Main
Theme: God’s faithful love toward His unfaithful people.
Story in a nut shell: Hosea married a woman
who bore him 3 kids, & then deserted him & became a prostitute. - He
finally buys her back from the slave market. - This was a sermon to the nation
of Israel, for committing “spiritual adultery”. It is the prodigal wife. God loves us so much that even when we’ve
betrayed His love, He comes looking for us. He buys us back, takes us home,
cleans us up and keeps loving us.
1The state of Israel - Israel was split into 2
kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom was called Israel and its capital was Samaria
(Ephraim in N. Kingdom) . Southern
Kingdom was Judah and its capital was Jerusalem). Israel ‘s 1st king was Jeroboam
who set us shrines to worship calves at Bethel and Dan (1 King 12: 25-31. Israel took pride in its wealth. Spiritually
and morally Israel was a wreck. The country’s leaders were corrupt, and crime
soared. Israel was Prospering outwardly, but decaying inwardly.
God’s
judgment was about to fall. How did the Bible describe the People of Israel in
Hosea 4:1?
Hosea: His name = Salvation. He’s the only prophet to come from the Northern
kingdom. Not mentioned anywhere else in
scripture.
Read Hosea Chapter 1
1 The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of
Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of
Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash[a] was king
of Israel. 2 When the Lord first began speaking to Israel
through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute,[b] so that
some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate
how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.”3 So Hosea
married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea
a son. 4 And the Lord
said, “Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu’s dynasty to
avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to
Israel’s independence. 5 I will break its military
power in the Jezreel Valley.” 6 Soon
Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name your daughter
Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved’—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel
or forgive them. 7 But I will show love to the people of Judah. I
will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and
charioteers, but by my power as the Lord
their God.” 8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again
became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. 9 And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my
people’—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. 10 [c]“Yet the
time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore—too
many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my
people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’ 11 Then the
people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for
themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will
be—the day of Jezreel[d]—when God
will again plant his people in his land.
Hosea 1:3 says Gomer’s father’s name: What
was it? Diblaim. It means “ a double
portion of raisin cakes” which were an aphrodisiac/ so like extra strength
Viagra. Gomer’s name means “filled up with idolatry or fully ripened
wickedness).
Why did God tell Hosea to marry a woman like
her? Read Hosea 1: 2. (The land is
guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord. Their marriage was to
serve as a living picture of God’s relationship with Israel. Hosea’s love for
his unfaithful wife reflects God’s redemptive love for Israel. ) Hosea means salvation. Gomer must have known
beterr than anyone that she was a chosen and loved bride ..chosen by a man
named salvation.
Who did God say Israel was? Read Deuteronomy 7: 6-8 The Lord
did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous
than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But
it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he
swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed
you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9
God
chose them… just because. He set His
love on them not because of who they were or what they did..but just because He
chose to. Hosea didn’t love Gomer because of who she was or what she did, but
because she chose to love her. Gomer is a picture of Israel and gomer is a
picture of you and me. We too are
chosen and loved.
Why did
they go for false gods when they were loved by the true God? Why do you thing Gomer went for lovers even
after she had the love of Hosea and identify as his bride. Read Hosea 13:6. What is God saying about His
people that may help you answer those questions. When I fed them, they were satisfied, when
they were satisfied, they became proud then they forgot me. Do you think it is easier to forget
God when He has blessed you with a life that is good and easy? Read Hosea 11:7 to see what it says about
the reason for Israel’s and Gomer’s unfaithfulness? My people are determined to turn from me.
Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them. So now, God works through consequences and
tenderness to call them back.
” 3 So
he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the Lord
said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu
for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow
in the Valley of Jezreel.” (He is saying he will destrou their weapons so their
enemies defeat them in every battle)
6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord
said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no
longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will
save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call
him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am
not your God.[b]
Names of children: Jezreel – God scatters!,. God was about to punish his
people because of the bloodshed of Jezreel. They would be scattered throughout
the world because of their unfaithfulness.
( God will strip us of our security. God will fight against us and make
us powerless.)
Lo-Ruhamah! (No-Mercy), Compassion means to suffer with someone. When
the bible says God is compassionate, it means He feels our hurt. He knows our
suffering. (God will harden His heart against us and have no compassion for us
or our suffering).
Psalm 103:3 says As a father has
compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on
those who fear him; Does this mean he is a contradiction? No! God is long- suffering and His love does
endure forever…but when we insist on our own way and persevere in our sin, the
time comes when the daily mercies of the Lord are withdraw from us and we are
abandoned to our folly so that we might learn to turn back to Him.
Lo-Ammi! (Not-my-people), The boy’s name was to convey the idea that
God’s tolerance was about to run our and He would no longer call His people His
own. (He will disown us. If we come to
Him for help, he will act like he doesn’t know us. God is a consuming fire. The
same fire that can consume us is the same fire that wants to melt our hearts).
Hosea 1: 10-11 shows that they people will have
restoration… “you will be called sons of the living God/ you will be like
sand of the sea, “gathered together… will be great… “ Restoration…. (to
be gathered…they first have to have been scattered)>
Read Hosea 2.
2 [a]“In that day
you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters
Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’ 2 “But now bring charges
against Israel—your mother— for she is
no longer my wife, and I am no longer her
husband. Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts. 3 Otherwise, I will strip her
as naked
as she was
on the day she was born. I will leave her to die of thirst, as in a dry and barren wilderness. 4 And I will not love her children, for they were conceived in
prostitution. 5 Their mother
is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and water, for
clothing of wool and linen, and for olive oil and
drinks.’6 “For this
reason I will fence her in with thornbushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her
lose her way. 7 When she
runs after her lovers, she won’t be
able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them.
Then she will think,
‘I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.’
8 She doesn’t realize it was I
who gave her everything she has— the grain,
the new wine, the olive oil; I even gave her silver and gold. But she gave all my gifts to
Baal. 9 “But now I will take back the
ripened grain and new wine. I generously provided each
harvest season. I will take away the wool and linen clothing I gave her to cover her
nakedness.
10 I will strip her naked in
public, while all her lovers look on. No one will
be able to rescue her from my hands. 11 I will put
an end to her annual festivals, her new moon
celebrations, and her Sabbath days— all her
appointed festivals.
12 I will destroy her grapevines
and fig trees, things she claims her lovers
gave her.
I will let them grow into tangled thickets, where only wild
animals will eat the fruit. 13 I will
punish her for all those times she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings
and jewels and went out
to look for her lovers but forgot all about me,” says the Lord.
14 “But then I will win her back
once again. I will lead
her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.
15 I will return her vineyards
to her and transform the Valley of Trouble[b] into a
gateway of hope.
She will give herself to me there, as
she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her
from her captivity in Egypt.
16 When that day comes,” says
the Lord,“you will call me ‘my
husband’ instead of ‘my master.’[c]
17 O Israel, I will wipe the
many names of Baal from your lips, and you will
never mention them again.
18 On that day I will make a
covenant with all the wild animals and
the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground
so they will not harm you. I will
remove all weapons of war from the land, ll swords
and bows,
so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. 19 I will make
you my wife forever, showing you
righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. 20 I will be faithful to you and
make you mine, and you will
finally know me as the Lord. 21 “In that
day, I will answer,” says the Lord.“I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds. And the sky
will answer the earth with rain. 22 Then the earth will answer
the thirsty cries of the grain, the grapevines, and the olive
trees. And they in turn will answer, ‘Jezreel’—‘God plants!’ 23 At that time
I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself. I will show love to those I called ‘Not loved.’[d] And to
those I called ‘Not my people,’[e] I will say,
‘Now you are my people.’ And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’”
Here we see God doing everything to
get Israel to be reconciled. What did
Gomer say in Hosea 2:5? That she would go after her lovers, who gave her food
and water, wool and linen, olive oil and drink. Bread and water represents daily survival
and security. (Think about what makes
you feel secure). Wool and linen were
the fabric to make clothes. This
represents her wardrobe, her appearance, how she appeared to others.. What represents your wool and linen? Olive oil and drink are the pleasures of
life. What is your “go to” pleasure?
There is nothing wrong with these things until she sought them in a
different way than God desired. Gomer wanted what she didn’t have, but did NOT
want what she did have. She looked
outside her marriage to get her needs and wants fulfilled. Gomer tired to find her identify in herself and
her lovers instead of embracing her identify as a loved, chosen wife to Hosea.
If we search for these things outside from the Lord, what will we have
according to 2 Timothy 3: 4-5? 4… They will be treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having
a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
How does God intervene in Hosea 2:6? He will block their way with
thorns, enclose them with a wall, and obsure their paths. Thorns slow you down, a wall stops you where
you are out. The thorns and walls aren’t pleasant but them remind us that God
loves us enough to slow us down and draw us back to Himself.
When God resists the pride in us, don’t misunderstand and thing
God is rejecting us. He resists us in
order to draw us back to Himself. ‘
Psalm 119: 67, 71 67 Before
I was afflicted I went astray, but now I
obey your word/ It was good for me to be afflicted so
that I might learn your decrees.
Hosea
2:7 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by
bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.” (God will
show compassion to their rival/ Judah.
What did Gomer say came from her lovers? (Hosea 2: 12) Grape vines
and figs represents tranquility, security and enjoyment of fruitfulness. (he safety, pleasure and peace. . We do this
when we enjoy what God has given us without acknowledging that God is the real
giver of them. A false god can offers a
false sense of security, a temporary lack of conflict, and fleeting elation we
thing is pleasure until it fizzles out.
According to Hosea 2: 9-12, what is God’s reaction to this
misplaced Honor? He takes away the
blessings.
+Is my sense of security and identify in God alone or do I find my
identify/ security in things from God, like my talents, success, kinds,
appearance, etc?
What are Gomer’s 3 sins in Hosea 2:13? She burned incense to Baal, went looking for
lovers, and forgot God.
What does God do? Hosea 2: 14….
He leads her into the desert to speak tenderly to her. Why the desert? No resources/ she must rely on Him.
Hosea 2: 15 Then I will give her back her
vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a door of hope. God treats His people kindly and holds out
hope that Isrel will repent and return to the truth that god alone is the
perfect Lover of our souls… - The valley will became a door of hope!(a valley
of hope) Explain
God’s vision for his people in 2:14-23 as stated in Hosea’s poetic language. Hosea 2: 14-23 shows God is the restorer. In v 15, He restores security, safety, and
hope. In v. 16, He restores
dignity. In v. 17, He restores purity. V
18 He restores peace. In vs 19 and 20, He restores a loving relationship. In vs 23, He restores compassion and
connection. Woo her, give her hope, have
her singing, be her husband, betroth her, & provide for her. God reverses the negatives after repentance
in Hosea 2- 23…
.What
did he expect her to change? Fidelity to the marriage; to be intimate with Him,
forsake all other gods, to be faithful to Him, & Love Him.
Did
Hosea keep Gomer as a slave? No, Read
Hosea 2: 16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer
call me ‘my master.[d] God
doesn’t not redeem without restoration.
.What
indications do we have that God would take steps to bring this about? (He says
“I will” 15 x’s in this section!!!) . Q: What else would Hosea have to “give
up” to get her back? (ask) . Pride, resentment, unforgiveness, grudges, &
self-righteousness! (we get satisfied
with life and forget God… We can stray by looking to another for our approvals.
We are the ones God chose and loves, but we are bent on turning from him and
chasing other gods. But Jesus paid the
full price for our freedom. His loving desire to make us His people and to know
our identify in him, to know His love, and to live in the light of that love.
Romans
8: 38-39- For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k]
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
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