The Hosea Love Story: A Video Series
Preaching through a book of the Bible requires a commitment to both the hard work of exegeting a text and the challenging task of bringing its message to life within a given cultural context.
A wonderful example of this movement from exegeis to exposition comes from the teaching team at Irving Bible Church, lead by E. Andrew McQuitty (Th.M., 1985, D.Min., 1995) and including DTS professor Barry Jones (Th.M., 2002, Ph.D., Wheaton, 2008). They recently finished a six part series on the book of Hosea, and before each message the media team prepared a short video that offers a deeply emotional, contemporary portrait of Hosea's commitment to Gomer and the convenant love of God toward his people that it so powerfully depicts.
Part One: The Covenant Love of God
When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.” So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim. (Hosea 1:1-11; verses 2-3 excerpted)
Part Two: The Tough Love of God
Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’ Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. (Hosea 2:1-13; verses 5-6 excerpted)
Part Three: The Tender Love of God
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. “In that day I will respond,” declares the LORD—“I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” (Hosea 2:14-23; verses 14, 21-23 excerpted)
Part Four: The Redeeming Love of God
The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek[b] of barley. 3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.” Hosea 3:1-5; verse 1-3 excerpted)
Part Five: The Love of God: Our Response
Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. (Hosea 6:1-6; verses 1-3 excerpted)
Part Six: The Unrelenting Love of God
Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. (Hosea 14; verses 1-3 excerpted)
More Information
You can listen to the sermon audio on Irving Bible Church's website: www.irvingbible.org/media (Hosea Series), and you can find out more about the production team that made the video series possible at IBC's YouTube page.
DTS is committed to training godly servant leaders who can preach through the books of the Bible (see our Master of Theology) and communicate them through visual arts (see our MA in Media and Communication)
