Thursday Bible Study

As Elton John once put it... sorry seems to be the hardest word. After the scenes previously have been laid out like a courtroom, now we come to a place of waiting. Hosea knew what it was like to wait for his wife, Gomer's apology... and God knew it too, as He waited to hear that word from the lips of His wife, Israel... The whole of chapter 5 is all about describing a God who will exercise astonishing patience. God waits and waits and waits... until finally, in verse 15 (which we'll look at next time). In this section, verses 1-7, we find God making the first move and taking the first step to get Israel to that point of saying "sorry"... Working backwards, what does verse 6 tell us about God? How does God deliberately withdraw? Why? Again, in verse 6, we're told that Israel might try to seek God with their sacrifices, but they won't find Him. Why? Going back to verse 1, what is the reason given here? What is God saying in verse 1? Then God's p...

God has had enough! To continue the courtroom metaphor, it's time that Israel's crimes where exposed and brought out into the light. Hosea, as prophet (God's prosecuting lawyer) has the job of continuing to present the evidence for Israel's unfaithfulness... [Activity] It has been suggested that verses 10-14 begin and end with proverbs about Israel's lack of understanding... and then 'sandwiched' between them are the three main things that have made Israel foolish: drunkenness, consulting idols for guidance, and offering pagan sacrifices. Explore how these two proverbs and these three points are described in these verses and how they could be paralleled in our world / culture today... In the previous verses, even though the women are mentioned, who will (and won't) be punished in verse 14?   Why does God hold the men responsible, rather than the immoral women? What lessons are there for us here? Apparently, it's too late for Israel... but...

The story about Hosea's marriage now gives way to the story of Israel's unfaithfulness to God. In chapter 4 we start to see just how far this 'adultery' has spread... At the beginning of this chapter, what are the 3 accusations and what does this mean? What is the link between morality (in verse 2) and loving and knowing God (in verse 1)? Why does our society need to know this? Rejecting God NEVER leads to a moral society... in fact, it's ALWAYS the reverse. Spiritual decay promotes moral decay. What other form of 'decay' does verse 3 speak about? This can be seen as a kind of 'creation reversal'. How? What seem to be the wider consequences of abandoning God? Verses 4-5 turns the attention on to religious leaders. Here it says "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge" How do you see this to be true? Why? There are 2 main things highlighted about the priests... Firstly, it was their job to teach God's law to the peo...

Chapter 3 tells the story of how Hosea has to learn to love his wife again, despite her unfaithfulness... In the opening verse God gives instructions to Hosea. They contain 3 points to pay attention to. Go. Again. Love. What do these 3 points tell you? What is the meaning of these 'sacred raisin cakes'? Hosea not only has to go, again, and love Gomer... he has to buy his wife back! What does this tell us about the situation? "Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites"... How does this speak of God? What "gods" (God-substitutes or "saviours") are you prone to turn to? Why? What is appealing about them? How do they compare to God and God's love? Verse 2 shockingly tells us that Hosea brought her... he brought his own wife... Hosea pays for what is ALREADY his! How does this point to the shocking story of Jesus? [Activity] Read 1 Peter 1:18-19. What comparison is being made here? How does it relate to the story in Hosea? how does it ...