1. A Look into The Prophecy of HOSEA
God’s Persistent Love
A Look into
The Prophecy of HOSEA
Class 3:
The Refusal of Israel to Repent
(Hosea 6:1 thru 7:16)

2. Review of Hosea …“so far”
The unfaithful wife and the faithful husband
The unfaithful people and a faithful GOD
Hosea 1
Hosea’s marriage to the prostitute, Gomer and God’s message of hope
Hosea 2
Judgment on faithless Israel & Israel’s Restoration
Hosea 4 - 6
Indicted by God on 3 Counts:
Their lack and rejection of the knowledge of the LORD
Their lack of loyal love
Their faithlessness

3. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
Israel (and Judah) lack loyalty & love – resulting in a lack of understanding of the coming judgment and opportunity for repentance to their “loyal God” who can and will restore them to the land.
The 2nd Indictment by God:
Their lack and rejection of the knowledge of the LORD
Their lack of loyal love
Their faithlessness

4. Review of Hosea …“so far”
The unfaithful wife and the faithful husband
The unfaithful people and a faithful GOD
Hosea 6-7 Israel’s Internal & External Wickedness
6: Israel’s plea and God’s response
6:7-7:7 - The crimes of Israel (Internal)
7:8-8:3 - Israel’s disastrous foreign policy (External)

5. Come, let us return to the Lord… (Hosea 6:1-3)
Return to God to be Saved – SINCERELY
Hosea 6:1-3
The Lord Exhorts His People to Return to Him
The people need to return
Judgment is a definite
Refreshment of blessing only brought to people by God
“1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD:…”
(Hosea 6:1-3)

6. Come, let us return to the Lord… (Hosea 6:1-3)
Return to God to be Saved – SINCERELY
Romans 9:25-28
They shall be again called His people
Compare with Hosea 1:10
The experiences of Hosea & Gomer were to fulfill the plan to make “sons of the living God”.
“25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.”
(Romans 9:25-26)

7. Come, let us return to the Lord… (Hosea 6:1-3)
Return to God to be Saved – SINCERELY
I Peter 1:10-12
…and to us (the Gentiles) as well
We are to listen to the prophets and reflect on the experiences shown through the example of Hosea & Gomer
“10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, ...”
(I Peter 1:10-12)

8. Come, let us return to the Lord… (Hosea 6:1-3)
Return to God to be Saved – SINCERELY
Matt. 11:28-30
“That we might live in His sight” (Hosea 6:2)
An earnest appeal to all who will listen
Christ’s Life and Death offer for us a passage towards God
“28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)

9. Come, let us return to the Lord… (Hosea 6:1-3)
The Purpose: We must return to God
I John 1:2
“God’s purpose (the life) was manifested in Jesus, the Son of God”
I John 3:5
“The Son of God was manifested to take away sins”
I John 3:8
“The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil”
I John 4:9
“The love of God was manifested that we might live through his Son”
“3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD:…”
(Hosea 6:3)

10. Come, let us return to the Lord… (Hosea 6:1-3)
Looking forward to the Kingdom of God
Hosea 6:3
“His going forth is prepared (sure-RSV)”
From: The Prophecy of Hosea by C. Tennant
Gen.49:10 - “Until Shiloh (the righteous ruler) come”
[see Ezek. 21:26-27 to Zedekiah]
Isa. 35:4 - “He will come & save you”
Isa. 40:10 - “The Lord God will come…his reward with him”
Isa. 59:20 - “The Redeemer shall come to Zion”
“3 …As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:3 NIV)

11. Come, let us return to the Lord… (Hosea 6:1-3)
Return to God to be Saved – SINCERELY
Romans 5:8
God desires that all be saved
Even while we act as bitter enemies to God, he has given us His son and desires that we seek after him to be saved.
“8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)

12. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
“For I Desired Mercy, and Not Sacrifice”
Hosea 6:4-11
Demonstration of their disloyalty through their transgressions
Having been given a glimpse to the Kingdom Age, we are taken back to the sins of Israel
A New Angle
The same covenant is broken
“10 I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.”
(Hosea 6:10)

13. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
Again…Comparing Israel to Gomer
Hosea 6:4-11
“like a morning cloud…it goes away”
Israel was lifted up from darkness to be His bride
They forsake him continually
They search for other husbands
“4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.”
(Hosea 6:4)

14. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
A God of Love ~ A God of Truth
Hosea 6:6
God has a plan for salvation
“For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
A basic lesson to us…
Our attitude of mind is important ~ not the act of offering
Israel’s sacrifice = Hollow, without Heart (Malachi 3:7-12)
Going through the motions…consider the Pharisee
There was an absence of GOD and a overwhelming presence of self!

15. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
Worshipping Unworthily?
1 Cor. 11:27-29
Hosea 6:6 is the Old Testament version of Paul’s words to the people in Corinth
“27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
(I Corinthians 11:27-29)

16. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
Worshipping Unworthily?
Hosea 6:7
To reduce our righteousness to ritual acts is the same as “dealing treacherously with God”
“7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.”
(Hosea 6:7)

17. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
She is Wicked & Disloyal
Hosea 7:1-16
Israel demonstrates that they are a wicked and disloyal nation both internally and externally before God who is loyal to her
“13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.
14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds:…”
(Hosea 7:13-14)

18. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
Israel’s Internal Wickedness (Hosea 7:1-7)
7:1
The nation is full of thieves and bandits
7:2
The nation doesn’t consider that the Lord sees what they are doing
7:3
The rulers join in with the people in their evil practices
7:4-7
The rulers are extremely evil and do not call upon the Lord

19. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
Israel’s External Wickedness (Hosea 7:8-16)
7:8-12
Israel has become weak through her self-made alliances with other nations
They don’t see it and will be captured
7:13-16
Israel will receive the judgment of captivity
Because they have turned away from the Lord who made them prosperous

20. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
4 Metaphors describe Samaria (“watch city”)
“bakers oven…smoldering and stirred up into a flaming fire”
- Hearts that are fueling there own leaven of wickedness
- Drunkenness, Debauchery, Degenerate Behavior
- Separation amongst themselves shrinks them to where they eventually dissappear

21. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
4 Metaphors describe Samaria (“watch city”)
2. “a cake not turned – half baked”
- They are mixed among the other nations, adopting a likeness of those around them (remember Egypt, a call for separation)
- They never reach the height of their calling
- They fail to turn over a new leaf (new life)
- Strangers devour their strength and the blessings of God eventually cease

22. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
4 Metaphors describe Samaria (“watch city”)
3. “a silly dove”
- They are like a bird without a homing instinct
- They go into Egypt and Assyria and fail to return back to God
- Example of Jonah whose name means “dove”

23. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
4 Metaphors describe Samaria (“watch city”)
4. “they will be caught in a net”
- Pending Judgment
- God will return them to Him to chastise them
- The choice of the people determines their end (destruction or life)

24. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
Hosea’s Summary of Israel
“10 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.”
(Hosea 7:10)

25. The Refusal of Israel to Repent (Hosea 6:4 thru 7:16)
Hosea’s Summary of Israel
The repetition of God’s message
in Hosea:
Israel’s wickedness
God’s approaches to save them
Israel’s rebellion
Repeated glimpses of God’s Kingdom

26. Bible Class Next Week… The Marriage of Hosea to Gomer (1:1-3:5)
The Spiritual Adultery of Israel (4:1-6:3)
The Refusal of Israel to Repent (6:4 – 8:14)
The Judgment of Israel by God (9:1-10:15)
The Restoration of Israel to God (11:1-14:9)