Abstract:
The study is couched from the biblical perspective and is about the marital life of the Prophet Hosea and its implications for Ghanaian clergy. The purpose of this study is to find out the historicity of the Prophet Hosea, his marital life and how he managed the challenges that came his way and draw implications for the Ghanaian Clergy. I used Hermeneutical method and my Hermeneutical tool which represents my research design is Reader – response criticism. With this design, I was able to read and respond to the issues raised in the text as a real reader and come out with the meaning of the text from my own experiences, values and suppositions. The meaning I derived from the text (Hos. 1:1-3:5), did not suffer much subjectivity because I was guided by the text.
With the Reader – response criticism, I sought to find out what there are for the historical perspective of Hosea, did he really live as a historical being on earth? Did he really marry a prostitute and face some challenges just as people are bound to experience in mundane life situation? How did he manage his marital challenges and what are some of the implications for Ghanaian clergy? The answers to these questions formed the basis of my research work.
I found out that Hosea really lived as a prophet in Israel and that my study can be added to the stock of knowledge. I also found out that Hosea married a prostitute and that his wife, Gomer, was a prostitute before he married. Also, there is a relationship between selection of marriage partner and stability in marriage. Hence, the Ghanaian clergy should be careful who they marry.
