Hosea means salvation, and this Hosea Bible Object Lesson is perfect to use as a channel to present the gospel to children. This object lesson can easily be used in any context where you want to present the gospel.
Scripture Focus: Hosea 1:1-9; 3:1-3
*This scripture uses words such as “harlot” and “prostitute”. If you are teaching younger children, or these words are uncomfortable to use, substitute words such as “an unfaithful wife” or “lived with a man she was not married to.”
Materials:
- 2 shoe box size plastic containers
- rubber gloves
- water
- iodine
- D76 photo developer
- white cloth
Geography: Kingdom of Israel
Background: The nation of Israel was divided after the reign of Solomon. Northern Israel had no good kings while southern Judah had a few good kings. Prophets were sent by God to warn the people to repent, turn away from idols and sin, and come back to God.
Hosea Bible Lesson:
{Have the two buckets in front of you, but use storytelling for the Bible event first. Read, or storytell, Hosea 1:1-9.}
Hosea was a prophet who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel. The people were far from God. They worshiped idols and lived lives that did not honor God. God went to Hosea and told him to marry a woman who would not be a faithful wife to him. This sounds really strange. Wouldn’t God want his prophet to have a happy marriage?
God was going to use Hosea’s marriage and life as an object lesson for the nation of Israel.
{Ask:}
- What does the scripture say as to why God wanted Hosea to take a harlot as his wife? [Because Israel had acted like a harlot towards Him.]
- What does it mean to act like a harlot, or to be unfaithful? [A spouse who acts like a harlot is one who is not faithful to, who does not honor the marriage commitment of, their marriage partner. So the people of Israel were not faithful, or loyal, to their commitment to God and worshiped idols instead.]
- How many children did Gomer and Hosea have? [three]
Hosea had three children. The first son was named Jezreel. In other lessons we have discussed the importance of names in scripture and this is a classic example. Jezreel means, “God will sow,” and in this case God told Hosea that He would bring about the fall of Israel. Hosea’s daughter was named Lo-Ruhamah which means, “Not having received mercy.” God wanted Hosea to tell the people that He would no longer have mercy on the nation of Israel. Gomer then had one more son named Lo-Ammi. Lo-Ammi means, “Not my people.”
Wow.
At this point God was so fed up with the people of Israel that He stated that they would no longer be His people an He would not be their God.
{Read, or storytell, Hosea 3:1-3.}
Things look pretty bleak for the people of Israel. Like Gomer who strayed away from her husband, they strayed away from God. However, God had a plan to bring His people back to Him because He loved them. God told Hosea to find Gomer, pay all her debts, and bring her home. Hosea did this. It is a picture of God bringing a rebellious people back to Himself.
{Ask:}
- Are people still rebellious against God? [Yes! Scripture says that we are born as sinners and enemies of God.]
- How does God pay our debts? [We are sinners. Jesus was not. Jesus took all of our sin and claimed it as His own. Then He died on the cross canceling and paying all of our debts.]
Hosea Bible Lesson Object Lesson: Gospel Presentation
{Watch the video below. This was easier to create than typing it all out. It is simple, but I want you to see it.}
Hosea Bible Lesson Life Application:
{Ask:}
- How are you unfaithful to God like Gomer was to Hosea? [Allow for answers. Help children to think about items or activities that draw them away from God.]
- What did God do for you that you did not deserve? [God loved us enough to send Jesus to died on the cross and pay our sin debt. God saves us from sin and eternal separation from Him.]
- How can you respond to this truth? [Believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved, surrender to Him, live a life walking in the ways of God, love God with all your heart, soul, minds, and strength.]
What can we learn from Hosea and Gomer? God takes sin and rebellion seriously. He loves us, but we can be unfaithful to Him. We need to ask the Lord to search our hearts and tell us if we have gone astray so we can repent and get back on the straight and narrow road of walking with Him.
Worship Songs and Videos for Hosea Bible Lesson:
