Hosea 4

Week 4, Thursday: “Let him alone!”
While Hosea’s primary ministry was to the people of Israel, we can assume that his preaching and writings were finding their way back to Judah. The Southern Kingdom was certainly a secondary audience for the prophet’s ministry, and the message to them was not subtle in the least: “Let him alone!”

Read Hosea 4

Meditate on Hosea 4.15-19
1.  Gilgal and Beth Aven were places Israel worshiped their false gods, even as they swore by the name of the Lord (v. 15). What’s the warning here for the people of Judah, the Southern Kingdom?

2.  How many different images of Israel in rebellion can you identify in these verses? What would each of these have communicated to the people of Judah? Why did God use so many different images to warn them about following in the ways of Israel?

3.  That warning, “Let him alone” (v. 17), is chilling. What did this imply? Does there come a time when people are so determined to live in sin that churches need to just “let them alone”? Explain.

4.  Based on what we’ve seen thus far in our study of Hosea, what do rulers – civil or ecclesiastical – look like who “dearly love dishonor” (v. 18)?

5.  Summarize God’s warning to Judah. What applications does this warning have for us today?

Summary
Judah was warned to stand back and keep her distance as Israel came under the wrath of God. But she was also warned about following in her ways, a warning, alas, which fell on deaf ears in subsequent generations. From these verses, suggest some indicators that might serve as “warning lights” to tell us that we were beginning to stray (v. 12) from the path God intends for us.

Closing Prayer
How long, LORD?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.
Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
Help us, O God of our salvation,
For the glory of Your name;
And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
For Your name’s sake!

Psalm 79.5-9

T. M. Moore

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A primary theme of the book of Hosea is Israel’s failure to keep covenant with the Lord. God’s covenant is a central theme and provides the organizing motif for all of Scripture. Learn more about God’s covenant by ordering a copy of T. M.’s book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.