Hosea 11

Week 7, Thursday: Restoration is coming
Israel will again follow the Lord, when He calls them out of their captivity to be His people once again.

Read Hosea 11

Meditate on Hosea 11.10-12
1.  Here the Lord compares Himself to a lion. See Genesis 49.8-11 and Revelation 5.5, 6. Who seems to be in view here? Why is “lion” a good way of thinking about Him?

2.  Notice that those who respond to the Lion do so with trembling (vv. 10, 11). Why? Is this an appropriate affection for those who follow the Lion of the tribe of Judah? Explain.

3.  What were some of the “lies” and “deceit” Israel was guilty of before the Lord?

4.  For the time being, Judah was still walking with the Lord (v. 12). But this would not last, as we have seen. Still, God commends Judah in this verse. What does it mean to walk with God?

5.  God connects holiness and faithfulness with Himself (v. 12). Can we be faithful to God without striving to bring holiness to completion in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7.1)? Explain. Look again at verse 10. Was God pointing to Judah in order to tell the people of Israel what they should be doing? Is He doing the same for us?

Summary
God is holy, so He cannot abide sin. He is faithful, so He will not deny His Word. He is powerful, like a Lion, so He is able to call His people to Himself, even from their state of captivity. And, though we come to Him with fear and trembling, He invites us to “walk with” Him in all our ways.

Closing Prayer
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 84.5-11

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.