A Story of Extravagant Love: Part I

Introduction

Historical Background:

Hosea 1:1 KJV 1900

The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

The book of Hosea starts out by giving us insight as to the timeline in which Hosea’s ministry as a prophet occurred.

His ministry began near the end of the reign of Uzziah which ended in 739 BC and then concluded during the early years of Hezekiah’s reign which began 716 BC. It is believed that his ministry spanned around 40 years.

Hosea’s ministry began near the end of a period of military success and prosperity for both Israel and Judah. At this same time the Assyrians seemed to be on the decline.

However, as foreseen by Hosea, the Assyrians eventually took control of the Northern Kingdom, Israel and had them at their mercy. Hosea was used as a warning to the people of things to come.

Throughout these pages we will find the rejection of God from these people, and God’s faithfulness and mercy despite the lack of devotion on their part.

I’ve entitled this series on the book of Hosea, a story of extravagant love. That word extravagant means lacking restraint in spending money or using resources.

Literally, we will see the story of Hosea, as he goes to great lengths to give to his wife Gomer chance after chance, resources after resources, and display a love that never gave up, but always was giving.

Really, this first chapter will set up the scene for us to give us a living illustration of the type of relationship God’s people had with their heavenly Father.

Transition

Tonight I want us to look at Three Lessons that we can learn from this chapter as we consider God’s faithfulness and love.

Our Relationship with God Is Not Based on Our Faithfulness to Him (v. 2-3)

Here we find a very unusual request. As you consider the prophets in the Old Testament, they were called upon sometimes to do unusual things.

I think of the book of Ezekiel and some of the things God told him to do, and they seemed very bizarre, yet God had a reason behind them. Here God tells Hosea, I want you to find a wife.

But not just any ordinary wife. I want you to find a woman who is going to be unfaithful to you. And with that woman I want you to have children with her.

Now, I want you to put yourself in Hosea’s shoes. Hosea no doubt was a pure man. He was a righteous man. A holy man. And God wanted him to go and find a woman opposite of what he was.

-When I was dating my wife, I wanted to make sure that we were compatible. We asked each other many questions. We spent a lot of time together. And we were both invested in our relationship to the point that we were faithful to one another.

-When we got married we vowed to be faithful to one another. And in any marriage ceremony I’ve been to, the vows that are given speak to that simple phrase, till death due us part.

We know some marriages will end due to unfaithfulness on the part of a spouse. But most likely that marriage began with the full intent to stay faithful to one another.

In fact, any good relationship is built on trust. When that trust is broken it is hard to get back. Unfaithfulness in a relationship is a constant killer in marriages.

But can you imagine walking into a marriage relationship where you knew the person you were standing across from was going to turn their back on you.

You knew up front that they would cheat on you. They would use you. They’d take advantage of you. They would reject you. They would run from you. They would manipulate you.

Yet, you follow through with the marriage and determine to stay with that person, and not only stay with them, but to be faithful to them, to show them unconditional love, and show goodness to them.

That is the relationship of Hosea and Gomer.

In our immediate context, Hosea is a picture of God. Gomer is a picture of the nation of Israel. Her children are a picture of judgment that was to come upon the people if they would not repent.

But I believe as we consider these two verses and see the relationship that Hosea enters into with Gomer, it reminds me of my relationship with God and your relationship with God.

Just consider it. Hosea chooses Gomer in her sinful state. Even in her wickedness and promiscuous living, Hosea showers this woman with love. A love that she had never seen before.

A love that gave without taking. A love that had no agenda but to love. And Hosea rescues Gomer time and again from the mess she finds herself in.

It reminds me of Romans 5:8:

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:10 KJV 1900

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Romans 5:6 KJV 1900

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

We were wicked, we were enemies, we were sinners, yet He died for us. There is none righteous no not one. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

When God saved me I was a wreck. I was without strength. I was wicked. I was vile. I was sinful. I was unfaithful. Yet the grace of God reached down to Mike Bennett.

And He pulled me up out of the miry clay and he set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. When God got me, it was similar to Hosea getting Gomer.

Because time and again I fail God. I’m not always faithful to the Lord like I should be. I sin. I allow the flesh to take control. I live defeated at times.

But what I love about this story, is that Hosea rescues Gomer from the mess she gets herself in.

Listen to me tonight, no matter what mess you may have found yourself in as a child of God, His love for you is extravagant. He sent His son to die in your place.

That’s how much He loved you. He loved you with an everlasting love. And no matter where you are, no matter what you’ve done, God wants His grace to touch your life and change you.

But the lesson we learn here is that our relationship with God is not based on our faithfulness. It’s based on His faithfulness.

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 8:35–39 KJV 1900

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Salvation is not us holding onto God, it is God holding onto us! Salvation is not based on us and our performance, it is an act of God’s grace in our lives.

I think of the name Hosea. Some would pronounce it Hoshea. Jeshua. In the Hebrew it would mean salvation.

Hosea is a picture of our salvation. How the grace of God that saves us is the same grace that keeps us. Not one day of my life have I deserved to be saved.

I thank the Lord for the deliverance He brought to my life. I thank Him for saving me as a teenage boy. But I also am as equally grateful for how God has been my deliverer time and again in my Christian journey.

That He has poured out His love on me even when I’ve been furthest away from Him.

It would do us well to remember, there’s nothing we can do to make God love us more than what He does now. His love is unconditional and His faithfulness is ever-enduring.

Our Unfaithfulness to God Stirs God’s Wrath (v. 4-9)

The verses we see here are pretty harsh. God was fed up with the sin of His people. The unfaithfulness that Gomer would display toward Hosea was an exact picture of what Israel was doing to the Lord.

They were unfaithful to the Lord through idolatry, hypocrisy, sinful living. Due to this unfaithfulness, God lays out a plan for judgment if these people would not repent.

So the children that Gomer would give birth to, were named to describe the judgment that would come.

As God tells Hosea to name the first child Jezreel, He is using this name, not for its meaning, but rather its association to past and future events in history in this place.

Jezreel was where King Jehu massacred the house of Ahab. This is what is referred to in verse 4. Jezreel would also, as verse 5 shows, be a place where they would fail in their military efforts.

In verse 6 she bears a daughter named Lo-ruhamah, which means no-mercy. They had got to a point where God was done extending mercy to them.

In fact, he states he would have mercy upon Judah. We know that to be the bloodline of Christ. It is interesting in verse 1 even that when the introduction is given, only one king from Israel is mentioned, which this whole book is written about, while four kings are listed from Judah.

God would judge them for the bloodshed in Jezreel. He would break them down militarily. He would have no mercy upon them. And then we see the birth of the last son, Lo-ammi, meaning not my people, or simply put nobody.

God completely disowns them in this verse. His wrath is full upon these people for what they’ve done.

While I am thankful that God loves us and shows His grace upon us and rescues us from our messes in life, don’t think for a minute that our sin and wrong-doing does not offend God.

How do you think Hosea felt when he found out Gomer cheated on him again? How do you think he felt when he had to dish out money again to bail her out of the mess she was in?

It hurt Hosea. It probably outraged Hosea, and rightfully so. Here he shows grace on her, and she just goes and does whatever she wants.

Let me say, God didn’t save us so we could live our lives in sin. That’s why we got saved! So we could be freed from sin!

Romans 6:1–7 KJV 1900

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

God takes sin very seriously. These verses show us that He does. But I love the transition that takes place in verse 10. Hosea uses the word, “yet.”

God is upset with His people. He’s ready to have vengeance on them. He’s ready to not show mercy on them. He’s ready to totally disown them, disassociate from them, YET!

God’s Faithfulness Is Rooted in His Promises (v. 10-11)

Sin stirs the wrath of God, but God’s love and faithfulness to us is rooted in His promises. You may be thinking, “Pastor why are you saying it’s rooted in His promises?”

Look at the reference made in verse 10. They will be as the sand of the sea. Where was that promise made?

Genesis 22:17 KJV 1900

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

Here we find part of a conversation between God and Abraham. This is known as the Abrahamic covenant, where God promises Abraham, the land, the seed, and the blessing.

Here God blesses Abraham by promising him a children that were like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore.

Is this not what God makes reference to in verse 10? In essence He’s saying, “I’m weary of your sin, you have stirred my wrath, yet, I am a God who remembers and keeps His promises.”

Although you are unfaithful to me, I will always be faithful to you. Even though you don’t deserve to be called my people, you are sons and daughters of mine no matter what you do. You are my people.

How many of you are thankful tonight, that God keeps His promises? How do we know God is faithful, how do we know He is loving? How do we know even when we’ve stirred His wrath that we are still His children?

It’s because of what His Word says. His Word is what stands. What God says He will do.

That promise He made all the way back to Abraham in Genesis, God remembered that, and He showed grace upon these people remembering His promise to them.

God’s faithfulness is rooted in His promises.

Conclusion

There is a lightbulb in Livermore, California that has burned almost continuously since 1901. The Livermore Power and Light Company gave the bulb to the Livermore Volunteer Fire Department over a century ago and it has been burning ever since with a few short interruptions. It has not been turned off since 1976.

Just as that lightbulb continues to burn night and day, the faithfulness of God continues to be shown every day to us.

May this be a challenge to us to love Him more. To serve Him more. To surrender more. Out of hearts that love Him for all He’s done.