Hosea 5

Week 4, Saturday: The Lord withdrawn
Hosea was a preacher. Only later did he bring his messages together into the book we’re studying in this series. As he preached, he must have touched the hearts of some people, because it seems as though some movement to seek the Lord was beginning to stir. But it was too little and too late; God had already withdrawn from the nation, leaving them to the consequences of their disastrous choices.

Read Hosea 5

Meditate on Hosea 5.6-9
1.  Some of the people, at least, apparently thought it wise to “seek the LORD” (v. 6). Meditate on Psalm 51.16, 17 – a psalm these people would have known. How is it evident that the people of Israel still didn’t “get it”?

2.  God had “withdrawn” from Israel. Meditate on Romans 1.18-32. What are the signs that God has begun to withdraw from a people, nation, or church?

3.  In what way had the nation of Israel “dealt treacherously” with the Lord (v. 7)? Is ingratitude a kind of first step in such treachery? What would be some other steps? How can we keep from following that path?

4.  Verse 8 calls for a sense of alarm. Why? Is it appropriate for preachers today to cry with alarm to the people of God? Explain.

5.  God’s “rebuke” – His coming judgment – would leave Israel “desolate” (v. 9). This was Hosea’s “sure” message to the nation. What is Hosea’s message to churches today?

Summary
God’s grace does not continue indefinitely toward those who choose to rebel against Him. He will gradually give them up to their wicked ways, until, like Judas, there comes a time when it is too late to turn back to the Lord. How should this counsel us with respect to the lost people God has placed in our lives?

Closing Prayer
Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

Psalm 80.14-19

T. M. Moore

The Week, T. M.’s daily print and audio offering of worldview insights, musings, and reflections, is now available for a free subscription. You can subscribe to The Week by going to the website and, when the pop-up appears, put in your email, click on The Week, then click to update your subscriptions. You’ll be sent an email allowing you to add The Week to your list of subscriptions.

Each week’s studies in our Scriptorium column are available in a free PDF form, suitable for personal or group use. For all available studies in Hosea, click here.

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.