Hosea 4: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Hosea 4 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

Yahweh calls the children of Israel to listen, asserting that there is no truth, goodness, or knowledge of God in the land (vv. 1-2). Due to these failures, the land mourns, causing all living things to waste away (v.

Key verse

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to me. Because you have forgotten your God’s law, I will also forget your children.”
Hosea 4:6 (WEB)

Outline

Hosea 4:1–3 Accusation of Unfaithfulness
Hosea 4:4–6 Failure of the Priesthood
Hosea 4:7–9 Consequences of Sin
Hosea 4:10–12 Prostitution and Idolatry
Hosea 4:13–15 Warning Against Idolatry
Hosea 4:16–18 Stubbornness and Judgment
Hosea 4:19 Disappointment and Consequences

Discussion questions

In v6, what is the reason for God’s rejection of His people?
What does the phrase 'my people' refer to in v6?
In v10, what does it mean that they will 'eat, and not have enough'?
In v14, what implications might there be for punishment when men 'consort with prostitutes'?
When have you felt the consequences of a community that has 'forgotten your God’s law' (v6)?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Hosea 4: Isaiah 5, Proverbs 19, Hosea 6.

Before next time: read Hosea 5.