Where is God?
The economy of the nation is collapsing. Companies are going out of business. Families that were once thriving are now struggling.
Where is God?
The morality of society is in decline. People cheat one another. They look out only for number one. What’s happening to the culture?
Where is God? Why doesn’t He do something about this?
Look at the church. Priests and their conduct – or misconduct I should say. Everywhere you turn there is talk about the ungodly way priests have behaved – misbehaved.
Where is God?
And what happened to the world of peace? It disappeared in a wave of violence.
Where is God?
Now if you think I’m talking about our society, think again. I’m not talking about our stock market, the collapse of Enron, the misconduct of Roman Catholic priests, or what happened almost a year ago on September 11th.
I’m talking about Hosea.
Today we begin a series of studies on the Minor Prophets. They are not called “minor” because their message, but simply because of their size. Each of the 12 last books of the Old Testament are so brief you can read them in the time it takes to read an article from Reader’s Digest.
You can easily read Hosea in 15 minutes.
Hosea was not the first of these 12 Minor Prophets to appear on the stage of history. He is actually the 5th – but Hosea comes first in the order of appearance in the Table of Contents of our Bibles, so that is why we happen to be looking at him today.
And what a perfect Sunday to look at Hosea.
This is the week we remember what happened last year September 11, 2001.
Hosea was a brilliant theologian.
He was a patriot who loved his country.
He was a passionate speaker.
And when he began his ministry, it was a wonderful time to be alive. It was, in many ways, like our own society – or at least, the way our society was about this time last year.
Hosea’s generation knew nothing of war, except through the memories of their fathers. It was, in many ways like our society was before September 11th, many of us knew of Pearl Harbor through our parents or grandparents.
In Hosea’s time, there had been peace for many years, and with it had come economic prosperity. Look at the stock market and the economy – about the way it was this time last year.
But – those wonderful times are about to come to an end in Hosea’s day.
By the middle of the Book of Hosea, the winds are war is beginning to blow. We read in the 5th chapter, "Sound the trumpet … raise the battle cry.” (Hosea 5:8-9).
By the end of Hosea’s ministry, the nation of Israel has been defeated. The foreign nation of the Assyrians take control of Hosea’s beloved nation Israel.
At the beginning of Hosea’s ministry, he sees a spiritual illness that permeates his nation. It looks like things are going well – peace, good economy. But Hosea looks deeper. He knows other nations are preparing for war. He knows there is a tremendous gap between the rich and the poor.
Hosea preaches about this spiritual illness, but the people don’t see it. They don’t want to see it. Everything is peaceful. The economy is great. What could possibly be wrong with the nation?
But Hosea could see it. He could see it plainly.
And the reason Hosea could see it so well was because he lived through it every single day. And I don’t mean that Hosea lived through it by being actively involved in his society, or because he was just very observant of his society.
Hosea could see this spiritual illness in his culture because Hosea had to live through this same spiritual illness at home – in his marriage.
The spiritual illness that was permeating Hosea’s nation, was also the same spiritual illness that was permeating Hosea’s marriage.
You see, Hosea had a lousy marriage. And when he looked at the problems in his marriage, he couldn’t help but see the problems of all of society.
Have you ever been to a wedding and looked at the bride and groom and thought, “That’s not going to last.”
That’s Hosea and his bride Gomer.
She is unfaithful from the very beginning.
The whole marriage is a sad affair.
Hosea and Gomer have three children. They have these three children in quick order, one right after the other. We get the impression that every nine or ten months, there’s Gomer giving birth to another kid.
And then, shortly after the third baby is born, Gomer is out of there!
She is out of the house.
She deserts her husband and her children and engages in an adulterous affair.
Good riddance. That’s probably what the friends of
Hosea would have said.
Unfaithfulness.
That is the spiritual illness that infects the marriage of Gomer and Hosea.
But it is also the same spiritual illness that infects the relationship between God and humanity.
For Gomer, her unfaithfulness is in not living up to the marriage covenant. In Hosea 2:5, we find out what motivates her. Gomer 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.”
Gomer is more concerned about the things of this world, than about being faithful and loving to her husband.
In the same way Israel was more concerned about the things of this world than about being faithful and loving to God.
God doesn’t really matter to the people of Israel.
Hosea lays it out most plainly with the opening verses of chapter 4, “Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.’” (Hosea 4:1-2)
What a charge Hosea makes against the people of his day.
No love.
No kindness.
No acknowledgment of God.
But are we talking about Hosea’s day, or our day?
No faithfulness. The idea Hosea has in mind is rock-solid reliability. You see it best in Deuteronomy 32:3-4, “I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
The people of Hosea’s day were as far from that model as could be. In chapter 10 Hosea talks about how people make promises they don’t keep. They make agreements they don’t honor. Lawsuits were springing up like weeds in a plowed field. (Hosea 10:4)
Now, are we talking about Hosea’s day or our day.
“There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery.” (Hosea 4:2) Those are Hosea’s words, but we could say the same thing about Miami. South Florida. America.
There is no faithfulness, says Hosea. And there is no love.
No love.
In Psalm 136, there is a refrain. The singers in the Temple of Jerusalem would sing this great psalm. A soloist would sing a phrase, and then the choir would join in, “His love endures forever.”
Ps 136:1-4
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.
4 to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.
(NIV)
This psalm goes on and on and on and this refrain keeps ringing in the ears of the congregation, “his love endures forever.”
There is no such love among God’s people.
Instead, Hosea says “What can I do with you … Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” (Hosea 6:4)
God’s love endures forever.
Our love is like fog. It’s not exactly all there.
What is there, disappears.
There is no faithfulness, says Hosea. There is no love. And there is no acknowledgment of God.
In our reading from Hosea, the people make a vain and insincere effort toward repentance. It’s a cheap grace. They have this attitude that they can live however they want to live, then they’ll ask God for forgiveness, and He is duty-bound to forgive them, and then they can go out and live anyway they desire.
But Hosea says that what God wants is a sincere repentance.
“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6)
At the end of Hosea’s book, the prophet records the voice of God saying, “You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.” (Hosea 13:4)
But the people do not acknowledge God.
Now, are we talking about Hosea’s day, or our day?
Since September 11th, there has been a renewed affirmation of our dependence on God. Well, by some at least. But for others, we are again debating things like the Pledge of Allegiance and it’s acknowledgement of God.
Hosea looks around and he sees no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God.
What does he see?
“Cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”
Now again, are we talking about Hosea’s day, or our day?
You can’t turn the television on without being assaulted by profanity.
There is a murder on the news everyday.
People steal right and left. You can’t leave your car unlocked for a moment. You have to have alarm systems at your home.
Adultery? Marriages are breaking up all of the time because of the prevalence of adultery.
Hosea looks at his society and knows that the people are wondering, “where is God?”
The economy of the nation is collapsing.
Companies are going out of business. Families that were once thriving are now struggling.
Where is God?
The morality of society is in decline. Adultery is on the rise. Murder rates are soaring. People cheat one another. They look out only for number one.
Where is God?
What happened to the world of peace? War is on the horizon.
Where is God?
God is exactly where He has always been. He hasn’t gone away.
But the people – the people have left God.
The people have turned their back on God.
The people have stopped acknowledging God.
Don’t ask where God is as if He has gone away. Look at the people.
Hosea sees this in his society, and he sees it in his own marriage.
Hosea married a woman who was an adulterer. She was a prostitute.
Gomer has no faithfulness for Hosea.
Gomer has no love for her husband.
Gomer gives no acknowledgement of her marriage covenant.
There is a strong parallel between what happens in the marriage of Hosea and what happens in Hosea’s society.
Now you would think that when Gomer left Hosea, Hosea would be happy about it. Good riddance. OK, maybe not at first. Maybe at first he’d be hurt and he’d be sad, but he’d get over it. Gomer was trouble from the very start. Now he can go out and find him a good woman. A faithful woman. A woman who would be a good loving mother to the children.
But that is not what Hosea does.
But instead of feeling free from an unfaithful wife, Hosea looks for Gomer, finds her, and proposes marriage all over again. He gives her a bridal gift, paying her a very small sum of money and bread. Some people get the impression that Hosea is buying his wife out of slavery, because the gift he gives is similar to that of the price of a slave. But it seems to be more of a bridal gift.
Technically they are still married. But to pay her this bridal gift is to say, “We’re starting over. Everything is new from this moment on.”
Gomer does not love Hosea. But Hosea loves Gomer.
Gomer is not faithful to Hosea, but Hosea remains faithful to Gomer.
And Hosea is willing to do everything he can to win her back. He never gives up.
And Hosea sees that as a reflection of God’s relationship with humanity.
We do not love God, but God loves us.
We are not faithful to God, but God remains faithful to us.
Never ask, “where is God,” when things go bad. God is where He has always been and always will be.
We are the ones who stray.
At the end of Hosea’s book, the prophet makes a final appeal to the people. “Return to the LORD your God.” (Hosea 14:1-2)
Anytime you feel like asking “where is God” don’t ask God to return to you. He’s always been with you.
Instead, YOU need to be the one who returns to God.
Hosea paid a price for his wife.
God has paid a price for you. But it isn’t what Hosea paid. A handful of change, a little bit of food.
God paid the price with his Son’s suffering and death.
And while some in our society look at the economy and 9-11 and the murder rate and ask “where is God,” God is in our presence asking, “where are my people?”
He is waiting for us to return to him.
And it’s time.
It’s time for us to return.
Copyright W. Maynard Pittendreigh
All rights reserved
2002
