Skip to main content

Hosea 3

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 relate to your own story?

In verse 3 it says "I will behave the same way towards you" which can be literally translated as "I will wait for you"... Hosea's love for Gomer will require time and patience.

The words "live with" (in verse 3) can be translated as "wait for".
What do we learn about God from Hosea's restraint?

What is happening in verses 4-5?
How does this connect with what's gone on in verses 1-3?

Verse 4 mentions a number of 'withouts'...
* King / Prince
* Sacrifice / Sacred stones
* Ephod / Household gods
What do each of these represent?

How do the promises of verses 4-5 come true for us now (in part) and in the future (fully)?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Disciple: Judas

  {Disciples} JUDAS ISCARIOT_   Turning away     The most notorious of al the disciples – and the one universally scorned – is Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus. His name appears in every list of the disciples (except in Acts 1), and it always appears last.   The other eleven are an encouragement to us because they show how common people can be used by God, even with all their faults and failures, to do remarkable things.   Judas, on the other hand, stands as a warning about the power of spiritual carelessness and pride, which can drag us away from loyalty to Christ.   Judas lived in close proximity to Jesus for three years.   He heard every teaching; he saw every miracle.   But in all that time his heart only grew harder.   The other disciples were being transformed, by Jesus, into passionate followers; Judas was being changed too...     [Group discussion starter] Have you ever had a friend or colleague that appeared to b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ephesians 5:21 - 6:9

  [Grace and Peace] EPHESIANS_   [Activity] Spend some time exploring the logical flow of Ephesians 5:21-6:9…   [Read Ephesians 5:21]   Paul addresses different relationship types (marriage, family, co-workers) when he writes to the Ephesians. Before he gets specific in his instructions, he gives a general one. What attitude are we supposed to have towards others?     What should submission look like in daily life?     [Read Ephesians 5:22-33]   In verses 22-24, why does Paul tell wives to submit to their husbands?     How does remembering that a wife is really submitting to the Lord affect submission to a husband?     In verses 25-33, how are husbands, in turn, to treat their wives?     How does comparing a husband’s love for his wife to how the Messiah loves the church remove any danger of the husband abusing the wife’s submission?       What ...
Post a Comment
Read more

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #3

  {SEVEN LETTERS}    The Attractiveness of Suffering_   Revelation 2:8-11     In the year AD 177 persecution broke out against the Christians living in what is today the French city of Lyon. Christianity had raised the suspicions and hatred of the Roman  bureaucrats who governed the city. The vicious persecution that raged, touched Christians at every level of society. After the persecuti on subsided, church father Irenaeus, arranged for a letter to be written to Christians in other parts of the Roman Empire describing the faithfulness of the  martyrs...   We  can’t  even begin to put into words, much less describe in detail, the  magnitude  of the persecution here: how the pagans raged so terribly against the saints, and how the ble ssed martyrs endured so patiently... To begin with, they nobly endured all the abuse the whole mob collectively piled on: screaming  at them, punching them, dragging them through the stre...
Post a Comment
Read more