Adaptation fromBible Study Institute : Adaptation fromBible Study Institute Presents
Hosea
Stepping Through : Stepping Through Author?
Hosea, son of Beeri (“Salvation”)
Audience?
Israel (the Northern Kingdom), and God’s people everywhere
Others?
Gomer, Hosea and Gomer’s children
When written?
Approximately 715 BC
The BIG Picture : The BIG Picture When it happens?
Records events from about 753-715 BC
Where it takes place?
The Northern Kingdom of Israel, Samaria, Ephraim
The Writer’s Purpose?
To illustrate God’s love for His sinful people
Outline of Hosea : Outline of Hosea Hosea’s Wayward Wife (1:1-3:5)
God’s Wayward People (4:1-14:9)
To target a passage for study, tie together the
key words––the words that are different––in
each main heading of the book outline
In this case, the key words are:
Hosea and wife, in the first main heading
God and people in the second
Outline of Hosea : Outline of Hosea Outlines with parts longer than a chapter make it easy to see the BIG Picture, but it’s very hard, if not impossible, to study texts larger than a chapter in length, at a time. Good Study Bibles normally break down the text into smaller units than that. The Rule of Thumb
Do not work with passages larger than ONE chapter in length
Outline of Hosea : Outline of Hosea That’s why many Study Bibles provide a more detailed outline––in the text of the book
The Life Application Study Bible, for example, further subdivides the first part of the main outline, “Hosea’s Wayward Wife,” into 3 shorter passages:
Hosea’s Wife and Children (Ch.1)
Israel Punished and Restored (Ch.2)
Hosea’s Reconciliation with His Wife (Ch.3)
In the outline in the text…
One More Thing : One More Thing The Rule of Context
Everything leads up to and prepares the way for what comes after it Helps you to target a passage for study
To gradually recognize how it fits into its book
So you won’t take it out of context (disconnect it from what comes before and after it) as you zoom in for a closer look
Target the Passage : Target the Passage Hosea’s Wife and Children (Chapter 1)
Starts the book. So, the circumstances behind writing the book, in the Big Picture, leads up to and prepares the way for it
Chapter 1 (Hosea’s Wife and Children) leads up to and prepares the way for Chapter 2 (Israel Punished and Restored)
Hosea primes us for Israel Punished and Restored in Chapter 2, by telling us first, about his Wife and Children in Chapter 1
Journaling : Journaling Don’t forget to log what happened as you personally interacted with Christ during the study
Consider Him from all angles; He is a never-ending study
Think as you report: marry imagination and inventiveness to the stream of truth that flows from your interaction with Christ
Instead of writing what you gather from the text, record Christ’s insights into it
Sample Journal Entry : Sample Journal Entry Date: 04/07/07
Book: Hosea Passage: 1:6, 7
What I will never forget from my time with the Master
As I read about Lo-Ruhamah, it dawned on me that I didn’t deserve God’s love any more than she did; and I began to feel guilty about the way I have self-righteously taken God’s salvation for granted. I prayed for forgiveness and imagined Christ rushing to my defense. I cried––tears of joy.
What I can pass on to others from my personal experience
Christ’s love is tireless as it is unconditional. Even when we insult Christ with our useless efforts to bypass Him and save ourselves, He still pleads on our behalf. His love keeps love alive in the world; we only love because He loves us first.