Hosea – a Type of Christ

Hosea a type of Christ

What does it mean to be a Type of Christ? Join me on this journey and allow the  Bible to come alive to you. Throughout scripture, there are many types of Christ. Some of those types are people who walked this earth thousands of years before us. The events in their lives pointed forward to the new covenant and to Jesus Christ.

You don’t need to know these things to be a Christian or to live in the power of God. Yet, understanding the foreshadowing helps us understand what God is really about. Understanding gives us insight into His character and the way God does things- past, present, and future. Understanding increases our faith and our hope.

A Prophet and Savior

We see in Hosea a type of Christ because he was a prophet from the kingdom of Israel and because he warned of judgment from God, calling on the people to repent of their sins of apostasy.

The name Hosea means salvation. Hosea was commanded by God to marry Gomer, a prostitute. He was to have children with her, and he did: two sons and a daughter [there are different viewpoints on whether or not these children all belonged to Hosea, but that’s not the point of this post.] Hosea married a woman who he knew would betray his trust by walking away and becoming unfaithful. He married her anyway.

When Jesus claimed the church as His Bride, He knew we as a people would be unfaithful to Him. He knew we’d ignore Him, keep going back to our old haunts, and grow fond of our personal idols. Yet, He made that commitment and kept His vow to be faithful to the church. In this same way, we see Hosea a type of Christ.

I would not want to be Hosea, but if I were  Gomer, I would feel loved. I’d feel drawn back to my spouse. This is what Jesus does for us. He keeps seeking us out, finding us, and returning us to His fold if we are willing to go with Him. This story shows us the importance of fidelity to Jesus Christ and the pain associated with our sinfulness and infidelity to Christ.

Repentance, redemption, and restoration

Like Christ, Hosea demonstrates the working of repentance, redemption, and restoration. Hosea does this for his wife, Gomer, and Jesus does this for His people, the church. In this way, we see in Hosea a type of Christ. Israel left the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and became familiar with godless people. Israel prostituted herself. She becomes a slave to sexual sin and idolatry.

In the story of Hosea, Gomer leaves Hosea for other men. He begs her to stay, but she will not listen. She becomes a sex slave, and Hosea buys her back.  This costs him! Can you imagine the embarrassment and shame?!  Gomer returns home with him.

Like Gomer, Israel is guilty of immorality and adultery. Like Gomer, Israel leaves her first love and sells herself to evil. And like Hosea, Jesus provides a way to return.  Hosea provides a way to redeem Gomer. He buys her back. Jesus gave His life to buy us back. 

We belong in this story

In this story of Hosea and Gomer, we find ourselves. The choices we made took us away from God. He longs after us, waiting for repentance.  God gave the best gift possible: His son Jesus, to provide redemption. In Jesus Christ, we find restoration. He provides the balm we need; He brings healing. In Jesus, we find redemption.  Through His stripes, we are healed.  Redemption! That is the scarlet thread woven through the Old Testament, pointing forward to the new covenant.

And, at this season of the year when we celebrate Easter, we are really celebrating Redemption. The Resurrection completes the bow of that scarlet thread woven from the Old Testament all the way to the New.

Attribution for use of photos belongs to Arabs for Christ under freeBibleimages.org

This series on Types of Christ is a repeat from six years ago.