Introduction 1. The Period Prophetic proclamation is a special way of speaking to man in his time. Prophecy addressed Israel in the midst of her history. Any attempt to comprehend prophecy apart from the historical events surrounding it would only result in misunderstanding. This is just as true of Hosea as of any other prophet, although at first one might think that, since he is interested above all in the basic events of the history of God’s people, he therefore is concerned with timeless truths.