Session 8 Hosea 6:1–7:2

LOYALTY (HOSEA 6:4-6)

how the Lord describes the people’s faithfulness and what He really desires.

4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist and like the early dew that vanishes.
5 This is why I have used the prophets to cut them down;
I have killed them with the words from my mouth. My judgment strikes like lightning.
6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

FOCUS:

God desires relationship above ritual
discuss how this passage in Hosea illustrates this desire.

DISCUSS:

• Why is loyalty valued by God more than religious rituals and practices? (p. 71)

TRANSITION:

The people had broken their covenant with God.
Even their religious leaders were guilty.
Hosea decried the sins of Israel and Judah, pointing to a coming judgment.