Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hosea+002   Hosea 2 (ESV) 1 Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.” 2 “Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband— that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts; 3 lest I strip her […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hosea+001   HOSEA INTRODUCTION The prophet Hosea spoke to the northern kingdom of Israel in the turbulent period of the 8th century BC. Following the death of Jeroboam II, Israel had six different kings in just over twenty years; four were assassinated and the last was forcibly removed from the throne. […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Jude+001   JUDE INTRODUCTION Jesus had several brothers, two of whom were James and Jude. Much less is known about Jude than James (see James), but he was clearly a church leader, since he wrote to believers with authority in this letter that bears his name. It cannot be determined exactly […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=3John+001   3 JOHN INTRODUCTION This letter is a note of thanks and encouragement to an individual named Gaius. John had sent a letter to the church of which Gaius was a member, introducing and commending certain individuals, but a leader named Diotrephes refused to accommodate them. He opposed John’s authority […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=2John+001   2 JOHN INTRODUCTION The same person who wrote 1 John to encourage believers also found it necessary to write to other churches where the false teachers might go to spread their ideas and practices. The letter of 2 John addresses one such gathering, referring to the church as a […]