Hosea 5:1-6:3 | Food for Thought
Notes
5:1-2 | Snares were used to catch birds, but they metaphorically refer to how the wicked prey on the righteous. Mizpah was a sanctuary, and Tabor was a location of a military victory. Both places were now likely associated with Baal worship, having been “ensnared” by the schemes of the wicked.
5:8 | Gibeah, Ramah, and Beth-aven are all cities in Benjamin, the tribe near the border of Israel / Ephraim (north) and Judah (south). We’re not sure what the conflict is, but there’s a call to arms happening (blowing horns, trumpets, alarms). The fight is probably between the north and the south. Benjamin’s cities are probably being called out because, being so close to the border, they’ll be Ground Zero of the conflict. “Those who move the landmark” is probably referring to Judah’s attempt to expand the borders of their kingdom to the north and into Israel.
Questions
“Their deeds do not permit them to return ot the Lord.” How could their deeds affect their permission to return to God?
Do we see this elsewhere in Scripture? (Genesis 3, for example!)
Discuss how this relates to our own repentance (returning to the Lord). Are there things we could do that would remove our ability to return to him?
How do we take the gift or repentance for granted in our spiritual formation?
Does this affect the way we invite others to believe? Are there certain people who have done certain things that can’t be forgiven?
“…They shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.” Not only do they not have permission to return to God, but God has taken away his very presence from them. (This actually happened; God’s presence left the temple before it’s destruction!) What would it mean for the people of God to lose the presence of their God?
What would it mean for you to lose the presence of God - the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?
God’s entire people (“the tribes of Israel”) have divided (Israel/Ephraim and Judah) and are now in conflict with one another (5:8).
Why does God say he’s like a moth or dry rot (in other words, destructive!) to both sides of his people? (5:12)
Does it ever feel as if God is destructive in your life, rather than constructive? When does it seem that way?
When they realized they needed help, Israel/Ephraim (the north) went to Assyria (an idolatrous, outside kingdom) for help. Why would that seem like a good idea? (5:13)
What good would that help be in the end? (5:13-14)
We seek help from things that aren’t the Lord all the time (auto repair, doctors, gardening, etc.). How do we know if we’ve “crossed a line” in asking for help? What things should we go to the Lord for? What things shouldn’t we go away from the Lord for? Discuss how we should think about this.
When all else fails and they’re in distress, God’s people will eventually acnkowledge their guilt and seek his face. AND… God will return to his place in order to let himself BE found. (5:15)
Read 6:1-3. Discuss God’s motives for allowing / orchestrating / appointing all that has and will happen. What is God’s longing (and promise!) for his people?
What about God’s means? Is judgment or destruction necessary for us to be healed? Is there another way? Why or why not?
How does the way we answer those two questions above match up with the justice and mercy of the cross? How is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the culmination of God’s motives and means alluded to here?
What is Hosea calling his people to do in these final verses? What’s God going to do for his people?
How can you more regularly receive and rejoice in the gift of repentance, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the goodness underneath the motives and means of God?