Hosea: A God of Continous Grace

Introduction

Hosea 1:1–4 ESV

The word of the Lord that came to 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. When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 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.

Hosea 3:1–5 ESV

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.” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. 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.” For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 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.

Explanation

Explain Hosea 1 and Hosea 3.

God comes to the prophet Hosea and tells him to marry a prostitute.

Hosea obeys God and marries a temple prostitute named Gomer.

Hosea and Gomer have three children, named:

Jezreel (son): “I will scatter,” a place of great bloodshed.

1 Sam 29 // Israel was defeated by Philistines

1 Kings 21 // Naboth was framed and murdered by agents of Jezebel.

2 Kings 9 // Jehu killed Joram, Jezebel, and Ahab’s household.

Judges 4-7 // Deborah and Gideon fought battles on the valley of Jezreel.

Naming your child Jezreel is akin to naming your child Chernobyl.

Lo-ruhamah (daughter): “Not Shown Mercy”

Lo-ammi (son): “I will not be your God.”

God is pronouncing judgement upon Israel for their sins.

APPLICATION: As Hosea had married an unfaithful woman, so God was tethered to an unfaithful Israel. Chapter Two is a pronouncement of this judgement and a discussion of the ways that Israel had been unfaithful to God.

Gomer has left Hosea and is living with another man. She is probably enslaved.

God commands Hosea to go and buy back his wife.

Hosea goes, buys Gomer back for 15 shekels, and takes her home.

God says, “Hosea, go and get your wife.”

The emotional toll on Hosea had to be unimaginable. Dishonor, loss of money, emotional toil, and a journey to the worse part of town. The humiliation was certainly unbearable.

Yet, Hosea obeyed the Lord and brought his wife out of slavery.

God told Jesus, “Jesus, go and get your wife.”

1 John 4:9 // In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

As the church, we are the bridge of Christ. Christ came for you.

Hosea 6 and Hosea 14

From Hosea 4-14 God pronounces judgement upon Israel and Judah for their sins. However, in chapters six and fourteen, we see God’s redemptive grace shine through. I want to share with you some of God’s grace that shines forth in those chapters.

God does not tolerate sin, and Israel has been punished for their sins. But God is not finished with them.

God acknowledges their fickle heart. (6:4)

God knows that you are inconsistent.

But we serve the God who never changes - and that includes his love for the fickle heart.

God acknowledges their blatant sinfulness - they have shed innocent blood (6:8-9).

We aren’t talking about little sins. We are talking about murderers.

No sin is too far gone. No life is to dirty for the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus.

Their hearts were far from God. (6:6)

When your heart is far from the Lord’s, and you have lavished your heart upon idols and trinkets and lesser things, remember Hosea leaving his house with 15 shekels towards the rough part of town to redeem his wife.

Our Heavenly Father looks from his front porch for his son upon the horizon.

Hosea admonishes Judah to return to the Lord.

Hosea 6:1 ““Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.”

Hosea 14:1 “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.”

Hosea 14:2 “Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.”

RETURN TO HIM

It’s not too late.

You have to wonder if Gomer, in her sin, looked longingly back at her house with her children and her husband and thought, “I just want to go home!”

The fact that Hosea prophesied, Return, return, return, leads me to believe that the door is still open. You aren’t too far gone. Your life isn’t too messy. Your sin isn’t too dirty. Your heart isn’t too broken.

3. God is not finished with Judah.

Hosea 6:11 “For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed. When I restore the fortunes of my people,”

Why is this verse important? Part of God’s covenant promise was - obey me, and I will prosper YOUR land and protect you.

We sometimes think that God looks at us and says, “You ought to just be glad to be here. Now sit here and try not to mess anything up.”

God saves and redeems His to bless them lavishly.

That’s why Israel is the Promised Land and not the desert.

God’s great desire is that you know all that you have been saved into.

4. God will accomplish this - He will save Israel and Judah - and the whole world - through His Son, Jesus the Christ.

Hosea 6:2-3 “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.””

I know someone who rose on the third day, and His name is Jesus.

Not only did he raise himself from the dead, but on that day, the wages of sin died for those who would call upon his name.

When Jesus came out of the grave, be brought with him the chains of death - but they weren’t just His. They were ours.

And as sure as the dawn, as sure as the sun will rise - He will come for you.

Invitation - I want to invite you to something.

I want to invite you to a love that you’ve never known. His name is Jesus.

For some of you soiled by the sins of the world, I want to invite you to return to the Lord who has been seeking you relentlessly from the moment you left.