The Shocking Treatment of the Bride
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· 8 viewsWe do not rest on the knowledge of who God is, but are secure in our intimate relationship with him.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
PRAY TO BEGIN
We do a poor job teaching people about who God is, or what God desires from us
last week we looked at the promiscuity of Gomer, the bride of Hosea and of Israel in their relationship with the Lord
that Hosea was to take a wife of promiscuity, because the “land” or Israel has been promiscuous and chasing after other gods
the relationship with God and his people have been illustrated to marriage, an intimate relationship
Therefores is first half of the chapter
she is dressed and running to her other lovers
therefore, he will make her way difficult
she does not recognize that all her needs are met by her husband, but gives credit to her adulterous lovers
therefore he will remove all the things that she needs and also the gold and silver that he lavished on her
which she used to serve Baal
the first half ends with the sad statement that she put on her jewelry and forgot about her husband
14 Therefore, I am going to persuade her, lead her to the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her vineyards back to her and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt.
16 In that day— this is the Lord’s declaration— you will call me, “My husband,” and no longer call me, “My Baal.”
17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names.
18 On that day I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will shatter bow, sword, and weapons of war in the land and will enable the people to rest securely.
19 I will take you to be my wife forever. I will take you to be my wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion.
20 I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.
21 On that day I will respond— this is the Lord’s declaration. I will respond to the sky, and it will respond to the earth.
22 The earth will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will sow her in the land for myself, and I will have compassion on Lo-ruhamah; I will say to Lo-ammi: You are my people, and he will say, “You are my God.”
This is the gospel in the OT, the scene of an adulterous bride and therefore he will…
v14 - he is going to speak softly and tenderly to her, and draw her away from her sin and back to him
word persuade = wooing
woo her, speak tenderly to her, draw her out to the wilderness, and speak directly to her heart
the image is that in the sin of his people, God will speak tenderly to them, and draw them out of their sin, back to him
the moment that we expect to see judgment rain down on the sinful nation, the promiscuous people,
you see the heartbroken husband calling for a restored relationship with his bride
I have said that we do not realize how much God hates sin… maybe because we do not see the instant ramifications
at the same time, we do not realize how much it breaks his heart when we sin
the valley of Achor will be a place of hope!
the author assumes that the reader, or hearer at the time would know their history
Valley of Achor is where Israel committed their first act of adultery in the promise land
Achan took the things that were meant to be kept aside for God from Jericho
he desired the silver and gold from the spoil of battle more than he desired the God who gave them victory in the battle
the Israelites then went to AI and lost the battle and the sin was made known
God destroyed Achan and his family in the valley of Achor
but now that place of judgment is going to be a place of hope
Three times i the passage God says on that day…
What day
On the day that he has wooed his bride and drawn her away from her promiscuous lovers
on the day that Achor will be a place of hope…
A Day of Understanding
A Day of Understanding
God’s people cleansed from their love for other gods and will know God for who he is
It’s not a religion, it is a relationship
this is a tag line we love to repeat, but often do not understand
but if we are honest, for so many, it is a one way relationship
what I mean is that it is one where we do all the talking
either begging for help or
complaining about how the help did not come like we wanted
we rest on our knowledge of the bible
knowing the different stories in the bible and as soon as we begin to read them, or when somebody brings them up we go back to the thing that we have been taught about it, or we act as if it were a lesson we have already learned
the bible is not a text book
it is living and active, dividing bone and marrow
I am not calling or saying that God is going to give us a different meaning to the passages that we know so well
but I cannot count how many times that I have read through scripture and as I am going, something new comes out of it
the reason is in a relationship, it is a two way, back and forth
16 In that day— this is the Lord’s declaration— you will call me, “My husband,” and no longer call me, “My Baal.”
17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names.
Gomer has forgotten who her husband is
this sounds silly to us that anyone would forget their spouse
I mean how many of those married walked in today and thought, now which one is my husband? Who is my wife?
it is not that she forgot, but that her husband was just another guy
the relationship with him was transactional just like it was with all her other lovers
and this is the understanding of a relationship with God comes into play for us
do we know him, or is he just the one you picked out of all the gods that are out there
The difference between Baal and Husband
the word Baal is also translated husband in different passages in the OT
we understand Baal as the false god of the OT, and he is
the word means master, owner or lord
the word translated husband in our passage is one of intimacy
Israel is assigning the false gods as the Lord
remember the sin of Jeroboam
when he took over as the first king of the northern kingdom Israel, he made two golden calfs and said here is the god that brought you from the land of Egypt
there was no relationship with God, it was just one of many
if it is one of many, I can make it to be whatever I want
I can even dictate how I worship, when, if…
Gomer saw the role of husband as one of domineering, master / slave relationship
how so many view the Lord
because we take our earthly relationships and assign the ways we have been treated, or the ways we have witnessed onto God
his commands are restrictive and there to keep us from doing what we want, from having fun
but he desires so much more for you
he is wooing you even now, to leave all that the world is offering you and come to him
The one she was intimate with will no longer be known even by name
she will know her husband in a way that causes her to forget the lovers she had in the past, to where she cannot even name them
the ones that she ran to, thought provided everything for her, they are now called “whats there name”
A Day of Eternal Covenant
A Day of Eternal Covenant
The new covenant will be eternal, never broken and paid for by the Lord
Israel has left the covenant relationship it had with the Lord
where he would dwell among them, in the tabernacle, in the temple between the wings of the cherubim on the arc of the covenant
the sacrifices that were to be given to make atonement for their sin were not just ritual and habit
they could be done anywhere, to anything because gods make you sacrifice
18 On that day I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will shatter bow, sword, and weapons of war in the land and will enable the people to rest securely.
notice the days of war are over…
19 I will take you to be my wife forever. I will take you to be my wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion.
20 I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.
On that day is a look into the future
Israel is going to be exiled from their land, God will rise up other nations that will come in
the temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed
there are consequences to sin, a price must be paid
but the Lord is reassuring them that this is not the end
a new covenant is coming
I say new, because when we look at other scripture, other prophets speaking to the same people it is described as a new covenant
31 “Look, the days are coming” —this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
Jesus tells his disciples of a new covenant Mt 26:26-28
26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you.
28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
The lord will pay the betrothal
the CSB does a bad job translating this I believe
three times in v19-20 CSB uses the phrase, “I will take you” the word they are translating to that phrase is betroth
to pay a price and take possession is the literal translation
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.
the Lord pays the price for his promiscuous bride
what does he pay
righteousness, love, mercy faithfulness
this is the new covenant!
Jesus went to the cross to pay for the sins of his people! to cleanse the bride of her sins and prepare her and present her holy and pure
a permanent relationship that will bring us into intimacy with him
no longer know him as a harsh ruler or master, but intimately know him for all of eternity
know - yada - to intimately know something
the one that we have sinned against did not cast us out in our shame
but has drawn us into a deeper relationship with him by paying the price of our betrothal
A Day of Renewal
A Day of Renewal
All of creation will be made like it was in the beginning
there are a lot of spas and places that talk about renewal
they will put it in there name, or the name of their treatments
you might have tried them, it might refresh you for a time, but it is not a complete renewal
When we speak of a day of renewal this is not like in this world where it is for a day, a week or a season, but eternal
21 On that day I will respond— this is the Lord’s declaration. I will respond to the sky, and it will respond to the earth.
22 The earth will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will sow her in the land for myself, and I will have compassion on Lo-ruhamah; I will say to Lo-ammi: You are my people, and he will say, “You are my God.”
After the marriage has been consummated, all the blessing that were lost will be restored
In the garden of eden Adam and Eve walked with God, they were naked and not ashamed
without sin, in relationship with God, there was no sin to be ashamed of, no guilt to hide or try and make up for
when our relationship is made new, when we are with him in glory, this is what it will be like
we will be with him and know him as we are fully known, 1 Corinthians 13:12 “12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” ,
we will be in a place prepared for us, an eternal dwelling with the Father, John 14:1–2 “1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”
Today there may be trials and heartache
consequences of sin passed down to each of us
a Genesis 3 world
though our punishment for sin has been taken by Christ Jesus
the consequences are ones that we will live with
consequences of our sin, consequences of others sin
A day is coming when all will be made new
like the Garden of Eden, before sin and shame entered the world
before man felt like they had to hide from God
before man felt as if they had to cover their shame and disgrace
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
The Father is tenderly calling you now
Do not miss his call,
his desire is tenderness and intimacy
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
What does the story of Gomer symbolize in relation to God's relationship with His people?
How does the passage illustrate God's intention to restore His relationship with His people despite their unfaithfulness?
What significance does the Valley of Achor hold?
In what ways does the concept of an intimate relationship between God and His people differ from merely viewing Him as a master?
What is meant by God 'wooing' His people back to Him?
What does the phrase 'you will call me, 'My husband'?
How does the imagery of creation responding to God relate to the theme of renewal?
What lessons can we draw about God's mercy from the interactions between Him and Gomer?
Memory Verse
Memory Verse
Hosea 2:20 “I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.”
