A Match Made In Heaven

Introduction

Hosea 2:10–23 ESV

10 Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand. 11 And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts. 12 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. 13 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. 14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15 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. 16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 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. 19 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. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. 21 “And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, 22 and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, 23 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.’ ”

We all have criteria for what makes someone marriage material. If you’re single and desire to be married one day, you no doubt, have a list of qualities and traits that you’re looking for. You’ve got some things that you’re flexible on, and some things that are non-negotiable’s. Some of us get the list down to every jot and tittle, and others of us are more generic with our list.

One thing that we all share in common, the one non-negotiable that all of us have is that you’re not going to marry someone that you’re not attracted to. It’s not that the person has be qualified to make the cover of Glamour magazine or Men’s Health. But in your eyes, that person has to have an attractiveness about them that we find appealing. If that’s missing, it’s a non-starter. Our desire to marry someone and, Lord willing, begin a life-long marriage is conditioned on that person being attractive to us.

I’m going to embarrass my wife, but we have a song. Everybody should have a song. Our song is, I Only Have Eyes for You, by the Flamingos.

“You are here, and so am I. Maybe millions of people go by. But they all disappear from view. And I only have eyes for you.”

I know it’s a little mushy, but it makes the point. You’ve got to have that kind of attraction or it’s a deal breaker. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s a good thing. And you pray that attraction continues to grow over your life together.

That’s what makes this text so crazy. What we have in these verses is a promise to marry and the picture of a beautiful wedding, but something is off. The bride is unattractive. The bride is undeserving of her Husband’s love. The bride is unfaithful and undesirable. Yet, this Husband says that he is going to woo her and lavish her with an incomparable love. Who would do something like that? You wouldn’t. I wouldn’t. We wouldn’t bind ourselves forever to someone who had nothing attractive about them. But God would.

This text and this message, A Match Made In Heaven, is ultimately the picture of how Jesus Christ brings us to himself with love that is unconditional. That is, a love that is not conditioned on anything but his good pleasure and his desire to love us. You’ve got to get this. We’re not even into the sermon real good yet. But at the very beginning you’ve got to be clear that the love of God in Jesus Christ for you is not based on any aspect of your performance. God’s love in Christ is not based on how well you’re doing in school. God’s love in Christ is not based on your last performance review at work. God’s love in Christ is not based on anything you think that you can do to measure up to whatever standard you think makes you deserving of love.

These verses destroy that type of thinking. Here’s how it does so. It brings us to the place where we realize that we can’t make ourselves attractive to God. The woman, in v. 13 adorns herself with rings and jewelry to try and make herself desirable, but it’s no use, her husband can see her unattractive heart. You can’t dress yourself up enough to fool God. It’s only when we get to that place that we can hear his voice calling to us in Jesus Christ, incredibly committing himself to us with an unconditional love.

These are the three things that I want to talk with you about from these verses, Misplaced Desires (vv. 10-13), God’s Desires (vv. 14-15), and Changed Desires (vv. 16-23).

Misplaced Desires

In v. 10 we find the continuation of hard language that actually began in v. 2.

The Lord said of his people, I’ve prospered them with all of this stuff, bread, water, wool, flax, oil, and drink, but they don’t recognize that it’s me who gives it to them. I lavish it upon them, but they use it in their worship of Baal. Therefore, he says in v. 9, I’m going to take back all of my stuff.

Hosea 2:9 ESV

9 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.

Even the wool and linen that was used to cover her nakedness. But now the judgement goes from bad to worse.

Not only am I going to take back the things that I prospered her with, I’m going expose her shame, I’m going to uncover her shame or lewdness in the sight of her lovers. And there isn’t one of them who’s going to rescue her from my hand.

Understand that what we’re reading in the early chapters of this book is a reflection of the prophet Hosea’s life and marriage to his wife, Gomer. But there’s a transition in this language to being less focused on what Gomer is doing and more clearly directed towards the nation of Israel. There’s no doubt about that when we read v. 11. The Lord says of Israel, “I’m going to put an end to her celebrations (her rejoicing), her feats, her New Moon, her Sabbaths—all of her festivals.”

Here’s what’s going on. The Lord says in v. 13 that he’s going to literally visit upon her the days of the Baal’s when she burned incense to these false gods. For two hundred years Israel has been openly worshipping false gods. They’ve been blatantly worshipping idols without shame. But they’ve been continuing to celebrate all of the festivals laid out in the law. Yet they have no clue as to their purpose or function. They have forgotten about the LORD who instituted them. They had forgotten how each one of those festivals spoke to his redeeming power, to his provision, to his deliverance. They had become apostate. They had forsaken the Lord. That’s the height of their condemnation. V. 13 says she went after her lovers, but me she forgot, declares the Lord.

As one commentator points out, “it’s noteworthy that their apostasy had not caused them to abandon the routines of life under the covenant.” In other words, they maintained a shell or a form of religion. They were outwardly carrying on the duties of the faith and were completely blind to the fact that God had rejected them and was fed up with their fake life. They are performing these celebrations in “sincerity” but they are sincerely wrong. Do you know that sincerity is not the litmus test for truth. This is like Paul’s words to Timothy that some have an appearance of godliness, but deny its power (2 Tim. 3:5). The Lord was going to put a stop to all of their pretending.

Why the pretense? What was driving all of this idolatry? 200 years before Hosea’s prophecy Israel’s king, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, set up idols in Dan and Bethel for the people to worship and make offerings to. But what this text gives us as practical cause are her misplaced desires. Israel’s culture was steeped in greed and desiring more material luxury. The Lord says in v. 12 that he’s going to devastate her vines and her fig trees. These are things of luxury. Her attitude is that these are the wages my lovers give me. Israel is pictured as an adulterous harlot who desires the wages that she says that her lovers give to her. So she adorns herself to look as attractive and desirable as possible. She desires lush vineyards and fruitful fig trees, the things that make for the good life, luxury, comfort, and satisfaction.

That is again a point of contact between us and ancient Israel. It’s the question of desires, of misplaced desires and satisfaction. We’re confronted with that every day. I’ve subscribed to the Mars Hill Audio Journal for years now. It’s an audio journal committed to, “assisting Christians who desire to move from thoughtless consumption of contemporary culture to a vantage point of thoughtful engagement.” And a few years ago the title of one of the articles was, “Freedom, Property, Desire and Community.” The speaker made the point in talking about marketing and advertising in our culture, that marketers are engaged in an organized creation of dissatisfaction. That the goal of advertising in Western culture is to create a perpetual dissatisfaction. Newness feeds our desire to move on to something else. They feed our desire for desires.

Garret: Fixation on the adultery metaphor and on erotic aspects of the fertility cult can prevent us from recognizing the sincere devotion—and spiritual blindness—that had seized the people. Perhaps this is because we too feel vindicated by the external trappings of success and take this to be the validation of our theology and practice. Could we go back to Hosea’s time, we might be shocked to discover that the spiritual decadence of Hosea’s day was no more severe than that of our own. Worse yet, we might find ourselves wondering why Hosea was so upset with his generation because we have more in common with them than with him.

Our misplaced desires probably have nothing to do with lush vines and fruitful fig trees. But we’ve got to be honest and confess that there’s a sense of fun and enjoyment we have in desiring new stuff. Even if we can’t afford it or don’t buy it, we still dream about it. And if we’re left to our own devices, our desires will plunge us deeper into idolatry. What I mean is that these desires become ultimate. They become the primary pursuits of our lives. McComiskey,

“Harvest after harvest went by, and Israel sank deeper into idolatry. No apparent punishment came from the God of history; [The Lord] did not seem to care. But now the days of the Baals will demand their due.”

God’s Desires

Given our own misplaced desires, what we see in vv. 14 and following about God’s desires are that much more amazing. We’ve had this hard hitting language. I referenced vv. 8-9 already. The last time the Lord said that the people worshipped Baal was in v. 8. He starts off v. 9 saying, “Therefore,” because of their idolatry, what’s going to happen? I’m going to take back the abundance that I lavished on them, and there’s punishment to come.

Then it gets worse in v. 13. “I’m going to punish her for the days of the Baals. She forgot about me.” V. 14 starts out with a “therefore,” just like v. 9, and we’re thinking, “Uh oh, I don’t know how much more of this doom and punishment I can take.” But God reverses course completely beyond our expectation. He says of his ugly, prostituting people, “Therefore, I’m going to allure her. I’m going to lead her to the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.”

Hosea 2:15–16 ESV

15 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. 16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’

Left to her own devices, Israel was not going to desire the LORD. She was going to desire “things.” And she would refuse to give him recognition, love or devotion even after he provided her the “things.” She would not acknowledge him. Indeed she would give acknowledgement and worship to gods of her own creation. Those piercing words, “She forgot me,” that would be the final word unless the Lord acts. Unless he acts, we’re going to be people who will worship anything but him.

Romans 1:18–25 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

The Lord exposes his heart here. Please don’t miss this. It is unfathomable to think that Yahweh, the only God desires to take prostitutes and bind them to himself forever. Yet, if he doesn’t, prostitutes have no hope. We will continue to call him out of his name. We’ll call him, “My Baal,” and we’ll do so for the things that we can get from him. That’s the only use we have for God, unless he allures us, unless he woos us. Do you understand that that’s what Jesus does? He allures us. He woos us. It is only in this truth of the Christian faith that we see both the majesty, might and uncompromising glory of God along with his compassion and humility. Make no mistake about it, we’re unfaithful prostitutes. We’re exposed as unworthy of marriage no matter how much we try to make ourselves up to look good and desirable. But the God of all creation is saying, “I desire you, and I proved it by sending Jesus Christ to the cross.”

I love the more literal translation of that last phrase in v. 14. Most English translations say, “I will speak tenderly to her,” but if we were translating it word for word he says, “I will speak to her heart.” I love that because there’s a Donnie McClurkin song that asks God to do just that, “Speak to my heart, Holy Spirit, give me the words that will bring new life. Words on the wings of the morning so dark nights will fade away if you speak to my heart.” That’s precisely what God does for us in Christ. How does he woo us? How does he allure us? He speaks to our heart.

And we see this picture of restoration. The Valley of Achor is the Valley of Trouble, but it will be made into a door of hope. The vineyards that were made into a forest and devoured by the beasts of the field will be given back.

This is a match made in heaven not because we’ve met any of the criteria that would make us marriage material, but because the Lord desired a Bride. And he determined from heaven to get himself a bride. And what he does is take people like us who have misplaced desires, and woo us by speaking to our hearts so that we clearly see his mercies to us in Jesus. Then he changes our desires.

Changed Desires

Verses 14-23 are a great declaration of God’s saving grace. Here in these verses the LORD says, “I will speak to her heart.” And we see a reversal.

We see the reversal of the names of Hosea and Gomer’s three sign children.

Hosea 1:3–9 ESV

3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.” 6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.” 8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

Now the LORD says in Hosea 2:23,

“I will sow her in the earth to myself. I will have compassion on No Compassion. And I will say to Not My People, ‘You are My People.’ And he will say to me, ‘You are My God.’”

The impact of his promise on us is to change our desires; to remove the names of the idols from our mouths. Three times in vv. 19-20, “I will betroth you to me, I will betroth you to me, I will betroth you to me.” Understand that in the ANE, a betrothal wasn’t simply like our engagement. Two people can get engaged and change their minds deciding not to get married. The betrothal was the finalization of the commitment to marry. To be betrothed was to be as good as married. So, here’s what the Lord saying in vv. 19-20,

“I will take you to be My wife forever. I will take you to be My wife in righteousness, in justice, in love, and in compassion. I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness, and you will know the LORD.”

In a betrothal the husband pays a bride-price. Husbands didn’t just show up to the wife’s family empty handed and ask for the woman’s hand in marriage. The bride price was part of the guarantee that the groom wasn’t going to change his mind… It was the means by which a groom obtained his bride.

What is the bride price the Lord gives to obtain his bride? Righteousness and justice; love and compassion; that are all summed up in this one word, “faithfulness.” Notice with me that it’s not our righteousness or our justice or our love or our compassion, but it’s the Lord’s righteousness and justice, his love and compassion, his faithfulness that he pays in order to bring us to himself.

“God pays the coin of grace to obtain the bride he loves.”

Where does he pay the “coin of grace?” He pays the coin of grace on the cross of Jesus Christ. That’s where the vows are sealed. These verses point forward to what John hears in Revelation 19:6-9,

Revelation 19:6–9 ESV

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

We still look forward to that day, to the final completion of this match made in heaven. We still look forward to the day when warfare is abolished and the people rest securely. But what happens right now is that through faith in Jesus Christ these things are what become our heart’s desire. The righteousness and justice, the love and compassion, the faithfulness are descriptors of life in the kingdom of God. When God changes our hearts what we begin to desire are the things of the kingdom of God. We listen to Jesus when he says in Matthew 6, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.”

Righteousness and justice, love and compassion matter to us on an individual level, as a church, and on a societal level. And they matter because our desires are being changed from lust and greed to kingdom desires. We begin to have a different view of what makes for wealth and prosperity. We’ve been richly lavished with an incomparable love.

What we see in the promise of God is simply this. He changes our hearts so that we are no longer satisfied with misplaced desires. We begin to want what he wants. Do you see the switch in your own heart? Do you see this reversal taking place?…