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Today’s Teaching

Themes in Hosea: Knowing God

Katy McCown

Day: 0 | Plan: Foundation

Start Here: Hosea 8:1-3

Key Verse: Hosea 8:2 (ESV) "To me they cry, 'My God, we-Israel-know you.'"

As I've studied the book of Hosea, the prophet's words often have reminded me of a stretch of highway not far from my house where the road becomes steep and curvy. As you can imagine, it's given drivers trouble for a long time. I've heard stories of people who never reached their destination, and I've seen for myself several tragic scenes with emergency vehicles that gave way to crosses staked in the ground.

Over time, measures have been put in place to try to keep motorists safe. The speed limit slows as you head up or down the hill. Large streetlamps now line the center of the highway in conjunction with a sturdy cement divider.

Because of what I've seen and heard, I try to heed these boundaries. I slow my speed and pay careful attention. Even after countless times going up and down this hill, I try not to grow too comfortable. As my children have started driving, I've warned them about what I know and repeatedly urged them to take the same precautions.

Still, every once in a while, I catch myself speeding around the curve. I always wonder when this happens: Don't I know better? Haven't I heard the stories? Haven't I seen the scenes? Why do I and others sometimes choose to ignore the truth we know?

God's desire for His people to truly know Him is a prominent theme in Hosea and is directly connected to their love, or lack of love, for Him (Hosea 4:6; Hosea 5:4; Hosea 6:3; Hosea 11:3). "No knowledge of God in the land" was the cause of Israel's devastation (Hosea 4:1), but God's promise of redemption was, "You shall know the LORD" (Hosea 2:20). At the core of Hosea's concern was the relationship between God and Israel. God alone was Israel's God, and they were God's chosen people. Hosea emphasized that true knowledge of God includes experiencing His loyal love.

When speaking of this knowledge, Hosea often employed the Hebrew word yada. This word is used in a variety of ways in the Bible and can mean "to perceive, distinguish, acknowledge or know by experience." It means to know God intimately and personally. This is the same word used in Genesis to describe the kind of relationship Adam and Eve had when they conceived a child: "Adam knew [yada] Eve his wife" (Genesis 4:1). So when Hosea said, "Let us press on to know [yada] the LORD" (Hosea 6:3), this was not a casual, distant knowing. The knowledge Hosea wrote about was characterized by a right relationship with God based on true faith, loyalty and obedience to Him.

Sadly, Israel was only pretending to know God by crying, "My God, we-Israel-know you" (Hosea 8:2). Today, however, we can have a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus, who is "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature" (Hebrews 1:3). To know Christ is to know the one true God (John 17:3).

Friend, let's move through this study of Hosea together with hearts that are alert to God's guidance and eager to know and obey Him. When we do, we will be refreshed, transformed and deeply satisfied by His never-ending love for us.

Editor's Note: If you're longing to experience God's mercy among God's people, join our Facebook community group as we study Hosea! We'd love to get to know you (for real, not just the hi-how-are-you stuff) and learn from the Word together.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You that through Jesus, I can truly know You. I want what I know about You in my mind to transfer to my heart and transform my life. Let me not settle for a distant, informational knowing of You. Instead, let me experience Your love personally and progressively. In Jesus' name, amen.