Hosea the prophet
During Hosea's time, there was political, economical, social and religious strife in the country of Israel. Hosea lived in the tragic final days of the northern kingdom of Israel. During this time there were six kings within twenty-five years; four were murdered, one was captured in battle and only one was succeeded on the throne by his son. The nation was rife with economic abuses that separated the rich and the poor. "Israel was so impressed with material advances that it failed to take account the eternal verities of the Covenant upon which Israel's existence was predicated. Judgment, righteousness, brotherhood, and even God were forgotten in the light of diplomatic expediencies (Layman's 8-9)." There was a war with Judah and heavy tribute to Assdyria depleted economic resources. The richer class intensified and along the way they exploited peasants to pay for their debts (New, 200). People were resorting to fraud and cheating. The religion of Israel was rooted in the strong heritage of the Canaanite religion. Yahweh was the primary God but there were also other Gods being worshipped, such as Veneration of the Canaanite deities El, Baal, and perhaps even the goddess Asherah (New 201). The woman's bible Commentary po
Great Britian: Viking Press, 1987. Hosea makes his name on the list by being one of the only writing prophets who actually had his abode in Israel. Wholly affected by all this is Hosea personal life. These conditions are very similar to the ones we are experiencing in our own day. I might ramble on too long, but overall it think that I would bring up some really good points. Because my audience would be full of small town Goshen College students I would address some issues that I think affect them directly. Another theme of Hosea is that religion is an inward spiritual activity, it is in the heart and the way to express your religion is through example of what you do. That theme is advantageous, especially to remind us that God is a God of love. I would touch base on how feel that God knows what is in our hearts and God can tell if we mean well. Hosea was trying to say that if the Lord would have been in the hearts of the Israelites then they wouldn't have acted like they did.
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Acceptance Essays
