Hosea means salvation. Such name appropriately sums up the main theme of the first book of the Minor Prophets. Hosea was one of the earliest prophets God raised to warn his people, and he served the LORD faithfully during the most tumultuous period of the Northern Kingdom. Hosea is also a book well known to the NT authors, and even our Lord himself quoted passage from it (Hos 6:6). Most importantly, Hosea carries messages that are utmost important even for today’s believers.
The first three chapters of Hosea contain a real-life parable, and it basically encompasses the main messages of the whole book. Hosea married an adulterous wife (1:2), just as God chose Israel to be his unfaithful people. There was no faithfulness, no love, and no knowledge of God in the land (4:1). The priests stumbled day and night, and the prophets stumbled with them (4:5). They rejected knowledge of God, so God rejected them as his priests (4:6). For the LORD desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings (6:6). Even for today’s believers, such calling of the Lord remains. Our God is a personal God, and he created us so that we may know him. It’s not just to carry out all the superficial services to satisfy our own sense of duty, but to truly know him and walk in his way. “The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them” (14:9).
Just like God sent Hosea to love his adulterous wife and to bring her back (3:1-2), The LORD promised to bring his people back to seek him and David their king (3:5). He brought them out of Egypt (11:1), and he led them with cords of human kindness and ties of love (11:4). In the same way, the LORD shall heal their waywardness and love them freely (14:4). They will flourish like the grain, and they will blossom like a vine (14:7). The LORD will ransom them from the power of the grave, and he will redeem them from death (13:14). The glorious hope of God’s salvation has been conveyed by his servant prophet, and such hope continues to be the guiding light of all Christians throughout the generations.
Therefore, Hosea does mean salvation because there is no savior except God (13:4). Let us rejoice for being called to receive such priceless gift, and may he use us as his prophet Hosea to the people around us. Amen.
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