Thursday Bible Study

In the long list of things that the Israelites have done (or haven't done!) probably the most hurtful thing about her behaviour was her ingratitude towards God. In verses 8, 9, and 11, different metaphors are used to describe Israel and her actions. How are these portrayed? What is the result of her actions? How will God deal with them in verse 12? In verse 13, the text turns slightly and describes God's actions. How do we see God taking, all of this that has just been described, personally? What is God's longing in verse 13? In verses 14-15, how does Israel respond to God's longings? What had God done for His people (in verse 15) and what is Israel's problem (in verse 14)? What does that say about God? Finally, verse 16 describes Israel's punishment. How will they will be punished? Where, in your life, might you be in danger of becoming arrogant? How might you be guilty of no longer crying out to God from your heart? How do you respond to God's goodness tow...

What is becoming more and more obvious, and that we can't help but FEEL is God's frustration! The opening verse of chapter 7 is as if God is saying, "Whenever I try to show love to you, you go and sin again!" Can you sense God's frustration in these verses? Has there been a time when you have felt frustrated? How did that experience feel? What did you do?  Back in last week's study, the main problem in Hosea 6:4-6 was the emptiness of Israel's worship. How? And if that is the case, then what is the main problem here in Hosea 6:7-7:7? And how? The people weren't living in right relationship with God. They didn't care about God's commands. They just did what was right in their own eyes. How does this section reveal that, even though Israel might have forgotten God, God hadn't forgotten Israel? So, if  THAT'S the state of the people of Israel, what are we told about the kings in 7:3? In verse 7, we told why this is all happe...

Everyone experiences disappointment. God knows disappointment too. After Israel's apology (Hosea 6:1-3) this section is about where God speaks of the frustration He feels towards Israel... Verse 4 is where God sounds like a parent. How? Why? For the next few posts we'll see God describing His disappointment with His children. These verses deal with the emptiness of Israel's worship. There are three elements to this revelation... 1] Israel blows hot and cold. Why? How is this described / explained in this section? 2] Israel refuses to be taught. Why? How is this described / explained in this section? 3] Israel goes through the motions. Why? How is this described / explained in this section? Jesus will later quote the prophet's words in Matthew 9:13. How does he use them? Who is he speaking to? In what ways does your love for God blow hot and cold, like Israel's? What other "loves" capture your attention and affections? To what extent are y...

God is LONGING for His people to return to Him. What does Hosea 5:15 tell us about why God is withdrawing affection from Israel? Again, from what you can infer from verse 15, what does God say He will do to bring us back to Himself? What does that tell you about God? In Hosea 6:1-3, how do we see evidence of Israel just 'going through the motions' of repentance? There are 3 things that you can discover from this section about what God wants from Israel (and what God still wants from us today)... confession, repentance, and humble confidence. How are these evidenced in this passage of Hosea? How are these evidenced in your life? [Activity] Notice how many times in 6:1-3 it mentions "God will" or "He will"... what does this tell you about the nature of God? Look at the sort of apology God longs for in this section. What is the difference between going through the motions and genuine repentance? How can you avoid the former and embrace the latter?...

Again, we see God is patiently waiting for His people to return to Him. The first step in God's strategy is that God will WITHDRAW His affection (Hosea 5:1-7) and in this passage we see the second step, God will APPLY discipline. To help us understand what's going on, here is some historical context... The nation of Assyria, under Tiglath Pileser III, was on the march. By then, Menahem was ruling Israel. He decided to pass Assyria a large tribute of silver to withdraw. Eventually, Pekah seized the throne and became king of Israel. Fearing another Assyrian attack, he persuaded the king of Damascus to side with him, and also tried to get king Ahaz of Judah to join them. But when Ahaz refused, Pekah invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem. That drove Judah to seek Assyrian help, and Tiglath Pileser III duly invaded Israel and conquered a lot of the territory. A decade later, under Hoshea, Israel tried to regain her independence. This time, the Assyrians retaliated by completely des...