Introduction and Welcome to the Hosea Study

Introduction:

Welcome to the Hosea study. 

Hosea, the 28th book in the old Testament, is sandwiched between Daniel and Joel. It's easily overlooked because of its brevity, but the message Hosea shares is one of ever-seeking, ever-forgiving, ever-loving grace that transcends the judgment and discipline of sin. Though God may chasten, yet He will restore.

Hosea lived out the redemptive love of God for His people in a way that made it unmistakable to those who watched his story unfold.

Hosea is one of the minor prophets, not because his message was less important than the major prophets but because it is not as long. The fourteen short chapters of this book take us from the despair of sin to the joy of redemption. 

No matter where we are in our walk of faith (or life of sin), the love demonstrated in these pages offers hope for us all.

Hosea is an especially precious story for me, because I’ve been in Hosea’s shoes before. His experience, and the words he wrote, helped me through one of the most difficult times in my life. 

I hate to admit it, but, long before I walked in Hosea’s shoes, I (in a manner of speaking) walked in Gomer’s. The truth of God’s ever-seeking, ever-loving, prevenient grace is one I know well, because I needed that grace as badly as Gomer did. 

Just as that broken, sin-bound woman, I learned that I can never outrun the love of God. I can never out-sin the mercy of God. I can never outlive the grace of God. 

This online study may be different from anything you’ve done before. It’s different for me, too. We’ll learn together as we go along. If you find a problem in the lessons, the questions, or the study format, please let me know. 

This is a new format, and I'm learning, too. 

I’ll study in advance of you, write what I study, give you links and references, and offer questions to answer. When there’s a Scripture reference, I hope you’ll look it up and read it for yourself. You’ll learn the most from the study if you do. 

If you get behind, that's not a problem. You work at your own pace, but don't give up!

My goal is for every participant to gain the skills needed to study Scripture in depth for themselves before we’re done.

I'm here to help. There are far more participants than I ever expected, so I've started a closed Facebook group. (Lessons in Discipleship) We can share our questions, our insights, and comments there in a "safe" environment. It's not open to the public, but is only for Hosea participants. If you know someone who wants to be a part, please feel free to add them. 

We'll work together through these next few weeks as we learn just how much our Lord loves us. Hopefully, we, the body of Christ, will bond a bit as we walk through Hosea.

The plan is to publish one week's worth of lessons every Sunday. You may want to print them out to write our answers, but there will also be links imbedded in the lessons that you'll need/want to follow. I anticipate one chapter a week for 14 weeks, so we're in this for the long haul.

We’ll pray together, study together, and work together to achieve the common goal of understanding God’s love a little better. I’ll introduce ways to connect on-line as we go along. 

In the end, if we persevere, we’ll all be a little more like Jesus than we are at the start. That’s what the Word of God does. Changes us. Refines us. Purifies us.

Are you ready? This study may be intense, and it might even be difficult. We can be sure of one thing, though. Any time we dig into God’s Word, it will be a blessing. 

Here's the link to Hosea Chapter One