Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Week 13: The Gospel According to Hosea — Theological Reflection
Read the Epilogue of Redeeming Love and re-read Hosea 1–3 and 11 in full. Primary Scripture: Hosea 11:1–9 ('When Israel was a child, I loved him…How can I give you up, Ephraim?…My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused').
Want the full guide for Redeeming Love?
Free Week 1 sample in 5 min · $24.99 for all 15 weeks · 7-day refund
Now that we have read the whole novel, we are ready to step back and ask what the book of Hosea — and Rivers's retelling of it — is trying to say about the heart of God.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Re-read Hosea 11:8–9, where God says, 'How can I give you up, Ephraim?…My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.' This is one of the most emotionally raw moments in all of Scripture. What does this passage reveal about the nature of God that more systematic theology sometimes misses?
2.Rivers has said that Hosea was the book that broke open her understanding of God's love after her own divorce. How does personal pain sometimes prepare us to read Scripture differently? Have you had an experience that opened a passage of the Bible you had read before without really hearing?
3.The theological term for what Hosea and Redeeming Love portray is 'hesed' — the Hebrew word often translated as 'loving-kindness,' 'steadfast love,' or 'covenant love.' It combines affection with loyalty. How is 'hesed' different from what our culture typically calls love? How does Angel's story embody the receiving of 'hesed'?
You're on Week 13 of 15
Don't lose momentum — get the rest of Redeeming Love
All 107 questions across 15 weeks, with closing prayers and a downloadable PDF for your group.
One-time purchase · 7-day refund · Covers your whole group