Session 8 Hosea 6:1–7:2
how Hosea describes a coming judgment and what people fail to realize about God.
7 But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant;
there they have betrayed me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with bloody footprints.
9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem. They commit atrocities.
10 I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel:
Ephraim’s promiscuity is there;
Israel is defiled.
11a A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah.11b When I restore the fortunes of my people,
7:1 when I heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim and the crimes of Samaria will be exposed.
For they practice fraud;
a thief breaks in;
a raiding party pillages outside.
2 But they never consider that I remember all their evil.
Now their actions are all around them;
they are right in front of my face.
Call attention to the statement in the next to the last paragraph on page 80 of the PSG:
Everywhere they stepped left an imprint of their disloyalty to God.
respond to the questions:
Hosea highlighted the sins of the people and the priests,
pointed to a coming judgment,
called the people to repentance, and shared a hope for the future.
Read aloud Joel 2:13,
Acts 3:19, and
Isaiah 55:6
while the group notes God’s promise of faithful love when we genuinely repent.
Draw the group’s attention to the question set under Apply the Text (p. 71):
Discuss the effect sin has on our relationship with God and our relationships with others.
How does the impact of sin add to the urgency of sharing about Jesus with others?
What actions should be taken to help the group increase their urgency in sharing the gospel?
Invite volunteers to share how personal experiences have led them to be better prepared to share the gospel with others.
Allow time for the group to reflect and pray silently.
After a time of silent prayer,
encourage the group to voice sentence prayers
praising God for salvation, forgiveness, and faithfulness.
Reinforce the study by sending an email or text to the group encouraging them to examine their own lives for hollow promises or false repentance.