Hosea: Salvation and Steadfast Love without Rival Chapter 1 The Beginning of the End

Intro:

Review from last week:

Away on vacation last week:

The Pines

Dr. Crawford Loritts

Hosea: “salvation” and steadfast love without rival

Prophet

first of the 12 Minor Prophets, the “1st John” of the OT.

“death-bed prophet of Israel” because he was the last to prophecy before the fall of the northern Kingdom in 722 B.C.

God is going to have Hosea’s life be an illustration of what is going to happen.

Priests:

wicked, lying in wait, filled with vilainy,

The book is the fall out of a falling away from the covenant made in Deuteronomy.

Kings:

This was a very prosperous time

Judah (southern tribes): Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah

Israel (northern tribes): Jeroboam II

Near the end of a peiod of military success and prosperity for Both Israel and Judah. Yet with the revival of the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 B.C.) the northern kingdom of Israel became a puppet state to the Assyrian Empire before being defeated in the revolt in 722 B.C.

Prophet, Priest, and King: for a context of what is going in in the culture of the times

s

Outline:

Prosperity: “In the Days of…” (v. 1)

Challenging Marriage: “A Wife of Whoredom” (vs. 2-3)

C: “” (vs.)

Summary of the Chapter:

Memory verse of the Chapter:

Illustration: Blowing the breaker in the Camper, “click click…on”. What has been a couple of the greatest illustrations or life examples that have stuck with you? Something that you were taught by way of example: story, illustration, lesson in life? “That is something I will never forget…something I have never forgotten”. Here is one of my life lessons, it involves the trailer again.

I have the best illustration for you up here under the communion table, but I am not going to share it until the end

Prayer:

Prosperity: “The Days of…” (v. 1)

Hosea

The word of LORD that came to Hosea

Hosea- “Salvation”.

Son of Beeri- We do not know much more about Hosea or his family.

Ministered for a number of decades (755-710) in the second half of the eighth Century B.C. to primarily the Northern kingdom of Israel.

In the days of

Kings of Judah (Southern Kingdom)

Uzziah

Jotham

Ahaz

Hezekiah

King of Israel (Northern Kingdom)

Jeroboam

The Kings

Kings of Judah (southern kingdom) PIC (2 Chron. 26-29)

Uzziah- king at 16 and reigned 52 years in Jerusalem, he did what was right in the eyes of t he LORD until he was “strong”. Then he grew proud to his destruction. Leprosy breaks out on his forehead because the LORD struck him and was a leper to the day of his death and lived alone in a separate house.

“Uzziah’s reign was marked by repeated successful wars, increased building projects in the land, the multiplication of fortifications and the promotion of agriculture (see 2 Ch. 26)” (Feinburg, The Minor Prophets, 14).

Jotham- king at 25, reigned 16 years in Jerusalem, he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but the people still followed corrupt practices. He became mighty because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.

Ahaz- king at 20, reigned 16 years in Jerusalem, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD, he walked in the way of the kings of Israel (Northern tribes). made metal images for the Baals, made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, burned his sons as an offering.

Hezekiah- king at 25 and reigned for 29 years in Jerusalem, he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. “carry out the filth from the Holy Place” reformation of the Levites and the Temple (it took 16 days).

Kings of Israel (Northern Kingdom)

This is where Hosea is prophesying

Jeroboam- Jeroboam 2, reigned 41 years and did was was evil in the sight of God.

G (vs.)

It is a 60 40 split. Good to evil.

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

We could be tempted just like the people to say look at all that is going well! They were prospering, what is wrong with that? The prosperity of the time was not the problem, it was the posturing of the heart.

What kind of people do I look up to? What kind of people do I hang out with? What kind of people am I raising behind me?

Couple of cautions

Just because someone starts off well, doesn’t mean they end well.

there is a pattern of pride that comes with prosperity, even if it was given by God.

as the kings grew “strong” there is a shift away from God, Hosea 7:13–15 “Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me. They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me. Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me.”

brings them down, disciplines, destroys, which leads the people to devise evil against the Lord, derision in the land of Egypt

“I am not as good as God uses me”- Dr. Loritts

Enlist the Body (faith steps):

How is God using you to share his word in the place and time that he has you? We can look at our days and see all of the challenges: government, political tensions around the world, wars, economy…Notice God did not tell Hosea to give his opinion, he calls him to share his words.

Who or what has been a great example to you in this area? What life lessons about prosperity and living in the culture has shaped your life?

Transitional phrase:

Challenging Marriage: “A Wife of Whoredom” (vs. 2-3)

The LORD said… (v.2)

Then the LORD first spoke through Hosea,

the LORD said to Hosea…Did you hear that, before God speaks through Hosea, He speaks to Hosea! Before God speaks through you, He speaks to you! Don’t just let it come off your lips, you are going to live it! And what is it…

Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom- not that she is at the moment, but she will become unfaithful to her husband

and have children of whoredom- the children that she will have are Hosea’s children, but their mother will not be faithful to her husband after they are born.

for the land commits great whoredom- wait a minute, how can a land be unfaithful to a covenant relationship?

by forsaking the LORD

Hosea Obeyed (v.3)

So he went and took

Gomer- “Complete or completion”

the daughter of Diblaim

and she conceived and bore him a son

Hosea did it! He obeyed the LORD! In an uncommon process, God let’s Hosea know how things are going to be before they happen.

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

Would you have followed the Lord if you knew what was going to happen? For those of us that are married, if you knew all that was going to happen in your marriage would you have still said yes? Some of us knew some of the patterns of our spouse and we still said yes. Here God tells Hosea right from the beginning that she is going to be unfaithful and he still says yes! Blows my mind! It challenges me that God remains faithful even when a spouse is unfaithful.

Usually a great illustration teaches you the truth in a way that you stay away from the hardship, you stear clear of making that mistake. How do you reconcile this? Marriage is challenging is it not! I vulontarily commited to do life with someone that I cannot control

Enlist the Body (faith steps):

Transitional phrase:

Contraversial Children: “Jezreel, No Mercy, Not My People” (vs. 4-11)

Jezreel (vs.4-5)

And the LORD said to him

call his name Jezreel

For in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel

and I will put an end to the kindgom of the house of Israel

and on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel- without knowing the history, what do you think, happy memory to remember every time you look at your kid?

No Mercy (vs.6-7)

She conceived again and bore a daughter

and the LORD said to him

call her name “No Mercy”

For I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all

But

I will have mercy on the house of Judah

and I will save them by the LORD their God

I will not save them

by bow

or by sword

or by war

or by horses

or by horsemen

Not My People (vs.)

Whe she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son

and The LORD said to him

Call his name Not My People

for you are not my people

and I am not your God

Yet

the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea

which cannot be meansured

or numbered

and in the place where it was said to them

you are not my people

it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God”

and the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together

and they shall appoint for themselves one head

and they shall go up form the land

for great shall be the day of Jezreel

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

Enlist the Body (faith steps):

God uses the illustration of a marriage to an unfaithful spouse and the constant reminder of the names of Hoseas children to teach a truth about Himself, salvation and steadfast love is only found in Him. The life lessons of prosperity, a challenging marriage, and controversial children was not just for Hosea and the Northern tribe of Israel, they are for us to. Not just to keep us keep us from making the same mistakes but to see that we all make the same mistakes, we all think we are stronger than we are, we all think that we will be the faithful one, we all think that because our children made certain choices that ultimately we are the reason (whether good or bad).

show the mirror

We are all the faulty illustrations that God is using! Only, He does not want people to look and see us, he wants to use us for others to see Christ in us! We were never meant to be the life lesson, we were made to be a reflection of the life giver! You see, the best thing about an illustration is not the illustration itself but how well it aligns with the truth that changes us.

The best illustration that God has ever given was Himself! God sent His Son to be the illustration that would end all other illustrations!

Transitional phrase:

Summary of the Chapter:

Memory verse of the Chapter

Discussion Starters:

In what ways does prosperity tempt me to distance from God?

How has God been faithful even when I have not?

What does my life illustrate?

Song:

Next Week’s Sermon: Hosea 2

Benediction/Looking ahead: INVITE PEOPLE TO THE CAFE