Bible Journaling: The Book of Hosea

In this book of Hosea, we will learn a lot about the kind of love that God has for His people. He loves you like a husband loves a wife, and how a father loves a child. Do you see any other examples of God’s love in this book? For a broader view of this book of the Bible, we encourage you to watch this video:

Bible journaling tip:

Sometimes we think we have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to faith and our personal relationships with Jesus. But the chances are really good that you are not the first person to have the struggles that you have with spending time in the Word; or the first person to wonder about how God works through children. In the digital age we are privileged to have access to Google - search something like ‘spiritual disciplines through the ages’ to find a treasure-trove of resources that can be used today!

LOOK UP (information): encounter God through the Scripture 

Author:

This book tells us about the prophet Hosea. This book was written to get the Israelite’s attention and to help them to see how they have wronged God and forgotten about Him - But, because God is kind and merciful, He will “buy them back”. How do you think He plans to do that? How does this link to the promises that God made to David?

Audience:

God promises that He is going to do something to save and redeem His people. Hosea reflects on the history of the Israelites and shows how they have become unfaithful to God. Today, this book reminds us all about how far God has brought us and how He saved each one of us. 

History:

Remember what we read about back in 2 Kings - when it gave us the account of all of Israelite’s kings? Hosea is written during this time. The prophet Hosea lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam the second. 

Genre:

Hosea is the first book in the category called :The Minor Prophets. This book is a collection of poetry written over 25 years. How is this book different from other books with poetry from the Bible? What makes the book of Hosea unique?

LOOK IN (revelation): contemplate / reflect on our own lives

Key verse:

Hosea 2:21-23 NIV

I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one. I will say to those called ‘Not my people’, ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’

Inspiration:

This book gives us glimpses into God’s idea of what reunion looks like. Do you see your own faith story in these verses? Thank God for the compassion that He had on you and for how far He has brought you. What does it mean to be called “God’s people”? Where should we be getting our identity and instructions for how to live?

LOOK OUT (transformation): respond with creative worship action  

Drawing prompt:

Read Hosea 14:4-8 and make a painting or drawing showing this imagery. On the picture write the meaning of various parts. For example: in the shade of the tree write “people return and live here”; in the fruit write “it comes from God”. Everything that we are comes from God and He alone deserves the glory for anything that is good about us. He is our Creator, our Redeemer, our Saviour. Nothing makes sense without His great love!

Bible Journey with HolyJot:

Here are some questions / prompts provided by the HolyJot community. 

• What had happened to Israel’s kings in verses six and seven of this book? (Hosea 7:6-7)
• Who had Israel turned to for help in these verses of this book? (Hosea 7:8-11)

Follow this link to dive into this book with an online Bible Study group.

Writing prompt:

Read the first three chapters of Hosea to find the most beautiful love story in the Bible. For our writing prompt for this book, we will fold a page in two. On the one side, write: God & His people. On the other side, write: Hosea & Gomer. Now, we are going to write down the storyline of each “couple” as it is found in these chapters.

When there are places where they overlap, draw a line connecting the two stories to each other. How is Hosea’s actions a prophetic action for what Jesus did on the cross? What does this story show us about the character of God?

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for the book of Hosea. This beautiful poetry book helps me to understand the cross better. Thank you for the incredible compassion and grace that You show all of humanity every day. Help me to not take it for granted, but to live a life of gratitude and praise. Let my response to this text be worship unto you!