A Promised Messiah Pt 3

Intro

Here’s where we’re going this morning:

Who is Hosea, and what is going on in Israel when he is Prophet

What is the reason for the coming judgement? What is going on in the life of this nation that is leading to their judgement?

Where do we see the compassion and love of God in the midst of this judgement (and ultimately, the Messiah)?

PRAY

Who is Hosea?

Prophet in the 8th Century BC

Northern Kingdom of Israel (Not Judah, like Ezekiel, who we looked at last week)

Comes on the scene at the tail end of a season of immense prosperity in Israel—the economy is booming, everything appears as though it is going well.

Also a time of immense, widespread wickedness and idolotry

Remember from a few weeks ago, when the Nation split, this Northern Kingdom continued to be ruled by wicked kings—not a single king served the LORD

In this wickedness & idolotry, though, they have been experiencing prosperity, lulling htem into believing that this meant that their way of life, their way of worship, was not just okay, but beneficial to them as a people.

THey more and more give themselves over to this way of life.

It is as this season of prosperity is coming to its end, as things are beginnign to come crashing down around them, ultimately ending in their exile to Assyria, that Hosea comes on the scene. And he is, ultimately, going to bring a message of judgement. But in that judgement, in that message the LORD is going to speak through Hosea to His people, we see a beautiful picture of the love and compassion of God and, ultimately, the Gospel.

Judgement is Coming

So, judgement is coming. But why?

We’re going to pick out a few statements of Hosea in this book that give us some insight into what’s going on within this nation during this time.

Hosea 9:7-10

Moving backwards through these verses:

They came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves, they gave themselves over, to the thing of shame. To idolotry. This wasn’t a physical place, it was this open worship of Baal. They came to that place, it says they loved it…and so they became like it.

They came face to face with this false god of the Caananites…and loved it…and so they gave themselves over to its worship…and became just like it.

In verse 9: they “deeply corrupted themselves”. This wasn’t just a Sunday worship service for Baal that they were attending. Their entire lives were corrupted by this worship. It led to every aspect of their being—their work, their social life, their sexual ethics, their relationships, their hobbies—all being altered, all being corrupted. Chapters 6 & 7 unpack more of how this wickedness so consumed this nation.

This society had become so evil, so wicked, so entrenched in their worship of this false god and the resulting lifestyle, that when Hosea, the prophet, came preaching Holiness…he seemed a mad man (vs. 7). The message of the watchman, the message of the God who had brought them out of Egypt, who had established them as a nation, as His People…was mad. It seemed like the ravings of a lunatic.

Sound familiar? Perhpas moreso than we want to admit…the Truth of God’s Word spoken seems mad, it seems like bigotry and hatred…

In our small group this past week, we looked at 2 Corinthians 2 where it talks about the Aroma of Christ that is being spread through His followers, and how it is the frangrance from life to life to those being saved, but to those who are perishing it is the fragrance from death to death.

For this nation of Israel, steeped in idolotry and wickedness, the message of Hosea was so foreign to them, it was lunacy.

What made it even worse…was that they were still going through the motions. They were still sacrificing to God, to Yahweh. Still claiming to know Him. They were convinced that if they simply paid Him lip service…

This is interesting, look with me, chapter 6 of Hosea:

READ Hosea 6:1-3

This sounds good! This sounds REALLY good…But it’s all a show…

READ Hosea 6:4-6

It’s this attitude of “I’m going to live however I like Monday - Saturday (or in their case, Sunday - Friday), but as long as I’m in church on Sunday (Saturday) doing my duty, then that’s all that matters!”

And God is calling them out. It’s meaningless. It’s worthless. When all it is is a show…it means absoutely nothing.

One more spot that reveals what’s going on in their hearts:

READ Hosea 8:1-6

They claim to know God…but they are in no way following Him. Thier kings are established in wickedness. They are crafting idols from silver and gold. They are “incapable of innocence”. Think about that…to be incapable of innocence…

And so, judgement is coming. A very JUST judgement. They have rejected God, they have walked away from Him and instad pursued idols, worshiping and serving these false gods with their lives…and now they are going to receive the just reward for their actions. As one verse later in Hosea 8 puts it: “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”

They are about to reap what they’ve sowed.

The Compassion of God

But that isn’t the entirety of the message preached by Hosea. In fact, as we look to the foundational message found in this book, judgement isn’t at its heart. Judgement isn’t the end of the story, nor even the main point. But at the heart of Hosea, and the heart of the message of God to His people who are in such staunch rebellion against Him…is the amazing, radical love and compassion of God.

If you noticed, we didn’t start at the beginning of this book. But as we turn there now, as we come now to the calling on Hosea’s life, how God is going to us, not only his words, but his life, to reveal His great love for His people, let’s not forget the reality of what’s going on within this nation.

They have rejected God, going after idols. They are paying Him lip service, while their lives are devoted to wickedness.

So let’s read:

READ Hosea 1:1-9

Hosea’s life is to be a living parable…a picture of God’s relationship with Israel, His people.

Hosea is to go and marry a prostitute. Now, later, we’re going to see this isn’t just a forced, loveless marriage, but one of love. Go and love, go and commit to, marry a woman who has lived a life that most would look at and scorn and detest. Redeem her.

So he marries Gomer. We aren’t told anything about where he meets her, what her history is…only that he takes her from her life of sin and desperation, and marries her.

And they have a son. His name is to be Jezreel. Now, this points back to a moment in Israel’s histroy where their wickedness is really on display, as one king (Jehu) is overthrown and murdered. And so the the name of this child points back to this moment, reminding the people of Israel as to the reason judgement is at hand.

And then, 2 more children are conceived. A daughter, name “Lo-ruhama” which means “she has not received mercy” and a son, named “Lo-ammi” which means “not my people”. Now, these two children, the second and third born to Gomer, aren’t said explicitly to be Hosea’s children. And as this book continues into chapter 2, we see a blending as it begins referring to what appears to be both Gomer and the People of Israel, who she represents.

And the picture we get is this woman who is redeemed, given a new life, bearing a child with a man who has loved her, committed herself to. But then…she goes back…goes back to her past way of life. And for a while, things are going well. For a while…

So what we see here, lived out through Hosea and Gomer, is a picture of Israel, this people that God called to be His own, set apart—to Know Him and make Him known. Called out of the world of idolotry and wickedness to be a Holy People, a Blessed People, a Blessing to the world. And then…they go back…back to their idolotry, back to their wickedness. And this is what was played out in Israel, what we saw a few moments ago. And for a while, all seemed to be going well…prosperity, happiness, this different way of life, this life devoted to Baal, seemed to be paying off! Gomer’s life of whoredom seemed to be paying off.

Until it wasn’t…

READ Hosea 2:6-10

The language we find in this book is quite explicit. I purposefully avoided the most explicit statements this morning in case there are younger ears listenning. But I hope what we see here is the reality of sin. The reality of wickedness.

God is here saying: I’m going to cut off the blessings. I’m going to cut off the prosperity. She’s going to pursue her lovers…Isreal is going to pusue this idols, pursue these false gods, but not find them…

And a devestating reality is seen here: “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.” It wasn’t the blessings of Baal they were experiencing. It was the undeserved blessings of God. Yet they refused to see it. Their view, their understanding, was so warped by sin that they took the blessings of God and used them for Baal.

They would not listen to the gentle, compassion, the blessings of God being poured out…and so judgement would now come.

“Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.”

Things are about get rough. Things are going to be exposed for what they are. No more mercy. No more blessings. It is time for judgement.

And if we stop there, if that’s where the story ended, it would be justice. This is what is deserved. The judgement that is to come is in every way deserved by the people of Israel. They are a wicked people, and the exile they are about to face is the very thing their actions deserve.

But as I said…this the foundational message we find in this book is not one of judgement…but one of amazing compassion and love…

So let’s keep going…we’re going to read these next two sections out of order, but I want us to see what the Lord does through Hosea, and then see how it corresponds to His actions towards His people.

READ Hosea 3:1-3

Go and love her again. Go and find her, find the man who she has sold herself to…and buy her back. Think about what this would have looked like for Hosea. Imagine the embarassment, the shame. As he walked the streets in the redlight district. Searching for his wife who had sold herself to another man. And then to pay for her. Not just bring her home, not just forgive her, but PAY for her.

This is why I said this wasn’t just a forced, loveless marriage. This was an act of sacrificial love shown to a woman who in no way deserved it.

And it is this same love God promises to show HIs people. Remember, now: they have yet to repent. They haven’t quite been taken into exile yet…But here’s what God has promised to them, what He has shown them through Hosea and Gomer:

READ Hosea 2:14-20

The “Valley of Achor” —that word Achor means trouble—it’s a reference back to Joshua 7, when God is leading His people to take the Promised Land, and they’ve just defeated Jericho, but instead of obedience, instead of devoting to the Lord all they were supposed to, a certain man, Achan, decided to keep some of the devoted things for himself. This led to Israel being defeated in their next battle. Achan’s sin is exposed. That place was then called the “Valley of Trouble”. It was an early picture for the people of Israel as to what the result of a life lived in rebellion, a life lived for the things of this world, would lead to.

But here in Hosea, we see the reason, the purpose—this valley of trouble, this wilderness has a PURPOSE! And its purpose is to turn the people’s eyes away from the fleeting and temporary pleasures of this world, and to turn them back to the Only One who will every truly satisfy.

This judgement is a hopeless, vengeful judgement…but it is one that makes the “Valley of Achor”, the “Valley of Trouble” into a door of hope.

Israel was a stubborn people. We are a stubborn people. And we far too easily, far to quickly, give ourselves over to the false gods of this world. We too quickly and too easily fall in love with the things of this world. And when we’ve had our fill, God, in His Mercy, brings a judgment that whill shake the foundation of our life, shake us out of our drunken stupor, to wake up to the reality of the amazing Love and Compassion He is calling us back to!

This is the promise we see here! God is saying, Yes, Judgement is coming! And it’s not going to be pretty. But through it, your eyes will finally be openned. And God will once again “love a woman who is loved by another man”…love a people who have given themselves to another…

Hosea 2:19–20 “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. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.”

But remember…there was a price. Hosea had to go and he had to pay a price for Gomer’s sin…fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley…

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Gospel

The message of Christianity is too often distorted in this world. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the argument: “I can’t believe in a God who would send people to Hell just because they don’t believe in him.”

Nobody is sent to Hell because they don’t believe in God. Hell is the rightful and just judgement for sin. And we are all, every one of us guilty. And we look at our world, we see its brokenness, and we see just a foretaste of the realities of what sin does—the destruction and death that it brings.

But God shows His love for us…that He finds us in the mess…He finds us in the place where we have sold ourselves…and He rescues us.

Hosea isn’t a book simply about the judgment Israel is facing. It is a declaration of the great LOVE with which God has loved HIs people.

I hope we’ve seen so far through this series, when we read of the love of God, the Promises of God, for Israel in this book, these things are extended to all those who are grafted in by Faith into the people of God (so that’s you and me—anyone who has accepted Christ).

This is the great love that God has shown to each one of us…

Conclusion

If you are sitting here this morning, and you believe that you are too far gone…that you’ve made one too many mistakes…or perhaps 100 too many mistakes…it’s a lie! There is no depth of sin and depravity that you can decend to in this life that God’s great love and compassion in Christ Jesus cannot reach. Will you trust His love? Will you, today, allow your eyes to be openned to the emptiness of all the promises that this world makes…and come back to the One Who Loves you?

For those of us who do know Him…let us not return…let us not turn back…let’s not play around with sin, but let’s remember its gravity. Let’s remember the absolute hell that Christ has saved us from. And let’s not every forget the length to which He went to purchase our salvation, to prove His great love for us.

I will close this morning, again, from Revelation. And perhaps as we ponder the living parable given us through Hosea and Gomer, this promise will resound even deeper within our hearts:

READ Revelation 19:6-9