Scholarship, context and study plans for Come, Follow Me
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD.” — Isaiah 1:18
Come, Follow Me · Old Testament 2026 · Week 47
“I Will Love Them Freely”
November 16–22, 2026Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel14 chapters · 223 verses
Hosea's marriage to an unfaithful wife becomes a living picture of Israel's covenant with God, and of a God who keeps calling His people home. Joel turns a plague of locusts into a call to repent, then promises that the Lord will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.
Chapter
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The text shown is the King James Version, the Church's preferred English Bible for classes and meetings. The General Handbook lists the ESV and NRSV as helpful translations for ages 14 and up. They are copyrighted, so they open on their publishers' sites. Highlighted verses have a study note with links to compare that verse.
Map
Place
All places on this map
Study guide
Hosea is passionate poetry, full of sudden shifts between judgment and tenderness. These notes give you the background to follow it.
How to read this week
Start with the marriage. Chapters 1–3 tell the story of Hosea and Gomer. The rest of the book applies it: Israel is the unfaithful spouse, and the Lord is the husband who will not give up.
Expect quick changes of mood. Hosea moves from accusation to longing in a single verse (11:7–9). That emotional honesty is part of the message.
Notice “Ephraim.” Hosea often calls the northern kingdom by the name of its largest tribe. He also mentions places like Samaria, Bethel (which he mockingly calls Beth-aven, “house of wickedness”) and Gilgal. The map shows where they are.
Know the stakes. Israel was trying to survive by making deals with Egypt and Assyria (12:1) instead of trusting the Lord. Within a few years of Hosea's preaching, Assyria destroyed the kingdom and scattered its tribes.
Read Joel as a pattern. A local disaster (locusts, ch. 1) becomes a picture of the coming day of the Lord (ch. 2). The call to repent leads to restoration and the outpouring of the Spirit.
The last years of Israel
c. 786–746 BC — Jeroboam II reigns; Israel is prosperous but corrupt
c. 755 BC — Hosea begins prophesying (1:1)
745 BC — Tiglath-pileser III makes Assyria a conquering empire
After Jeroboam II — Israel has six kings in about 25 years; four are assassinated (2 Kings 15)
732 BC — Assyria takes Galilee and Gilead and deports their people
722 BC — Samaria falls; the northern tribes are carried away (2 Kings 17)
Unknown — Joel's ministry; the book gives no date
Images and ideas to recognize
Passage
Image
What it means
1–3
Marriage to an unfaithful wife
The covenant between the Lord and Israel. Idolatry is adultery; repentance is coming home.
1:4–9
The children's names
Jezreel, “Not pitied” and “Not my people”: warnings that are reversed into promises in 1:10 and 2:23.
2:14–15
The wilderness and the valley of Achor
Back to the place where Israel first learned to trust God. Trouble becomes “a door of hope.”
3:2
Buying back a wife
Redemption: the Lord pays the price to bring His people home.
6:4
Morning cloud and early dew
Devotion that doesn't last.
10:5–6
The calf of Beth-aven
Israel's golden calf at Bethel, which will itself be carried off to Assyria.
11:1–4
A parent teaching a child to walk
The Lord's patient, personal love for Israel since the Exodus.
14:5–7
Dew, lily, olive tree, cedars of Lebanon
What a restored, healed Israel will be like.
Joel 1:4; 2:1–11
Locusts as an army
Judgment that strips everything away, and a call to turn to the Lord.
Joel 2:28–29
The Spirit poured out on all flesh
Revelation available to young and old, men and women, servants and free.
Restoration connections
Joseph Smith—History 1:41 — Moroni quoted Joel 2:28–32 and said it was “not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be.”
Acts 2:16–21 — Peter explains the day of Pentecost by quoting Joel.
Mosiah 18:7–11; Helaman 6:34–36 — The manual pairs these with Joel's promise of the Spirit.
D&C 19:37–41 — An invitation to pray and receive the Spirit, linked in the manual.
Questions for the week
How does seeing the covenant as a marriage change the way you think about sin and repentance?
Hosea 2:15 turns a “valley of trouble” into a “door of hope.” When has the Lord done that for you?
Hosea 6:6 says God wants mercy more than sacrifice. Where might you be offering outward devotion without inward change?
What does Hosea 11:1–4, 8 teach you about how the Lord feels about you, even when you wander?
What can you do to receive more of the Spirit Joel promised (2:28–29)?
Conference talks & Church resources
Talks the Church's lesson points to this week, plus other Church resources that teach from these chapters.
Scholarly papers
Faithful scholarship from BYU and related publishers, tagged with the chapters each one discusses.
Podcasts & video
Come, Follow Me shows and episodes covering this week's reading.