It's Not an Open Marriage
Boundless Love • Sermon • Submitted
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Here we are again. Last week I introduced myself to you and told you a little about me and my wife Gomer. You remember Gomer, right? God told me to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to me. Gomer would represent Israel and Judah who had been unfaithful to God. The sad reality is, there is a little Gomer in all of us.
Today I want to share with you a little more of my prophecy. While it is full of hope, it is also full of grief. Just about every sentence of my prophecy is laced with God’s grieving heart for His wayward people.
Last week we spent a lot time talking about my bride. Today I want to share another part of the story. Today I want to focus on who Gomer represented. You see, Israel and Judah had been unfaithful to God. God had every right to withhold His mercy from them because of their unfaithfulness and spiritual adultery. God had every right to give them a “bill of divorcement” so to speak, but rather He told me this...
Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.”
God’s redeeming love was going to make a way for them to once again experience His mercy and be known as “His people.” As wonderful and glorious as this message was, it did not negate how wicked they had been. This is why God demanded them to REPENT! God was not going to have an “open marriage.” They had to make a choice! He told me to...
“Plead with your mother, plead—
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband—
that she put away her whoring from her face,
and her adultery from between her breasts;
lest I strip her naked
and make her as in the day she was born,
and make her like a wilderness,
and make her like a parched land,
and kill her with thirst.
You see my message was a clear message…REPENT, OR ELSE! Israel and Judah had been unfaithful and God warned them that He was suspending His marital obligation to them if they refused to put away their “adulteress” ways.
It’s really important for you to understand it was not God’s desire to just be done with them. Yes, God delivered to them a hard message, but this hard message had a REDEEMING PURPOSE! God’s purpose behind the message was to HEAL the relationship, not sever it. It was Israel and Judah who had been unfaithful, not God!
So God demanded repentance! God made it crystal clear that He wasn’t interested in having an “OPEN MARRIAGE.” He demanded that she choose to “put away the adultery.”
Unfortunately, Israel and Judah, much like a prostitute or an adulteress/adulterer had exposed their “nakedness” to her immoral lovers and now God threatened to publicly expose her to the world if she didn’t repent.
God threatened to make her a “parched land”. A land that once flowed with “milk and honey” would be incapable of sustaining life. While Israel and Judah were running to these false god’s for fertility and blessings on her crops, she would find that the very thing she desired from her other lovers would be the very thing God would strip away from her!
Not only would Israel and Judah be affected if they continued in this immoral pursuit, but God told me to warn them that their descendents would also pay a price for their immorality. He said:
Upon her children also I will have no mercy,
because they are children of whoredom.
For their mother has played the whore;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who give me my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
God wanted them to know that they weren’t just hurting themselves for forsaking Him, but they were sacrificing their children as well!
They were sacrificing their children for “gods” who they thought would give them more bread, and water, and wool, and oil. They were pursuing MORE, but in reality they and their children would end up with LESS, FAR LESS!
They were deluded! They thought the more “SUGAR DADDIES” they had the better. They thought more “SUGAR DADDIES” meant more stuff, more money, more security, more food, and more clothing…but in reality MORE “SUGAR DADDIES” just meant MORE suffering, MORE disappointment, MORE confusion, and MORE emptiness!
Prophet Jeremiah quoted God best when he delivered God’s message:
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
They were forsaking the SOURCE of their blessings by chasing after CHEAP SUBSTITUTES that PROMISED more blessings but in reality ROBBED them of the very thing they were looking for!
God told me to tell them that He was going to cut off all access to these other lovers! He said...
Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns,
and I will build a wall against her,
so that she cannot find her paths.
God was going to block Israel’s paths to these lovers.
Even though He would build a wall and surround their paths with thorns she would continue to desperately pursue these false “gods”. God would bring her to the end of herself with no where to turn but Him and then He would open the way for restoration...
She shall pursue her lovers
but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
but shall not find them.
Then she shall say,
‘I will go and return to my first husband,
for it was better for me then than now.’
You see what Israel and Judah didn’t recognize is the same thing many in your country and people around the world do not recognize today. The very things they were running to all of these other lovers for…the grain, the fruit of the vine, the oil, the silver and the gold…they weren’t coming from the “Sugar Daddies”…they were coming from God Himself! They were attributing God’s blessings to false “gods.” They were attributing their blessings to someone they created rather than the One who created them.
God went on to say...
And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
of which she said,
‘These are my wages,
which my lovers have given me.’
I will make them a forest,
and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
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.
They made kings, but not through me.
They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.
They took the silver and gold that God had provided for them and turned around and used it to make BAAL idols...
You know who Baal was correct? Baal was a Canaanite “god” who supposedly controlled storms and many believed he was responsible for both agricultral and human fertility. Baal was just a demonically inspired idol that had no control. We know from the Torah that God is the One who provides the grain, fruit of the vine, and the oil...
He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.
To remind Israel and Judah where her blessings came from God was going to remove the blessings for a time. He was going to strip the land naked...
Therefore I will take back
my grain in its time,
and my wine in its season,
and I will take away my wool and my flax,
which were to cover her nakedness.
She had run to other lovers for provision, when in reality He was their provision. He didn’t just provide, He was their PROVISION! Had they forgotten what God had told them through Moses? Apparently they had...
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
“But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
Then God told me...
Now I will uncover her lewdness
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.
And I will put an end to all her mirth,
her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths,
and all her appointed feasts.
And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
of which she said,
‘These are my wages,
which my lovers have given me.’
I will make them a forest,
and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals
when she burned offerings to them
and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
and went after her lovers
and forgot me, declares the Lord.
When God uncovered her sin and exposed her, she was helpless!
When God destroyed her vineyards and fig trees, she was helpless!
When God punished her for her spiritual adultery, she was helpless!
She had FORGOTTEN God…she REFUSED to acknowledge God’s goodness and authority! In the midst of enjoying God’s blessings they forgot the very One from whom the blessings came...
but when they had grazed, they became full,
they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
therefore they forgot me.
What was the purpose of all this destruction? Was God just vengeful and full of wrath and anger. He would have been right to just completely wipe Israel and Judah off the map, but that was not His intention. His intention was to show Israel and Judah the weakness and insufficiency of these idols and empty lovers so she could once again see Him for who He was…her Provider, her Lover, her Creator, her God!
In the midst of “NO MERCY” God once again chose to show MERCY. Though they were not acting like HIS PEOPLE, He wanted them to know they were HIS PEOPLE and so God decided to do this...
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
God would bring His people to the end of themselves, God would discipline them, not because He didn’t love them, but because HE DID LOVE THEM! He loved them too much to leave them alone, to let them self-destruct, to just turn away from them.
He loved them like a parent loves their children. Like a parent who sees a child heading into danger and maybe they have to do something extreme to get their attention, but in doing so they are seeking ultimately to rescue them, not destroy them!
God would have to destroy each and every one of Israel and Judah’s crutches before they would realize how much they needed Him and how much He really loved them.
He had to bring them to the end of themselves and bring them into a “wilderness” so they would be free from the distractions and HEAR Him so the HEALING process could begin. And notice what He did...
He “ALLURED HER.” God spoke TENDERLY to her. Oh yes, God can raise His voice when necessary, but God can also WHISPER. The idea of “allurement” is the same word in our Hebrew language as “SEDUCE.” You see Israel and Judah had been “seduced” into depravity and idolatry, and now God is “SEDUCING” them back to Himself. It’s the same idea as Delilah seducing Samson, yet God uses this passionate speech to woo Israel and Judah back to Himself, rather into sin.
He seduces her in the wilderness, where she was completely separated from all of those past lovers and He has her undivided attention! And when He has her undivided attention He will...
And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
Do you know what the Valley of Achor is? The Valley of Achor is where Achan and his family were punished for bringing trouble upon Israel. Its name means the “Valley of Trouble.” There’s a pile of stones there that cover the bodies of Achan and his family as a reminder of the trouble that he caused the whole nation! But did you see what God was going to do? He’s going to take this valley that is known for TROUBLE and He’s going to turn it into a DOOR OF HOPE!
God said it this way to the prophet Isaiah
Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people who have sought me.
Only our God can take a valley of trouble and misery and turn it into a DOORWAY of HOPE!
Look at what God was going to do for His wayward bride...
“And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 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.
He was going to offer her a new beginning! The betrothal period would start over and they would begin again. The name on their lips would no longer be “Baal” but “Yahweh.” The violence, and drought that had plagued their land would be removed and righteousness, justice, love, mercy and faithfulness would take its place.
Once again God told me to remind them...
“And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord,
I will answer the heavens,
and they shall answer the earth,
and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they shall answer Jezreel,
and I will sow her for myself in the land.
And I will have mercy on No Mercy,
and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ ”
Yes the Valley of Jezreel was a place of great bloodshed and violence…but you do remember what the name means? Last week we found out that Jezreel means “God sows.” That’s exactly what God will do…He is going to turn this valley that once was known for bloodshed and misery into a valley known for grain, and wine, and oil. Not only will God sow material things, but God will SOW Himself in that land!
The name Jezreel is special to me. You may remember last week I told you God gave me and Gomer a son. God told us to name him Jezreel, which at first seemed to be a pretty bad name, but after learning what God was going to do there, I realized that Jezreel wasn’t a name of hopelessness after all…it was really a name of HOPE…because that’s the God we serve…He gives HOPE when all seems HOPELESS!
God would have MERCY on the one named NO MERCY because that’s WHO God is, He is a MERCIFUL GOD!
God would make a people out of NOT MY PEOPLE because that’s what God does, He ADOPTS those whom it seems are un-adoptable!
Even the Apostle Paul alluded to this in his letter to the Romans...
As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ”
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”
Once again I’m sure you are probably asking what this has to do with YOU in 2021? I’m so glad you asked:
God is a Patient, Loving, Kind, Merciful Teacher, But He is Willing to Teach the Hard Way if Necessary
God is a Patient, Loving, Kind, Merciful Teacher, But He is Willing to Teach the Hard Way if Necessary
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
God loves YOU so much that He is willing to pursue you and to repeatedly send you WAKE UP calls while you keep hitting the snooze button. The discipline He gives His children is not meant to DESTROY them, but keep them FROM DESTRUCTION.
But He also loves you enough to give you FREE WILL and if you choose to IGNORE the discipline and choose to IGNORE the WAKE UP CALLS you are slitting your own throat!
Something else that we see is...
God Still Demands His Bride to be Faithful…It’s Not an Open Marriage
God Still Demands His Bride to be Faithful…It’s Not an Open Marriage
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
God DEMANDS faithfulness from His bride! Grace is not a license to sin, grace is not a license to live any way you please, and to sleep with who you want, and to act as if God isn’t God. He calls for His children to GLORIFY Him in their bodies! When we run to the “SUGAR DADDIES” of this world we are ALIGNING OURSELVES with God’s enemies!
So in His grace and mercy...
God Invites YOU to Return to YOUR First Love
God Invites YOU to Return to YOUR First Love
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Does Jesus deserve to be any less than your first love? Then why isn’t He? Why does He get relegated to some unimportant place in our life?
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Why do people call Him Lord of their finances but make financial decisions without ever consulting Him? Why do people call Him Lord of their bodies, but live like their bodies are not His temple? Why do people call Him Lord of their sexuality, but not view sex as sacred and continue to pollute His temple with pornography and subject His temple to sexual relations with someone they aren’t married to?
We will never return to our FIRST LOVE until we REMEMBER and REPENT! Repentance means that we TURN from anything and everything that is hindering our walk with Christ and surrender to Him, His will and His Word!
But maybe the problem is, not that you have left your “first love”…maybe the real problem is He has NEVER been your first love. There has never been a time in your life where YOU embraced Christ as YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR and you have NEVER been made a New Creation in Christ Jesus!
Do YOU Know Him…He Invites YOU to be a Part of His Bride
Do YOU Know Him…He Invites YOU to be a Part of His Bride
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Jesus said there would be many stand before Him one day and be completely SHOCKED when they hear the words...
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
If YOU don’t know Him today, or if YOU aren’t sure You know Him today, don’t YOU think it’s time to quit running from the LOVER of YOUR SOUL and SURRENDER to Him?!