Hosea 10

Week 6, Saturday: Israel’s judgment was God’s doing
God wanted to be very clear: Israel’s plight was not because her politicians had failed her, or her no-gods didn’t come through as hoped. God was moving against her, according to His promise and will. He was chastening and binding her, and she – and Judah – needed to be very clear about this.

Read Hosea 10

Meditate on Hosea 10.7-11
1.  Kings and leaders of all kinds are merely agents of the Lord’s will. How can you see this in verses 7-10, as well as in all our study of Hosea thus far? Is this still true today?

2.  “When” is it God’s “desire” to “chasten” His people (v. 10)? How should we expect to see this in our day? Does coming under the chastening hand of God mean, for the Christian, that He is finished with us? Why not?

3.  Verse 11 is a powerful imagery of slavery: reduced to a beast-like status and made to do the bidding of others. How is this a good way of thinking about all sin?

4.  What value is there for Christians today in studying a prophet like Hosea?

5.  What primary lessons from Hosea are beginning to take shape in your own thinking?

Summary
God brings His people to chastening, not because He despises them, but because He loves them, and He longs to see them forsake their foolish ways and return to Him. This can be easy to lose sight of in the midst of harsh prophetic words. But we must always remember that God is acting according to His promises and love for His people, whatever He does. Only thus will we learn to trust and love Him as we should.

Closing Prayer
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, “Aha, aha!”
Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.

Psalm 70

T. M. Moore

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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.