“THE REMARKABLE REALITY OF THE LOVE OF GOD-A PICTURE OF GOD’S LOVE”
HOSEA 1-3
TEXT VERSES: HOSEA 1:1-3
INTRO: The love of God is an amazing thing. It is amazing in that God’s loves
everyone regardless of who they are, how wicked they are, or how they
treat Him. God’s love is amazing in that God has always loved us.
Jeremiah 31:3 declares, “..Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” But the most
amazing thing about God’s love is why He loves us. It is not because
we deserve it! We are loved because God is love and it is His very
nature to love mankind.
But there is yet another aspect of the amazing love of God I want you
to consider today and that reality is this: God’s love is a Faithful
Love, even when We are Faithless. What do we expect from our
Christian leaders? 1 Timothy 3:1-7 gives us the qualifications of a
leader: “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he
desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband
of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to
teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but
patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own
house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man
know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the
church of God?). Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into
condemnation of the devil; Moreover he must have a good report of them
that are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
In discussing deacons, Paul wrote, “Even so must their wives be grave,
not slanders, sober, faithful in all things.” (1 Timothy 3:11).
What would you think of a pastor who married a prostitute? Not one
who was “gloriously saved from her past,” but one still practicing her
trade? What would be the gossip that surrounded them? How long
would he remain in a leadership position? Who would listen if he
were to say, “God told me to marry this woman”? What would our
response be?
This is exactly what faced the prophet Hosea. God told Hosea to take
a wife of harlotry, and he did it as an object lesson for the people of
Israel. What can we learn from Hosea and his harlot wife Gomer? Let
us see “A Picture of God’s Love,” as we continue our series on, “The
Remarkable Reality of The Love of God.” Notice three things with me
this morning:
(1) GOD’S PURPOSE BEHIND THE MARRIAGE
HOSEA 1:2—“….And the LORD said to Hosea, GO, take thee a wife
of whoredoms and the children of whoredoms: for the land
hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.”
*Notice:
A. The Reason for God’s Command. At God’s direction, Hosea took a
wife who was just as unfaithful to him as Israel was to her God. R. C.
Sproul, in his book, Loved By God, says, “The call to Hosea to marry a
harlot is based on the spiritual adultery God’s people committed
against Him.” (R. C. Sproul, Loved By God, p. 70.) The Lord, doubtless,
had good reasons for giving such a command to the prophet; it would
form an affecting picture of the Lord's unmerited goodness and
unwearied patience, and of the perverseness and ingratitude of Israel.
(Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary). The people of Israel, God’s
chosen people, had chased after the gods of the land. They had for-
saken the One true God and worshipped fake gods. They chose to
worship the creature instead of the Creator. Is this not how many are
today? Romans 1:25 speaks of those “who changed the truth of God
into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”
ILLUS: Though we do not face a pantheon of false gods like the
Israelites did, we face pressures from a pantheon of false
values--materialism, love of leisure, sensuality, worship of self,
security, and many others. The second commandment deals
with idols. This may be something that most of us can't relate
to--unless we include life goals that revolve around something
other than God Himself. What is the object of our affections,
our efforts, and our attention? Where does the majority of our
time go? On what do we spend the greatest amount of our
resources? Today in the Word, June 14, 1989.
ILLUS: What other gods could we have besides the Lord? Plenty. For
Israel there were the Canaanite Baals, those jolly nature gods
whose worship was a rampage of gluttony, drunkenness, and
ritual prostitution. For us there are still the great gods Sex,
Shekels, and Stomach (an unholy trinity constituting one god:
self), and the other enslaving trio, Pleasure, Possessions, and
Position, whose worship is described as "The lust of the flesh
and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16).
Football, the Firm, and Family are also gods for some. Indeed
the list of other gods is endless, for anything that anyone allows
to run his life becomes his god and the claimants for this
prerogative are legion. In the matter of life's basic loyalty,
temptation is a many-headed monster. James Packer, Your
Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.
B. The Response of The People to God’s Compassion. “…Committed
great whoredom, departing from the LORD.” “It was not Yahweh [God]
who left His people. Rather it was God’s people who departed from
Him. This departure is likened to a spouse’s abandoning fidelity to the
wedding vows. Such a departure indicates adultery.” (R. C. Sproul,
Loved By God, p. 71.) God shows us, in the marriage of Hosea and
Gomer, a picture of not only Israel, but of ourselves as we leave God
And pursue other “gods”: pleasure, things, money, position, etc.
How do we commit spiritual adultery?:
1. By forgetting the great cost of our redemption (1 Cors. 6:19-20).
2. By focusing on material things instead of eternal things
(Matthew 6:19-21).
3. By following the desires of self instead of the direction of the
Spirit (Galatians 5:16).
ILLUS: Today's idols are more in the self than on the shelf.
Goudzwaard's three basic Biblical rules:
1. Every person is serving god(s) in his life.
2. Every person is transformed into an image of his god.
3. Mankind creates and forms a structure of society in its own
image.
That for which I would give anything and accept nothing in
exchange is the most important thing in my life. Whatever
that is is my god (cf. Isa. 44:6-20). J. McMath.
(2) GOD’S PROVISION FOR GOMER
HOSEA 1:3-2:20
*Even when we prove ourselves Faithless, God is still Faithful to us! He
blesses us even when we have forsaken HIM!
ILLUS: Man is always subject to error. He can be mistaken without
knowing it because he is fallible; he can also be mistaken
wittingly because the seed of sin is in him and he loves the
“darkness”—untruth, rather than the “light”—Truth. But God
the great, unwavering One in whom is no variableness, does not
confuse us by His changing ways. Every statement is sure; every
prophecy is secure; every promise is certain; every fact is verified
by the nature of His being. He is the One who can say, “Let God
be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). We may build upon
His facts, promises, and prophecies, since they are His, and
because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (1).
*Look at God’s Faithfulness and provision for Faithless Gomer:
A. The Children Born. Three children were born to Hosea and Gomer,
Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi. The names of each of these children showed the future for Israel. Jezreel predicts the fall of the dynasty of Jereboam II. Lo-Ruhamah, (literally No Mercy, “lo” means no in Hebrew), means exactly her name. Israel would receive no more mercy from God. Lo-Ammi may be the worst of all. His name meant “not my people.” No longer would the people of Israel be considered the people of God. “No greater tragedy can befall a nation than to change from being the people of God to not being the people of God. In this action God announces that He will divorce Israel on the grounds of adultery.” (R. C. Sproul, Loved By God, p. 73.) All of this because of the nation’s faithlessness. But notice…
B. The Compassion Bestowed. In vvs. 10-11, we see that even though the
Nation would prove unfaithful to God, God would remain faithful to
them. A remnant will survive. Even God, in his justice, tempers it with
mercy promising future restoration. Mercy is remembered in the midst of
wrath; the rejection, as it shall not be total, so it shall not be final. The
same hand that wounded, is stretched forth to heal. Very precious
promises are here given concerning the Israel of God, and they may be of
use to us now. Some think that these promises will not have
accomplishment in full, till the general conversion of the Jews in the
latter days. Also this promise is applied to the gospel, and the bringing
in both the Jews and Gentiles to it, by St. Paul, Rom_9:25-26, and by St.
Peter, 1Pe_2:10. To believe in Christ, is to have him for our Head, and
willingly to commit ourselves to his guidance and government. And let
us pray for the coming of the glorious day, when there shall be one Lord
through all the earth. (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary).
God loves His people and even in those times when we prove Faithless,
He remains Faithful. He has promised in His Word, “I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5b).
C. The Consequences of Backsliding. There are always consequences to
sin. As Galatians 6:7 tells us, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Hosea had been good
to Gomer, but yet because of her whoredoms he had to divorce her. V5
tells us she “..hath played the harlot..” She went after other lovers.
Many times, we God’s people, go after many other lovers instead of
loving God supremely and following Him. “The divorce with the threat of
exposure of her sins and the withdrawal of mercy from her children is
designed to be corrective and curative rather than punitive.” (R. C.
Sproul, Loved By God, p. 74.) Even in the time of divorce, Hosea is
confident that God will restore His bride to Himself despite her
adultery.” (Sproul, p. 74.) Hosea pictures a blessed outcome for the
future. Gomer will be restored to Hosea and Israel will be restored to
God. God promises four blessings in Hosea 2:14-20:
1. “…I will…speak comfortably unto her.” (v14). He "speaks
comfortably" (literally, "speaks to her heart"). Have you ever had God
speak to you heart because of your waywardness? Because you “have
left your first love”? What a blessing conviction is. Israel was
obstinate and wayward, God literally had to “allure her and bring her
into the wilderness.” So obstinate is she that God has to "allure her,"
that is, so to temper judgment with unlooked-for grace as to win her
to His ways. For this purpose it was necessary to "bring her into the
wilderness" (that is, into temporal want and trials) first, to make her
sin hateful to her by its bitter fruits, and God's subsequent grace the
more precious to her by the contrast of the "wilderness." (Jamieson,
Fausset, & Brown Commentary on Hosea).
2. “..I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of
Achor for a door of hope..” (v15a). Her vineyards - Many blessings. From thence - From the time of their repentance. Valley of Achor - Which was a large, fruitful and pleasant valley near Jericho, on the very entrance into the land of Canaan. A door of hope - That valley was a door of hope to Israel of old. And such a door will God give to repenting Israel. As in the days of her youth - When I espoused her.
(Wesley’s Explanatory Notes). from thence--returning from the wilderness. God gives Israel a fresh grant of Canaan, which she had forfeited; so of her vineyards. (Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown Commentary on Hosea). Aren’t you glad that after the valley of sin and despair, God opens for us a door of hope when we repent and turn back to Him?
3. “..I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth (v17).
When our hearts are set on God all our idols will be removed and
taken away. Israel’s heart will be on her God and she will not follow
after idols.
4. “..I will betroth thee unto me forever…” (v19). "Betroth" is thrice
repeated, implying the intense love of God to His people; and perhaps,
also, the three Persons of the Triune God, severally engaging to make