Session 7 Hosea 1:2-9; 3:1-5
God’s next directions for Hosea.
1 Then the LORD said to me,
“Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress,
just as the LORD loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods
and love raisin cakes.”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and nine bushels of barley.3 I said to her,
“You are to live with me many days. You must not be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I
will act the same way toward you.”
4 For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince,
without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols.
5 Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God
and David their king. They will come with awe to the LORD and to his goodness
in the last days.
Apparently, Gomer left Hosea after the birth of their third child
to go after one of her lovers.
Perhaps she had sold herself into slavery.
The Lord spoke again to Hosea, telling him to demonstrate grace and love to Gomer yet again,
even though she had turned her back on Hosea and their marriage.
He was to do this to show how God continued to love the unfaithful Israelites.
Direct the group to review Hosea 3:1-5,
Emphasize that Hosea’s life revealed the extent of God’s faithfulness to His unfaithful people.
Like Hosea, who came to the slave market for Gomer, God came to those enslaved in sin.
Restoration did not begin with Gomer’s seeking Hosea;
it began when Hosea proved his love by going to a place of humiliation to redeem his bride.
Through Jesus, God demonstrated His love by ransoming us from the wages of our sin
and setting us free from our past.
Call attention to and discuss the question set
under Apply the Text (p. 63):
Discuss with your group ways God has been faithful in spite of our shortcomings.
How can the group help others understand that God will offer them grace if they return to Him?
What can the group do to demonstrate God’s grace in and through the group?
Guide the group to silently evaluate their own lives as they reflect on the question set under Apply the Text (p. 67):
Examine your life for areas in which you may be guilty of failing to be totally faithful to God.
What actions do you need to take to demonstrate your faithfulness to God?
Of what do you need to ask for His forgiveness?
Encourage them to record their thoughts in the margin of their book.
Close with a brief time of silent prayer
and then encourage anyone in the group to offer a sentence prayer
thanking God for His faithfulness to them.
Reinforce the study by encouraging the group to demonstrate God’s grace to others. Remind the group to continue to pray for each other.