This Is the Old Testament is part of a twelve-week thematic overview of the entire Bible. Each day we’ll read a thematic selection from a different book or two of the Bible, along with supplemental passages that show how the theme of that day’s main reading is found throughout Scripture. We’ll also read a brief summary of each book and a reflection on how the book fits into the larger story of Scripture. This week, we’ll continue looking at the genres of Major and Minor Prophets.
What Is Hosea? The book of Hosea recounts how God used the prophet Hosea’s personal life as a representation of Israel’s repeating cycles of sin, repentance, and redemption. This book contrasts the relentless faithfulness of God with the repeated unfaithfulness of His people.
How Hosea Fits Into the Story: Hosea compares the relationship between God and His people to the real-life marriage of Hosea and Gomer, drawing a parallel between spiritual and marital unfaithfulness. In buying Gomer’s freedom, Hosea pointed ahead to God’s love perfectly expressed in Christ, who bought the freedom of His bride, the Church, with His own life. Like a marriage partner, God is deeply involved in our lives and pained when we go our own way. Often, God’s people have failed to demonstrate wholehearted love and faithfulness to Him, but nothing can quench God’s love for us.
Reflection Questions:
1. Look back to your reading on day 25. How does the portrayal of an ideal relationship in Song of Songs inform your reading of Hosea 6?
2. How does today’s reading shape your understanding of the story of redemption?
Take time to reflect on your responses and share what you are learning with others in the community in the comments.
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45 thoughts on "Hosea"
Please pray for reconciliation of relationship with the lady who brought me to church and the lady who introduced me to SheReadsTruth.
Thank You and have a good day.
Thank you Debbie. I struggled with understanding how to answer this question. Your summary was very helpful.
What I saw was that when we go astray and move away from God he is always there when we come back to him. He never leaves us. He cares for us.
I’m a day behind. I find this so fitting with the way of our world today. Hosea 6:1 “Come let us return to the Lord” 3: “Let’s strive to know the Lord.”
RHONDA J, I’m here! Thank you for the shout out! As you said it’s lovely to know people care. Thank you.
Sending love your way across the pond wrapped in thankfulness for you and my other SRT sisters. Be blessed today and over the weekend.❤
RHONDA J, I’m here and thank you for the shout out..
As you said it’s good to know people care.. Thank you! Love coming your way across the pond, wrapped in thankfulness for you and my other SRT sisters.❤
I’m confused and revived the new tests for my monthly book, but the app is the Old Testament
Our primary purpose on this earth is to love God and others, I pray I would do that well.
I need God’s grace everyday!!
Good Morning Sisters! Thank you for the recommendations for the book, I am an avid reader, and added that one to my cart! I also want to read the whole book of Hosea and hope to do that this evening. The study has been an interesting way to see the Bible as a whole, but definitely makes me want to read the whole books.
Watching The Chosen has really brought to life the disciples for me (and thousands), and of course Jesus, and how they try to question and figure out things with Jesus right there with them. That is the same that we do today, we worry, busy ourselves, try to figure things out….Jesus is here with us, and always calling and speaking to us. We just have to slow down and listen and wait, or act accordingly. In the last episode Mary turned back to her sin, (rather than be in His presence, and then later returned, confessed and repented, and then fell into Jesus’s arms. Wow, it was such an impactful scene, where we have all been! I highly recommend downloading the app and get watching!! Happy Thursday! Love you all! Don’t you just love seeing someone saying they are praying for you or your situation!! It makes your heart flutter knowing people care!! Many of us have been here for years, but I feel like this year has drawn us all closer!! I am missing Tina, Churchmouse, and where is Heidi! and Kathy?! You all are missed! xoxox’s to all of you!
I like “The Message’s” version of today verse, “I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.” Much of what I read in Hosea can be applied to today’s world. This doesn’t say much.
Lord God help us to turn our ways around and follow You and Christ. Help us to love You more and not the material things around us. Lord remind us You are with us in the good and the bad even if it doesn’t seem like it. Amen.
Have a blessed day sisters.
What stands out to me are the verses that refer to being /& acting as one under authority. I get asked to help with many things that frankly I don’t want to do. There is great peace in knowing that in reality I am actually doing the works that God prepared for me in advance to perform for his glory!
Thank you, Jeanette. What a perfect summation!
I found this a difficult read, I always avoid Hosea for this reason. I need to read some more theological commentary on this book.
Listened to Chris Tomlin’s Whom Shall I Fear this morning. And the chorus of “I know Who goes before me, I know Who stands behind, The God of Angel Armies is always by my side.” Is playing in my head. It has been a tough week, but He reminds me again of His love. Please pray for me, strength, discernment, peace. Thank you all. I love the way Hosea shows the mercy and love God has for us, that doesn’t leave us sitting and wallowing in our sin, but like Hosea chases after Gomer, God’s freedom in forgiveness chases after us. What beauty this is in what His love is. In Matthew 9:10-13 we see He came for the sinner, to meet us right where we are, and then Ephesians speaks of the immeasurable riches of His grace through Jesus. Knowing our sin, knowing the state of the selfish human heart to turn away again and again. God still chose the cross, He still gave Himself for our sins. And we, through no works, but by grace, mercy and redeeming love are saved, made new in Christ Jesus. Given the Holy Spirit to guide and help us and “created for good works, which God prepared ahead of timed for us to do.” How GREAT is our God!
Dear ERB, Isaiah 50 is powerful. I love the confidence you spoke of, of knowing God. I see that in Isaiah 50:4-11 I do love this and “to know the Word that sustains the weary.” And that the faith that is seen here in how God is with us and we do not need be afraid again of anyone. He is Almighty God. The God of Angel Armies, He goes before and behind, He is always by our side. Much in this day my friend. May it all be to the glory of our Mighty God. Praying Sisters that you feel Him holding you in the joy, in His peace, in whatever your day brings look for Him and listen He does not leave us or forsake us. Hugs and love to you all.
This is my “theme song”. Whenever I am low, whenever I need the Lord the most, this song finds me. In church, on KLove, on Amazon Music, your comment – this song ALWAYS finds me when I need Him. It gives me great comfort and strength to know the Lord is always by my side.
What keeps coming in my mind…”For God so loved the world!”….John 3:16 ❤️
Good Morning! @Sydney what you said about the OT reminded me of when I just heard pastor John MacAuthor being interviewed by a Jewish believer. He told him the importance of the OT was to his belief in Jesus. How would he know Jesus is the Messiah if he didn’t see all the prophecies about Him. As we know Jesus is in every book of the Bible!!! Have you ever heard this short clip that tells the Names for Jesus in each book? This is so good!!! https://youtu.be/LMZm17elM-c
Also, sisters may we all pray for the Jewish people to come to see Jesus as the Messiah and Savior and Lord even today. In Jesus’s Name Amen!!!
Hosea is such a comfort to me as I pray every day for the Lord to continue to pursue my wayward children who have turned their backs on the Savior of their youth. My youngest daughter’s choices just break my heart every day, but I know that God is bigger and mightier than anything the World has to offer. I just love when I hear testimonies of people who say they were drawn to God and felt like they could not resist Him. Growing up in a Christian home and never being one to rebel against my Christian upbringing, I never really experienced that feeling, but instead just naturally grew into my faith. I am grateful that I was spared the sadness and regret from a rebellious life, but now that I see my own “raised in a Christian home” children turning from the Truth that they have heard their entire lives, I am so very grateful for God’s relentless pursuit of them.
That is such a comforting thought. I have a very similar experience. A daughter who is a missionary, a son who is my prodigal. Good reminder of God’s faithful pursuit of him.
Praying for your children, Laura and for you as you pray that the Spirit will give you the words to speak to God and to your children.
Song of Songs, I believe, showed faithful, unbridled love which is what my relationship with God should be. The reality? Hosea. I regularly am forgiven and then go after my own idols again and again (money, importance, saving face, etc.). Then God pulls me back and cleanses me from all my sins to give me the chance to start again…and again…and again. What a lavishly merciful Father!
Love this!
Well I talked to the guy yesterday about just being friends, and it went well! I hope I was clear enough, but I think I was…if not he can ask me later. He was really nice about it and is still down to be friends, so I’m really grateful for that. I think the Lord is teaching me how to interact with guys and not be afraid of them haha, cause I have tended to get nervous around them in in the past. It’s all a learning experience and showing me what I would want in a future spouse. Thankful that although relationships are beautiful gifts from God, Jesus is the only one who truly satisfies. Even if I only have Jesus, he is more than enough. No one can “complete” me. Jesus is enough. I know he knows my desire for a relationship, and I surrender that to him. It’s all in his hands. Thankful for a God who is always faithful and will never leave us!
Good on you!
Wonderful Sarah!
So thankful for the relentless faithfulness of God. Thank you, Father!
Such a perfect way of explaining it! I had hoped others had read that book!
So many lovely thoughts this morning in the comments.
“Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge Him.
As surely as the sun rises,
He will appear;
He will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.” 6:3
I love the reminder of God’s persistence. How unworthy we are that He continues to offer love and grace. He is like the sunrise and the seasons – consistent, dependable and beautiful.
Sitting outside this morning in the cool before the heat reflecting on the grace of God. Thankful for Him.
One last thing – if anyone hasn’t heard of it, there’s an incredible novel written by Francine Rivers called Redeeming Love. It’s inspired by the book of Hosea and was written after the author became a Christian. I’d recommend it with the reminder that God pursues us despite the sin patterns in our life.
Great is His faithfulness!
I would highly recommend reading Hosea then reading Francine Rivers book Redeeming Love. She captures the depth of God’s love and forgiveness and His pursuit of us in our waywardness like no other author I have ever read.
I just finished re-reading that this summer and my husband just read it for the first time. It is so powerful in its truth. I second that recommendation!
One of my favorite books!
Great recommendation, thank you Lbug!
Excellent book!
I love the description here: “ How Hosea Fits Into the Story: Hosea compares the relationship between God and His people to the real-life marriage of Hosea and Gomer, drawing a parallel between spiritual and marital unfaithfulness. In buying Gomer’s freedom, Hosea pointed ahead to God’s love perfectly expressed in Christ, who bought the freedom of His bride, the Church, with His own life. Like a marriage partner, God is deeply involved in our lives and pained when we go our own way. Often, God’s people have failed to demonstrate wholehearted love and faithfulness to Him, but nothing can quench God’s love for us.”
Such an awesome parallel… an earthly relationship and a heavenly relationship. I love how God pursues us!! It makes me want to have an even more intimate relationship with God than I do.. this also puts me in mind of a quote by T. Austin Sparks:
“It is true to our experience and true to principle, that very often God does His biggest things in the hour when the instrument is at its weakest, and consciously so.”
SO much good in today’s scriptures too!! Hosea 6:3 was probably my favorite though!
MAURA, Isaiah 50 was short but it packed a PUNCH!! The only thing I kept thinking when I read it was CONFIDENCE!!! Confidence in God, confidence in who Isaiah knew he was in the Lord, confidence in standing up to the enemy (and in some places actually challenging it to come forward and defend itself!) and the confidence of FAITH!!! Wow!!!! SO much to take in here!!! Lord, in the way You want me to, help me to have confidence like this!! Amen!
Hope all you wonderful ladies have an extremely blessed day FULL of the confidence and love of God!! He is with us all on each of our journeys!! ❤️
It’s amazing how much he loves us. I really want to read the whole book now to get the whole story. Gods love is so amazing. I pray it that somehow someway it will touch my loved ones who don’t know or have a relationship with Him. That He won’t stop chasing after them or me. * continued prayers for me for healing and the pain. I called the surgeon again and unless I develop a fever the amount of pain is inconsequential. I don’t want to have emergency surgery. So please pray that the pain and swelling subside or by Gods mercy I am healed
The theme of God’s love and pursuit of His children keeps coming up in my life (I hear you Lord lol!) And how needed is that message in my current season of life of feeling like I’m in the “wilderness”. He is drawing me into daily dependence and surrender, but also awe at His great love that leaves the 99 to come after me! Makes me think of the song “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury
I remember doing the study on Hosea with SRT. What an I opener to who we are and who God is. I am so grateful for His mercy. I am so grateful that He sent His son because he wants a relationship with me, and that’s the only way it could happen.
Have a blessed Thursday dear sisters.
How amazing it is to me that there is so much spiritual wisdom in the Old Testament. I have always heard sound bites in church and in my life that all the good stuff is in the New Testament, but this study has turned that on its head. Hosea is a book I knew nothing about before this morning. What a beautiful allegory the story of Hosea and Gomer of the Lord’s relentless pursuit of us despite our manifold sins. Bless the Lord.
Hosea is a lesson in heartbreak and forgiveness. Hosea’s heart broke for his promiscuous wife’s choices and the resulting consequences on their children and marriage. Yet, as an example of God’s unfathomable love he would go and get her, chasing after and redeeming her, bringing her home.
This book reminds us of God determinedly pursuing His children to save us from our sin, that without the redemptive blood of Jesus, would lead us to death and separation from Him. Gomer’s choices were a tragedy, as are ours when we chose sin over obedience and life. At the same time the relentless, passionate, pursuing, love of God is breathtakingly beautiful.
1. In Hosea we see the same wholehearted persuit of of the bride by God as the king in Song of Songs. However, the “bride” in Hosea is running from and rejecting the advances of the “groom.” She is unwilling to be faithful.
2. God’s relentless persuit of us is humbling. Why does He put up with such scorn? His love and faithfulness to humanity is vividly pictured in Hosea. His love for Gomer reinforces that God’s love for us has nothing to do with what we bring to the relationship and everything to do with His integrity and faithfulness to His covenant (promises/word).
The Israelites, and I, do such a bad job of loving God. Especially compared to His love. His love is sure as the dawn, while my love is like the morning mist and the early dew that vanishes. So often I carry out the inclinations of my flesh and thoughts. He desires faithful love, and that is not what I am giving. I feel so unworthy of His love. But God. Being rich in mercy, because of His great love He had for us. Nothing I do can stop Him from loving me.
Well said. I too often feel unworthy but our God is so awesome and loves us so much
Well said, Arina
When I started to read this AM I was so sad because it is another reminder of our world today. I am so thankful for our Lord and Savior and all He did for us. I feel so humbled every time I think about all He did for us, even after all these years I feel the same as I did forty years ago, so thankful that He is with me to hold on to during the good and the trying times.