(from Good Word Online)

Theme: Love and Judgment: God’s dilemma (second of two lessons on Hosea)

Leading Question: How do we know when to use the heavy hand instead of the gentle hand with dealing with God’s people?

1. The sharp contrasts between the threat of judgement and the promise of undeserving grace are everywhere present in the prophets. Does the text of Scripture give us any help on knowing when to use one or the other?
2. What are the most vivid examples and metaphors of judgement in Hosea?
3. What are the most vivid examples of grace?
4. How can Matthew 2:9 say that Jesus’ going to Egypt with his parents “fulfilled” the words of the prophet, “out of Egypt have I called my son?” (Note: “Fulfill” can best be seen as “filling [the prophet’s words] full of new meaning.” It is not a prediction that has been fulfilled with precision. Chapter 7 of “Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament God?” comments on the whole question of messianic prediction and is an important consideration when the New Testament writers apply OT words to Jesus. That chapter can be found here)