Yeah Day 200! Congratulations for making it this far!
Some notes from my Study Bible that I found interesting....The meaning of Hosea is "salvation," which is the same meaning as Joshua and Jesus, Hosea and Jonah were the only writing prophets who were from the Northern kingdom of Israel and the theme of the book is the loyal love of God for the people of Israel despite their idolatry.
The wife Gomer is symbolic of the people of Israel who continue to stray from the one who loves her. Originally there was love and faithfulness between Hosea and Gomer, but then Gomer thought the "other side" looked appealing as men were offering her riches, food, and freedoms. Hosea's love for Gomer never fades or sways, which is just amazing to me and a reminder to us today that God still loves us that intently and there is nothing that we can even do today to make Him change His mind about how much He loves us.
In chapter 4, we see that God is justified and has cause to turn his back on the people of Israel. There is "no faitfulness, no kindness, or knowledge of God in the land." v 1. I like the beginning of Chapter 6, where the people say "let us return to God for He has torn us, but He will heal us, He has wounded us, but He will bandage us." The people knew that God was in control and that they had gone against Him, but that He would take care of them if they returned to Him. I just think of a mom picking up their child when they have hurt themselves from doing something wrong and how mom still loves and cares for the wounds of the child.
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still lagging a couple of days behind...but hanging in there!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting how it is unknown if Hosea really had a wife names Gomer, or if this is an illustration of the relationship between God and Israel.
I like the beginning of chapter 6 as well, although my notes point out that the people really weren't repentant.