Daily reading
Today’s reading is: Hos. 3-8
Video
Hosea Chapter Three
- Hosea obeys the Lord to remarry faithless Gomer (Hos. 3:1).
- Hosea finds her for sale in a slave market, and pays cash for her redemption (Hos. 3:2).
- Hosea puts an end to Gomer’s prostitution career (Hos. 3:3).
- Hosea prophesies that all of this is a picture of the last days, and the restoration of Israel to the Lord (Hos. 3:4-5).
Hosea Chapter Four
- Chapter four begins the Lord’s discourse—His message of judgment against the northern kingdom.
- Israel failed to maintain ’emeth, checed, and da‘ath of God within their land (Hos. 4:1).
- אֱמֶת ’emeth #571: faithfulness, truth.
- חֶסֶד checed #2617: lovingkindness.
- דַּעַת אֱלֹהִים da‘ath ’elohiym #1847: knowledge & #430: God.
- English translations of these terms:
- “faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God” (NASB).
- “faithfulness, love, acknowledgment of God” (NIV).
- “truth or mercy or knowledge of God” (KJV, NKJV).
- Lovingkindness and truth is the epitome of the paths of the Lord (Ps. 25:10), and this walk was illustrated by and realized through the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:17).
- Israel was involved with every evil work of the flesh (Hos. 4:2-3), for which they could only blame themselves in their rejection of Bible Doctrine (Hos. 4:4-6), and in which they only made matters worse the longer they remained in darkness (Hos. 4:7-11).
- Israel’s idolatry is described (Hos. 4:12-19).
Hosea Chapter Five
- Israel’s wicked kings and false priests led Israel into the depths of their evil (Hos. 5:1-7).
- Israel’s sickness and Judah’s wound determined that the Lord had to act immediately (Hos. 5:8-15).
Hosea Chapter Six
- The Lord’s discipline through exile was not intended to be the final activity—it was designed to produce repentance (Hos. 6:1-3).
- The Lord debates what He must do in view of the faithlessness of Israel & Judah (Hos. 6:4-11).
- They had missed the entire purpose for the external ritual (v.6; Matt. 9:13; 12:7).
- Their lack of knowledge produced blasphemous activities.
Hosea Chapter Seven
- God was eagerly waiting to heal Israel, but they repeatedly refused to repent (Hos. 7:1-7).
- Israel truly became a nation of this world (Hos. 7:8-16).
Hosea Chapter Eight
- The approaching enemy causes Israel to cry out to the Lord without true repentance—only more lies (Hos. 8:1-2; Tit. 1:16).
- Sowing the wind reaps the whirlwind (Hos. 8:3-7; Gal. 6:7).
- Israel is sentenced to bondage (metaph. use of Egypt), and Judah is headed that direction (Hos. 8:8-14). The literal Egypt is not going to be the location of their exile, but is used to communicate what Israel can expect to experience (Hos. 9:3,6; 11:5).