Redemption
Notes
Transcript
I want to tell you a little bit more about Gomer. Gomer had a way with words. She reminded me of the girl Solomon warned his son about. Solomon said...
For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil,
And that was Gomer. Her speech was so seductive and enticing. Smooth words flowed off her tongue so easily. Gomer was beautiful. She not only knew how to use her words to her advantage, but her body language became more and more flirtatious.
When I would have to be gone for a while I often wondered about her. The children were getting older and they would say things that made we wonder if she was seeing someone else. Once again I wondered if what Solomon had warned his son about was being played out while I was away...
And behold, the woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
She is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home;
I wondered if she told men something like this when I was away...
I have spread my couch with coverings,
colored linens from Egyptian linen;
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
When I would return home I could always sense something wasn’t right. Finally it became obvious and she finally left. I had every right to give her a bill of divorcement. I knew what she was doing and others did too. And then God spoke again and He said...
And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”
Did I hear him correctly? God do you want me to go “get” her. No, God didn’t tell me just to go “get” her…He told me to go “LOVE” her! God you want me to love her and pursue her like you love and pursue Israel and Judah? Oh, yes my friend, I heard God clearly…loud and clear He told me what to do. Although she had broken the marriage covenant, and forfeited the right to continue our marriage, God wanted me to PURSUE and LOVE her!
My love and pursuit of my wife was to be a reflection of God’s love and pursuit of HIs people. Just as she was pursuing other men and what they could possibly give her, Israel and Judah were pursing other “gods” and “cakes of raisins.” Now I know you may have no idea of the significance of raisin cakes, but these delicacies that were enjoyed in the feasts that were associated to Baal worship. Some people even considered them an aphrodisiac. Israel and Judah were loving idols that they had made and were loving cakes made out of the raisins God had made, but they weren’t really love the GOD WHO HAD MADE THEM! Unfortunately, it seemed Gomer didn’t love me either.
So I set out on a journey to locate her and bring her back home. I found out she was enslaved. I don’t want to give you all the details regarding everything I found out about her enslavement, but it wasn’t a pretty picture.
Just like Jesus came to “SEEK AND TO SAVE THE LOST” I left home to SEEK Gomer out and RESCUE her from slavery!
In my day to purchase a slave you had to come with 30 shekels of silver or the equivalent of 30 shekels. That was a lot of money and I could only come up with 15 shekels. Thankfully I had enough barley to go with the silver I had to buy her back.
I was reminded that day that LOVE IS COSTLY. In order for me to love Gomer the way God wanted me to I had to buy her back. You see love isn’t just a bunch of sappy words, but true love expresses itself in actions.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
And believe me there was a lot to bear and a lot to endure, but that’s what love does.
When I brought her home I made it clear to her what I expected...
And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.”
I made it clear to her it was not going to be an open marriage. I wanted things to be restored but things couldn’t continue on as they had before. The adulterous lifestyle had to be OVER!
Just as God cut Israel and Judah off from their lovers in order that He might win them back to Himself, I wanted Gomer to know that I had redeemed her to be mine. I set her free from slavery, not so that she could serve me, but so I could serve her and show her God’s love.
Just as I asked her to be faithful to me, I promised to be faithful to her.
I went on to remind her
For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.
God expected Israel and Judah to be faithful to Him. Just as I reminded you last week God wasn’t interested in an Open Marriage with His people, I wanted Gomer to know I loved her, I redeemed her, but I didn’t redeem her so she could return to the arms of other lovers, but so she would return to my arms!
God expected Israel and Judah to rid themselves of the idolatry and the idolatrous symbols of their former “gods” and I wanted Gomer to once again love me and rid herself of the past lovers that led her into the slavery that I bought her out of.
After Israel was isolated from her other lovers and after God would bring her into the wilderness and seduce her back to Himself, that was my hope for Gomer and I. I told her...
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
You see Israel had forgotten God…the very thing Moses had warned them of happened...
“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,
Even though they had forgotten about God, God had not forgotten about them. Even though they were living for the temporary pleasures and false promises, God had not forgotten His promise to them and the eternal blessings He wanted them to enjoy.
The same was true for Gomer and I. I wondered if she forgot about me when she was in the arms of someone else. I wondered if she remembered my tears and tenderness when her harsh lovers enslaved her.
Now I had her back. I bought her back and it cost me everything I had…But the love God placed in my heart for her told me it was worth it. I was going to do my best to show her that I truly have her best interest at heart, but it wasn’t going to be easy.
If this experience taught me anything it taught me that...
Love is Painful
Love is Painful
If you are a parent you know love is painful. From the very moment that child is birthed into the world, it is birthed through PAIN. As that child grows older, and becomes less dependent upon you, and more independent it’s painful to let them grow up. As they grow up and begin making decisions that you know is going to hurt them and cause them pain, it is painful for you.
But why do we keep bringing children into the world, even though we know it will be physically painful, mentally painful, emotionally painful and maybe even spirtually painful…it’s because of LOVE and even though LOVE is painful, it’s so worth it!
Not only is love painful, but...
Love is Costly
Love is Costly
When you think about the price that the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, paid for His bride, you realize He did so out of LOVE! It cost Him His life!
The Apostle Paul said it this way in
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ LOVED His enemies, He love YOU and I so much that He quite literally LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US and took upon Himself the wrath of His Father that should have been poured out upon us.
Christ fought for us and died for us, even while we were still sinners!
I fought for Gomer, paid the price for Gomer, laid aside my pride for Gomer even though she had been unfaithful and she had played the whore!
If you are going to love someone it’s going to COST you something too! Those you love will HURT you, DISAPPOINT you, let you down time and time again, but aren’t you glad God didn’t give up on you when YOU ran away? He chases us…He chases after us and lays down His life in order to SET US FREE!
Isn’t it time for you to stop running today? Isn’t it time for YOU to SURRENDER to the LOVER of YOUR SOUL.
It cost Him His very life to redeem you! To buy you out of the bondage that you were in. To deliver you from the power of sin and Satan. To offer you eternal and abundant life!
Love Can Make a Way
Love Can Make a Way
God made a way…His name is Jesus...
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.