Broken Together

It doesn’t matter if it’s ok!

“Marriage is like a game of chess, except the board is flowing water, the pieces are made of smoke, and no move you make will have any effect on the outcome.” - Jerry Seinfeld

While so much about marriage is humorous, I believe that the decision that couples make in this union impact people in our culture more than anything else.

Our children need our marriages to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Healthy homes require healthy marriages.

Knowing the importance of marriage can help the church understand why Satan attacks the relationship between husbands and wives more than anything.

READ Hosea 1:1-2 - This OT Passage paints a picture into the heart of God.

History

Jereboam II - Great affluence, military strength, & national security for Judah.

After His death, there was a period of anarchy going through 6 kings in 30 years.

Assyria gained power and Israel’s days were numbered.

God rose Hosea up as a prophet to bring warning to the people that judgment was coming.

But this was not what Hosea would be known for.

The life of Hosea would provide a picture of God’s covenant relationship with Israel.

“Marry this woman who will not be faithful to you.”

Hosea - (Hebrew word meaning “to save or deliver”).

His message to Israel was an offer of salvation and deliverance to those in Israel and Judah who would receive it. They wouldn’t.

God not only gave him a message. He was also BE a message.

Not a typical call to ministry.

He would marry Gomer. A prostitute. She either had already, or would already have children from unfaithful relationships.

She represented the country who had broken their marriage with God.

God called this marriage to be a living example to the people of their spiritual adultery.

These are one of those “why God?” moments. Why did God expose His own servant to such misery just to prove a point?

To understand marriage, we have to learn why God has a relationship with people in 1 first place.

READ Hosea 2:14-23

“God loved Israel at her worst”

Even though Israel had run away from God, He promised to bring restoration back to Israel.

He would take them back to the days of Egypt.

They would come to their senses, repent, and call the Lord their husband.

They couldn’t outrun God’s love.

He promised that they could rest securely and that He would take them back.

Even though Israel had been unfaithful, their fortune would be reversed.

Prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)

God delights in bringing people back to Him in grace.

What does Hosea & Gomer’s relationship have to do with our marriage?

None of us are Hosea. We are all Gomer

Unconditional grace is hard to want to give until you are the one who needs it.

If all mankind is broken in sin, than all marriage are broken without God.

If we can’t have grace for our spouses, we cannot have a healthy marriage.

We can either be broken apart or broken together.

Marriage is not about the two people involved. Marriage is all about honoring God.