Hosea, Prophet to Israel

Session 10 Session 10: Hosea, Prophet to Israel

FOR THE Hosea, Prophet to Israel LEADER Hosea 1–14 Hosea shares a name with other biblical men. Hoshea was the original name of Joshua, the successor of Moses who led the nation into the promised land. Hoshea was also the last king to reign in Israel, the nation in which Hosea lived and to whom he prophesied. The name means “salvation,” and that was the message of hope Hosea brought. While Amos’ ministry in Israel was short-lived, it is evident from the first verse of Hosea that his ministry extended up until the final destruction of his homeland. It is likely that Hosea witnessed the destruction of Samaria in 722 BC and that he lived out the rest of his days in Judah under Hezekiah’s reign. Jeroboam II reigned in Israel from 790–750 BC during the absolute height of Israelite abundance. It was during this time that Amos had brought his message to highlight the coming disaster. Since Israel had ignored Amos, God also sent Hosea with an odd assignment—to show through his family what God intended for an unrepentant nation. God also intended to show that God did care for and love the people even when they did not love Him as they should. God instructed Hosea to marry a woman named Gomer, who would be unfaithful to Hosea, a clear parallel of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. The couple’s first son was to be named Jezreel. The name was associated with the site of a bloody battle led by Jehu. God’s message was that Israel’s power would end just as Jehu had demolished the city of Jezreel. The second child, a daughter, was named Lo-ruhamah, literally “no compassion,” because the Lord had no more compassion on Israel. The third child, a son, was named Lo-ammi, literally “not My people,” because God had claimed Israel, because of their disobedience, to not be His people. The pictures of Hosea’s family are intended to shed light on the plight of the nation. God intended these images to show His love for the nation and affect repentance that would bring His people back into fellowship with Him.

SESSION FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Hosea 1–14 MEMORY VERSE: Hosea 12:6 TEXT TRUTH: God loves His people even when they do not love Him as they should. CHRIST IN CONTEXT: The Book of Hosea reveals God’s covenant love for His people and provides a picture of redemption. Hosea bought back Gomer’s freedom. In a greater way, Jesus redeemed and bought the freedom of His people—the church—with His own life.

GET STARTED TOOLS BIBLE STUDY TOOLS SMALL GROUP TOOLS (10 MINUTES) (35 MINUTES) (30 MINUTES) ¨¨Bible Skills: “Hosea” ¨¨Jump In: “Text Truth ¨Ëxplorer Guides: Bibles, (Books of the Bible Strips” (Poster Pack) Explorer Guides, pens Posters), “Divided ¨Ëxamine the Text: ¨¨Move: tape, 12 coins Kingdom” (Poster Pack), “Northern and Southern ¨¨Make: 2-by-22-inch Bibles Kingdom Map” (DVD- strips of paper, tape, pens ROM); “Hosea” (Books of ¨Ëxplore: large paper, the Bible Posters); “Hosea markers, Family Cards Emoticons,” “Christ in Context: Hosea,” and “Text Truth Strips” (Poster Pack); Bibles; “The Gospel” (enhanced CD) ¨¨Video: Explore the Bible on Location video ¨¨Memory Verse: “Hosea 12:6” and “Hosea Emoticons” (Poster Pack) ¨¨Prayer: Family Cards

NOTE: Downloadable versions of DVD items are available in the Digital Video Bundle. Downloadable versions of enhanced CD items are available in the Music and Print Extras Bundle. For free online training on how to lead a group, visit ministrygrid.com/web/explorethebible.

HOSEA, PROPHET TO ISRAEL TEXT CONNECTION Hosea 1–14 • Hosea lived in Israel and ministered there around the God loved the Israelites. He was faithful to them and always kept His same time as Amos. Hosea, however, had a long career covenant with them. But the Israelites did not always love God. They would as a prophet and was very worship false gods and ignore God’s law. They broke their covenant with likely still in Israel when God over and over and over again. Samaria was destroyed. Hosea, like many other God had a message for Israel that He wanted the prophet Hosea to give prophets, had a message of them. God wanted Israel to understand what they were doing, so He gave judgment that was tempered them a picture. God told Hosea to marry a woman named Gomer. Hosea with a message of hope for the faithful. loved Gomer. He cared for Gomer. Hosea and Gomer had three kids. But Gomer did not love Hosea. She left Hosea and her kids and went to find a • The story of the Book of new home. Hosea is a picture of God’s love for the people of Israel. God told Hosea, “Go find Gomer and bring her back home.” So Hosea did. God loved Israel no matter Gomer had gotten into trouble and Hosea had to pay people money so they what they did, and God loves would let Gomer go. Hosea loved Gomer no matter what she did. us just the same. Through Hosea’s life, God showed God wanted Israel to understand that they were like Gomer. They ran away that Israel’s wandering away from Him would continue to from God and His good plan for them. But each time they did, they ended be met with love from God. up in trouble. Sin has consequences. God didn’t want His people to be in trouble, but if they didn’t love and obey Him, there were consequences. • Love is sometimes difficult to give and receive. God was like Hosea, but even more amazing and loving than Hosea Genesis 37 helps us could ever be. God loved His people. That is why He warned them of the see that sometimes love consequences of their sin. between family members can be a difficult thing. No matter how many hurtful things the Israelites did, God still loved them. • Joseph had dreams which Even when the Israelites caused a lot of trouble, God still loved His people. he shared with his brothers. These dreams appeared One day, God would show Israel how strong and powerful His love was. to say that Joseph, their One day, He would send Jesus to rescue His people from their sin. younger brother, would one day be their ruler. Instead of rejoicing with Joseph, the KEY POINTS brothers were unhappy and sold Joseph into slavery. • God loved Israel. • Israel rejected God and worshiped false idols. • God sent Hosea to tell the people of Israel to repent of their sin and EXPLORE THE return to following Him. BIBLE AT HOME • Even when we sin, God loves us and wants us to repent. See the enhanced CD for additional family resources.

GET STARTED (10 MINUTES) TOOLS: BIBLE SKILLS • Bible Skills: “Hosea” • Allow volunteers to share the source of last week’s session (Amos). Ask (Books of the Bible Posters), someone else to explain what group of twelve books Amos comes from “Divided Kingdom” (Poster (the Minor Prophets) and where they will be found in the Bible (at the end Pack), Bibles of the Old Testament). • Explain that in the next four weeks, you will be considering prophets PREPARATION: whom God sent to three different nations. • Preview the map so that • Display the “Divided Kingdom” map. Allow the kids to examine the map you can quickly locate key and locate familiar places such as Jerusalem, Jericho, the Sea of Galilee, places. and so forth. TIPS: • Point out that after David and Solomon were kings, the northern half of • Keep in mind that Bible the nation split off to form their own kingdom, which they called Israel. geography can be less than The southern half came to be known as Judah. perfectly precise. A map in • Challenge the kids to examine the map and determine whether places a kid’s Bible might not be you name are in Israel (the north) or Judah (the south). Begin by naming completely the same as the Jerusalem, Bethel, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, and the Jordan River. one provided. Explain this by • Encourage the kids to look in their Bibles for a similar map, helping them noting that the maps are the to locate other prominent locations that the map clearly identifies. product of careful scholars • Display the “Hosea” poster. Point out that Hosea was a prophet to Israel, who sometimes disagree. the Northern Kingdom, and is the subject of our study today. That is why archaeologists • Dismiss to Bible Study. dig to discover where and when people lived in certain areas.

BIBLE SKILLS SPOTLIGHT • Pronounces most of the names of Bible people, places, and things mentioned in the Bible. • Uses other resources to enrich her Bible skills and knowledge (Bible dictionary, commentary, concordance, atlas, and digital sources) .

BIBLE STUDY (35 MINUTES) JUMP IN TOOLS: • Offer an enthusiastic greeting to a time of Bible Study. Remind the group • Jump In: “Text Truth Strips” that at present they are looking at the Minor Prophets, the final twelve (Poster Pack) books in the Old Testament. • Examine the Text: “Northern • Invite the group to play a quick game of Hosea Says. Explain that and Southern Kingdom this game is exactly like Simon Says except the rules are reversed. For Map” (DVD-ROM); “Hosea” example, if the instruction is “Hosea says weed the garden,” they should (Books of the Bible Posters); “Hosea Emoticons,” “Christ not. If the command is “weed the garden,” they should. in Context: Hosea,” and • Give a series of commands as you would in a normal Simon Says game. “Text Truth Strips” (Poster • As in a typical Simon Says game, eliminate those who move when they Pack); Bibles; “The Gospel” should not or fail to move when they should. Pay attention to the reversal (enhanced CD) of expectations of the commands. • Video: Explore the Bible on • If everyone is eliminated quickly, play again. If two or three players Location video cannot be eliminated, speed up the directions to close out the game. • Memory Verse: • Observe that this game reminds you somewhat of the point of today’s “Hosea 12:6” and “Hosea Bible study. Emoticons” (Poster Pack) • Display the “Text Truth Strip” and ask the kids to read it with you: “God • Prayer: Family Cards loves His people even when they do not love Him as they should.” PREPARATION: EXAMINE THE TEXT • Examine the Text: Spread • Show the “Northern and Southern Kingdom Map.” Point out that Hosea’s the emoticons out along nation, the Northern Kingdom, Israel, disobeyed God for many years. the focal wall so that the interpreters need to walk a • Share the “Hosea” poster, reminding the kids of its position as first few steps to move from one among the Minor Prophets. Help the kids to find the book in their Bibles. to another. Explain that since the Bible study covers all fourteen chapters of Hosea, things will be moving quickly. TIP: • Select two volunteers to serve as interpreters during the Bible story. • Examine the Text: This Instruct them to stand near the emoticons and point to the appropriate would be a great opportunity ones as you read or paraphrase the account from the Bible Story page. Be to allow a struggling reader sure to pause when the mood changes to give the interpreters a chance to to be the “star” as one of change emoticons. the interpreters. • If the interpreters disagree or seem to select the wrong emoticon, take a moment to discuss with the entire group how we should feel about this portion of Hosea’s work. • As you reach the end of the printed story, ask two readers to share two verses each from Hosea 14:4-7. Say: “Even when God told Israel that their sin would have consequences, He did not leave the people without hope for the future. God promised that one day He would bring healing to Israel and it would become a refuge for others. How does that promise show us God’s love for His people?” • Show the “Text Truth Strip” once more, reading it aloud: “God loves His people even when they do not love Him as they should.” Ask the group to explain how that truth can be learned from Hosea’s book.

• Ask: “What did the people of Israel do to disobey God? What did God promise to do for them despite their failure to love Him properly?” • Emphasize that every person who has ever lived has fallen short of the sort of love that God deserves. Explain that this is why Jesus came to provide a way for sinful people to return to their God. • Share the “Christ in Context: Hosea” poster and be prepared to use “The Gospel” to present the gospel as opportunity allows.

PLAY THE VIDEO • Play the Session 10 video. • Ask: “What was Kaileigh doing today? Who wrote ‘Amazing Grace?’ How does Hosea’s story remind us of God’s love for His people?”

MEMORY VERSE • Ask the kids to think for a moment about a time when they have failed to love God the way that they should. To assist them, share an example from your own experience. • Point to the “happy” emoticon and announce good news from Hosea’s words. • Display the “Hosea 12:6” poster, inviting the group to read it aloud with you. • Point to yourself and say: “I, ______(your name), have disobeyed God. What should I do now?” Then read the verse. • Point to one kid, calling them by name and saying: “You have disobeyed God. What should you do now?” Ask that person to read the verse. • Repeat this action with several others, before pointing out that we have all let God down. Ask the entire group to read the verse again.

PRAYER • Distribute the Family Cards. Ask: “Which kingdom did Hosea have a message for? When you see our map, today’s object, remember that Hosea’s Northern Kingdom was extremely disobedient to God, but the Southern Kingdom of Judah was only slightly better. Both groups struggled to love God and stay away from worshiping idols.” • Ask the kids to quietly think of a time they struggle to love and obey God. Lead them to silently consider what they can do in the upcoming week to return to God and put their hope in God. • Conclude the session in prayer, asking God to help each person in the group to love Him as they should. Thank Him for providing a way to return to Him through Jesus. • Dismiss to Small Group.

TOOLS: SMALL GROUP (30 MINUTES) • Explorer Guides: Bibles, EXPLORER GUIDES Explorer Guides, pens • Distribute Explorer Guides and help girls and boys locate today’s pages, “Hosea, Prophet to Israel.” • Invite kids to examine today’s object, the “Map of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.” • Choose a couple of volunteers to read “Beautiful Artifacts” and “Rescue and Redemption.” • Ask kids to complete the activity “What Does the Bible Say?” • Allow kids to spread out a little and think about each of the situations in “Hard to Love?”

TECH CONNECT (OPTIONAL) • Prior to Small Group, download the Explore the Bible: Kids Family App. • Use the activity labeled “Explorer Plus” on the app.

ACTIVITIES • Select one or more of the activities to complete as time allows.

MOVE

RETURN TO ME TAG Tools: tape, 12 coins ¨¨ Create a tape line on each side of the room. ¨¨ Play this game in an open area or adapt to make the kids walk on their knees.

• Create two teams and invite them to line up behind the line on one side of the room. Select one kid on each team to be a tagger. Give each team 6 coins. • Each team will attempt to get all of its team members across the room and back again without being tagged. If someone is tagged, they are frozen until their team “redeems” them by turning in one of their team coins. • Play as time allows. • Discuss: “What does it mean to redeem someone or something? To redeem is to pay a price in order to get something back. In our game you had to pay a coin to get your team member back. In our Bible story Hosea had to pay money once to get Gomer back. What did God pay to redeem us from our sin? Jesus. Jesus paid the price for our sin when He died on the cross.” . • Reinforce the Text Truth: God loves His people even when they do not love Him as they should

MAK E EXP LO R

E LOVE WITHOUT TWO KINGDOMS BOUNDARIES Tools: large paper, markers, Family Cards Tools: 2-by-22-inch strips of paper, tape, pens ¨¨ On the paper, create an outline map of ¨¨ Make a Möbius strip (2 strips of paper the Northern and Southern kingdoms as taped end to end after a half twist) and an portrayed on the Family Cards. untwisted circle of paper. ¨¨ Tip: Use the Internet to see an example of a • Form two groups, the “North” and the Möbius strip. “South.” • Display the map. Invite the groups to label the Northern Kingdom as “Israel” and the • Display the untwisted circle. Point out its two Southern as “Judah.” sides and how separate they are. • Consult 1 Kings 11:9-13; 12:15-20 to • Distribute strips of paper. Guide the kids to discover why one kingdom became two. join the ends of their strip after giving it a half • Ask them to name the two kingdoms and twist. This creates a Möbius strip. their first kings.(North: Jeroboam; South: • Invite them to draw a line along one side of Rehoboam) the circle, showing how that line travels across • Emphasize that both kingdoms disobeyed both sides. God, but remind them of the Text Truth: • Say: “In math, the Möbius strip is used to God loves His people even when they do not love show that something is continuous. It reminds Him as they should us of the symbol for infinity.” . • Emphasize that just like the Möbius strip, God’s love has no limits. Review the Text Truth: God loves His people even when they do not love Him as they should. • Conclude: “When we repent of our sin, God forgives us. He loves us—even when we mess up. His love for us never ends.”