Hosea: The Passion of God - Focus on the Bible Revised edition

Commendation Quotes: This fresh, readable, insightful commentary will lead you to worship a God who is jealous for our affections, and loves us too much to leave us sitting comfortably in apathy! Christians cannot fail to profit from this sound and exciting read. Jeremy McQuoid (Teaching Pastor, Deeside Christian Fellowship, Aberdeen, Scotland) Commendation Quotes: In his commentary Tim Chester has left few scholarly stones unturned yet we are not invited to behave as academic spectators on the text ...difficult issues are not avoided and the prophet's ministry is unerringly allowed to lead us to Christ ... The prayer that accompanies this commentary is that it might stir our passion for God and his ways and to that we add our 'amen'. Ken Armstrong (Pastor, Bessacarr Evangelical Church, Doncaster, England) This is an excellent commentary on an under-preached part of God's word. It is exegetically faithful so that there is a clear sense of what this would have meant to Hosea and his contemporaries. Moreover, it treats Hosea as Christian Scripture, and each part of the commentary takes us clearly to the Lord Jesus. This book has deepened my love for the One who first loved me, and I think it is a valuable addition to the existing commentaries on Hosea. Robin Weekes (Minister, Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon, London) This fresh, readable, insightful commentary will lead you to worship a God who is jealous for our affections, and loves us too much to leave us sitting comfortably in apathy! Christians cannot fail to profit from this sound and exciting read. Jeremy McQuoid (Teaching Pastor, Deeside Christian Fellowship, Aberdeen, Scotland) Table of Contents: Introduction -- Historical Context -- Audience -- Text -- Structure -- 1. No knowledge (4:1-6:3) -- 2. No love (6:4-11:11) -- 3. No faithfulness (11:12-14:9) -- Key Themes -- Spiritual adultery -- Children of God -- Prosperity leads to self-reliance -- Living in the story -- Turning -- Divine sovereignty and judgment -- The Use of Hosea in the New Testament -- Commentaries -- Chapter 1. God Promises A People (1:1-2:1) -- A wife of whoredom (1:2) -- A child called Bloodshed (1:3-5) -- A child called Unloved (1:6-7) -- A child called Not My People (1:8-9) -- The story continues (1:10-2:1) -- 1. A restoration of the people -- 2. A renewal of the covenant -- 3. A reconciliation of the divisions -- 4. A reinstatement of the king -- 5. A return to the land -- 6. A recognition of God -- Who are you in the story? -- Study Questions -- Chapter 2. God Displays His Jealousy (2:2-13) -- Israel pursues her lovers (2:2-5) -- 1. Israel forgets her past blessings (2:3-4) -- 2. Israel mistakes her present blessings (2:5, 8) -- God pursues His bride by withdrawing His blessings (2:6-13) -- Study Questions -- Chapter 3. God Reclaims His Bride (2:14-3:5) -- A renewed love (2:14-15) -- A renewed marriage (2:16-20) -- A renewed home (2:18, 21-23) -- In that day -- Love an adulteress (3:1) -- Bought with a price (3:2-3) -- I am Gomer -- Return (3:4-5) -- Study Questions -- Chapter 4. God Presents His Case (Hosea 4:1-5:7) -- A broken marriage (4:1) -- 1. No faithfulness -- 2. No love -- 3. No knowledge -- A broken family (4:2) -- A broken home (4:3) -- Failing clergy (4:4-9) -- Failing worship (4:10-19) -- The verdict (5:1-7) -- Study Questions -- Chapter 5. God Heals His People (5:8-6:3) -- I will tear (5:8-15) -- I will heal (6:1-3) -- The personal challenge -- The community challenge -- Study Questions -- Chapter 6. God Exposes Our Sin (6:4-7:16) -- Like a morning mist (6:4-6) -- Like an overheated oven (6:7-7:7) -- Like a half-baked loaf (7:8) -- Like a deluded old man (7:9-10) -- Like a senseless bird (7:11-13) -- Like a self-preoccupied prayer (7:14) -- Like a faulty bow (7:15-16) -- Study Questions -- Chapter 7. God Unmasks Our Delusions (8:1-14) -- 1. People think they know God, but they do not (8:2-3) -- 2. People think they rule under God, but they do not (8:4) -- 3. People think they worship God, but they do not (8:4-6) -- 4. People think human help can save, but it does not (8:7-10) -- 5. People think religion saves, but it does not (8:11-14) -- Study Questions -- Chapter 8. God Reverses Our Story (9:1-17) -- The exodus reversed -- The exodus renewed -- Study Questions -- Chapter 9. God Predicts a Harvest (10:1-15) -- A nation with no fruit (10:1-2) -- Apolitical system with no integrity (10:3-4) -- A religious system with no future (10:5-8) -- A history doomed to be repeated (10:9-10) -- Israel the calf (10:11) -- Israel the sower (10:12) -- Israel the reaper (10:13-15) -- Sow to the Spirit - Galatians 6:7-9 -- Abide in the vine - John 15:1-8 -- Study Questions -- Chapter 10. God Recoils in Mercy (11:1-11) -- 1. The Father's tender heart (11:1-4) -- 2. The Father's broken heart (11:5-7) -- 3. The Father's merciful heart (11:8-9) -- 4. The Father's missional heart (11:10-11) -- Study Questions -- Chapter 11. God Revisits Our History (11:12-13:16) -- 1. The lesson of Jacob: We are who we are by God's grace (11:12-12:6) -- 2. The lesson of Moses: We have what we have by God's grace (12:7-13:8) -- 3. The lesson of King Saul: We will be what we will be by God's grace (13:9-16) -- Conclusion -- Study Questions -- Chapter 12. God Welcomes Us Home (14:1-9) -- Our liturgy of turning (14:1-3) -- 1. Ask God for forgiveness (14:2) -- 2. Renounce false security (14:3) -- 3. Express your faith in God's fatherly love -- God's song of turning (14:4-8) -- 1. We will flourish (14:5-6) -- 2. Other people will flourish through us (14:7) -- 3. God will make us flourish like nothing else can (14:8) -- Let them understand (14:9) -- Study Questions -- Subject Index -- Scripture Index. Review Citations:

CBA Retailers 08/01/2014 pg. 30 (EAN 9781781913680, Paperback)

Contributor Bio:  Chester, Tim Tim Chester is an author, pastor of The Crowded House, Sheffield and Director of Porterbrook Seminary. He is married with two daughters.