Broken Marriage: Hosea 1v1-2v1

[0:00] together and then we're going to look at God's Word. Our Father God, we thank you for the amazing privilege that it is that you, the creator of the universe, would speak to us personally through your Word, the Bible.

[0:34] Thank you that we are not left grasping, trying to figure out who you are, but that you have clearly told us what you are like and who you are and what you have done.

[0:49] And so we pray that as we study this book of Hosea together, we would read it and understand it not as some ancient document, but as the living Word of God, which changes and transforms lives, helping us to see who you are and who we are and how we can be in relationship with you.

[1:20] So Father, bless this study together. May we be encouraged, enriched and built up. And we pray this in Jesus' name.

[1:35] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, everyone knew him as Mr. O'Shea. He was a gentleman, kind, generous, considerate, and above all, loving.

[1:54] He was the ultimate catch. But despite many a mother pushing their daughter his way, he rejected all offers and advances. It seemed he would never marry until one day he was sitting in his favourite restaurant, eating with, well, a young lady.

[2:16] Everyone knew her as Morag. If she wasn't in the gossip pages of the local paper, she was in bed with her new lover. She was the talk of the town.

[2:29] Everything she owned was either a gift from sexual favours or earned by her work on the streets. It was not uncommon for her to leave at different premises every morning.

[2:44] She was, as Mrs. Jones called her, a common whore. Well, if people were surprised at Morag sitting with Mr. O'Shea, they were in absolute shock when the wedding was announced.

[3:00] Of course, it didn't take long. Despite his constant devotion, his loyal and faithful love, Morag had an affair.

[3:13] It broke Mr. O'Shea's heart. He was devastated. And even though he took her back into his home and loved her as his wife, she continued to chase after other lovers.

[3:27] Sometimes, she would be away all weekend. On one occasion, he didn't hear from her for over two weeks.

[3:38] But through it all, Mr. O'Shea continued to love his adorable Morag. With every affair, he welcomed her back home, wiping her tears, providing and caring.

[3:53] How do you feel about Mr. O'Shea? Do you feel sorry for him?

[4:06] Do you think he's stupid? What do you think Mr. O'Shea should do? Or how do you feel about Morag?

[4:19] Do you like her? Does she deserve her husband's love? What do you think should happen to Morag? Well, this story is a true story, and it's more closer to home than we think.

[4:37] Have a look at verse 2 of chapter 1. When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, Go take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness.

[4:58] Now, the translation is being terribly polite. Because literally it says, Go and take a whore as your wife, and take into your home the children of a whore.

[5:10] Hosea, God's prophet, was to marry a woman who would have eyes for other men and engage in multiple affairs.

[5:21] It's not just shocking, it is absolutely scandalous. Look at verse 3. So he married Gomer, daughter of Divlim.

[5:33] We're not told if Gomer was promiscuous before they got married, or if that's what she became. Either way, Hosea knew he was entering into a marriage with an unfaithful, adulterous wife.

[5:51] Why would God command Hosea to do this? Well, he gives us the reason. Look at verse 2 again. Go take to yourself an adulterous wife, and children of unfaithfulness, because the land, that is the people, are guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.

[6:15] You see, Hosea's marriage to Gomer is to be a visible picture, a living illustration of God's marriage to his people.

[6:27] Like Gomer, God's people have had one adulterous affair after another. They are, as verse 2 says, guilty of the most vilest adultery.

[6:39] Go back with me to verse 1, to the very beginning, the introduction. The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, son of Berai.

[6:53] So, this is about 760 BC, before Christ, Hosea was called. During the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, who were kings in Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel.

[7:15] Now, this isn't just history. This is to be a reminder of their adultery. Remember how God's marriage with his people all started.

[7:27] God, in his love, had rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. He had chosen them out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

[7:39] He gave them a new land to live in. He provided for all of their needs. He was their true, loving, loyal, and faithful husband.

[7:51] But despite God's affections, they committed adultery. They chased after other things and other people. And as a result, this once great nation divided.

[8:01] That happened in about 931 BC. Israel to the north and Judah to the south. And this is at the time that Hosea begins to minister.

[8:16] Over the course of 200 years, their kings continued in adultery and led the people further and further away from God. Jeroboam, who we're introduced to at the very end of verse 1, was one of the last kings of Israel.

[8:31] And he was remembered like this. The Bible records that he did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of the past kings.

[8:46] Their history was one of adultery. Now, God says to Hosea in verse 2, Go take yourself an adulterous wife because the land, the people, are guilty of the vilest adultery.

[9:06] So you could imagine as Hosea walked through the marketplace with his brand new wife hand in hand, conscious of her constant flirting with all the other men, so Hosea's marriage would be a daily reminder to the people of Israel, you are Gomer.

[9:25] You are the adulteress. You have been unfaithful to God all these years, chasing after other things and other people. But the story is even closer than that.

[9:42] You see, you and I are just like Gomer. The sad reality is we all behave just like Israel did.

[9:55] You see, God is our loving creator. He made us in his image so that we could know him, relate to him, enjoy him. God has poured out his kindness and generosity in abundance.

[10:11] He's pursued us and loved us. He is chased after us but we have continued to run from his love. Like Gomer, we are the adulterous people running after other lovers, unfaithful people, giving ourselves to other gods.

[10:28] For that is what sin is. We've rejected the love of our creator. We've ignored his kind rule. We've walked away prostituting ourselves in search of joy and happiness.

[10:41] we have taken all of his love gifts but we have turned away from the lover, the giver of those gifts.

[10:53] We are the adulterous. We are Gomer. We are that common whore. well how do you think Hosea should respond to his unfaithful wife?

[11:12] How should God respond to us? Well God has made us for himself and he will not let us share our love with another.

[11:23] God is jealous for us and he will not put up with our promiscuity. The marriage of Hosea and Gomer starts well enough. Together they have a child.

[11:34] Look at verse 3. So he married Gomer daughter of Divlam and she conceived and bore him a son.

[11:46] But all is not as it seems. Look at verse 4. Then the Lord said to Hosea call him Jezreel because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.

[12:08] Now if I say to you Aleppo then you will have an idea of what Jezreel would mean to the people. Jezreel like Aleppo today is a place of violent bloodshed.

[12:26] Let me explain. You can read all about this in 2nd Kings. Ahab was the king of Israel about 200 years before this incident here in Hosea.

[12:40] He was married to if you remember Jezebel. He was a terrible king. He ruled the people badly, murdered God's prophets and was responsible for setting up the Baals.

[12:52] These were places where they conducted human sacrifices to appease the gods. And in response God raised up as we're told in verse 4 this man called Jehu and he was to remove Ahab and Jehu slaughtered all of Ahab's family at a place called Jezreel.

[13:18] He had his wife pushed off from the top of the palace and he beheaded 70 of his sons and grandsons. Violent bloodshed.

[13:30] But if God had raised up this Jehu to punish Ahab, why does God say as it does in verse 4, I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel?

[13:45] God's people. Well, it could be because he went beyond what he was meant to do in killing all of those people. We're not told that, but it could be.

[13:57] But history does record for us that Jehu, once he had knocked Ahab out the way, only replaced Ahab's gods with his own gods.

[14:08] He continued the spiritual adultery and continued to lead the people further away from God. Now, says God, what happened to Ahab is now going to happen to all of Israel because they have been unfaithful to me.

[14:24] Verse 5, in that day, I will break Israel's bow in the valley of Jezreel. Israel will not be able to save themselves.

[14:36] Assyria, that great nation, is going to come and they will defeat you and they will destroy you. Israel will become Jezreel.

[14:48] They will be punished for abusing my love. But Jezreel was not the only child. Have a look at verse 6.

[15:04] Gomar conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. no mention of the father's name here. Gomar conceives, but as the text explains, Hosea is not the father.

[15:20] Can you imagine the pain and heartache of Hosea? The wife you love and adore comes home with a child that is not yours? And no matter how much Hosea would love that baby girl, she would be a constant reminder to him of his unfaithful wife.

[15:42] Verse 6, Then the Lord said to Hosea, call her low Ruama, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them.

[15:57] The one, the treasured one that God loved, the one that God had chosen and rescued, will no longer be loved.

[16:09] Verse 7, Yet, I will show my love to the house of Judah. But Judah, don't think that I will love you because you are so faithful.

[16:22] The rest of the story will tell us that Judah is actually no different. God will keep on loving Judah simply because he loves them. verse 7, And I will save them, not by bow, sword, or battle, or by horses and horsemen.

[16:40] You will not survive by your own strength, but by the Lord their God. Yes, I will continue to love you. Yes, you will still be a people, but only because I choose to love unfaithful people like you.

[16:56] But Israel, they are not my loved one. they are not my loved one. Gomorh had another child, verse 8.

[17:13] After she had weaned Lo-Ruamah, Gomorh had another son. Again, the father's name is not mentioned, another lover's child.

[17:26] Verse 9, then the Lord said, Call him Lo-Ami, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

[17:41] Through each child that is born, God makes clear he is ready to divorce his people. This marriage is well and truly broken. It is finished.

[17:52] We could imagine Hosea walking his young son along the road, and a group of ladies stop and look into the buggy. What a cute little boy.

[18:04] What's his name? Judgment is coming. Or if you prefer his nickname, violent bloodshed. Or listen to Hosea calling his bastard children in for dinner.

[18:18] Not my loved one, not my people, dinner is ready. Or watch Hosea collect his kids from school.

[18:30] I'm here to collect not loved. And that kid in the corner, he's coming with me as well, but he doesn't belong to me. You see, it would become crystal clear to everyone through his adulterous wife and illegitimate children.

[18:50] that God has signed the papers of divorce. This marriage is over. God had declared throughout their history and promise so often, I will be your God and you will be my people.

[19:08] Now the echoes are heard throughout the nation, you are not my people and I am not your God. But God will be to God will be well, it's hardly surprising.

[19:24] And we shouldn't be surprised if God treated us like this. It's what we deserve. We are illegitimate children.

[19:36] We have no right to God's love, love, for we have pushed him away and held him at arm's length.

[19:47] love. But if God's love of an unfaithfulness surprises you, then his promise to go on loving and unfaithful people is an even greater surprise, for God does not forget his promise.

[20:13] Have a look at verse 9. Then the Lord said, Call him low, Ami, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

[20:32] But yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.

[20:44] Just a moment ago we are told that God would bring an end to his people. Now he makes a promise to restore them into a nation that is without number.

[20:56] You see, while we are the adulterous wife, God is the promise keeping husband. Remember God's promise to Abraham at the very beginning of the Bible story?

[21:13] God said, I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. And later on God repeated that promise to Abraham, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

[21:30] God is saying I will make a people for myself. I will raise up a nation that no one can count, that will love me, that will follow me.

[21:41] So despite all our adultery, God is not going to give up on his promise. Look at the rest of verse 10. In the place where it was said to them, you are not my people, they will be called sons of the living God.

[21:59] The people of Judah and the people of Israel which are at this stage broken and divided will be reunited and they will appoint one leader, they will become a great people again and they will come up out of the land for great will be the day of Jezreel.

[22:21] Just when we think God has signed the divorce papers, just when we think the marriage is over, God our loving husband reminds us of his eternal promise.

[22:35] Chapter 2 verse 1. Say of your brothers my people and of your sisters my loved one.

[22:50] How can God do this? How can he at one moment say I'm going to wipe you out and then make them great?

[23:02] How can he disown them but then take them all back? Well look at the very end of verse 11.

[23:16] We're told that they will come up out of the land for great will be the day of Jezreel. Jezreel as we have seen is a symbol of judgment of violent bloodshed God punishing his people for their adultery but now God is promising that another Jezreel is going to take place another great day of judgment is going to come that will not end the marriage but that's going to restore the marriage that day that great day would take place as the only faithful son Jesus Christ would die on the cross the death of Jesus is our Jezreel Jesus would become the unfaithful adulterous wife for us

[24:16] Jesus would become Gomar for you and for me the judgment the violent bloodshed would fall not on us but upon his son the apostle Paul experienced this as he reflected on the death of Jesus have a look at Romans chapter 9 Romans chapter 9 verse 22 it's on page 1136 if you're using the church bible Romans 9 starting at verse 22 it's talking about the death of

[25:19] Jesus let's read verse 22 what if God choosing to show his wrath and make his power known instead bore with great patience the objects of his wrath prepared for destruction so he's asking the question what what if God did not bring his judgment upon us verse 23 what if he did this what if he was patient instead what if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy whom he prepared in advance for glory what if God did not bring his judgment as he promised but instead had great patience and showed mercy what if he did that verse 24 even for us whom he also called not only from the

[26:36] Jews but also from the Gentiles for that is what has happened Jesus has come and he has absorbed and taken the judgment that you and I deserve so that we might receive mercy not just people like you and me not just from the Jews but from the Gentiles from all the nations all those who come to Christ all those who run away from his love and deserve to be put away can now come to him verse 25 as he says in Hosea I will call them my people who are not my people and I will call her my loved one who is not my loved one and it will happen in the very place where it was said to them you are not my people they will be called sons of the living gods you see it is at the cross that we become

[27:47] God's people as Jesus dies we are shown mercy as Jesus suffers we receive his love you see this story of Hosea is more personal than we think we are Gomer we are guilty of spiritual adultery we have been unfaithful to God but through the death of Jesus we are now so much more hear the words today of our promise keeping husband you are my loved one you are my people you are my sons and daughters of the living God we may fail we may be unfaithful but

[28:52] God does not fail and God will be faithful to his children you are my loved one let's pray pray may Roberts be you may may