Hosea 1:1 (ESV Strong's)
The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Subject: God's Word Spoken By God's Man
In this first verse of Hosea we are given a wealth of information about the message to follow. Here are some lessons to learn from this single verse:
1. God spoke to men who, in turn, are speaking to us. It should be clear from this passage that this book is really God's message to His people (that includes today's reader). The text reads, "The Word of the Lord that came to Hosea." The non-believing world would like to think the Bible is a collection of quaint sayings and stories. However, without embarrassment, the Bible claims to be the "Word of the Lord."
2. God speaks to men. We do not worship a God who is silent, mysterious, or aloof. We have a God who communicates with us. He does that through men, Hosea was willing to listen to God.
3. God speaks to men and through men and the message never becomes irrelevant. Notice in the above text that God spoke to Hosea and Hosea used that message with five different kings. Even though leadership changes, God's message to them doesn't. Even though cultures, circumstances and generations change, God's Word remains the same.
4. God's Word is not spoken outside of history. There were historical things happening on earth and God spoke into and about those things. People like to think God isn't active in history. However, this verse (and many more) show us that God is active in history.
5. God, particularly, speaks to Leadership. This is a Word of the Lord, to the people of God, spoken to the leaders of God's people.
God's Word is relevant for today, just as it was in Hosea's day. We can trust it and believe it and follow it and know that we have the God of the universe interacting in history.
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