"GUTSY LOVE"
HOSEA 1:1 11
The main concern of the prophets was to communicate to Israel what it meant to be Israel...or to put it in a better way...they were concerned with the nature and mission of the church.
Israel had vowed to give herself to God and the way they would stay true to Him was through the keeping of the covenant commandments. This was a mutual covenant...which both agreed to keep.
But Israel had turned away from the focus of the covenant and denied the very foundations of her existence. They tried to keep the letter of the Law, but lost the real meaning of God's objective...which was relationship.
God wanted to have an intimate relationship with them, to be the very heart of their existence, and He also wanted them to have a close, loving relationship with each other.
But they were a stiff necked people who went their own way and did their own thing. They wanted to be like all the other nations, and do the things everyone else was doing...yet still have God...much like the majority of people today!
Hosea, more than anyone in Ancient Israel (with the possible exception of Jeremiah) experienced in his own life the separation that took place then between God and His people, and is taking place now in the "church." No one was more involved in and troubled by his contemporary situation than Hosea.
Lets Read 1:1 11
The Word of the Lord came to Hosea...initially around the year 750 B.C. when Jereboam II was king military genius...ruled 41 yrs. Best times for Israel. Outwardly thriving...inward, beginning to crumble...decay.
Following the prosperous years of Jeroboam was a stormy period for Israel. 6 kings during Hosea's lifetime...which shows there were continual troubles...especially when we see four of the kings being assassinated with invasions or threats of invasion from other nations.
These were violent times...unsafe to walk outside your house. Most decadent period in Israel's history. Syncretism...mixture of the worship of God with Baal worship.
Israel encountered Baals way back when she entered Canaan. These gods were regarded as in control of the rain and the fertility of the soil. They were worshiped with sexual rites...which they believed was some sort of magical imitation symbolizing fertility.
And so many in Israel thought that sounded like a lot of fun, so they joined in and began to worship Baal. And along with such deviant worship, Israel was likely to turn toward political alliances rather than trusting in the Lord.
They had confidence in military strength and in leadership that was outside the chosen line of David...which speaks of self reliance and rejection of God.
Israel became a wicked, violent nation that was full of idolatry.
This seemed to be a constant problem with these people...but idolatry is not primarily worship of idols. It is relying on anything other than the true and living God. Israel trusted in their king...in other nations...and even religion...but not in God.
But how much different are we today, as a nation as well as individuals? We don't have a king here in America, but we do still have a nation so dependent upon our leaders and what they can do for us.
We are becoming more and more a people who depend on government to take care of us...!everything „Çis a right. We no longer depend on God and godly principles...where is the Protestant work ethic that once was the very heart of our nation? "Why should I work...let the government keep me"
We're no longer a Christian nation, but one who worships creation rather than the creator.
This whole scenario that we find here in Israel during Hosea's time is a mirror image of the times in which we live...the nation in which we live...the whole concept of life in America can be seen in the pages of the Word of God written so many years ago.
Let's look to this man of God and see if God may be saying something to us today through his life and experience...because there are so many parallels between Israel and America...between us and God.
As you know, Hosea gets married to a woman named Gomer.
We have some information about Hosea, but little about his wife. Some say she was a temple prostitute. But I don't believe so. After much study I find that Gomer was, at the time of their wedding, likely a virgin but who later proved unfaithful.
In chapter 1 she is called an adulterous wife, and in chapter 3 it says she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Hosea is able to look back over this entire situation and see the events as a whole as God takes a situation and shows a striking spiritual parallel.
Gomer had three children...but we can see the progression of Hosea's suspicions about her behavior. Notice in v. 3 she bore !him„Ç a son, but there is no allusion to the father in v. 6 & 8.
Here we see a man with an unfaithful wife...and children who are likely not all his own...This whole situation is very tragic...very heartbreaking for Hosea. Just what is God trying to prove by allowing this to happen to a true man of God? Not just allowing it, but actually instigating it.
One very important thing that we can see from the very beginning is that God truly wants a family...from Genesis to Revelation we can see this. God instituted the family...with Him at the head...
"I will be your God you will be my people.
But here, it almost seems like God is serving divorce papers on Israel for her adultery. And Hosea has to speak the word...but for him to be able to convey this message to the people he too must experience the pain of betrayal.
Only a man who has had such a deep, painful, personal experience could have fulfilled this prophetic ministry in the way Hosea did. Only one who has experienced this kind of humiliation and heartache could indict Israel as a people who were so infected with a spirit of adultery.
In our society today it's a very common thing for people to experience the pain and heartache of adultery. Someone who is loved so much betrays that love and goes to another. It can be a devastating thing.
But in this particular instance God is the scorned and rejected lover...God is the one who has been betrayed...left for another who supposedly holds the promise of dreams and desires fulfilled.
And this is not the first time is has happened. Time after time God's people have turned away and followed other gods. Time after time He's been rejected and abandoned. Time after time His people have gone chasing after someone or something they believe can satisfy and fulfill their desires.
How would you respond to someone who repeatedly rejected and was unfaithful to you? Some of you may have experienced that very thing. It may not necessarily be physical unfaithfulness, like Gomer, but there are a multitude of ways that we can be unfaithful to each other.
How would you handle such an awful situation?
Many times it ends with a complete and final separation divorce...or for the sake of innocent parties you live within this emotional prison and waste away emotionally, spiritually, and often physically.
Many of you have seen the effects of this type of situation on someone close to you. But this morning I want you to look beyond the physical and try to view this from a different perspective.
Israel committed spiritual adultery...which is just as horrible, just as devastating, just as sinful as any physical act could ever be. And God is the one who has been betrayed.
How does God respond to repeated rejection and adultery? God responds with love. "Hesed" (guttural) [not bad for Gentiles]
It is the word for love and devotion...comparable to "agape"...and it literally means "loyalty to one's covenant obligations and devotion to one's covenant partner."
To illustrate that love that God has, Hosea after all the rejection, pain, and heartache is required to take Gomer back. God is grieved by Israel's rejection...He is devastated by the adultery...but He still loves. And through Him we see in Hosea is the greatest example of "hesed" in the O.T.
For us today love means a variety of things. We hear the word love in so many contexts...I love my wife...I love pizza...I love football...I love my cat or my goldfish...it can mean about anything. But when it means everything...it means nothing.
A friend of mine supposedly loved her goldfish, but when they died she just flushed them down the toilet. Not much loyalty in that. "Hesed" !means„Ç loyalty...it's what holds relationships together when they should fall apart. It means "guts"
And it takes guts to hang in there when everyone else would quit.
Well, God never gives up...His love is gutsy! While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That takes guts.
In Deuteronomic law adultery deserved death. But God couldn't do it. He sent His son. The message is...God will not abandon His people. Now God is not naive He feels the pain...but His love still remains.
But what about us? How long does our "hesed" last?
But before we lose sight of the real lesson of this powerful book, we must fully understand what it means to each of us...right here and now. Because this is a story that speaks far above just a physical violation of our covenant with another.
I'm not here this morning to talk about the physical adultery that can take place in a marriage relationship. I may get to that at a later date, and when I do I'll probably handle it much differently.
The nation of Israel was guilty of spiritual adultery. They left their first love and went out and served other gods. They still claimed their covenant with God, but no longer had any relationship with Him.
They trusted in everything but God...He was nothing more than a means of escape when they got into a serious jam. They depended on their king, and other nations, and worshiped "things" that weren't gods at all.
According to the latest Gallup poll, 82 % of Americans claim to be born again Christians...not just people that believe in a Superior Being, but actually claim to be born again...
But look at the condition of our nation today...we're anything but a Christian nation. We even legislate immorality...we've chosen leaders with no respect for human life...
no concept of right and wrong...who deal with rampant promiscuity and disease by handing out free condoms in public schools and providing needles for the addicts...teach "alternative lifestyles" to our grade school kids...and the list goes on............
We're a nation and a people who have committed spiritual adultery. And before we get to self righteous, what about your relationship with God? When is the last time you said more than a "bless this food" or "now I lay me down to sleep" kind of prayer?
When is the last time you studied the Word of God, and sought Him for direction in your life? You see, this is what this book of Hosea is telling us...that many of us are no better of than Gomer.
What kind of relationship would you have with your spouse if you neglected and betrayed them as you do God? If you spent no more time with them than w/ God...or consulted w/ them on important issues no more than you do with God?
Yet we claim to love Him...we say that He is the most important thing in our lives...that we trust Him to work all things for our good... We claim all His promises, but have nothing to do with Him until we need Him for something.
But instead of rejecting us...as He has every right to do...He says return "shoove" stop messing around...find fulfillment in Him. How does God respond to betrayal? With a passionate plea to return.
How logical is love?...For the most part, it seems that human love defies all logic...and besides that, most of what we call love is little more than lust anyway.
But God's love is logical. All God wants is for us to come home.
2:6 7...I will go back (shoove) for it was better...
N.T. ...prodigal son why did he go back??? It wasn't because of his overwhelming love for his father...he realized he was better off.
When he returned...that's terrific. Motives are mixed. Prodigal was sick of the pigs...Gomer better then than now.
How pure are our motives when we return? Mixed
But it doesn't matter...as long as we go home. God runs to us...He's overjoyed that we've come home. No lectures (from God) Hugs, kisses, tender words... there is restoration!
Don't make sense to older brothers...should get what he deserved...rather than be thankful he's returned, he was resentful, bitter, and jealous. He couldn't understand the father's love...
Just welcome home! But that is God's unconditional love...the love we long for. It's not dependent on good works, or achievements.
We're taught that we are what we do...
Get A's you're worth something
Get a promotion you're worth something
Preach a good sermon you're worth something
But what if we get C's or D's etc...
What if we work hard but still get laid off...or never get promoted... What about all those sermons that flopped?
We try to perform to convince people we have value and worth...
And we must work and strive to be the best we can be at whatever God has gifted us to do...but never in the hopes of gaining favor with God...
The message this morning is simple yet quite profound. Some of you may be guilty of spiritual adultery. You've made a covenant with God, a promise to love Him and serve Him...but you've broken that...you no longer have the desire to remain true to Him.
You no longer talk with Him...or read His Word...or consult Him in the things you do...He's become something that you simply use in the event of an emergency...
You've found something else that demands all your attention, that claims all your time...and that is spiritual adultery.
But instead of separating Himself from us...and desiring revenge, or retaliation...instead of leaving us to our own lusts and sin...God calls us back...He says Return.
Because God's love is unconditional Gutsy
"You are the beloved of God simply because I love you.
You can't earn God's love...just go home
