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Recording from Selkirk Street Evangelical Church,Hamilton 1984
SOME NOTES
From a series on the Minor Prophets entitled “Men Spoke from God”. 2 Peter 1, “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Men spoke: in the language of their day – Hebrew. Their own style, accents, emphasis (given by God), own content – all very different
From God: in all that variety this is unity – One voice sounds through them all. 12 authors. 1 ultimate author.
The book of Hosea tells us about a situation when this spokesman for God spoke to the people of God. We need to hear what God says to us through it.
All of the OT writers, prophets suffered in costly terms, personally, for the service they brought to God. With Hosea it was in his own marriage experience
Meaning of a marriage – first 3 chapters
Story of Hosea’s marriage is told in outline. No details of feelings.
- Hosea believing to be will of God and out of love, married a girl called Gomer, daughter of Diblaim.
- They had a son & then a daughter and then another son.
- Then it all went tragically wrong. Gomer got up & left to live with another man
- Hosea believing it to be the will of God and out of love goes seeking after Gomer.
- Finds her and buys his own wife back. Price of a female slave. She had become a prostitute and slave of another man
- Hosea gave her terms – she must leave all this behind and be faithful to him
The Meaning
The wife; God knew from the beginning what was going to happen. Hosea believed wholly in the Lord. It was God’s will Hosea married her and went after her. No mistake. Parallel with Israel/us.
The children: given very significant names, by God.
- Son Jezreel: Indicates ‘Judgement, punishment’ God will bring because of waywardness & bloodshed.
- Daughter Lo-Ruhamah: ‘not pitied, not having received mercy’. God is not going to have mercy on his people. ‘I will not love you, I will not have mercy on you’
- Son – Lo-Ammi: “you are not mine”. God had called people into Covenant
Marriage: God’s institution. Picture of the close covenant bond God with his people As Gomer is unfaithful to marriage vows, so Israel has been unfaithful to her covenant vows & departed from the living God. Root of all the trouble
Redeeming Love
Chapters 2 & 3 Hosea goes out in search of Gomer. God’s profound love for his people, searches after them. It’s the love of God that moves Hosea to show this love to Gomer. Start of 3rd chapter constant repetition of the word “love”. Lord says “love your wife” even those she’s been unfaithful. Love as the Lord loves Israel, though Israel has turned to other gods and loved raisin cakes ( very silly).
Hosea’s conditions to Gomer: God calls the people to Himself to live for Him, with Him, seeking Him only in the end
Whole Message of the Book – Chapters 4-14
In this episode of unfaithfulness 3 signs of serious trouble;
- Politically – Prosperity, but then decadence & corruption. Assyria rose up bringing trouble & the people stupidly tried to appeal to both it and Egypt. Massive turmoil & instability. Samaria collapses in fulfilment of the prophets word and the northern kingdom is no more politically
- Morally: Amos & Hosea strongly rebukes the northern kingdom – every command has been broken. Law & order broken down.
- Religiously/spiritually: outwardly still practicing – temple worship & sacrifices. “Still going to church”. But idolatry rife. Pagan hedonism. Worship of Baal. Offered human sacrifices. Hosea blames the priests: you have not brought my word to the people, they have broken covenant. Forgotten what God is like, that God is sovereign. Sin blinds minds to the truth of God. God is Holy = warnings of judgement. “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.”
Is Hosea all gloom? What’s in it for us?
Message of hope from very first chapter. People to become like the sand on the seashore as promised to Abraham. Hosea says, my son is called “not my people”, yet they will be called the ‘sons of the living God’.
Chapter 14 brings in summary message the whole import of the book.
Message to backsliders.
Waywardness and backslide is very like unfaithfulness/infidelity in marriage. Happens gradually, we slip away. Backsliding is at first a thing of the heart
True Repentance
- Turning – Return Oh Israel to the Lord your God. Half-hearted repentance is no repentance at all. We must do a total turning to the Lord. We can shout the right words, sing the right hymns, but what is going on inside is what matters.
- Confessing: clear without any reservation. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness” John. Confess in a new way – thankful praise
- Forsaking: turning from the old ways. Not just confessing with our lips, but reparation in our lives. Turn as they were to turn from Assyria and cast off their idols.
When that happens there is all the joy of restoration and renewal.
Restore: God says “I will love”. Hosea’s God shows tender love that far outweighs what the people know or expect. Even in darkest judgment God says I love you.
Renewal: Hosea gives pictures of freshness: ‘dew on the grass’, ‘fragrance of the lily. Steadiness: strong as the cedar. Fruitfulness: blossom and bearing fruit. He can renew us
Final plea “oh Ephraim. I have nothing to do with idols.”
What matters is how goes it between our heart and the Lord. Is there anything that takes its place? What kind of a marriage relationship is it if the wife cannot love her husband wholly because she’s drawn away to other men or vice versa