Hosea and 13yr olds...

[Flyonthewall]

I just (tried to) teach Hosea to a class of 13yr olds.

Hosea uses a comparison of Hosea and his adulterous wife Gomer to the Lord and Israel.

For some reason, comparisons and similitudes are lost on that age group, at least the ones I had.

Lots of glassy eyes and lost looks

[Honor]

Our adult Sunday School class took quite a while to get past the glassy eyed phase. It's over now though. That's something, right?

[prisonchaplain]

Here I thought the problem was going to be irreverent giggles...

[xenic101]

My wife and I just started teaching the 15 year olds a few weeks ago. We got past the glassy eyed stage pretty quickly, but thanks to two of the girls in class, seem to be stuck with irreverent giggles regardless of the subject. I get to teach the lesson on Hosea next week, but I never knew Jonah was such a funny story until today.

[Over43]

I have the Gospel Docrine class, we went through Hosea this afternoon. Who knows what Gomer was? She very well may have repented by the time Hosea met her? Jonah's great, gets the wicked Assyrians to repent, and gets angry because they don't get clocked.

[xenic101]

Jonah's great, gets the wicked Assyrians to repent, and gets angry because they don't get clocked.

My wife was confused on that when she was preparing the lesson. She didn't understand why Jonah was all "Kill me now!" when the Lord didn't destroy Ninveh. I pointed out to her that Jonah also ran the opposite direction from what the Lord had told him, and as soon sailors asked him how to appease his God in order to avert the storm, Jonah's answer was to toss him into the sea, essentially "kill me now!". In response to which Jonah was swallowed by a whale for 3 days, then after repenting he runs to Nineveh crying out that the Lord would destroy the city in 40 days. When the people immediately repented and the Lord spared them, Jonah went right back to "just kill me now!", his whole story is filled with drama, then I made my mistake. I told her he was just a drama queen, using one of our children as an example....

Yes, there's now a group of 15 year old's secure in the knowledge that Jonah was a 'drama queen'.

[Tarnished]

My husband was called by the Gospel Doctrine teacher last Friday and asked to give the lesson on Hosea. Wow was that a tough one for him to teach. But I think he did very well on it. He used the NIV to help translate the book for the class as parts of the KJV can be a bit confusing in that book. He also brought out the meanings of the names of the children that Hosea and Gomer have and how the names apply to the Northern Kingdom of the Israelites.

What I thought he did very well with in the lesson is tying the lesson to the church today. The Northern Kingdom of the Israelites were all scattered, they make up all the tribes other than Judah, so if you are from the tribe of Ephram, or Menassah, or Benjamen or any tribe other than Judah then the lesson is speaking about you. Basically the tribes betray God, cheat on him with other religions, but then are found by God again and return to him, and he takes them back not as a slave, or as a lesser person in his eyes but as his people, just as Hosea took back Gomer as his wife, not a slave or a servant.

I thought he did a good job with a very tough lesson.

[Flyonthewall]

Yes...I thought I would get snickers and giggles too... that would have been better than the crickets chirping that I did get.

It's always a challenge to find that "angle" that the kids will relate to and be interested in.

[Faded]

MOST IMPORTANT: Get a copy of the New International Version of the Bible or some other modern version in modern English. If you must, copy and paste if from here: Hosea 1 - Passage*Lookup - New International Version - BibleGateway.com . There are a TON of amazing metaphors in this book and you're going to miss virtually all of them if you insist on trying to dig them out of the archaic wording of the King James Version. If you doubt me just read both versions of chapter three.

Important things to note when introducing Hosea:

1.) This is the story of "the Prodigal Bride" -- very much like the Prodigal Son in the New Testament, but the symbolism is even more appropriate. Being somebody's son does not involve making a Covenant with them. Being their spouse does. It also means you that you know one another much better than mere friends or siblings or parents or children. If you marry in your 20's and live an average lifespan, you'll spend the vast majority of your life with your spouse. Parents, siblings and children will come and go. Your spouse is the one constant that is with you till death and beyond death as well.

2.) This story is the story of Ephraim specifically, and every tribe other than Judah: Ten tribes plus half the tribe of Benjamin. In short, this story is about you. This is about your ancestors and your own personal heritage.

3.) Hosea was the last prophet sent to the Northern Kingdom of Israel -- so this is the Northern Kingdom's Jeremiah. In other words, he is the prophet sent with the bad news from the Lord: "You're so buried in sinfulness that you're beyond all hope and I have no choice left. I will let a terrifying nation over-run you, destroy you and you will be scattered to the four winds."

4.) This is a love story.

5.) There is some debate whether God commanded Hosea to go marry a prostitute, or somebody who has repented but used to be sexually promiscuous. It might very well be neither -- but that she had already abandonned her husband Hosea by the time the Lord speaks to him about it (as it does mention her as already having had her children the very first time that she is mentioned in the book.)

The Characters of the Story: (All of them are types and shadows of God and his relationship with Israel and what will happen with them.)

Hosea = (Jehovah Will Save): Different variations on translation for the same name -- Yeshua or Yehoshua. Forms of the same name found in the Bible: Josiah, Joshua, Hosea and Jesus. Hosea plays the part of Jesus Christ in this story.

He Marries Gomer = "Complete." According to the Talmud (Jewish tradition), "Gomer" is the ancestor of the Northern Germanic nations (referenced in Genesis 10). Every compass direction has a root meaning for something in addition to just being a direction.The compass direction "North" has reference to destruction, scattering and dispersal. Gomer plays the part of all Israel, and each of us individually in this story.

I think it's fun to point out that the Bible is a pretty lousy resource if you're looking for a wide selection of really pretty names for your newborn baby girl. Seriously, who names a girl "Gomer"? Such cruel parents.

Children of Hosea and Gomer:

1.) Jezreel - "God sows or God plants" (Jezreel Valley) Foretells the end of the line of Jehu, the then current and longest line of kings in the Northern Kingdom. Israel's strength will be broken in the Valley of Jezreel. (It's probably worth mentioning that the town of Megiddo is located in the borders of the Valley of Jezreel. The the future "Battle of Megiddo" or "Har Megiddo" is rendered "Armageddon" in the New Testament. This is the site of a great many disatrous battles in the history of Israel and Judah.) This is also a reference to scattering the Ten Lost Tribes like scattering seeds. The Ten Tribes were scattered among all the nations of the world, and their affinity for the Gospel message grows and bears fruit when the Gospel finds its way to them. All members of the Church of Jesus Christ are the fruit of this sowing by the Lord anciently.

2.) Lo-ruhamah = "Not Having Obtained Mercy" or "Not My Loved One"

3.) Lo-ammi = "Not My People"

The substance of the story happens in the first three chapters.

A.) Gomer bares three children. Their names have specific meanings to tell Israel what God is about to do with them.

B.) Gomer abandons her husband Hosea, leaving him to go be with her adulterous lovers.

C.) The Lord tells Hosea that this is just like his relationship with the children of Israel -- they started out well, but ended up abandonning Him for false gods and the things of the world.

D.) The Lord tells Hosea to go find his wife and take her back and love her as he loves Israel.

E.) In Chapter 3, when Hosea finds Gomer and buys her for 15 shekels of silver. This is not explained well, but if you understand what you're reading, then you realize what has happened to her. When Hosea finds her, she is a slave and is for sale. The almost certain conclusion: Gomer's lovers sold her into slavery and abandoned her. This is a perfect representation of what Satan does to us when we follow him instead of the Lord. He sells us into slavery and abandons us. It is also very symbolic, foreshadowing Christ being sold for 20 pieces of silver.

F.) It is worth noting -- according to the Law of Moses, Gomer is an adultress. That means the Law demands that she is to be executed by stoning.

G.) Hosea does not have her put to death. He does not keep her as his mere slave. He takes her back and makes her his wife again and loves her. Unworthy though she is, he takes her back fully and completely. Hosea 2:16 -- "In that day," declares the LORD, you will call me "my husband'; you will no longer call me "my master."

To represent this change, I crossed out the "Lo" from the names of two of the children on the chalkboard. By crossing out "Lo" and you get:

Lo-ruhamah --> Ruhamah = "Having Obtained Mercy" or " My Loved One"

Lo-ammi --> Ammi = "My People"

This is the end state of Israel. God saves us and takes us back and makes us His people again. He grants us his mercy and calls us his Beloved. He calls us "my people" and loves us.

Edited September 8, 2010 by Faded