A disastrous line of idolatrous kings, the catastrophic destruction of God’s kingdom, and amidst the rubble, new shoots of hope…

Israel’s history takes a downward turn as the people continue to disobey. They are exiled from the promised land, they become a scattered fragmented people and are left facing God’s judgment rather than blessing. But in his grace God sends prophets to speak his word to his people and enforce his covenant.

This unit maps the various prophets found in the Old Testament, all bringing a message of judgment and hope. Speaking God’s words and not their own, the prophets stress that God’s people will face judgment if they continue to disobey, but the prophets also bring a wonderful message of hope: God will keep his promise to bless his people. Most excitingly they prophesy of a new hope and a glorious, perfect King who will rule God’s people forever – that is of course, Jesus Christ. We’re left at the end of this unit eagerly looking for the arrival of true God’s King.

Your teacher will give you a copy of this handout, but you can also find a copy of it here.

This has an outline of the video that you are about to watch. You might want or take some notes on this as the video is playing.

Watch video: The prophesied kingdom

DISCUSS

Read Hosea 1-3

• What are the different stages in the relationship between Hosea and Gomer?
• What does God want the Israelites to learn about their sin from Hosea’s marriage?
• What do the children’s names teach them about God’s judgement?
• What hope is there? (Look for echoes of the promises to Abraham and David)
• What do we learn about God from this passage?
• What impact should these chapters have on our lives?