Covenant Connections:
A Covenant of Love ~ Promises Made
Scripture Text: Hosea 2.14-20
INTRODUCTION
Is your family-life as chaotic as ours is? Sometimes it’s as though we’re going 10 different directions!
I’m sure that yours is no-different. Juggling work and school and shopping and appointments and other-stuff ~ …you might call it an ‘art’; …or, you might-just call it maddening!
One thing’s for sure, …the stress and pressures on families is greater than it’s ever been. And it takes a toll on marriages. Spouses are worn to a frazzle; …we’re distracted and preoccupied; …we’re over-committed, …over- spent, …over-done! And what-do-we-have-left for our mate!?!
And-then-I-think, “Well, maybe it’s just a sign-of-the-times! “Things are different now.” ~ And that’s true ~ …You see it reflected on T.V. and the family-relationships portrayed on our favorite programs. Desie & Lucy – on the ‘Lucille Ball Show’, Ward and June Cleaver, Archie and Edith – on ‘All in the Family’, Eight Is Enough, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, …and-then you-get to the more contemporary-versions of married-life: Mad About You, King of Queens, Seventh Heaven, …not-to-mention the plethora of comical portrayals of dysfunctional family-relationships, like Everybody Loves Raymond. T.V. programs give us windows into family-life. …I don’t know if we watch these shows to-laugh-and-cry with-people that look so-different-from-us, …or whether we watch these shows because they make us laugh-and-cry at our-own-lives! I-mean… is there a T.V. couple that you wish that your marriage was more-like?
Or… is there a T.V. couple that you are afraid your marriage is too-much-like!?!
I suspect that there’s not-many Ward and June Cleaver’s among us. But-hopefully, there’s not-many couples that are as dysfunctional as Ray Barone and Deborah, on “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
I know it may seem like I’m rambling ~ …but I’m just-tryin’ to-make-sense of the examples and role-models that we-look-to for our own marriages.
And this isn’t-just for those of us who are married. It’s also for every-teen and everybody that ever-will-be married. Family-life and family-relationships are so fundamental to our daily lives ~ But, there’s a confusing number of examples for us to-learn-from and to-imitate in our own marriages. Some are strong and healthy. Others are weak and barely holding it together. In-some, the husband is a strong authoritarian-type. In-others, the husband-and-wife have more egalitarian roles. In-some, there is emotional and verbal manipulation. In-others, we find respect and tenderness. In-some, we discover that there is unfaithfulness. In-others, we see the couple staying committed to each other and “forsaking all others”. It’s amazing… and bewildering to have so many examples before-us.
But, I’m not just pondering the different-types-of-marital-relations that have been examples to me; …I’m also wondering how these examples, …these windows, …these illustrations of married-life… …I’m just-wondering how these influence my understanding of Scripture when it talks about the relationship between God and His people in terms of a marriage.
Hosea is one of my favorite prophets because he laid-his-heart on-the-line so that God’s message could be heard loud-and-clear. Hosea was someone who carried-a-cross, …and suffered-deeply, and close-to-home.
But-this-morning, as we listened to God’s Word, read from chapter two, …it sounds very much like a love-letter. The Lord God is speaking. He’s writing this letter through Hosea, …and laying-His-heart-bare before Israel… He wants her. He wants things to be better. He wants their relationship to be like it used-to-be.
BODY
Hosea was one of many prophets that the Lord used to call Israel back to himself. Over-and-over again, they would tell the people to put away the foreign gods; …over-and-over, they invited the people to turn their hearts back to the Lord; …over-and-over, they reminded Israel of the glorious past ~ …when God did huge-and-wonderful things for them; …but, over-and-over the people hardened their hearts and turned a deaf ear to God’s plea.
The prophets began to warn Israel. They warned the people that if they did not turn their hearts back-to-God, …that their relationship with Him would be broken, …and they could not count on protection or provisions or prosperity. Don’t-ya-know, the blessings of God hinge on faithfulness to the covenant? When that hinge is undone, …the relationship unravels and the blessings are no-more.
Do you find this love-letter interesting?
I think it is fascinating that the Lord would paint-a-picture here using the image of marriage. The relationship between a husband and a wife illustrates the relationship that God seeks between himself and His people. In-painting-this-kinda-picture, …Israel is portrayed as a bride.
I. A Bride and a Husband
‘In that day’, declares the Lord, ‘you will call me “my husband”… I will betroth you to me forever.’
God describes Himself as a husband; …and His people are described as a bride. And what-may-be even-more striking is that this love-letter talks about wooing and courtship. Take a look at the verbs used in the first-couple-of-verses in this passage:
‘I am… going to allure her…
‘I will… speak tenderly to her…
“I will give her…
…and ‘she will sing’!”
Husbands… how long has it been since you “allured” and “wooed” your wife?
Wives… how long has it been since your heart “sang” because of the love you find in your marriage?
Well… the Lord uses this image of romance and courtship to describe how He’s going to pursue and chase-after His people. Have you ever thought of the relationship between God and His people using those kinds of images? ~ …Have you ever-considered-that, what’s-happening between us-and-God is something like a courtship!?!
It’s a little surprising. It’s-also a little dangerous! To portray the Church’s relationship with God as a courtship or-as a marriage-relationship, …it’s-dangerous because we ought-not make the connections too-close.
We’ve all been-in or witnessed relationships in which one partner abused or manipulated or took-advantage of the other one’s love-and-trust. Sadly, marriages aren’t always loving.
Courtship can be a messy-business! Too-often, during the courtship process, …guys-and-gals will put their best-foot-forward ~ …and-while that’s not a bad-thing, …often, they’ll cover-over personal-flaws; …they’ll minimize problems; …they’ll hide any dark-side. During courtship, people aren’t always honest with each other, …or with themselves!
How many times do people “fall-in-love” ~ …not-so-much with the other person ~ …but-with the idea of having someone to love?
How many times do young-people ignore-or-overlook problem-areas in their relationships, …because they don’t wanna lose the connection?
Have you ever seen a couple rush into marriage ~ …and you knew that eventually they were going to face some pretty-big stumbling blocks, …because they didn’t honestly-deal with the serious-issues beforehand?
We’ve all been there. And-because all-of-us have-had less-than-ideal relationships like this ~ …relationships that were largely shaped by dis-honesty, …relationships in-which one-or-both people wore-a-mask and played-the-poser ~ …it may blur how we look at the picture the Lord is trying to paint in this love-letter. He describes Himself as a bride-groom husband, …and the people-of-God are like a bride. There is wooing goin’-on. There is tenderness happenin’. Hearts are being caressed. A future is taking shape. It sounds romantic and beautiful and wonderful.
But, we-should-be-careful not-to read-into God’s-love-letter, …we shouldn’t impose the heart-aches and disappointments we’ve experienced from romantic-relationships. The truth is, we’ve all been hurt by someone who wasn’t sincere; …or-who was hiding a dark-side that we only-later-discovered; …or-who was secretly playing-the-field and keeping-their-options open. But that’s-not-what happens as God reaches out to His people. He says,
“I will betroth you to me forever;
“I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.
“I will betroth you in faithfulness.”
The-truth-is, …God is everything that a husband is supposed-to-be! He treats His people the way that a husband ought-to-treat his wife! And, it’s a mistake to project on Him the inadequacies and infidelities and shortcomings that you’ve experienced in earthly relationships. He invites us to give Him our hearts. He wants us to trust Him with our deepest-selves. He reaches out to us and promises undying-love, …never-ending faithfulness, …true love.
II. Our Heart
But our hearts have been stepped-on; …and we’ve been disappointed many-times-before.
And-even-though we wouldn’t admit-it, …we guard our hearts, even when it comes to our relationship with the Lord.
I think it’s striking that God tells the people that they will eventually call Him, ‘Husband’, …not ‘lord’. Now… you’ve gotta understand that the name for the Canaanite storm-god was Baal. You’ve heard of him before. And you know that throughout their history, …the Israelites were seduced into Baal-worship. That kinda-stuff was in full-force during Hosea’s lifetime. And, that’s-why God says He will ‘remove the names of the Baals’ from Israel’s lips. No-longer will they worship this false-god; …no-longer will their hearts be divided; …no-longer will they prostitute themselves by chasing-after any gods other-than the One who loves them completely.
As I read this love-letter, …don’t you see God’s heart being poured out?… Don’t you see His heart breaking because those-He-loves are chasing after others?… Don’t you see His deep-desire that we would give our hearts to Him, …and to be united in bonds of fidelity and self-giving love?
The covenant the Lord wants to establish with the people ~ …this “betrothal” that He speaks of ~ …is ‘hesed’ love. It is a love that is much deeper and stronger than an emotional infatuation. It’s a love based on righteousness, steadfastness and mercy. It is a love that is loyal to the covenant-promises between the two partners. “Hesed”-love is mutual and reciprocated. It will be a two-way street. Their relationship will no-longer be tainted by spiritual adultery; …instead, God and His people will be faithful to one another.
TRANSITION
Although the Old Testament doesn’t make-a-habit of describing the relationship between God and His people in-terms-of-a-marriage, …the New Testament picks up this theme and emphasizes it more. The New Testament uses the phrase, “the bride of God” to refer to the Church. Through faith in Christ, …we are joined together in one body of believers; …and, as a whole, we are betrothed to the Lord in a covenant of love.
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION
Now… I hope you’re not tripped-up by-the-fact that Hosea lived and preached, …that this love-letter from God came before the life-and-ministry of Jesus. I hope you’re not tripped-up by-the-fact that this message was first given-to the children-of-Israel, …who were immersed in the pagan-worship-practices of false gods. I hope you’re not thinkin’ that this has no connection with you, or us, or the issues we face in the twenty-first century. I hope you’re not tripped-up by these things, ‘cause this is for us!
It’s for us when we look at the Church as a big, impersonal, clumsy-institution, …instead of imagining-the-Church the way God sees us: …as a bride! How would our attitudes toward the Church change if we had this-picture in mind, …rather than the picture of a bureaucracy!?!
PAUSE
It’s for us when we look at the people in the church, …as members of a club, …as an organization, …an institution, …or a collection of cliques, …instead of seeing the church as the Body of Christ! The Lord looks upon us ~ …all believers, collectively, …as we are one-in-Christ ~ …He often looks upon us and describes us as a “bride”. Maybe we should do the same! Maybe the church should act more bride-like!
The message in Hosea is also a call for us to purify our relationship with the Lord. We need to turn our hearts back to Him; …we need to give our hearts to Him completely; …we don’t need to hold-back part or trust-Him-partially. The relationship He seeks with us ~ His people ~ is similar to a marriage, …wholly given, …wholly embraced, …wholly shared. The Lord calls us to give our hearts to Him. Don’t hold back. Don’t wait for a better offer! Don’t worry whether He can be trusted! He is not like the ‘lovers’ that we’ve had before ~ …who loved-us and left-us; …who lied-to-us and betrayed-us; …who mis-handled our hearts and disappointed-us.
The Lord is not like them! He is good. He is faithful. He passionately loves His people… His bride!
Let’s give our hearts to Him, …let our relationships to the Lord be polished and restored; …and purify ourselves of all compromising attitudes and relationships.
So… two of the ways that we can respond to this ancient love-letter are: …first, to change our attitudes about the Church ~ …and to look at the Church more-like a beautiful bride, …rather than a clumsy, impersonal institution. And, if our attitude about the Church changes, …then maybe how we see ourselves and the-way-we-fit into the Church will also change.
The second way that we can respond to this ancient love-letter is: …to purify our hearts ~ …to stop holding God off at-arm’s-length, …to stop guarding our hearts and withholding some love-and-trust, …definitely, to stop chasing after other ‘lovers’ ~ …whatever-it-is that gets in the way of our loving-and-trusting God! We can purify our hearts by giving our hearts completely to the One who loves us faithfully and truly.
But, besides changing our attitudes toward the Church, …and besides purifying our hearts by giving them completely to God, …the third way that we can respond to this love-letter from God is for those-of-us who are married. I think this is a practical call to Christian couples to evaluate our relationships ~ …not from the standpoint of ‘how do we compare to mom-and-dad?’; …but from-the-standpoint of ‘does our relationship look like the relationship God seeks with His people?’
Christian marriages are to be modeled after the way that God loves His Bride. Our relationships within the family should reflect the kind-of-love that God shows His people. Are our marriages pure?
Are they spiritually and emotionally and physically faithful?
Are our marriages and the promises that we’ve made to one another ~ …are they characterized by righteousness and mercy, steadfastness and loyalty?
Do we treat one another with tenderness and respect?
Is there any wooing goin’-on?… Any pursuit?… Any sign that we are chasing our spouse’s heart?
Or… has our marriage simply-slipped into formality and function and scheduling and routine? Are we withholding our hearts, …our trust, …our love from our spouse?
Does your marriage-relationship look like the relationship that God seeks to have with His people?
