The Prophet and The Prostitute (Part 3)

Called Out

Hosea 2:2-13

Scripture

Hosea 2:2-13

“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 naked

and make her as in the day she was born,

and make her like a wilderness,

and make her like a parched land,

and kill her with thirst.

4 Upon her children also I will have no mercy,

because they are children of whoredom.

5 For their mother has played the whore;

she who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,

who give me my bread and my water,

my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

6 Therefore I will hedge up her[d] way with thorns,

and I will build a wall against her,

so that she cannot find her paths.

7 She shall pursue her lovers

but not overtake them,

and she shall seek them

but shall not find them.

Then she shall say,

‘I will go and return to my first husband,

for it was better for me then than now.’

8 And she did not know

that it was I who gave her

the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and who lavished on her silver and gold,

which they used for Baal.

9 Therefore I will take back

my grain in its time,

and my wine in its season,

and I will take away my wool and my flax,

which were to cover her nakedness.

10 Now I will uncover her lewdness

in the sight of her lovers,

and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.

11 And I will put an end to all her mirth,

her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths,

and all her appointed feasts.

12 And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,

of which she said,

‘These are my wages,

which my lovers have given me.’

I will make them a forest,

and the beasts of the field shall devour them.

13 And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals

when she burned offerings to them

and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,

and went after her lovers

and forgot me, declares the Lord.

Pray

God help us to hear you and respond to you

Story

Have you ever gotten called out for something? It’s bad when you get called out for something you didn’t do and what the person calling you out is saying isn’t true at all.

[Author Note: This is your time to embarrass yourself. Have fun!]

Application 1

God calls out Israel’s spiritual adultery because He loves them

God calls out our idolatry because He loves us

Story 2

When my parents made me move out because I wasn’t being wise with my money and was taking advantage

Supporting Scripture

James 1:17

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Application 2

Because they forgot everything good they had was a gift from God

He was threatening to take it away and show them hardship so they would see their error and return

We need to recognize many times God uses our hard situations to remind us of our need for him

Do you see God as the provider of your blessing and the ultimate blessing?

Pray

God help us not be distracted by what you give, but be see you as the gift