M AJOR L EARNING IN T HE M INORS : Thirsting for a God of Steadfast Love. Hosea (Page 1395)

Thirsty? T HE M AIN P OINT People are thirsty for God whether they acknowledge it or not. Obadiah - Thirsting for a God of Action, Joel - Thirsting for a God of Salvation or Deliverance when times are tough, Jonah - Thirsting for Justice, Amos - Thirsting for a God of Forgiveness. Hosea – Thirsting for a God of Steadfast Love. Have You Been Reading Along, or Behind?

Thirsty? B ACKGROUND : Timeframe: 750’s BC Assyrian Rule after Amos. Audience: North Israel. About Hosea: “Salvation” 38 plus years and last prophet for the North.

Thirsty? O BJECT L ESSONS !

Thirsty? H AVE Y OU H EARD ? “Your life may be the only Bible that some people read and the best sermon is one that is lived.” Watch your life and your doctrine closely (1 Timothy 4:16). You, and your family, are an object lesson.

Thirsty? R EAL P EOPLE – R EAL L IVES Hosea’s life takes this to a higher level. Imagine being a young man in Northern Israel in the 8 th Century BC.

Thirsty? Y OU H AVE B EEN C ALLED ! Then one day God communicates with you and calls you to be His prophet.

Thirsty? H OSEA 1:1-3 P AGE 1395 Hos 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel:

Thirsty? H OSEA 1:2-3 Hos 1:2 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

Thirsty? H OSEA 1:4-5 Hos 1:4 Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Thirsty? H OSEA 1:6-7 6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God.”

Thirsty? H OSEA 1:8-9 8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the LORD said, “Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

Thirsty? H OSEA 1:10-2:1 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. Hos 2:1 “Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’

Thirsty? W HEN P EOPLE A SK … Hosea shows how hard it is to love an unfaithful woman and children of adultery and when people ask him about his family he has a chance to testify. You have a chance to testify as well!

Thirsty? Y OU A RE … You are God’s object lesson to a world that does not trust, or know God’s word. People are looking into your life…

Thirsty? T HINK A BOUT I T … People need an example. Consider your life and your doctrine and make the steps to align them for God’s glory. If you are the only Bible some people will read how complete and accurate is the message?

Thirsty? N EXT W EEK Hosea – Our Thirst for a God of Steadfast Love. Learning to Love Like God.