Hosea
I know you ‘re going to be flying through these small books now, so I ‘ll keep my comments briefer. The key to understanding Hosea is to recognize that the story of Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer is a picture of God and his unfaithful wife Israel. God always did good for his people, but again and again they turned away. If a lot of this book seems difficult and hard to understand, don’t be discouraged; it’s a tough one.
Joel
Joel describes a recent locust plague that devastated the land (ch. 1). This made the people sad. But Joel said: watch out, the “day of the Lord” is going to be like a locust plague, but worse. What happens on the “day of the Lord”? First, God defeats and judges all of his enemies. Since you don’t want to face God’s wrath, now is the time to repent. Second, God will deliver his people and establish his kingdom for them.