Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel:
When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”
Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.
“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

• Hosea 1:1-11

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Hosea 1-3 ‘The Book of Hosea’: “Hosea is the only native northern Israelite among the writing prophets. Although active at the same time as Amos, Hosea’s message is quite different in its focus. Where Amos spoke about oppression, poverty, and injustice, Hosea speaks against the worship of the Canaanite deities, such as Baal and Asherah. These religions stressed rituals that were designed to promote the fertility of the land; among these rituals was sexual intercourse with official cult prostitutes.
“Prostitution, or harlotry, becomes a major theme in Hosea, partly through the prophet’s own family experience (Hos. 1–3). Israel is the bride of God, and once the marriage was happy (Hos. 2:14, 15; 11:1). By worshiping other gods, though, Israel has become a harlot. God alternately rages against His unfaithful wife and tenderly longs for reconciliation (6:4; 11:8, 9). The book ends with an impassioned appeal for Israel to ‘return’ and a promise that, if she will, then God will become the true fertility God to His wayward people.”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

Hosea 1:1 ‘two kingdoms’: “God’s people were divided into two kingdoms at the time of Hosea’s prophecies. Sometimes the northern kingdom is referred to as ‘Ephraim,’ its most influential tribe, or as ‘Samaria,’ its capital city… Hosea was probably a resident of the northern kingdom.”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)

Hosea 1:1 ‘a message to save and deliver’: “The name Hosea comes from the Hebrew verb meaning ‘to save or deliver.’ Hosea’s message is an offer of salvation and deliverance to those in Israel and Judah who would receive it. Unfortunately; that message fell on deaf ears in Hosea’s day.”

• Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Hosea 1:2-9 ‘Concerning His Wife and Children’: “Hosea is officially called into the prophetic office and given a direct revelation from God (1:2). This first revelation is his commission, in which he is told to “take to yourself a wife of harlotry.” This means he is to marry a prostitute. Some have thought this is not possible, for if it were, God would be asking Hosea to do something contrary to the law of Moses. Actually, only the Levites were for-bidden to marry prostitutes (Leviticus 21:7,14). Hosea, however, was neither a priest nor a Levite; he was a member of one of the tribes in the northern kingdom of Israel. Therefore, the prohibition in the law of Moses did not apply co Hosea.
“Not only does God ask Hosea to marry a prostitute, He also cells him to take the children ‘of harlotry’-that is, children already born to the prostitute before the marriage (verse 2). Since the word ‘children’ is used, this particular prostitute had already given birth to at least two children. God then explained the reason for this symbolic action: ‘For the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.’ Just as Hosea’s wife is a prostitute, so is God’s ‘wife,’ or Israel, a prostitute. Hosea’s wife symbolized the nation of Israel as a whole, and the children symbolized the specific individuals within the nation.
“Hosea’s obedience is recorded in verse 3: ‘So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim.’ The prostitute’s name is Gomer, meaning ‘perfection’ or ‘completion.’ Her father’s name is Diblaim, meaning ‘double fig cakes.’ The term ‘fig cakes’ was an erotic symbol throughout the ancient world of this period and it is used in this way in the Song of Solomon. Putting the two names together gives the meaning that Gomer was a ‘perfect daughter of pleasure.’  She was devoted to not just her own pleasure, bur the pleasure of those who used her. This is the kind of woman God asks Hosea to marry.
“By the way, Hosea is warned not to expect a happy marriage. He is told in advance to marry someone who will cause him grief Hosea still obeys the Lord anyway and marries Gomer and adopts her children.”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Hosea 1:2 ‘promiscuity’: “When God called Hosea, he not only gave him a message, he also called him to be a message: Go and marry a woman of promiscuity; and have children. This, of course, was definitely not your typical calling to prophetic ministry! Given the Lord’s stance toward sexual immorality, adultery; and prostitution (Exod 20:14; Lev 19:29; 1 Cor 6:12-19), this is a shocking command. But, there was a serious reason for God’s directive: the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity by abandoning the LORD, and people needed to see things from God’s perspective.
“Frequently in the Old Testament, ‘adultery’ and ‘prostitution’ are used as metaphors for Israel’s idolatry (e.g., Deut 31:16; Judg 2:17; Jer 3:6; Ezek 16:1s). The Lord was Israel’s husband, and they were his bride. For Israel to worship false gods and bow to worthless idols, then, was to commit sexual immorality against their husband who had saved them. God called Hosea to be a living example to the people of their spiritual adultery. So, because God’s bride was unfaithful, Hosea was to take an unfaithful bride for himself.”

• Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Hosea 1:2 ‘a promiscuous woman’: “Hosea’s marriage is interwoven with his prophetic work. Hosea was to understand Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord in all its tragedy through the betrayal of his own wife Gomer, described here as ‘a promiscuous woman.’ To consider the marriage allegorical, is highly unlikely because of the details presented in the narrative, which are not symbolic and are presented as historical facts (vv. 3:8; Hos 3:2). Others suggest that the marriage actually occurred and that Gomer was unchaste, perhaps even a temple prostitute, at the time. However, again this does not seem an appropriate conclusion since genuine affection on the part of Hosea for Gomer would seem difficult if not impossible under such circumstances. Hosea as a prophet would have been sensitive to the law forbidding such a union (Lev 21:7,14). Thus, it seems more likely that Hosea married Gomer, who was presumably chaste at the time, and she bore Hosea a son. In this case, the description is taken proleptically (with the future act presented as already existing). After Gomer married Hosea, she allowed harlotry to rule in her heart. The children she bore were given names symbolic of the severe break in the covenant relationship between God and his unfaithful people. This latter view also more closely paralleled God’s experience with his people Israel (Hos 1:2,6–7, 9; 2:2–13). Israel was presented to Yahweh as chaste (Jer 2:2–3), but he knew that she would play the harlot and become unfaithful.”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)

Hosea 1:4-7 ‘Arts & Literature’: “The prophet revealed what God had said through the names given to the children (Hos. 1:4–7). By themselves, these names convey little, but when their meaning was known, the children became a perpetual reminder of what God was saying to the people. The prophets used actions with particular symbolic meanings, making their words public, memorable, and definite.”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

Hosea 1:4 ‘At Jezreel’: “At Jezreel (lit. ‘God will scatter’) Jehu was swept to power through bloodthirsty acts (see 2Ki 9:21, 37; 10:1–11). Jehu’s extermination of the house of Ahab and his efforts to remove Baalism were commanded and commended by God (2Ki 9:1–10, 10:30). Jehu, nevertheless, was wrong in the way he carried out God’s commands (2Ki 10:31–36). The blood of Naboth was shed by Ahab and Jezebel at Jezreel (1Ki 21:1–16), resulting in God’s curse and the complete extermination of the house of Ahab (1Ki 21:19–24). Jehu’s continuation in idolatry would keep him in the line of judgment (2Ki 10:31). God avenged that terrible act by bringing an end to that dynasty of kings through the murder of Zechariah (2Ki 15:8–10 …) and the fall of Samaria, which scattered Israel into exile (see 2Ki 17:5–6).”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)

Hosea 1:4 ‘Jezreel’: ”In obedience to what God had told him, Hosea went courting. Gomer was attracted to this young man and agreed to marry him. At first, their marriage was heaven on earth. Hosea loved this woman. You can’t read the prophecy without seeing that. They must have been wonderfully happy together.
“Then they had their first child. It was a boy, as God had said. Hosea’s heart was filled to bursting, and he went to God for the name of the boy. God shocked Hosea by telling him the boy’s name should be Jezreel, meaning ‘castaway’-a name of shame in Israel.
“In 2 Kings 9:30-37, you find the story of wicked Queen Jezebel, who is judged by God, thrown from a window, dashed to her death in a courtyard, and eaten by dogs. The name of that courtyard from then on was Jezreel, a name of disgrace-and the same name as Hosea’s firstborn son. The name Jezreel was a warning to the people to turn from their sin and abominable practices, or they would be ‘castaway.’ They would no longer be Israel; they would be Jezreel.“

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Hosea 1:4 ‘Jehu Destroys Ahab’s Family’: “Jehu (841–814 B.C.) came to power with Elisha’s charge to end the dynasty of Omri and its Baal worship (2 Kin. 9:1–10). He completed the destruction of official Baalism (10:28), but his methods were so bloody that a century later the prophet Hosea would still be denouncing them (Hos. 1:4).
“Jehu’s persecution of Ahab’s family broke up Israel’s military alliances. Phoenicia to the north was the homeland of Ahab’s wife Jezebel. Judah to the south was greatly influenced by Ahab’s daughter Athaliah, who was queen mother in Jerusalem. Jehu’s Israel was now estranged from both Phoenicia and Judah.
“Without these alliances, Israel was vulnerable to more powerful nations, such as Aram-Damascus (Syria) and Assyria. Aram under King Hazael succeeded in capturing much Israelite territory (10:32, 33). Farther to the north, the long dormant Assyrian Empire was beginning to awake. The resurgent Assyria compelled Jehu to pay tribute, an event recorded on the Black Obelisk of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III.”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

Hosea 1:5 ‘break the bow’: ”The bow was a common euphemism denoting military strength, the principal instrument of warfare in Israel. Fulfillment came in 722 B.C. when Assyria invaded. the Valley of Jezreel. Jezreel, called Esdraelon, extends 10 mi. in breadth from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, near Carmel; it was the great battlefield (see Rev. 16:14–16) adjoining the Valley of Megiddo, which will become an avenue of blessing (cf. v. 11) when Christ returns in triumph.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Hosea 1:6 ‘Lo-Ruhamah’: “Lo-Ruhamah (lit. ‘she has not been shown compassion’) indicates that the harlot Israel would suffer her punishment to the full.”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)

Hosea 1:6 ‘not loved’: “In time, another child was born to Hosea and Gomer-a daughter whom God named Lo-Ruhamah. The name means ‘not loved.’ Imagine naming your baby girl ‘not loved.’ The name signified that God would no longer have mercy and love for His people if they continued their stubborn rebellion. His patience was wearing thin. A time was coming when He would no longer offer mercy to them but would hand them over to invading armies.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Hosea 1:7 ‘God’s patience has a limit’: “This text suggests God’s patience has a limit. He made Hosea say in the previous verse, ‘I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel.’ He had long borne with that guilty people and overlooked their daring crimes. But he would do so no longer; he would give them over to the enemy who would carry them far away so that Israel as a distinct monarchy should cease to be. This is a re-minder that God is gracious, but his Spirit will not always put up with us. A little more sin and we may be over the boundary, and God may give us up.
“The Lord also makes distinctions among guilty people according to the sovereignty of his grace. ‘I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel.  But I will have compassion on the house of Judah.” Had not Judah sinned too? Might not the Lord have given up Judah also? Indeed he might justly have done so, but he delights in mercy, Many sin and righteously bring on themselves the punishment due to sin; they reject Christ and die in their sins. But God has mercy, according to the greatness of his heart, on multitudes who could not be saved on any other footing but that of undeserved mercy. Claiming his royal right, he says, ‘I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion’ (Rm 9:15).”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Hosea 1:9 ‘My Least Favorite Day’: “My least favorite part of coaching in the NFL was the day we had to cut the roster. As I’ve said before, you’d almost be willing to work on game day for free, but they couldn’t pay you enough to make cut day tolerable. Those cut players had become family in a way. Watching dreams dashed was tough, especially when you-as the head coach-were doing the dashing. You’d tell yourself it wasn’t the end of the line, but for so many guys, it actually was. Players who had been stars in high school and then college didn’t even reach training camp unless they were in the top one percent of everyone playing football in the United States.
“And often, even that wasn’t enough. They simply couldn’t be Colts any longer. Our roster size was limited, and they didn’t measure up.
“In Hosea, the Lord was in the same situation. He’d finally had enough of the people breaking the covenant He had made with them. In essence, He told Hosea, ‘Tm cutting them.’
“’They are not my people.’ They are not measuring up.
“Of course, God is not talking about a continuing relationship with the Indianapolis Colts. He is talking about falling out of a relationship with Him, a break in the family ties. Pretty serious stuff to stop and think about.
“But the great thing about our God is that if we read the Bible on a regular basis, we will see all the times God continued to open the door of redemption, to restore that relationship with Him.
“When we fail to follow the light He shines on the path He wants us to walk on and go our own ways, God-like a good parent would do-keeps opening the door and inviting us to return to a daily relationship with Him.
“Not too different from the player who was initially cut but returns as a member of the practice squad. Or the one who comes back as a member of the active roster, alongside the players that he thought would never be his teammates.
“Our God is faithful … even when we don’t measure up.”

• Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 14 August)

Hosea 1:9 ‘Lo-Ammi’: ”When this little girl was weaned, Gomer conceived again and bore a third child, a boy whom God named Lo-Ammi, meaning “not my people:’ God was warning Israel that they were not His people. God had said He would name these children as a sign to His people…“

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Hosea 1:9 ‘not my people’: “The waywardness of the people, as well as God’s response of separating himself from them are indicated in the name of the third child, ‘Lo-Ammi’ (lit. ‘not my people’).”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)

Hosea 1:10-2:1 ‘Future Reversal and Restoration’: “The judgment described in Hosea 1:2-9 will one day be reversed. First, there will be a reversal of Jezreel from ‘God scatters’ to ‘God sows’ (verse 10). In the sense of judgment jezreel means ‘God scatters,’ and God will scatter His people out of the land. In the sense of blessing jezreel means ‘God sows,’ and He would someday ‘sow’ them in the land. As a result there will be a tremendous increase in Israel’s population.
“Second, Hosea predicts a national conver-sion (verse IO). Israel, who was once Lo-ammi, ‘not My people,’ will again become Ammi, ‘My people.’ Because of this concept of going from ‘not My people’ to ‘My people,’ these verses are used by Paul to illustrate the salvation of Gentiles in Romans 9:24-26. The Gentiles also were for a long period of time ‘not My people,’ but now have become ‘My people.’ Peter also quotes Hosea in 1 Peter 2:9-10 when he speaks about the believing Jewish remnant. Before these Jews were believers, they were Lo-ammi, or nor God’s people. But as believers in Jesus the Messiah, they become Ammi, or God’s people.
“Hosea then goes on to prophesy a future national reunification (verse n). The kingdoms of Israel and Judah will again be reunited under one national leadership. There will be one head, which will be the Messiah, with David as the co-regent. Then ‘the day of Jezreel’ will come, which will be a national day of sowing of the people of Israel in the land (verse 11).
“The third reversal is mentioned in 2:1. In this reversal, the name Lo-ruhamah, meaning ‘no mercy,’ is changed to Ruhamah, meaning ‘having mercy.’”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Hosea 1:10 ‘name change’: ”The name changes portray a move from judgment to blessing. ‘Lo’ (Heb., lit. ‘no’ or ‘not’) removed from ‘Lo-Ruhamah’ and ‘Lo-Ammi’ is then ‘my people’ (Ammi) and ‘mercy is shown’ (Ruhamah), pointing to Israel’s future restoration (Ro 9:25–26). “”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Patty Comber, Pauline Epistles contributor)

Hosea 1:11 ‘one head’: “Refers to Messiah (cf. 3:5). day of Jezreel. Here used positively in the sense of divine blessing (cf. 2:22).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

First, Hosea was one of a few prophets whose prophecies were written and whose prophecies were directed to the northern tribes.  You can find those northern tribes listed as Israel, since the people consisted of members of ten tribes of Israel.  Other names are Samaria, due to the capitol was usually the city of Samaria, or Ephraim as the most influential tribe of the collection of tribes.  The southern kingdom was Judah, but there were some members of the tribe of Benjamin there and the necessary Levites to act as priests, rule the refuge cities, etc.

Hosea was possibly the only of these prophets who was also from those tribes.  He identifies as the son of Beeri.  Beeri is mentioned twice in the Bible.  In Genesis 26, Esau married the daughter of Beeri, who was a Hittite.  The Hittites are mentioned as part of the clans that descended from Canaan, thus Canaanites.  I am not drawing a line toward Hosea not being a full-blooded Israelite.  These two people named Beeri lived hundreds of years apart, but that might be the origin of the name of his father.  Beeri means “man of the springs.”  Hosea means “the Lord has saved,” but some of the quotes above differ on that point a little.  And if Hosea was still around in the time of Hezekiah, Hosea saw the end first hand.

But God gives Hosea a very difficult task.  He is to marry a prostitute.  He marries a prostitute whose name hints that she is the perfection of pleasuring someone, and herself while she is at it.  From that regard, the Ray Stedman comment about being “wonderfully happy” makes a little sense.  Many scholars today use “promiscuous woman” so that Gomer may not have been a “paid” prostitute.  While these scholars quibble over this point, it really comes down to the fact that if you gave her a roof over her head and food and clothing, she would indulge in sexual activity with you.  When things like salt were used as currency, why quibble over the distinction?  Yet, she might not have been a shrine prostitute, someone that performed sexual acts as part of pleading with one false god or another on your behalf.  Let’s leave it as Gomer having sex for a living, and you can apply the name.

Beyond the fact that she gives birth to three children, and she waits to wean one child before having the next, we hear very little of Gomer in this chapter.  She may have been faithful to Hosea during those years.  She may not have liked the names that Hosea chose for their children, but Hosea and Gomer were the parents, and she bore the children under his roof, as we must assume.

As for the names of all these Old Testament people, I wonder which came first.  Did the name mean what it meant when the parents named the child that, or did it come to mean that as a result of the child’s life?  In this case, the etymology of Jezreel dates to recent history and the exploits of Jehu killing the descendants of Ahab’s family and then not being a lot better than the most evil king in the history of Israel.  That name would get people’s attention.  The other two names meant what he named them, not loved and not My people.  The use of “Lo” makes that clear.

Yet, we can use Jezreel to mean scattering or sowing.  Both verbs can be said of someone sowing seed in a field.  Thus, changing the intention of the name from curse to blessing means the word does not need changing.  Dropping the “Lo” flips the meaning of the other two names.

Thus, in naming the children those names, there is space for redemption and renewal.

But now that names are out of the way, what about imagery?

Hosea is saying with Jezreel that God has had enough.  His mercy has reached His limit, and they are about to be punished.  The punishment will be what Moses warned them about in Deuteronomy.  They will be scattered.

Have you ever noticed the difference in the two exiles?  The Assyrians conquered Israel.  The Assyrians scattered the people of “Samaria” throughout their empire.  When you are struggling to learn a new language and learn whom among your neighbors that you can trust, you are less likely to start an uprising.

But when Judah was exiled to Babylon, they mostly settled in a few areas in large Jewish Ghettos.  They were oppressed, but they were able to maintain some Jewish practices.  The book of Daniel starts with the Jewish satraps refusing the food from Nebuchadnezzar’s table because it was not kosher.  They had to prove their way was better, with God’s help, but they were a group of like-minded people.

This difference gives us the miracle in the End Times as people from all tribes will come back together.  And now we have DNA testing that can find out who are related to the Jews of today.  But the Babylonian style exile saves the lineage of Jesus by allowing no interethnic marriages, other than those mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy.  And why shouldn’t Hosea marry a prostitute when Rahab was an ancestor of Jesus, a Canaanite prostitute from Jericho, probably a shrine prostitute who later swore allegiance to God?

So, Hosea prophesies that the people will be scattered and they will cease to exist as a nation, but God knows who His People are, Lo Ammi becomes My people by dropping the “Lo” in the End Times.

Does God ever stop loving His people?  There could be much discussion on this point also.  When it talks about “those who love me and obey my commandments” are called children of God, that does not state God loves everyone.  Malachi 1 and Romans 9 mention “Esau I have hated.”  In the end, at the Great White Throne, God does not say, “I hate you and I cast you into the Lake of Fire.”  God says, “Depart from me.  I never knew you.”  The only destination that is apart from God is the eternal punishment of the Lake of Fire, Hell.  Again, like with promiscuous woman versus prostitute, we have hating someone or giving that someone what they always wanted, a place totally separate from God.  They will not like the outcome, but the best way to avoid that outcome is to accept Jesus into your life.  All this discussion is about is the definition of some concepts.

And face it, if you have had children, they have probably jumped up and down on that “last nerve.”  If you have not, you are tremendously blessed.  But for the normal parents out there, you might have said, “I am your parent.  I love you as one of my children, but at the moment, I struggle to find one fiber in my body that likes you.”  Yeah, God did not love them in the sinful state they were in, but that does not mean He did not love them so that a remnant might be spared.  Now that is a great deal of Mercy and Grace.

So, God may or may not “love” some people who never give Him a moment’s notice, or they notice long enough to scoff at God, but God preserves in that family line a remnant that will return.  The remnant will love God and keep His commandments.  They will be God’s people and God will love them.

In this chapter, it starts with a bizarre marriage, and it produces a dire prophecy for the northern tribes.  But before the chapter ends (although God loving them is Hosea 2:1), God shows Mercy and Grace to a remnant that will return and worship God.

And to consider how God characterizes the End Times ending with a marriage between Jesus and His bride, the church, God is taking something dear to Him and sacred to viciously illustrate the point that Israel had gone too far.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Hosea 1:1-2:1 1. Using the marriage metaphor. describe your relation to God, now and ‘back then.’ Have you ever left or ‘cheated’ on God? Was God faithful anyway?
“2. Where in your life could you use the hope of restoration Hosea offers?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Hosea 1:1-2:1 has one set of questions.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.