Hosea: Relentless Love Series

I read through Hosea in one sitting and this is the picture I got:

• … a grieving Lover, urging for the return of His beloved, who has left Him for other loves. Despite the infidelity, the Lover was unrelenting.

• He was determined to pay any price that would bring His beloved back to His side.

Hosea is a story of a broken vow, a broken home, a broken heart and a broken life.

• God has chosen to reveal this sad story through a broken-hearted prophet, so that he and his people will understand God’s faithfulness and unrelenting love.

• God never gives up on His people. God never gives up on you. Others may give up on you, or you may even give up on yourself, but not God.

The setting for the story of Hosea takes place in the city of Samaria, the capital city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

• Hosea, a young preacher, is led by God to meet and woo and win a young woman by the name of Gomer.

• Her past wasn’t very good, but since God has brought us together, our future will be filled with happiness and delight. But he was wrong.

She left him. She prostituted herself. She went for other lovers.

• Hosea was left with 3 children, who were given names that points to this tragedy. Jezreel, judgement; Lo-Ruhamah, not loved; Lo-Ammi, not my people.

• Even though Gomer was at home for a while, her heart wasn’t there. She betrayed her husband’s devotion.

You can imagine the gossip going around – “How could you, a religious man, a holy prophet, have gotten a loose wife like this?”

• Hosea now understands. He understands the heart of God for His people.

• “How could You, a holy and righteous God, tolerate a people like us, unfaithful and sinful?”

Now that she is gone, it may be better off for Hosea.

• But Hosea did not give up. Even though she has left the home, she has not left his heart. He was determined to have her back, no matter what she had done.

• 3:1 the Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites…”

• Even though she has other lovers, go and get her back! Hosea went and BUYS her back. She had likely fallen into slavery and he needs to buy her back.

But, you say, it just doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense that a man pays to keep a woman who has betrayed him.

• That’s right. It really does not make sense that God would pay such a high price to buy us back, but He did. That’s unconditional love. That’s grace!

• We were like Gomer, described by Hosea in 2:5 “Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, `I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.’

• 2:8 “She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold - which they used for Baal.”

But if you’re tempted to sit in judgment on Gomer, I remind you that that’s the way you and I have acted all of our lives.

• It’s from the hand of God that we receive life’s rich blessing — food for our table, clothes for our body, and a warm place to live. And yet how easily we can thank ourselves or everyone else except the God who provided them.

• We thank our government, our company, our family, our friends, and ourselves – our good skills, wisdom and strength – everyone and everything, except the God from whom all blessings flow.

Despite all these, God still loves us. He pays to save us.

• 3:3 Hosea tells Gomer, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.”

• “I have bought you, and now I want you to be with me. I want you to be faithful to me, and I promise you that whether you’re faithful to me or not I will be faithful to you.”

• Hosea is playing the part with Gomer that God has played with us all of your life.

(1) God’s Love Never Changes

God does not love you because of what you do. God always loves you in spite of what you do.

• God does not love you because of what you are. He always loves you in spite of what you are.