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To put it very baldly Hosea is a story of unrequited love, a
tragic tale of a man, a woman and a nation fallen out of love with God.
Hosea was a prophet of God’s message to the northern kingdom
of
The poem is a bit difficult to follow sometimes; the story
doesn’t follow your normal simple Mills and Boon outline. It switches
back and forth between Hosea’s own personal story and the state of the nation
of
The personal story is concentrated in chapters 1 & 3.
The rest picks up Hosea’s lessons in God’s patience with an unfaithful people,
their rebellion, what they deserve and how God might treat them - and how God
can’t deal with them as they deserve.
Let’s tell Hosea’s
story.
Just how he gets into the prophesying business we don’t know.
Perhaps it is as he reflects on his failed marriage he realises that God took
him through the tragedy with lots to learn from his experience. However it is
possible that God was more proactive than that.
God tells Hosea to marry Gomer - whether he knew that she
was liable to be unfaithful, perhaps even a prostitute already is doubtful. She
has 3 children - a son, Jezreel named
after a disastrous and infamous location in
Someone recently expressed serious problems with all this,
to me - it seemed to them that God is setting up Hosea and Gomer to fail -and
lumbering the children with a dysfunctional family and with depressing
names. I promised to address this today.
This morning I just want to concentrate on the heart of God revealed in
Hosea and the nature of true intimacy with God - what it was that led Hosea to
find the heart of God.
1. What Hosea discovered was that the Heart of God is a true
husband’s heart. However,
this is not to say everything because God in Hosea also talks about a father’s
heart. Then again, the Bible - including the OT also talks of God in terms of a
mother’s nature too. God is not male or female! There is both in God’s
personality. God loves, with a steadfast love. God woos us and courts us and
loves us and is jealous for us! God reveals through the story of human
love something of the depths and sacrifice of Divine love. (cf also Song
of Solomon)
I sometimes wonder whether we Brits get so little
understanding of the depth and passion of God’s love for us because we tend to
stifle our feelings of human love. We don’t allow ourselves to love or be
loved. We weren't loved demonstrably by parents and we turn away from love
shown to us - we don’t know how to receive love or to love. But God chose to
show His love through the Mediterranean heart! When we say ‘God loves you’ we
imagine a quintessentially British love. When God says ‘I love you’ He does it
way beyond our dreams!
One of the deepest verses in the New Testament is 1 John 3:1
- see what love the Father has lavished on us! It’s wild, it’s
beyond imagining, it’s sacrificial, it’s jealous, it’s deep and passionate. This
was a love which was prepared to rescue, even when the wife has gone away,
degraded herself, promiscuously committed adultery, waved a fist in the face of
God and now is up for sale at half price.
God is prepared to take you as you are, whatever you’ve done,
whatever you’ve become - whether you’re ‘damaged goods’ or tried to keep
‘respectable’!
God says I seek for you and want you back.
He wants us close to Him, close to His heart.
It isn’t a marriage of convenience - in fact it’s far from
convenient! - a relationship with God can wreck your plans for your life!
It isn’t a marriage for your money - you have nothing to
give or bring - He has it all!
It isn’t a marriage of equals, He always outshines and
out-gives, always has managing control. Yet He always lifts those in the
relationship to the height of His throne!
But it is a marriage relationship that is real and lasts forever!
There is no divorce!
Yes, though Hosea and Gomer were married and she went off,
and ended up in slavery by following her chosen road - though Israel and the
Lord were in a special relationship and Israel went to other gods, and ended up
with ‘a yoke on her fair neck’ (10;11) and disaster all round…
Though Hosea could have cast Gomer off and disowned her,
though God could have rightfully cast
YET GLORIOUSLY HOSEA DIDN’T - AND NEITHER DOES GOD! - see Hosea 11!
Hosea may be about unrequited love, it’s also the story of
unending and undefeated love too.
And that brings us to a second point...
2. If you want to get close to God, if you want to be used
by God, if you want to communicate God to others you need to know the
passionate, loving and heart-aching heart of God
To go back to the problem my friend had about Hosea, what seems difficult to swallow is
in fact the nature of a prophetic ministry - that you are prepared to be so
identified with the Lord’s word that you live it out - sometimes literally.
Others who were bound up in their master and his message were Jeremiah, Daniel
and Jonah. Some lost careers, position, they suffered - and so did their
families (of whom we read nothing). When you are involved alongside God and His
message you aren’t a neutral, disinterested messenger boy, you’re part of the
message itself! It is tough, God wants his spokesmen and women to know His
heartbeat, and there’s no better way of getting close to God’s heartbeat than
to share in His sufferings. God wants us to have intimacy with Him, and that
means sharing His heartbeat and His heartache.
Ministry is like
When Jesus called the disciples they went into a life that
cost them and their families everything. When you’re called to any ministry
today you take the smooth and the rough - and so do your family. I won’t defend
or excuse God, - that’s what being his messenger means at whatever level you
are called. Paul talked about sharing in Christ’s sufferings -
and that’s what prophets, leaders, ministers, elders, deacons - anyone who
wants to be used by God must be prepared for - CT Studd’s motto is always so
appropriate ‘If Jesus Christ is God and died for me then no sacrifice can be
too great for me to give for Him.’
I guess Hosea issues 2
calls to us.
One is to those who
know they’ve wandered. They now don’t deserve God’s love. They’ve gone and served other things
- (maybe not called gods - but they’re gods nonetheless!). Self, family, home,
job, car, career, anything that gets in the way of God is an idol.
You may have gone through life without much problem - lucky
you. You may have found your equivalent of the slave market however.
Hosea calls us to reconsider, to return to be received back
in grace - not what you deserve but what he delights to give!
That’s why Jesus died for you. That was the sacrifice, that
was the 15 pieces of silver paid for you!
The second call is to
those who feel they’re living a pretty mundane life for Jesus right now!
Yes you love Him but how British is that love! There’s no
hug every morning, there’s not even a peck on the cheek! You aren’t even on
speaking terms!
He calls you to know His heart, to know His heart ache and
heart break!
He calls you to feel what he feels in a tiny way and share
in His redeeming work.
Will you, will I be there for Him?