Our God doesn't want to remain in obscurity, He wants to be known by all in order that all might be saved! We've now reached the point in Scripture when God's people and their leaders have made the hard turn away from Him and towards other gods. They don't know Him or what it means to be His people anymore. God sends specific messengers to make Himself known again: through miracles, mandates, and a marriage.

1 Timothy 2:4-6

4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

1 Kings 18:36-37

36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

Hosea 4:1,6

4 Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Hosea 2:16-20

16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish[a] the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.

For Adult Homes and Groups

1. We’ve seen how God has made Himself known in this chapter, how does He make Himself known to us today?

• Miracles: what do you consider to be a miracle from God in your life and what about it draws you to Him?    

• Mandates: is a mandate a good thing or bad thing? Why or why not? How do God’s mandates reveal His presence in our lives and in our community?

• Marriage: the capacity for relationships are woven into our very nature - the ultimate being marriage (see Genesis 2). Throughout Scripture, the Lord calls us His bride. How does that affect the way we see ourselves as God’s people if we’re single? If we’re dating? If we’re married, divorced, or widowed?

How does being in any of the above life situations affect the way we see and treat others?

For Families with Kids

Memory Verse: 1 Timothy 2:4-6    

1. Why does God want all people to be saved?

2. God’s messengers in the Old Testament were by all means ordinary. It was only God’s work through them that made them extraordinary. How does God’s work through you stand out and make Him known to your family? Your circle of friends? Those you have a hard time getting along with?

3. Pray this week that Jesus will help you to be His messenger to someone who needs a reminder that He is with them.