We sometimes think of the Old Testament as just a historical account and not as relevant to our lives under the new, New Testament covenant. But the Old Testament is powerful in its messages about the relationship God wants us to have with him and it also helps us understand the necessity of Jesus as our savior. Hosea is a book depicting the relationship God desires for us and helps us become aware of ways in which we can stumble. It is a book of God’s desire for redemption.
Before we jump into Hosea, I think it is so important to understand the context of Hosea’s time and what got them into the mess they were in (again). For the life of me, no matter how many times I study the history of the Jewish kings and prophets, I can’t seem to grasp it or remember it well. If you’ve never studied the history, or like me, you forget most of it, I’m going to start with a brief recap here because it has so much relevance. Here goes the short historical version1 of what got us to where we are in our book of Hosea.
· God told Abraham to leave his homeland and move to Canaan, which would later become Israel. Abraham gave up his comfortable life to move to the unknown (Genesis 12:1-9). God rewarded Abraham’s faith, making him the father of Israel. (around 2100 BC)
· Abraham and his wife Sarah were very old when they had their first son, Isaac (Genesis 21:1-7; around 2066 BC). At one point God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Again Abraham is faithful and God sends a sacrifice in Isaac’s place (similar to Jesus that he sent as a replacement sacrifice for our sins over 2,000 years later). God rewards Abraham’s faithfulness, blessing and making numerous his descendants (Genesis 22).
· Jacob, the son of Isaac, was born in Canaan (Genesis 25:21-26). Through deceit, Jacob obtained his older brother Esau’s blessing and birthright (Genesis 25:29-34, Genesis 27). Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and Canaan was later renamed Israel after Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons, for whom the 12 Tribes of Israel are named. (around 2000 BC)
· Joseph, the youngest and favorite of the 12 sons of Jacob (Genesis 37:3-4), was sold into slavery by his brothers who were jealous of him (Genesis 37:12-26). As a result, Joseph ends up in Egypt and rises to power as a trusted assistant of the pharaoh (Genesis 41:41-45). Because of a famine, his father (Jacob) and brothers move to Egypt where they are saved from harm and famine by Joseph (Genesis 45). (around 1900 BC)
· Over time, the Israelites (descendants of Jacob) are enslaved for 400 years in Egypt. Moses eventually leads them out of Egypt, where they wander in the desert for 40 years (as a result of their disobedience). Moses brings them to the border of Canaan, the land God had previously promised to Abraham. (Book of Exodus; Exodus begins around 1446 BC)
· After Moses dies, Joshua leads the Israelites into Canaan and begins conquering the land, establishing a sovereign country of Israel for the first time in history. It took about 6 years for the tribes of Israel to conquer the Land of Canaan and to overcome the military might of the ancient Canaanites (Joshua 14). It was at that time that Joshua divided the land among the tribes and allotted portions according to the Word of the Lord. Joshua also revealed that each individual tribe was responsible to subjugate their portion of the land and remove the defeated people. Many of the tribes failed in this responsibility, leaving some of the people and their pagan rituals. The map on the next page shows the land of Israel divided by the areas the tribes settled in, with the larger tribes receiving more land. (around 1406 BC Israelites settle in Canaan)
· During this time, Israel was not ruled by kings because God was their king. Instead, Israel is led by judges who settled disputes. (from around 1400 BC to around 1050 BC).
· After around 350 years of being ruled by judges, the people of Israel demand to have a king, like the neighboring countries. By demanding a king, the people are turning away from their faith in God as their king.
· Saul becomes the first king (1 Samuel 9 & 10) and reigns about 40 years. (around 1050 BC)
· After Saul, David becomes king of Israel (2 Samuel 5:1-9) and reigns for 40 years. David, unlike Saul, follows the commands of God. He makes mistakes, but he repents for them (Psalm 51). He seeks to please God. He expands the size of Israel and rules over surrounding territories. (around 1010 BC)
É Read Paul’s summary of events in Acts 13:16-22 and David’s prayer of repentance in Psalm 51. What are your thoughts on God testifying about David and calling him a man after His own heart? What do you think it looks like to have a heart like God’s?
· Solomon, son of David, becomes king (1 Kings 1:28-40). Solomon prayed for and was granted “an understanding heart to judge God’s people, wisdom and knowledge, and the ability to discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:5). God said He would abundantly bless and dwell with Israel, if they kept Him first, and that He would be with Solomon. But God included a stern warning that there would be severe consequences if Solomon and the people of Israel turned away from Him and worshiped idols. Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. Solomon built the Temple in honor of God. Solomon created the wealthiest and most powerful central government the Hebrews would ever see, but did so at an impossibly high cost. Land was given away to pay for his extravagances, and people were sent into forced labor.
É Read 1 Kings 11:1-13. What kinds of things did Solomon do? After his humble request for wisdom, walking closely with God and his success, all this happened in “his old age (v4).” How can we use this as a warning in our lives?
· Solomon turns away from God and worships false gods. Although God had forbidden marriages between Israelites and people of other Nations (Deuteronomy 7:1-4) and had warned against having many wives, and becoming overly wealthy (Deuteronomy 17:17), in Solomon’s later years, he did all these things. He built places of worship for the gods of his foreign wives, and they turned his heart from the true God. He even participated in their rituals. This displeased God and He said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.” (1 Kings 11:1-13) (around 970 BC)
· Solomon reigned 40 years until his death, ending the golden years of Israel. Shortly after the reign of Solomon, Israel becomes a divided kingdom (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10). The 10 northern tribes refused to submit to his son Rehoboam and revolted. From this point on, there would be two kingdoms of Hebrews. The southern kingdom, called Judah, includes the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. The northern kingdom continued to be called Israel and formed their capital in Samaria. (around 926 BC)
Following the death of the powerful Assyrian king Adad-nirai III (783 BC), who claimed to have extended Assyrian influence as far as the Mediterranean Sea, Assyria was ruled by a series of weak kings who were unable to do much more than preserve the Assyrian homeland (783-745 BC). During this time, Assyrian domination in the west waned. For Israel and Judah it was an era of unparalleled prosperity for both kingdoms, economically and politically. Together they could claim much the same territorial dimensions as in the days of Solomon before them. Jeroboam II took a nation that looked on the brink of death and turned it into one of the great power of his day in less than 25 years. During Uzziah’s long 52-year reign the Southern Kingdom enjoyed economic prosperity and political power. Uzziah improved Judah’s military strengths, which included fortifying Jerusalem and launching successful campaigns against neighbors to the west, east and south. This period of prosperity for the two kingdoms would not endure. Upon the death of Jeroboam II in 752 BC, kings of lesser ability ruled. There was spiritual weakness and renewed subservience to the rising power of Assyria. Assyria’s leader Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC) launched a new day in the Near East, where Assyrian resurgence blossomed into the mighty Neo-Assyrian Empire. Israel paid a heavy tribute to keep him from engulfing the Northern Kingdom. Internal squabbling compounded Israel’s difficulties in the face of Assyrian aggression5.
What a wild, bumpy ride! As I look back at the history of Israel, I am struck by the timeframes. Times of worshiping God and times of worshiping idols. Times of peace and prosperity fly by in sometimes short and sometimes long periods. I think about the short life of our country here in the USA. We are so young at only 236 years old. We think we are so powerful and invincible. How naïve we seem when we look at the long history of Israel. A period of 236 years of peace and prosperity would be a blip on the timeline.
É Although we will dive deeper into this as part of our study, what are some parallels you see between the historical context presented so far and our culture today?
According to Hosea 1:1, Hosea was given this message from the Lord during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel. He is a prophet to Israel during the time Isaiah and Micah were prophets in Judah. You can see from the timeline, they have been through many prophets and kings at this point.
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