An introduction to Hosea

Having spent some time looking at the book of Daniel, I am now going to embark on a series of blogs on the book of Hosea, the first of the 12 so-called ‘minor prophets’ in the Old Testament. Why have I chosen this book, which maybe few of you have ever studied in any depth?

As I travel to various countries and meet Christians from many different cultures and backgrounds, I find that one of the greatest needs in the body of Christ worldwide - and in my own life - is to have a more vibrant, authentic experience of the love of God. We talk about this love, we sing about it, we read about it, we discuss it; but when it comes to our everyday life, we so often find that experiencing God’s love in the depths of our being is frustratingly elusive.

I grew up as a Christian in churches where the love of God was regularly spoken about, sung about, read about; but where it so often seemed to be strangely distant, not an integral part of people’s lives. My perspective was revolutionised by attending a John Wimber conference in Sheffield, England in 1984 - I remember being completely blown away by this guy who just sat down at his keyboard and sang love songs to God (not about God). I had never seen anything remotely like it. Maybe in 2015 this all seems very ordinary to many of you - but back then it was totally radical.

Then I discovered that, as I responded to John’s invitation to receive God’s love, there were previously unrecognised barriers within me. I wanted his love so much, yet something within me was sabotaging me receiving it. As his love approached me, there were like spring doors on my heart which shut with a clang. It took me a lot of prayer and heart-searching before the power of those springs could be broken and the doors could be held open.

I have found that one of the most powerful ways to open oneself to receive more of God’s love is to gain a greater understanding (with the heart as well as with the mind) of his heart of love. And that is exactly where Hosea comes in. Of all the prophets in the Bible, he was the one who experienced and understood God’s love for the human race and for his people at the deepest level - because in a remarkable way, God called him to live out in his own life the things that he himself was experiencing.

So, as we study the book of Hosea, we shall pick up more of God’s heart of love, and hopefully this will enable us to receive more of that love, and then to give it out. As an added bonus, we will also gain insights into one of the questions which puzzles many Christians and which is often asked by those who are unconvinced of the truth of the Christian faith: ‘If God is a God of love, why doesn’t he do something about all the wickedness in the world?’

In Hosea’s time God was faced with two nations, Israel and Judah, who claimed to be worshipping him but whose conduct was utterly wicked and reprobate. What would he do about it? Hosea gives us the beginnings of an answer to this difficult and complex question.

Please join with me over the next few weeks on a voyage of discovery into the book of Hosea, into the heart of God, into the depths of his love, and into his dealings with a world which has turned its back on him. I believe that there is much that we will learn together, and that it has the potential to transform our lives.