Hi, my name is Hosea which means Salvation. My father's name is Beeri, and I always have lived in the Northern Kingdom. I wrote the book in the Bible that is about me, but another author brought all of my writing together. It tells people like you what I talked about and my journey of preaching against worshiping false gods.

I wrote my book before 722 BCE, but after 745 BCE; the exact time that I wrote it is unknown. As I was writing my book, I was also  prophesizing, or spreading God's word to people. This was within the last few years of Jeroboam II's rule, but after this there was instability. I lived in a time of crisis, as there was a lot of violence around me. There were military problems, many kings were assassinated, and the Assyrian Empire destroyed the Israelites.

I am classified as a Minor Prophet, which means my book in the Bible is shorter than some of the others, but it is still SUPER important! Also, I am a Latter Prophet, meaning that I have my own book named after me. I'm like a coach or a referee. I watch what is going on around me and enforce what God wants us to do.

So, now onto my family. I have a wife, Gomer, and three kids who were named with God's help: Jezreel, named after the bloodshed at a place called Jezreel, Not-Pitied, showing God will no longer pity Israel, and Not-My-People, showing that God is not for the Israelites anymore.

So, things with my wife, Gomer, are a little bit complicated. She left me, which made me really sad. Because of my frustration, I said that she was not my wife, and that I would take everything from her. I'm planning to make her run into trouble so she will come back to me. Also, I'm going to punish her for worshiping Baal, a pagan god, not the wonderful and real God. I work to show people that God is there for them, not that guy Baal!

My relationship with Gomer resembles God's relationship with His people, the Israelites. Like I'm waiting for Gomer to come back to me, God waits for the Israelites to realize their wrong doings and come back to Him. He loves the Israelites, even when they turn away from Him.

I really do love my wife, even if she did some bad things. It's like how God loves us, even if we sin. Following God's commandment to love my wife with her flaws has taught me this.

Since I am a real prophet, I kind of act like the conscience of Israel. Throughout my life, I have tried to tell Israel what they need to do to stay true to God who loves them!

Israel has lots of problems right now because they have abandoned their God. These problems include crime, lying, stealing, and infidelity. I tell the Israelites that God will punish the people for these acts because they are NOT good!

"For like a stubborn cow, Israel is stubborn; will the Lord now pasture them, like lambs in a broad meadow?"

Instead of finding God, because of Israel's arrogance, they go to the human king of Assyria over and over and over again. But, this will NOT help them! God is like a lion; He tears apart our enemies before they can get to us. But, without this protection, Israel is in some deep trouble.

"Come, let us return to the Lord, for it is He who has torn, but He will heal us; He has struck down, but He will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up, to live in his presence."

Israel must know that God does not want sacrifice, He wants loyalty! The wickedness of the people makes the kings rejoice, but not God. Their hearts are like ovens as they have so much anger inside of them. Even with this chaos, they still do not call to the Lord.

I think that Israel is like a dove. They go to Assyria and Egypt when they are in trouble, but they do not call on the God who loves and cares for them! I will keep trying to tell them this, even though I am rejected by everyone who is caught up in "serving" false gods.