Saul Weinreb - Let the Prophets Speak

Hosea 6 - Kindness and Knowledge is All I Want

Hosea beseeches the people to turn to God for help, as God is the One who brings the suffering, He is the one who can heal it. What does God want? Kindness and knowledge of God. As simple as that.  But the people have chosen to follow their corrupt leaders to dishonesty and depravity.

Hosea 5 - Entrapped and Ensnared

The people of Israel are so entrapped by their arrogance and corruption, that they will not listen to rebuke. Always looking in the wrong places for help, never listenming to those who would teach them the right path. One day God says, they will finally turn to Me and I will listen then.

Hosea 4 - No Truth, No Kindness, No Knowledge

God has a problem with the people of Israel. When there is no hinesty, no kindness, and no knowledge, all that is left is arrogance and corruption. When people are arrogant, thgey will no longer listen to rebuke. Sadly God says, when they are this depraved, we will have to leave them to their idols.

Hosea 3 - A Time of Recommittment to Love

God advises Hosea , as the bond of love between you and your wife remains, recommit yourselves deespite the unfaithfulness. Sometimes there needs to be a period of seperation to rebuild the trust and faith that a relationship requires. As long as the love remains string. So to the people of israel will have atime of exile, but the essential love between God and His people remain, and the physical seperation will end.

Hosea 2b - God Brings His Unfaithful "Spouse" Back home

In one of the most beautifully written prophecies, God "seduces" his unfuathul wife, Israel, and brings them back to Him. No longer will God be viewed as a burden, but the love of their youth shall return.  God will restore nature to its pristine, peaceful state, and all war will end. God will then betroth the entire world with a relationship based on Justice, righteousness, Kindness, and Mercy.  

Hosea 2a - God Compares Israel to a Harlot

The prophet starts by telling the people what they CAN be, if only they cooperate together.  But God berates the nation for turning to all of her other "lovers" while abandoning God Himself.

Hosea 1 - God Tells Hosea to Marry a Prostitute

We are introduced to the prophet Hosea, who was a contemporary of the more famous prophet Isaiah. However, Hosea mostly directed his prophcies to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. In a most unusual discussion, God directs Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman named Gomer, and to raise a family with her. He has two sons and a duaghter, and through their names, Hosea delivers an ominous message to the people of the Northern Kingdom.

Ruth 4 - Boaz Marries Ruth, and Ruth Becomes the Matriarch of the Davidic Dynasty

Boaz proves that he is a man who keeps his word. He redeems the family property, marries Ruth, and restores the family of Naomi to its' land and heritage. Ruth, once a stranger and foreigner who was rebuffed, becomes the matriarch of the Kings of the Jewish people.

Ruth 3 - The Midnight Encounter

Naomi asks Ruth to pull a highly dangerous stunt, fraught with potential problems. Ruth is to sneak up on Boaz in the middle of the night, and ask him to marry her. so many things could've gone wrong, and ruth had the most to lose. However, she obeys her mother-in-law, and Boaz once again proves what a real man he is.

Ruth 2 - Ruth Gleans in the Field of Boaz

In an extraordinary "coincidence", Ruth goes to glean barley in the fields of Bethlehem, and happens to land in the field of Naomi's relative, Boaz. While the people harvesting barely take notice of this foreign Moabite girl and treat her as an outsider, Boaz recogizes her as a special person who has been through so much in order to join the people of Judah. Boaz asks her to stay in his field and instructs the young men to treat her with respect.