Sin in the Eyes of a Holy God

Hosea: When Sin Tastes So Good
June 27, 2021
Hosea 6:1-3; 7:1-16
Study Questions

1. Read Hosea 7:1-2. What is the Lord’s desire for His people? What is keeping Him from blessing them? What does it mean that God remembers all their evil (v.2)?

2. How is this different than God’s dealings with the sin of those who are saved? Can we be ‘in Christ’ and not receive His blessing because of sin in our lives?

3. What does it mean in Hosea 7:4-7 that they are “like a heated oven”? What does this tell us about the people? What drove their ‘burning’?

4. In Hosea 7:8-10, why did the Lord call Ephraim (God’s special name for Israel – a term of endearment) ‘a cake not turned’? According to these verses, what was their specific act of ‘adultery’ against the Lord? How do we fall prey to the same temptations personally?

5. In Hosea 7:11-14, why did the Lord call them ‘a silly dove’? Verse 13 expresses what attributes of God? And, what was to come as a result?

6. In Hosea 7:15-16, the Lord said He trained and strengthened them as a people. Identify times when you see this in Israel’s history up to this point. Why does the Lord now call them ‘a deceitful bow’?

7. Read Hosea 6:1-3. What instruction does Hosea 6:1 give you? What does it tell us about how the Lord loves His people? (See also: Hebrews 12:7-11.)

8. What promise does the Lord make in Hosea 6:2? Verse 2 refers to a short season when God will keep His promise to restore His people. How do you see the New Covenant (Christ Jesus) foreshadowed in the Davidic covenant? Compare Isaiah 9:6, 11:1, and Micah 5:2 with Psalm 16:10; 49:15, John 2:19-21, Matt. 17:22-23.

9. What hope does Hosea 6:3 bring you? What action item is the Lord teaching you in this verse? What do we learn about the character of God in this verse? How will this truth comfort you this week?