Hosea
The Divided Kingdom
After Solomon, Israel split:
Northern Kingdom = Israel (10 tribes: Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, and Manasseh.)
King Jeroboam
Southern Kingdom = Judah
(2 tribes: Judah & Benjamin)
King Rehoboam
1 Kings 12:25-33
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.[b]31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Ephraim vs Israel
Ephraim was the largest, most influential tribe in the north.
The first capital of the northern kingdom, Shiloh, was in Ephraim.
Many northern kings came from Ephraim’s region.
Ephraim’s name often becomes a synecdoche — a part standing for the whole.- San antonio won be 10 points.
Ephraim represents the heart of Israel’s rebellion.
Ephraim was where Jeroboam built the golden calves in Bethel.
Ephraim embodied false worship, political arrogance, and spiritual adultery.
When Hosea says “Ephraim,” he is pointing to the spiritual core of the northern kingdom’s unfaithfulness.
Prophetic Perspective
Using “Ephraim” allowed Hosea to:
Personalize the sin (“Ephraim is joined to idols” — Hos. 4:17)
Evoke the shame of their ancestor (Ephraim the person often failed to trust God)
highlight the arrogant leadership steering the nation wrong
“Israel” is covenant identity (who they are supposed to be.)
“Ephraim” is a prophetic nickname (who they have become.)
Hosea switches names intentionally:
When appealing to covenant faithfulness - Israel
When rebuking sin & idolatry - Ephraim
Judah
Still has the temple and Davidic line
Not innocent: “Judah also stumbled with them” (Hos. 5:5)
Judgment is coming later (Babylon)
Sometimes warned, sometimes encouraged
Hosea is primarily a prophet to Israel, but Judah is the listening younger sibling.
Hosea 5
A. God Will Be Like a Moth and Rot (5:12)
Slow, steady decay of the nation.
B. God Will Be Like a Lion (5:14)
Sudden, violent judgment:
Tearing, Carrying off, no one will rescue
Judah a young lion, a lesser punishment
C. God Withdraws His Presence (5:15)
“I will go and return to my place”
God becomes silent
They must seek Him in distress to earnestly seek me
Acknowledge their guilt and seek my face
D. Judgment on Political Decisions (5:13)
Israel turns to Assyria
Assyria cannot heal them
Hosea 6–7
A. Their Revival Will Not Come (6:4)
Their love is like the morning mist:
God refuses superficial repentance.
B. God Cuts Them Down Through Prophets (6:5)
Prophetic words become instruments of judgment
C. Their Sin Prevents Returning (7:2, 7:10)
Evil surrounds them
Do not consider that I see and remember everything
Pride keeps them from returning
God calls them silly and without sense
I discipline according the report made to their congregation
Hosea 8
A. Judgment by the Trumpet (8:1)
The enemy (Assyria) will swoop like an eagle.
B. Their Own Calf Idols Will Destroy Them (8:5–6)
“Your calf is rejected”- The golden calfs they made in bethel
The calf will be broken to pieces
C. They Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind (8:7)
Emptiness, futility, total loss
D. They Will Be Swallowed Up by the Nations (8:8)
“Israel is swallowed up”
They become like a useless vessel
E. They Will Return to Egypt (symbolically) (8:13)
As for the offerings, I will reject them
Remember your iniquity and punish you
Antinomianism- we have no call or requirement to do good
Hosea 9
A. No Harvest (9:2)
Threshing floor and winepress won’t feed them
B. They Will Not Remain in the Land (9:3)
They will return to Egypt
They will eat unclean food in Assyria
C. No Fellowship Offerings (9:4)
Their worship ends
Their sacrifices become like “mourner’s bread”
People who sacrificed while unclean (dead body), they would not be allowed into the temple to worship and if anyone ate of this bread they would be unclean.
D. Days of Punishment Have Come (9:7)
Israel will know the truth too late
They call God’s prophets fools
E. Children Cut Off (9:11–16)
No birth
No pregnancy
No conception
Even children born will die
This is a reversal of the Abrahamic promise.
The prophetic allegory, if this was literal there would be no Jews left
None of them will come to God. they will not be trained in the ways they should go
They will not be nurtured and fed
They will be malnourished and like still born
Driven out of the house and loved no more
Context of a family
No more protection or provision, you are on your own
Hosea 11-13
A. Assyria Will Rule Over Them (11:5)
Because they refuse to return.
B. The Sword Will Rage (11:6)
Cities demolished
C. Ephraim Surrounded by Lies (11:12)
Spiritual deception overwhelms them.
D. God Will Destroy Their Idols (13:2)
Idols become a witness against them.
E. Judgment Like a Predator (13:7–8)
Like a lion
Hunts out of necesity
Like a leopard
Hunts because it likes it
In India there was a leopard named love- because it loved to eat people- estimated 125
Like a bear robbed of its cubs
Viscous out of protection and love for her cubs
Three escalating images of violent judgment.
F. Total National Death (13:14)
Reverse-resurrection:
“Shall I ransom them from death? … Compassion is hidden from my eyes.”
G. Samaria Will Fall (13:16)
Explicit description of Assyria’s brutality:
Assyria- whom they thought would save them would commit horrific things against them
One of the most horrific pronouncements in the Bible
Why ?
their guilt
Their idols
Their alliances
Reap what they sowed
Judgment in two senses
Some is given by God
Most are allowed by God
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Hosea 5:11-15
Hosea 6:4-6
Hosea 7:1-4
Hosea 8:11-14
Hosea 9:1-4
Hosea 10:5-6
Hosea 11:5-7
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Was Ephraim the dominant and leading tribe of the northern kingdom? (Yes)
Does Hosea use “Ephraim” mainly to highlight the tribe’s faithfulness? (No)
Did Israel believe Assyria could save them from judgment? (Yes)
Is God’s withdrawal of His presence considered a form of judgment? (Yes)
Does Hosea warn that Israel will be swallowed up by the nations? (Yes)
When God referes to Israel is that God pointing to keeping His covenant with His people (Yes)
When God refers to Ephraim is that God refering to judgement (Yes)
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Do you have any questions or thoughts from this lesson?
What stood out to you most?
Why do you think God it is important that God referes to His people as both Ephraim and Israel in this book?
What does Hosea teach us about the consequences of spiritual leadership failing—especially when priests and kings lead people into sin?
Hosea repeatedly warns that idolatry destroys a nation from the inside out. What are the idols that most threaten spiritual faithfulness in our time?
How can God’s chastisement lead to repentance and restoration?
How do we tangibly live this lesson out?
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How was your emotional and physical health this week?
What is a serious stressor in your life?
How has your personal time with God been this week?
Would you like to share your personal temptations and how can we help you overcome them?
Is there anything that we need to discuss that we have not already?
How can we pray for each other this week?
Pray for one another, invite each person to pray even if it is just a few sentences.