We Are All Gomer

In one paragraph

The pastor walked the congregation through Hosea chapters 4 through 14 in a single service, covering what his professor condensed to two themes: spiritual adultery and the knowledge of God. That knowledge, he was clear, is not knowledge about God but an experiential knowing of him. The arc of the book moves through relentless judgment toward a mercy that God himself cannot stop offering. The recap...

Read together

1. Hosea 2:19-20 recap of God's promise to betroth Israel forever, introducing the theme of experiential knowledge of God
2. Hosea 3 recap of Hosea buying Gomer back at full price and the children of Israel abiding many days without king or prince
3. Hosea 4-14 the bulk of the sermon, covering charges against Israel, judgment, and eventual hope of restoration
4. Jeremiah 4:22 cited alongside Hosea as a contemporary voice saying my people are foolish, they have not known me
5. Proverbs 3:5-6 quoted as the positive counterpoint to Israel walking by human precept rather than trusting the Lord
6. 1 John 1:9 connected to Hosea's call for Israel to acknowledge their offense, with homo logea explained as agreeing with God about sin
7. Matthew 9:9-13 Jesus quoting Hosea's I desire mercy and not sacrifice while eating with sinners and tax collectors at Matthew's house
8. Hosea 14:9 closing verse asking who is wise, framing the whole book as a call to experiential knowledge of God

Talk about it

1. The pastor described the experiential knowledge of God, the Hebrew word 'yada,' as really knowing God rather than just knowing about him. What is the difference between those two things in your own life, and how would you describe where you currently sit on that spectrum?
2. God charges Israel with having 'no truth, no mercy, and no experiential knowledge of God in the land,' and the pastor asked whether that sounds pertinent today. Where do you see that pattern showing up, and how do you think the church is called to respond differently than the surrounding culture?
3. The pastor pointed to the line 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice' and said that Jesus quotes it twice in Matthew, telling the Pharisees to go and learn what it means. He also said, 'If your religion is making you less merciful, it is not true religion.' How does that land with you, and where have you seen religion produce judgment rather than mercy?
4. The father-and-child image in chapter 11 shows God teaching Ephraim to walk, drawing them with gentle cords and bands of love, even as they kept turning away. What does that picture of God tell you about how he deals with people who repeatedly walk away from him?
5. The pastor said nobody ever goes after God in the good times, and that it is the hard times that bring us to Jesus. Has that been true in your own experience, and what does it look like practically to seek God before the hard times arrive?