Hosea - Summary

Title:	This book is named for its author, the prophet Hosea.
Author:	Hosea is a prophet of of Israel.  He is the son of Beeri.
Date:	Hosea served as a prophet during the time that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah served as kings of Judah and Jeroboam served as king of Israel.  This would place the time between the years of 753 (Jereboam's last year)  and 687 BC (Hezekiah's last year).
Main Theme	Hosea relates Israel's unfaithfulness to God to an unfaithful wife.  God wants the people of Israel to understand his hurt and frustration by relating his pain to the pain they would feel if their spouses were unfaithful to them.  God has used the theme of the relationship between a husband and wife to describe the relationship between God and His chosen people.  In the New Testament, the church is also referred to as the Bride of Christ.
Location:	The events of this book take place in Israel.
History	It was during the time of Hosea that he was describing the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel that they were actually defeated by the Assyrians and taken captive.  Hezekiah was king of Judah at the time of Israel's defeat and due to his faithfulness, Judah was spared...for the time being.
Major Characters:	Hosea
	Gomer
	Jezreel
	Lo-Ruhamah
	Lo-ammi