A prophet's broken marriage — and the God who buys His beloved back.
"For I desired ______, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."
God told Hosea to marry a woman who would break his heart — and then to buy her back from the auction block. The prophet's marriage was the sermon.
Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6 — 'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice' — twice in Matthew's gospel, both times to religious professionals.
Hosea's children carried sermon titles for names, including Lo-ammi: 'not my people.' The book ends with the names reversed — 'thou art my people.'
Hosea preached to the northern kingdom in its final decades — the last voice of mercy before Assyria arrived.