Hosea and Joel.
Hosea.
The Prophet. He is called the "Prophet of Divine Love." His name,
Hosea, means "Deliverance." He was a native and citizen of Israel and
followed Amos whom he may have heard in Bethel. He was a contemporary
with Isaiah and bore faithful testimony to corrupt Israel in the North
while Isaiah prophesied at Jerusalem and was to Israel what Jeremiah
became to Judah. He was prepared for his work through the lessons
which he learned from the sins of his unfaithful wife. (1) Through the
suffering which he endured because of her sins, he understood how God
was grieved at the wickedness of Israel and how her sins were not only
against God's law but an insult to divine love. (2) In love and at
great cost he restored his wayward wife and in that act saw a hope of
the restoration and forgiveness of Israel. His ministry extended over
more than sixty years and was perhaps the longest of any on record. It
continued 786-726 B. C., covering the last few years of the reign of
Jereboam II, to which Chs. 1-3 belong and the period of anarchy
following.
The Style and Method. His style is "abrupt, uneven, inelegant," but
also poetical, figurative and abounding in metaphors. His writings
must be interpreted with great care to get what is meant by his
symbolic speech. He reminds one of modern reformers and revivalists.
Through all the anger which the book reveals we see also the
surpassing beauty of reconciling love. One sees everywhere that the
supreme goal to which Hosea moves is the re-establishment of Israel's
fellowship of life and love with Jehovah.
Conditions of Israel. _Outwardly_ there was prosperity. Syria and Moab
had been conquered; commerce had greatly increased; the borders of the
land had been extended and the temple offerings were ample. _Inwardly_
there was decay. Gross immoralities were being introduced; worship was
being polluted and the masses of the people crushed, while the
Assyrian Empire was advancing and ready to crush Israel, whom, because
of her sins, God had abandoned to her fate.
They countenanced oppression, murder, lying, stealing, swearing, etc.
They had forgotten the law and their covenant to keep it and had
substituted the worship of Baal for that of Jehovah, thereby becoming
idolaters. They no longer looked to God in their distress but turned
to Egypt and Assyria for help, and thereby put security and prosperity
on a basis of human strength and wisdom instead of resting them upon a
hope of divine favor.
Analysis.
I. Israel's Sin. illustrated by the tragedy of Hosea's unfortunate
marriage, Chs. 1-3.
1. His evil wife and their children, Ch. 1.
2. Israel's unfaithfulness and return to God seen in the evil
women, Ch. 2.
3. God's love restores Israel as Hosea does his wife, Ch. 3.
II. The Prophetic Discourses, Chs. 4-14.
1. Israel's sin, Chs. 4-8.
2. Israel's coming punishment, Chs. 9-11.
3. Israel's repentance and restoration, Chs. 12-14.
For Study and Discussion. (1) Make a list of all the
exhortations to penitence and reformation and study them. (2) Point
out the different utterances of judgment upon the people. (3) Make a
list of all the different sins condemned. (4) Make a list of the
expressions of tender love for the wayward and backsliding one. (5)
Make a list of all passages indicating grief and suffering because of
the sin and danger of the one loved. (6) Political and religious
apostacy. (7) Sin as infidelity to love-as spiritual adultery. (8) The
invitations of the book.
Joel.
The Prophet. His name means "Jehovah is God," but his birth-place and
conditions of life are unknown. He very probably prophesied in Judah
(2:15-17) and the time of his ministry is commonly thought to have
been during the reign of Joash, king of Israel, and Amaziah, king of
Judah. It seems certain his is one of the earliest (some think the
very earliest) of the prophetic books, and his references to the
temple and its services have caused some to conclude he was a priest.
The Prophecy. (1) The occasion of the prophecy was four successive
plagues of insects, particularly the locusts (2:25) and a drouth
(2:23) which had been unprecedented. These calamities the prophet
declares are the results of their sins and should call them to
repentance, that God may bless instead of curse their land. (2) The
people repent and the calamity is removed. This is used by the prophet
to foreshadow the coming destruction and restoration of Israel and
this restoration is also doubtless used to prefigure Christian church
and its triumph on earth. (3) The great subject is the terrible
judgments of God which were to come upon the people because of their
sins. (4) His great distinctive prophecy is 2;28-32 which was
fulfilled on the day of pentecost, Acts 2:16-21. (B) In it all, he is
emphasizing the rewards of the righteous and certain punishment of the
wicked and thus he appealed to both the hopes and the fears of men.
But the relief value of the book is its optimism. There was victory
ahead, the righteous would finally triumph and be saved and God's
enemies will be destroyed. The conflict of good and evil and of
Israel and her enemies will end in entire and glorious triumph for
Israel and right.
Analysis.
I. The Call to Repentance, Chs. 1:1-2:17.
1. By the past scourge of locusts and drought, Ch. 1.
2. By the scourge to come, 2:1-17.
II. Israel's Repentance and Jehovah's Promised Blessing, 2:18-3:21.
1. Material blessing, 2:18-27.
2. In the world Judgment, Ch. 3.
For Study and Discussion. (1) Point out the different statements about
the drouth and locusts that indicate their severity and ruinous
effects. (2) Collect the passages referring to the Messianic age and
try to see how or what each foretells of that age. (3) Point out all
references to the sins of Israel. (4) Collect evidences of the divine
control of the universe as seen in the book.
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