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The story of the book of Hosea
The story of the book of Hosea
The story of the book of Hosea
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Referred to by Martin Luther as “a divine wedding ring with six precious stones,” the prophetic words penned by the prophet Hosea in verses nineteen and twenty of the second chapter of the Old Testament book that bears his name is the epitome of true romance. It speaks of the everlasting betrothal of the believer to God accomplished through Christ. God’s steadfast love for His children is illustrated through the marriage of Hosea to Gomer, an adulterous woman and prostitute. However, the relationship between the prophet and his unfaithful wife are not the primary theme of the book, rather their marriage is symbolic of the covenantal relationship between the Divine Husband (Yahweh) and His faithless wife (Israel). Over a sixty year period, through God’s revealed revelation, Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel during its decline and subsequent fall to the Assyrians in 8th century B.C. The people of Israel were the means by which God chose to reveal Himself to all mankind. They were to be set apart as a holy nation that would reveal the nature of the one, true God to the surrounding nations in a very unique way. Instead of remaining loyal to their covenant after entering Canaan, the Israelites began to mingle elements of the Canaanites’ fertility religion with Yahweh worship by engaging in sexual rites and drunken orgies which were thought to secure the giving of rain and the fertility of the land for their crops. Gomer/Israel’s immorality echoed the words of Moses in Deutoronomy 31:16, “And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them” ...
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... and cannot be swayed by passion or diverted by disobedience. Israel’s unfaithfulness has no effect upon God’s unwavering commitment towards them. It is a love based not on conditions, but rooted solely in the character of God. It was conceived in eternity past and was initiated in the Abrahamic Covenant and continued to channel down to the Mosaic Covenant through the Davidic Covenant until its final fulfillment in the New Covenant, which would supersede all of the others. The dowry itself is the greatest expression of God’s love. Though undeserving, Israel is promised to be treated with a tender affection by Jehovah. The love and mercy of God for His people are connected with one another in that His mercy is the visible expression of His love. He will look upon His bride’s suffering with empathy as He is moved to alleviate the distress caused by her waywardness.
In the Hebrew Bible, adultery is considered a capital crime, punishable by the population stoning the adulterous wife and her lover to death. Deut. 22:20 commands this communal punishment in order to “sweep away evil from Israel.” The question remains as to why this crime was considered to be such a transgression. Several explanations exist to account for the seriousness of the crime.
In this book, there is an ongoing story of adultery, fornication, and betrayal between God and Israel portrayed through the relationship between the prophet Hosea, and his wife Gomer. There are a few different views on the actual relationship between Hosea and Gomer, the first of which is that Gomer was already a harlot when Hosea took her as his wife. This one I would think is the most widely accepted, simply because it's the literal description of the book, and people tend to lean towards literal definitions more frequently than not, just look at how people of the world have torn apart the book of Revelation!
Revelations of Divine Love is a 14th century masterpiece written by Julian of Norwich. This book is an account of St. Julian’s sixteen different mystical revelations in which she had encountered at a time of great suffering and illness. St. Julian focussed on the many “mysteries of Christianity.” Through her many revelations she encountered God’s vast love, the existence of evil, God’s heart for creation, the father and mother-heart of God, and the need to obey her Father in Heaven. Amongst these revelations the most powerful was the revelation of God’s love and character. Revelations of Divine Love is a wonderful source of revelation to connect a reader to the Father.
Life is filled with memories and experiences that eventually, maybe even without any realization, determine the person an individual becomes. While the majority of people would prefer to be influenced by the positive moments (accomplishments, birthdays, graduations, etc.) the reality of the situation is that most individuals face experiences they would rather forget then accept as a part of their journey through life. Authors Brent Curtis and John Eldridge discuss this understanding in their novel, The Sacred Romance. The message of the arrows is one that many people try to avoid at all cost simply because they do not want to deal with the pain that accompanies each arrow. Throughout life, one of the most constant realizations is pain accompanies
Robinson, B. A. (2008, March 30). Books of the Hebrew Scripture . Retrieved May 7, 2011, from Religious Tolerance: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_otb3.htm
Romance can be defined as a medieval form of narrative which relates tales of chivalry and courtly love. Its heroes, usually knights, are idealized and the plot often contains miraculous or superatural elements. According to Tony Davenport the central medieval sense of romance is ' of narratives of chivalry, in which knights fight for honour and love.' The term amour coutois ( courtly love) was coined by the French critic Gaston Paris in 1883 to categorise what medieval French lyricists or troubadours referred to as ' fin armors'. Romances and lyrics began to develop in the late fourteenth century England, author like Chaucer or Hoccleve produced some of the first english medieval narratives. But how does medieval literature present the expericence of romantic love. In order to answer this question this essay will focus on two tales from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: the Knight's Tales and the Franklin's Tales. It will show that medieval romance can be used as a vehicle to promote chivalric behaviour as well as exploring a range of philosophical, political, and literary question.
The dark Romantics describe life as evil, sinful, insane, and deceptive, which is more like life today.
In Judaism, God is seen as having a contractual relationship with the Jewish people where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. God rewards or punishes Jewish people based on whether they obey or disobey his will. In parts of the Old Testament, however, God does show mercy or forgiveness, and in later interpretations God’s laws such as the Ten Commandments are followed not only out of loyalty to God but also because of their high moral character.
Inferno is the first and most famous of a three part series by Dante Alighieri known as the Divine Comedy that describes his journey to God through the levels of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise written in the early fourteenth century. Scholars spanning over nearly seven centuries have praised its beauty and complexity, unmatched by any other medieval poem. Patrick Hunt’s review, “On the Inferno,” states, “Dante’s extensive use of symbolism and prolific use of allegory— even in incredible anatomical detail—have been often plumbed as scholars have explored the gamut of his work’s classical, biblical, historical, and contemporary political significance” (9). In the story, each of the three main characters, Dante, Virgil, and Beatrice, represent
Surveying the Old Testament reveals the theme of God’s faithfulness to his people. In light of this understanding, the restoration of the Israelites prophesized in the Old Testament is essentially the fulfillment of every covenant with God. This perspective relates to the work of Christ and encourages any follower of God to trust in his faithfulness.
Released in 1983, Eldar Ryazanov’s A Cruel Romance remains the most compelling adaptation of Alexander Ostrovsky’s nineteenth century play about a beautiful but poor young woman desperately seeking love in an inherently selfish world. As in Without a Dowry (1879), the film centers on the dramatic conflicts between not only Larisa Ogudalov and her various suitors but also amongst the aspiring men themselves. Through its representation of Ostrovsky’s themes, Ryazanov’s production depicts the ramifications of humanity’s obsession with money, leading to misery, jealously and even death. When viewed through the prism of Konstantin Stanislavsky’s approach of dramatic performance, A Cruel Romance is largely effective in conveying the pivotal tensions of Ostrovsky’s original play, particularly in relation Larisa and Paratov. Furthermore, Ryazanov enhances Karandyshov’s role in the film in comparison to the nineteenth century text, emphasizing both the pathetic nature of his character and his justifiable desire for retribution against his tormentors. Given the limitations of the film genre however, Robinson’s role is substantially diminished in A Cruel Romance, as the production team foregoes the opportunity to further antagonize Larisa’s suitors in order to focus on the central love triangle. Though Ryazanov does not take full advantage of Ostrovsky’s exploration of the exploitative nature of all of the male characters, he is effective in developing the central romantic tensions of Without a Dowry in his 1983 film production.
Janice A. Radway teaches in the literature program at Duke University. Before moving to Duke, she taught in the American Civilization Department at the University of Pennsylvania. She says that her teaching and research interests include the history of books and literary production in the United States, together with the history of reading and consumer culture, particularly as they bear on the lives of women. Radway also teaches cultural studies and feminist theory. A writer for Chronicle of Higher Education described Radway as "one of the leaders in the booming interdisciplinary field of cultural studies." Her first book, Reading the Romance (1984) has sold more than 30,00 copies in two editions. Her second book, A Feeling for Books: The Book-of-the-Month Club, Literary Taste, and Middle-Class Desire appeared in October of 1997. What follows is a topic-outline of the introduction to the English version of her first book.
Levine, Amy –Jill and Douglas Knight. The Meaning of the Bible: What Jewish and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us. New York: HarperOne, 2011
The Romantic period has many beginnings and takes different forms; so that in a celebrated essay, On the Discrimination of Romanticism (1924), A.O. Lovejoy argued that the word “Romantic” should no longer be used, since it has come to mean so many things that by itself, it means nothing. On the derivation of the word “Romanticism” we have definite and commonly accepted information which helps us to understand its meaning. Critics and literary historians differ widely and sometimes as violently, about the answer then have differed about love truth and other concepts. Romanticism is concerned with all these concepts and with others with equal importance. It is an attitude toward life and experience older than religion, as permanent as love, and as many-sided as truth. (Watson, J.R. English Poetry of the Romantic Period, Longman Inc. New York)
Describing the complexities of love, Pascal states that "the heart has reasons which reason knows nothing of" (qtd. in Bartlett 270). Similarly, in "The Canonization" by John Donne, the speaker argues that his unique love obtains reasons beyond the knowledge of the common man. The speaker relates his love to the canonization of saints. Therefore, he implies that his love is a divine love. In "The Canonization," the speaker conveys a love deserving of admiration and worthy of sainthood.