Lesson 1: Spiritual Adultery (Hosea) (Hosea 1-3 & 6)

by | Feb 9, 2022 | Topical Studies

Introduction: “Scorned” is not a common word today. But, we all know
how it feels. We feel scorned when we are rejected and someone else
is chosen. Some experience this with their parents, some experience
this with their children, some experience this in dating, some
experience it in marriage, and some experience it in their work.
Perhaps you have experienced it in all of these contexts. It hurts.
Our lesson this week is about us scorning God. It seems completely
illogical, but we do it all the time. Let’s jump into our new series
of lessons and learn more about “spiritual adultery!”

  1. Gomer



    1. Read Hosea 1:1. Who and what is Hosea? (A prophet. God
      speaks through Hosea to give God’s message to the people.)



    2. Read Hosea 1:2. How could you marry an adulterous wife?
      You are not married yet, so committing adultery in your
      marriage is impossible, right? (We all know single men and
      women who engage in sex before marriage. If a person does
      this routinely, it is hard to stop this kind of behavior
      after marriage. I suspect God tells Hosea, “Marry a wild
      women.”)



      1. How is this going to look when you are a prophet?



      2. How will it sound to fellow believers to say, “God
        told me to marry a wild woman?”



        1. Hosea was just starting his job as a prophet,
          how does that factor into following God’s
          command?



      3. What kind of children will Hosea have? (Children
        fathered by some other man.)



        1. Consider the difficulties in this. What makes
          this so hard? (Not only has your wife chosen
          someone else over you, but you are reminded of
          this every day when you see the child.)



      4. Why did God tell Hosea to do this? (Because God says
        this illustrates the unfaithfulness of the people to
        Me.)



      5. If I were Hosea, I would say, “How about another
        approach? Just tell me about it God, I will
        understand.” Why is that not good enough?



      6. Have you ever listened to a religious leader or
        speaker who you thought was insincere?



        1. When Hosea told of God’s pain because His
          people were unfaithful, would Hosea seem
          insincere? (Those who have been scorned
          understand the nature of God’s feelings about
          us being unfaithful to Him.)



  2. The Children



    1. Read Hosea 1:3-5. We discussed that a child fathered by
      another man is a continual reminder of your wife’s
      unfaithfulness. What reminder do we find here? (Just the
      opposite. The son is named to remind the unfaithful people
      of their unfaithfulness.)



      1. Who is specifically mentioned as being unfaithful?
        (King Jehu.)



    2. Read 2 Kings 10:28-31. How is Jehu unfaithful? (He is a
      mixed bag. He destroys wicked King Ahab and Baal worship,
      but he continues to worship a golden calf. The specific
      reference in Hosea 1:4 to a “massacre at Jezreel” is
      uncertain, for some of the killing at Jezreel was directed
      by God. 2 Kings 10:30.)



      1. What does the unfaithfulness of Jehu teach us? (We
        might do some great things for God, but we are still
        unfaithful if we do not give God our whole heart.)



    3. Read Hosea 1:6-7. How can God say that He will no longer
      love or forgive Israel, but He will love Judah? I thought
      God always forgives!



      1. Read Matthew 12:31-32. Why are some sins forgiven and
        other sins are not?



        1. If you believe in the Trinity, Jesus’ words are
          even more difficult to understand! (Jesus’
          warning has to do with our attitude towards the
          Holy Spirit and the nature of the Spirit’s
          work.)



      2. Read Galatians 5:16-18. Why is the role of the Holy
        Spirit so important in our life? (If we understand
        the role of the Holy Spirit in our life, we will
        understand that Jesus is not being arbitrary in
        speaking of unforgivable sin. God continues to stand
        ready to forgive us, but when we reject the Holy
        Spirit, we close the door to salvation. When we turn
        away from the power that will lead us to repentance
        and a life lived in accord with God’s will, we have
        not only rejected God, we have rejected His means of
        salvation. God is not being arbitrary, we have
        rejected Him.)



    4. Look again at Hosea 1:7. How does God save Judah? Is it by
      her own works? (No. God says salvation will not come by
      human power, but God will intervene.)



    5. Read Hosea 1:8-11 and Romans 9:25-26. What is being
      predicted through the birth of this son? (Read Romans
      9:22-24 and 1 Peter 2:10. Hosea looks forward to a time
      when the Gentiles and the Jews will return to God. A time
      when they turn to Jesus.)



    6. Why do you think that God had Hosea suffer through an
      unfaithful wife and illegitimate children to promote God’s
      message? Why not just give a prophecy? (This is another
      face of our earlier discussion. If you can learn a lesson
      from others, that is great. But, if you learn a lesson by
      your own experience, that drives the lesson home.)



  3. Judgment



    1. Read Hosea 2:9-13. When we disobey God, what can we
      expect? (Judgment.)



    2. Look again at Hosea 2:11. Why would God want to stop the
      times when the people would turn to Him? (Look again at
      Hosea 2:13. These celebrations are meaningless when our
      true affection is towards false gods and we have forgotten
      the true God.)



  4. Salvation



    1. Read Hosea 3:1. Wait a minute. Go back and review Hosea
      1:6-7. How can God say that He loves the Israelites when
      He previously said, “I will no longer show love to the
      house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them?”



      1. Does God contradict Himself? Or, is this a “trick”
        statement, that really means that Hosea does not have
        to love Gomer?



      2. Put yourself in Hosea’s place. How would you like to
        have to show love to a spouse who is still involved
        in an adulterous affair?



      3. What does this teach us about the nature of God’s
        love towards us? (God’s love continues even when we
        reject Him. The problem for us, as we discussed
        before, is that we are in charge of our salvation.
        Even though God loves us, we can reject the Holy
        Spirit, we and thus block the path to repentance.)



    2. Read Hosea 6:1. Is this a fair statement – that God tore
      them to pieces, that God injured them? (They rejected God.
      God did impose judgment. But, it hardly seems fair to
      blame God for this.)



    3. Read Hosea 6:2. What does this bring to mind? (Read 1
      Corinthians 15:3-4. This is the message of Easter! This is
      the message of salvation! This is a prophecy of our risen
      Lord!)



      1. Contemplate this: in the middle of the story of a
        painful adultery, God reminds us of His decision to
        die a painful death on behalf of an adulterous
        people. What astonishing love! What amazing grace!)



    4. Read Hosea 6:6. What is God’s goal for our life? (God
      wants our love. He wants us to show mercy to others. He
      has set up a system for the forgiveness of sins, but what
      He really wants is our faithfulness!)



    5. Friend, God shows His illogical, irrepressible love
      towards you! Will you ask God’s Spirit to live in you?
      Will you determine to live a life headed towards holiness
      and mercy? Why not make that commitment today?



  5. Next week: Love and Judgment: God’s Dilemma (Hosea).