Today's passage: Hosea 14

Helpful thoughts:

• The final chapter of Hosea is used to call on Israel to repent.
• Israel will one day repent!
• The “Ways of the Lord” are a blessing to the upright and a hindrance to transgressors.  We are never right to change it or to conceal the commands of the Lord in order to “draw” people…  If we did so, we would withhold blessing from the upright and remove from transgressors any way of knowing they have need of redemption in Christ!

Questions to consider:

1. What preceded the call for Israel to sacrifice bulls to the Lord?  What did they need to do first?
2. What has Hosea told Israel their repentance would consist of?  What all would they stop doing?  What would they return to doing?
3. What is going to make Israel blossom?  Who will Israel (And all who have eternal life) have to thank for their victory?

Today's passage: Hosea 13

Helpful thoughts:

• Ephraim went from a people who made others tremble, to being compared with morning dew, chaff, and smoke.  This was the fruit of their idolatry.
• Believing in something does not make it real.  Being real is what makes something real.  There is only one God.
• In the midst of these questions and assertions concerning the judgment of Ephraim/Israel, the reader is reminded that God holds power over even death and the grave.  (1 Corinthians 15:50-56)

Questions to consider:

1. What starts to happen when we forget who God is (Perhaps thinking less of Him) and what He has done for us?  How does a lower view of God affect our view of ourselves?
2. Why is Christianity the only correct view in this world?  Why is it right to hold to our faith exclusively?
3. In what way is verse 14 used differently in Hosea 13 and in 1 Corinthians 15?  Which one looks like it is used to reinforce reason for judgment?  Which one looks like it is used to reinforce reason for hope and victory?  What truth is consistent in both uses?

Today's passage: Hosea 12:2-14

Helpful thoughts:

• God compares the life of the nation with the life of Jacob. (Genesis 25:24-26, Genesis 28:10-22, Genesis 29:1-30, Genesis 32:22-30)
• A contrast is given though in how Jacob “prevailed” in his wrestling, and yet asked for God's favor/blessing, and then how Ephraim (Israel the Northern Kingdom) has “prevailed” through deceit (False balances) and believes it has blessed itself and gotten away with it.
• Sin makes everything messy and confusing (Like this chapter?).  When God is held in His rightful place in our hearts, life makes sense.

Questions to consider:

1. Why did Jacob “prevail” in that wrestling match?  Who was behind Jacob's blessing, in spite of Jacob's supplanting tactics?
2. What was the difference between Jacob's “success” and Ephraim's “success”?  What was behind Ephraim's “success” and what were the consequences?
3. In what way has God said to Israel in this chapter, “Who do you think you are?” and “Who do you think I am?”  How should we define “success” and how should we view our lives in light of who God is and what He has done?

Today's passage: Hosea 11:1-12:1

Helpful thoughts:

• Verse 1 is cited in Matthew 2:15.  Jesus Christ made the same journey out of Egypt.
• Again, it is possible to call out to the Lord for assistance while turning away from Him. (Matthew 7:21-23)
• This is an incredibly important distinction, “I am God and not a man.”

Questions to consider:

1. How would a mere man respond to Israel as they continually rejected him?  Why should we be so thankful that God is who He says He is?
2. Why would it be wrong to view Him as only a little better/stronger/wiser than a human?  Is God just a super human or something much more?
3. How is it possible for God not to pour out His wrath against my sin on me?

Today's passage: Hosea 10

Helpful thoughts:

• Israel did not do well with blessing.  The more they flourished, the more they strayed from the Lord.
• Israel's idolatrous calf was to be carried away by their conquering nation, the Assyrians.  When the Assyrians rejoiced about their gods being stronger than the “god” of Israel (The calf), it would be a bitter reminder to Israel that they had abandoned the Lord.
• We reap what we sow.  There are consequences in this life for what we do.  But, when we turn to the Lord, He rains righteousness on us (Romans 4:3)

Questions to consider:

1. Why are people prone to abandon the Lord when they are doing well financially, physically, etc.?  If God only comes to the forefront of our minds when we sense we are in desperate need, how are we viewing God?
2. If I had a “calf” that would be carried away and called by observers, “My god”, what would it be?  What might I be prone to trust in first before I go to God?
3. What does it look like when a sinner repents?  His salvation and justification are gifts of God's grace!  Then, what does his life look like?  How does it change?

Today's passage: Hosea 9

Helpful thoughts:

• This chapter begins with the opposite of what you would hope for in a blessing (Joel 2:23-24).
• Israel thought the fertility cult practices would bring prosperity, instead they brought barrenness.
• Israel was not without warning.  The prophets were treated as fools and driven “mad” by the nation's refusal to repent.

Questions to consider:

1. What do we learn about God from this passage?  How does He view sin?
2. How would a passage like this help us to better understand why Jesus said He was greatly troubled before going to the cross for our sin?
3. Why can it be so hard to confront sin in the lives of others?  Why is it so important that the confrontation be motivated by love?  How can you respond to others in a way that would allow them to feel welcomed to love you in this way?

Today's passage: Hosea 8

Helpful thoughts:

• The golden calves were set up for worship in the northern kingdom of Israel at it's very beginning (1 Kings 12:25-33) to prevent the people from returning to Jerusalem.
• Israel had been set apart as God's chosen people.  They were to proclaim the glory of God to the nations.  Instead, they were “swallowed up” or assimilated into the way of the rest of the nations and therefore became useless.  They were unable to point people to God because they chose to abandon Him, living like the rest of the world.
• The very Word of God would have been considered as foreign to the people of Israel.

Questions to consider:

1. Why should Israel's continued desire to identify as the children of God (Or God's chosen people), even though they knew very little to nothing of God, alarm us?  Could there be people today who associate their nationality or their experience around church with their standing with God even if they have not repented and believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
2. Israel desired to use God (and false idols) to accomplish things for them.  How did they turn their relationship with God upside down?  Why is it so important to understand Christ's place of preeminence (He is the potter, we are the clay)?
3. Is ignorance really bliss?  If we are ignorant of the Scriptures, are we really better off?  Why is it so important to continue studying the Word of God?  In what ways are you thankful for the things that you have learned and applied from God's Word?

Today's passage: Hosea 7

Helpful thoughts:

• God sees sinfulness all around Israel, even to the point of the royalty inviting more “mockers” in (Verse 5).
  • Israel has become characterized by sin.
  • Even as they see themselves struggle or suffer, they continue to head straight into their sin.
• It is possible to cry about hardships (To feel sorry or to be saddened by consequences) without any true repentance (Verse 14).
  • Verse 16 – They return…but not to the the Most High God.  They are like a bow that doesn't shoot the arrow where it was directed.

Question to consider:

1. What did Israel do in response to their hardships in ways that might have looked like religion or change, but wasn't?
2. Why would anyone be willing to go so far as to cut themselves for a false god instead of worshiping the true God?  What is it that they would want to keep, that they would be unwilling to give up, in order to serve the one true God?
3. What would genuine repentance look like? (2 Corinthians 7:10-12)

Today's passage: Hosea 6

Helpful thoughts:

• Verses 1-3 assures Israel of the Lord's mercy and faithfulness.
• Verse 4 compares Israel's love to a brief morning fog.
• Israel thought they could sacrifice some animals to appease God while they remained in their sin.  God wants sincerity of heart, mercy and love.
  • 1 Samuel 16:7 – For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
  • Micah 6:8 – He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Questions to consider:

1. How were Israel's and God's faithfulness compared and contrasted in this chapter?  What is God's faithfulness based on?  Does His character change or ebb and flow based on the conditions of people?  Who are the ones who are changing?
2. In what ways would you identify with Israel's morning fog metaphor?  Why is it right for us to be thankful for God's steadfast mercy?
3. Can you be religious without being godly?  What makes a person godly?  What are the characteristics of a person who is close to God/who fears God/who is growing in Christ-likeness?  How might this description be different than the description of a person who would call themselves religious?

Today's passage: Hosea 5

Helpful thoughts:

• Matthew 6:24 – No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
  • Israel could not commit acts of sin in their idolatry and worship God at the same time.
  • Israel had no right to complain to God when judgment came, as if He had not met their standard.  This is pride.
• Repentance includes confession (admitting/acknowledging the wrong I have done) and turning (I no longer am doing the wrong and am instead now doing the right)
  • Israel and Judah needed to confess their sinfulness.
  • Israel and Judah needed to seek the face of God alone (Not God AND the false gods together).

Questions to consider:

1. When someone believes that God didn't do for them what He should have done, where does that belief come from?  Who is in charge of the relationship in that situation?
2. When someone wants things in this life (Possessions, health, fame, etc.) more than they want the Lord Himself, how will they treat God?  What will they do if they believe something/someone else will help them get what they want?
3. Why is it so important to know who God is from His Word?  What will we do to Christianity if we treat God like He is our genie and teach others to do so as well?  How does that compare to the Gospel?  Can you treat God like a genie and truly worship Him at the same time?