Learnable Bible Study Podcast

This Bible story of revenge and murder is a mother mourning for her fallen son. She waited for him to return from the war against all odds. Then she suffers the horrible pain of losing a child. Rizpah of 2 Samuel 21:1-14 is one of the mothers who loses sons, two of them, as a result of ancient Israel’s tribal conflict.

What lessons can be drawn from how Rizpah handled herself and her faith at such a terrible time.

Jane, an avid gardener’s favourite flowers are lilies. She wants to transplant a lily flower from a friend's garden but receives the shock of her life when she sees the length of the root of this lily flower. How can this be? Let's discover how this is possible in our study today. We would be looking at Hosea 14

In this study, the tools we would use for this study are

So let's dig in and turn the bible to Hosea 14

Who, What, When, Where, and How tool

Israel is charged to return to God. As she had lost her footing with God and what she was experiencing was due to her iniquity

Israel is charged to go back to God in repentance. Asking God to receive her not on her words only but on God's graciousness. "Grace is undeserved favour"

Israel affirms that Assyria and idols couldn't save them. But they see God as a merciful God and now look to Him for salvation.

God's response to heal Israel's backsliding

He will turn anger away from  Israel

He will restore their relationship back to Himself

The relationship will be outwardly like the lily and inwardly like the roots of the cedar of Lebanon. With branches and beauty like an olive tree and fragrance like Lebanon

Israel  shall be revived again

Ephraim shall say They will have nothing to do with idols.   God's fruit is found in  Ephraim

The wise and prudent understand these things - that the ways of the LORD are right. The righteous walk in them but the transgressors stumble in them

Are you an influencer? What is your personal brand?  What does it say about you. In Today’s study we would be looking at Hosea 13,

In this study, the tools we would use for this study are

So let's dig in and turn the bible to Hosea 13

Who, What, When, Where, and How tool

Ephraim was a powerful  and influential tribe within Israel. Then they too became guilty of Baal worship (idol worshiping) and died.

They  increased their making of idols from any materials of their choice and increased their idol worshipping which invariably led to an increase in their sin. And because they offered human sacrifices, Ephraim will disappear like the early dew, like the smoke escaping through a window.

The Lord declares He has been Ephraim God since its infancy when He brought them out of the land of slavery in Egypt. God is stating He is the only God that Israel should acknowledge and their only savior. God reminded  Israel of how He cared for and preserved them through when they were vulnerable in the wilderness. He protected and fed them.

Now Israel is satisfied, proud and has forgotten God.

Israel is about to experience God as a God of judgement. The verse says "like a lion I will devour them".

You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.

The kings, princes and rulers, Israel had put her confidence in are no match to the God of the whole universe. He gave them their king and He removed them too.

An unborn child knows that when the labour pains start, it's time to exit the womb of its mother. The unborn child knows what to do but Israel does not know what to do.

But God will deliver Israel from the power of the grave.

In Israel's judgement, she will experience:

They will bear the guilt of their sin

So let's dig in and turn the bible to Hosea 12

Who, What, When, Where, and How tool

Ephraim, which is a tribe in Israel, chases the wind with increasing lies and violence.

Jacob to  be punished according to his deceptive deeds. Here God is representing the choices and the repercussions of Jacob to the children of Israel. Jacob's struggle from the womb, to the contention he had with his brother Esau and also with the Lord God Almighty.

Israel is admonished to return to God, maintain love and justice within its borders and wait for God always.

Israel uses dishonesty and defrauding ways to gain wealth and even boast of  these acts. Saying their ill gotten wealth is their  protection.

God reiterates that He is their God since Israel came out of Egypt and He will humble them again to living in tents again.

Gilead has become worthless through their idol worship. The place where they worship these idols will become a pile of stones.

Israel is reminded of her history; Jacob ran away from his actions and tended sheep to get a wife. And also of Moses, the prophet God used to lead Israel out of Egypt.

Ephraim will be repaid the guilt of bloodshed

A one sided love is painful to watch. In Today’s study we would be looking at Hosea 11, exploring Israel's indifference to God’s show of love and patience.

False prophets are punished for their deception. While they know they are falsely representing God, and leading people astray they do it for selfish reasons. For one to be able to decipher an information if it is true or false, one must know one scriptures, pray to God discernment and thirdly test all spirits.

The bible admonishes us in 2 Timothy 2:15

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

There is an effort and discipline we have to put into the study of the scriptures for ourselves. It is a personal responsibility every Christian has. Listening to sermons and preaching cannot replace one's personal study of the scriptures. Studying the scriptures presents our mind, and spirit to God’s word to inform and change our mindset. When we discover a principle or truth from the scriptures it gives one clarity and safeguards when one encounters a false teaching.

The bible says to ask God for discernment. Psalms 119:66 reads;

Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. We can pray to God to teach and give us discernment.

The Bible enjoins us to test all spirits. In 1 John 4:1

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Since false teachings aim is to deceive, and deception itself is not glaring. A believer must be on guard to test all spirits, all messages that they listen to or read by the word of God to ensure validity before accepting it. Deception was what made Eve eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis. So as believers, we need to be on our guard.

It is often inferred that success is evidence of God’s approval to the ways and means of success. In Today’s study we would be looking at Hosea 10, exploring Israel's continued success and idol worshipping.

Explore how David trusted God in uncertain times in Psalms 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—

2 When the wicked advance against me

4 One thing I ask from the Lord,

6 Then my head will be exalted

7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord;

13 I remain confident of this:

John, an avid traveler, has driven on countless types of road in different terrain, as he drove down the narrow winding country road, the view was breathtaking. However there  was repeated signage of a cliff edge down the road warning drivers to be cautious. John was so taken by the beauty of what he saw, would he pay attention to the warning signs?

Who made you? Have you forgotten you made you? The start of a life is misceous , yes we know from science that egg and sperm must come together. But who determines which sperm or egg.

Israel as a nation was formed by God many years ago when God promised Abraham but it seems Israel had forgotten its origin. The people of Israel have broken God's covenant. They had  turned to idol worshipping. Idols which were handicraft items of people. They had chosen leaders outside the guidance  and parameters that God gave them as a nation in choosing their leaders.

Pleasure is a common pursuit of all people. No-one goes after a short lived pleasure but rather a pleasure that will last a long time. In today’s study we would explore pleasure that lasts forever. Today we would be looking at Hosea 7