Hosea: Holy Love

Intro:

Love at first sight is sinful - I think don’t quote me but here is why - you see something that you like and that attracts you and that benefits you and in response you love them. Really you only love that person bc of what they provide for you.

But in some ways were human and our love is bound to that. It is impossible to have a compltely PURE love in this life, we always have wrong motives or in the back of our mind a way this benefits us.

But what we will see tonight in the beginning of Hosea is that God’s love is different, it is holy, God’s love is set apart from Human love. And you need to understand that. Maybe more than anything else you need to understand the love of God

prop: God’s love is set apart from human love

need:

Assurance of salvation relies on an understanding of this love. - Legalism dies

salvation relys upon Gods love

security of salvation is rooted in the love of God

You will know God more when you grasp His love

Psalm 8 who is man that you think of him? That you care for him? - Gods love is jaw dropping, it’s hard to fathom, it breaks barriers, it goes deeper

3 scenes that help us understand the Holy Love of God

Rough Start

Good Ending

Perfect Climax

1. A rough start

We began this last week. Every good story starts with a problem and this one is no different it jumps right in by looking at this dysfunctional family.

“Hosea, my people have become so numb, they have gone so far from me, they will no longer listen to normal forms of communication. Before you speak my message you will live it.” And we will see soon why this would be so effective.

But just to help you out, I want to explain why God has taken drastic measures here to communicate to His people Israel.

See Isreal, is God’s chosen people. This is his special people, it the nation he chose, the one he started, the one he saved from slavery, the one he has promised to make a great nation, he promised to make Isreal God’s beacon of light to the world. He has promised to bless them, to care for them and to LOVE THEM. Isreal is the only nation to recieve this promise from God. And the question is why? what made Isreal special? Why did God choose Isreal? ANSWER: Because he did. Psalm 115:3 “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”

God is God, he doesn’t need to have a reason. God promised one man, Abraham that he would make a nation from his decendants. To be a nation, you need a people, a law and a land. Well eventually the decendants of Abraham moved down to egypt where they became slaves BUT the family of 70 people multiplyed to 2 million - so they got ingredient 1 a PEOPLE, then God raised a leader, Moses to take them out of slavery and at Mt. Sinaai he spoke to God and recieved the 10 commandments, which is ingredient 2 A LAW and then finally after wandering in the desert, God raised a new leader, Josua to take them on a military conquest to take the promised land. and thus they became the nation Isreal who were to keep God’s commandments and the idea was that as they obeyed God, they would be blessed by God and the rest of the world would say look at Isreal we want what they have and we want to serve their God.

But then we get to Hosea and Isreal instead of serving the God that had chose them, rescued them, blessed them, promised them, and loved them. They turned away from Him, they left Him for other “fake Gods”. Imagine how God would react. Isreal the nobodies who owed everything they were to God, who promise their loyalty and faithfulness to Him had just left Him to serve Gods like Baal.

Now bare with me its bout to get graphic. When Isreal left God to worship this false God “Baal” it wasn’t like they just went to a different church that week. Here is how one author describes Baal Worship “Ritualistic Baal worship, in sum, looked a little like this: Adults would gather around the altar of Baal. Infants would then be burned alive as a sacrificial offering to the deity. Amid horrific screams and the stench of charred human flesh, congregants — men and women alike — would engage in bisexual orgies. The ritual of convenience was intended to produce economic prosperity by prompting Baal to bring rain for the fertility of “mother earth.””

Thats who they chose over the Holy, loving and kind God that loved them. This is why God takes drastic measures with Hosea, bc Isreal is in a real dark place and the fact that God even has a prophet there is already a display of His unfathomable love. I mean if the girl you liked was found burning a child at an alter, would you still want a relationship with her? No, you’d probably want to kill her but God made a covenant with Isreal, His love goes deeper and even when they were way far off He is unfazed and determined to love His people.

So he says Hosea 1:2 “Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.””

So Hosea obeys and he marries Gomer, knowing that she would cheat on Him. and He has his first kid with her named Jezreel and this name symbolizes that God will punish Isreal for what they have done.

Then Gomer has another child, at this point who knows who the father is, and God says name her Lo Ruhammah which means no mercy - because he will no longer show mercy to Isreal for their idolatry and spiritual adultery

Then one more kid comes and God says name Lo Ammi which means not my people, because He no longer sees Isreal as his people. This is language of divorce. Gods chosen people, his Bride is no longer his at all but is the mistress of another false god.

What are your favorite baby names?

Oaks, Oakley, Obadiah, Obama?

People like giving their kids names with a meaning

Zoe - LIFE

Gabriella - devoted to God

Reagan - little ruler

Noah - rest

Mason - means you should be good with working on stone

Dean - the head of a college

You know but sometimes parents do that but could you imagie this family. I mean Hosea is a prophet, he is popular, and the people go up to Hosea awww what a cute baby what his name? Judgement because Isreal will be judged for their harlotry. Or what a cute baby girl what her name? No mercy - because God will show you no mercy for your sin. Or you know the third time around, whats his name? Not my people because Isreal will no longer be seen as Gods chosen people but as his unfaithful ex wife.

Isreal is in trouble BUT God gives a little glimmer of light at the end of the chapter v.10-11

This is amazing, you see we see God tell Isreal, I am going to punish you, I will show you no mercy and I will divorce you and may be tempted to think “Wow God is harsh, and angry and mean if we disobey Him” BUT we’d be mistaken - the very fact that God disciplines shows that he loves.

Let me ask you, what would be more loving; if God let Isreal follow this false God, sacrifice their children and die in their sins to suffer and eternity in Hell? OR if he disciplines Isreal, he strikes them with punishment, he pulls all blessing from them, he allows them to suffer, so that they realize the mistake they have made, and turn back to God?

Illus: Whats worse? If your parent takes your phone away for doing something wrong? or if they say, I’ve given up on you, I dont care about you. DO whatever you want and leave me alone? (alright geez I’ll clean my room)

Heb 12:6 “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.””

If you call God your father than expect discipline when you sin, respond to it with repentance, confession and obedience.

If you currently are living in sin. Which means you are serving anything besides the one true God of the Bible, and are not under his loving discipline than you have even more reason to fear.

When you give anyone or anything - more of your time, attention, affection, focus.

whether that be your reputation, your GF or BF, or wife or Husband. OR if its your lust, your anxiety, your self pity. Whatver it is, if you give it your heart than you have chosen to serve that THING over GOD - you’ve chosen Baal. You are not God people - you are His prodigal. You have broken the very 1st commandment God gives “You shall have no other Gods before me”

Turn from your idolatry, and spiritual adultery - and return to God. because Hosea 1:10 “And in the place Where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.””

There is a way back, there is a way to reconcile this relationship that you broke. How do I know that, well look at ch.2 which is the second scene of this story...

2. A good ending

These first 13 verses just further illustrate the extent of Israel's idolatry - and we could say ALL idolatry.

v.3 you follow that sin and it will leave you empty, broke and naked with nothing left. Sin doesn’t just want a little part of you but like John Owen said “ be killing sin or it will be KILLING you” Sin wants to take your life and it will not stop until it gets it.

So why do we go after sin? well Gomer says it v.5 , ‘I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

We like it, we crave it, we think that is has what we want. Like a wife looking for her husband to provide for her needs, we look t sin to provide for our deepest needs and desires.

But Hosea 2:6-7 ““Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, And I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths. “She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!’”

But Gomer hits rock bottom, she pursued every single man that would pay her for her services but eventually the calls stop coming, the business slows down, she becomes used goods, just another prostitute no different from the rest. The money stops coming, the excitement dies down and she says “Im going back to my first husband FOR it was better back then than it is now” Now hold onto that because the story jumps to the end here. I mean Gomer hits rock bottom, has nowhere to go and decides she will return to her husband but how that goes is saved for ch. 3. So we get a spoiler in v. 14

God will allure his people back to Him, he will speak kindly in their ear and ultimatley he will bring his adulterous people back into a pure relationship with Him.

Hosea 2:16 ““It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “That you will call Me Ishi And will no longer call Me Baali.”

Ishi means “My husband”

Baali = is a play words, it obvioulsy hints at the false God Baal but is also a word for a harsh master.

God says I will bring you back, I will fix this relationship - although you cheated on me, you followed other Gods, you prostituted yoursefl when you had everything you need and more with me - I still love you, I will always love you and I will make things right so that you call me husband and nor harsh master.

And Hosea 2:23 ““I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’ ””

See this is that final scene before the curtains close - So what we have seen so far is that Hosea and Gomer got together, Gomer cheated on Hosea, left him and became a prostitute by her own initiative but at the end she returned to Him and lived happily ver after

Which means that though Isreal was in a relationship with God, they forsook God, served Baal and prostituted themselves around to worship whichever God seemed to give them what they wanted at the time, they divorced God broke His law and Broke His heart, yet at the end of it all God reconciled them to Himself, the relationship is restored they are again His people and he is their God.

So for us this means there is hope. No one is too far gone - God’s love cannot run out.

If you are here tonight with baggage, a life of serious sin, you’ve done things you would never tell anyone about. You are not bound to that lifestyle, you can be free from that life of sin NOT by picking yourself up and cleaning up your life but by coming to God dirty, broken, humbled and asking Him to forgive you, to change you, to cleanse you, to make you new. Jesus himself says he came Luke 5:32 ““I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.””

If you are here tonight, as a christian who has been entangled with sin, embarrased to confess it, Gods love was displayed to you already through the gospel of Christ, His love didn’t run out, there is no condemnation for those in Christ and there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God.

The love of God wasn’t stopped by sin, punishment has been dealt with, do not punish yourself you have no right.

3. A perfect climax

So were back in the middle of the story, Hosea married Gomer and she did what we knew she would do, she cheated on Him. She went into the business of prostitution. She left her caring, loving Husband and good father to her children in Hosea and she slept with random men that would give her whatever she wanted. Ruined the marriage, broke the relationship, broke the trust, broke His heart, she was hard headed and her sin took her all the way down, she became practically a sex slave, she no longer found men who would pay her what she wanted but that would give her food to eat. She has nothing, her sin ruined her life. And at rock bottom she says “I will go back to my husband because it was better for me there” But what… as she is headed back, God says in 3:1 Hosea… you go,

REAL QUICK - does this sound familiar? Jesus told a story of a son in Luke 15:11-32 “And He said, “A man had two sons. “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son;…”

Heres what makes this the perfect climax, it is that God initiates.

Which we need because we cant force forgiveness -

Can Gomer demand Hosea to forgive him?

Can the prodigal demand the father accepts him?

So we cannot demand God to forgive or accept us? If he doesn’t act then we die in our sin because eph 2 says were dead in our sins already. were dead meat, living on borrowed time, we are slaves of sin, we are sons of satan, we are children of wrath unless God acts and thats what makes these 2 words in eph 2 so sweet “But God” “Go Again” Luke 15:20 ““So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

God’s love is a holy love because He loves when we never would. He loves like we never could.

Now at this climax imagine this scene with me in Hosea 3

Hosea 3 NASB95

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley. Then I said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.” For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.

Gomer is ensalved, she no longer owns herself, she is chained up by her pimp and does only what he says, he owns her, and she can not and will not ever be able to free herself, she chose this route, she left Hosea, she got what she asked for. And can you imagine it (IDK if it happened this way but give me some illustrative license here)

She is chained up in the slave market, she is there bc her pimp doesn’t even have a use for her anymore. She is hopeless broken and freightened by the idea of who her next owner will be. So she sits in the market place with her head down as the bidding begins.

“Lets start the bidding at 3 shekels”… and she hears a familiar voice which is then faded out by someone who outbids it

The voice returns “I’ve got 8 sheckels” she begins to look into the crowd who is that?

He’s outbid again.

“Can I get 10 sheckels” “I’ll do 15!” Ill do 16, Hosea looks in His bag sees everything he has, his pockets empty and he givs everything he has “15 sheckles and a homer and a half of barley” which is about another 15 shekels (so 30 sheckels in whole)” SOLD

Hosea comes to Gomer, wipes her tears and says you come with me now, you’re no longer a harlot, I’m your husband and will always be. Call me Husband not master.

Can you see maybe a parallel with Jesus Christ, who while we were yet sinners, yet harlots died for us?

Jesus is God, he knew that you would sin agaisnt him, he knew you would choose your popularity, your self image, pornography, pride, ego, drugs, envy, all of these FALSE GODs over Him - he knew you would hate him and have nothing to offer Him and he saw you hopeless chained to your sin but even worse if there were no chains you still wouldn’t go to him, you wanted nothing to do with him youd still choose sin. He saw you in that state and Jesus the God of the universe allowed some men to falsy accuse him, some roman soldiers to whip him and mock him and strip him and spit on him, and nail him to a cross, and hang him naked on the cross. And he knew that in order to buy you back he would have to empty is pockets, give up everything, and pay your price of Hell. So he did it, he died and he rose again, he walked out of the grave to free you from you old master, to wipe your tears and to save you forever.

Yet some here will say, “I like my life, my sin, I see what Jesus did but I’m good, don’t take off those chains, I wanna stay right here”

God’s love is a holy love - it’s unconditional, its absolute, it’s perfect and His love displayed on the cross you the greatest thing to ever happen to you.

So what?

So repent - you can be free from your sin, so hurry up and turn from it, place your faith in Jesus, live for Him!

Christian you too, repent

Anxiety - if God loved you enough to die for you, he loves you enough to handle whatver issue is causing you worry

Lust - God’s love provides far more fulfillment than you beding the knee to sexual desires and His love is powerful enough to free you from that powerful sin.

It’s not natural

It’s not something everyone deals with

It’s sin that Jesus defeated

Pride - You’re not good, the cross proves that - you owe your life to God - everything you do should be with the attitude J.O.B. had “I must decrease and He must Increase” Jesus paid for you not to make you a celebrity but to glorify himself - give God the glory that he deserves

God’s love is an intimate love, it is a relational love and so pursue that relationship because really to love God is to know God and that we will see next week

But Give God glory tonight - take your eyes off yourself and whatver it is that he would want you to do… DO IT. whether that means you go pray, you confess, you sing your lungs out, you believe in Him for the first time.

Rev 4:11 ““Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”” Do now what we will do in Heaven… Give God the Glory!