Hosea

Hosea had a long ministry as a prophet to Israel. It was likely during the reign of Jeroboam II (c. 825-784 B.C.), so his prophecy of certain judgment came at the peak of the nation’s power before a succession of disastrous events which culminated in the fall of the Samaria to the Assyrian empire in 721 B.C. and the enslavement of its people. Apostasy had been thoroughly ingrained in Israel for generations. Baal worship, a type of fertility cult, recognized various “baalim” or “lords” who were seen powers who contributed to the fertility and general prosperity of the nation and its people. Israel never explicitly abandoned Jehovah but kept some formalities of His worship. This was no more than a profane syncretism, with Jehovah recognized as merely one of the baalim or lords. The corruption of the people and their culture is frequently described as “whoredoms.” Religiously the people had prostituted themselves to their Baal idols, in exchange for some form of reciprocity in the form of