolize other God called Baal.

( Matthews 2001: 75 ) . By so making, the people of Israel believed that they would go comfortable and have bumper crop by detecting the birthrate rites of Baal worship. In add-on, these same rites took portion in the really same sexual indulgence that had severely damaged Hosea ‘s matrimony life.

As Gomer says in Hosea 2:5, the people of Israel would state that, ‘I will travel to my lovers – they give me nutrient and H2O, wool and linen, olive oil and vino. ‘ This was how the people of Israel who had turned away from God were believing about their ‘god ‘ Baal. They had turned away from God and get down idolizing other ‘gods ‘ like Baal because of what they could acquire out of him e.g. things like harlotry and the love of money. Even though things were like that, the prophesier Hosea had known that it was Israelites ain God Yahweh who all the things as seen in Hosea 2:8.

From the above transition mentioned above, we see that during this clip, the people of Israel were admiting Yahweh merely with their lips while their Black Marias were far from God. A batch of people were practising syncretism during this period because they worshipped both Yahweh and Baal at the same clip. These people involved themselves in different activities that were against God as mentioned above. It was at this peculiar clip that the Israelites had lost their religious religions.

WHAT DOES HOSEA ‘S MARRIAGE SYMBOLISE?

In this narrative I hold the position that this was historical. The narrative really reflects Hosea ‘s experience in his life. This was a narrative that would portray a instruction. This was so because if Hosea had married a cocotte, most people would hold condemned Hosea for get marrieding a cocotte. Furthermore, some bookmans suggest that Gomer became a cocotte after matrimony ( Hosea1: 2 ) . However, Pfeiffer states that the first married woman that Hosea had married was non a cocotte but she was a foreign adult female, Gomer from Diblataim in Moab. He farther argued that the adult female in chapter 3 was a 2nd married woman. This was the 1 who was a existent cocotte. He says that the first matrimony shows the failure of Hebrewss with the national God El eljon in Jerusalem, while the 2nd shows the failure with the tribal God Yahweh. He assumes that the two chapters speak of different adult females, and says that a 2nd adult female was a common ‘streetwalker ‘ who was purchased by Hosea at the monetary value of an ordinary slave. The adult female was kept in private for a long clip as a symbol of Israel ‘s at hand loss of male monarchs, prince and cultic implements, he said. Pfeiffer references that the first two chapters did non intend that Gomer was a cocotte, he explains the word ‘wholedoms ‘ as spiritual renunciation as seen in 12,4 and 6 californium 4,12 and 5,4b. Harmonizing to him, the married woman and kids were involved in ( spiritual ) fornication because it was believed that the whole land was in such a province. Other bookmans suggest that the chapters mentioned above, the Hebrew word cocotte means fornication while Hosea 1:4 agencies adultery. This would propose that the prophesier did non get married a cocotte. They suggest that Gomer became a cocotte later. Some bookmans still would propose that Gomer was non a commercial cocotte but a Temple cocotte. Therefore she was non immoral character. The narrative portrays that Hosea ‘s matrimony was a symbol of the relationship of Yahweh and his people Israel. This gives us a clear image as a symbol to the Hebrewss of their criminal conversation against their hubby, God.

In Hosea 1:4 ; 2:1 is about the message of Hosea. We read how Gomer had left her hubby and went after work forces. When Gomer left, Hosea was annoyed with her, but subsequently she was forgiven. Hosea 3: 1f provinces how Gomer was brought back from bondage and Hosea accepted her as his married woman. Here we see how much love Hosea had for his married woman and would non allow her travel. In the same mode, Yahweh has much love for his people, no admiration why it was his wish to convey the people and deliver them.

From the message above, it shows that Hosea used his matrimony to demo the love of God to his people. The bible Tells us that God loved the Israelites despite their wickednesss against God. I therefore agree with some bookmans who say that Gomer became a cocotte after the matrimony. This is so because God would non commend his retainer to get married a cocotte adult female. Von Rad suggests that if a adult female is extramarital, it does non needfully intend that she is a cocotte. He farther says that a adult female took portion in Canaanite birthrate rites.

Decision

Hosea is believed to hold lived after the autumn of Samaria in 721. His chief message was likely due to the perplexed period when Jehu ‘s dynasty came to an terminal ca.745. He says though the Israelites were unfaithful to Yahweh, He ne’er rejected them. From the narrative above Hosea used his matrimony to demo God ‘s love to his people. His matrimony portrays that it was a symbol of the relationship between Yahweh and his people.