The Author and His Book. 

        All that we know of Hosea the son of Beeri is gleaned from his book. His prophecies themselves substanti­ate the inference to be drawn from the heading (1:1), viz. that he started prophesying after Amos but some years before Isaiah (740 B.C.). Like Amos his message was ad­dressed mainly to the Northern Kingdom, to which he belonged.

        There is no strict order, chronological, logical or spiritual to be discovered in the major portion (chs. 4-14) of Hosea; the order even within the smaller subdivisions is often hard to follow; the unusually high number of marginal notes in the R.V. testifies to difficulties in language and text. It is quite likely that Hosea met a violent death in the last dark, violent and desperate anarchical years before the capture of Samaria, and that the book represents the treasured memories of his devoted disciples. This may also explain the relative absence of references to the major events of the time.

        These factors make the book peculiarly difficult for closer study, but few of the prophets yield greater treasure. No other prophet comes nearer to the New Testament revelation of the love of God. This is the best explanation of the place of the book among the Minor Prophets. The scribes did not think him the earliest in time, and it is not likely that they were influenced by the length of the book. Chronologically Amos must always come before Hosea, the revelation of God’s justice before the revelation of His love. But spiritually Hosea gives a deeper and truer revelation than Amos. So it was a true understanding that put Hosea first in order.