Hosea’s Unforgettable Experience

Text: Hosea 1; 3

Background:

Hosea is the last prophet before Assyria conquers Northern Israel. He prophesized in the last year of King Jeroboam II. He live in the Northern kingdom from 780 – 725 B.C.

Hosea’s letter is for the Northern Israel. Its purpose is to warn them about God’s wrath and punishment for them. Because during those years, the Israelites or the Northern kingdom, especially their kings, where doing evil things in the eyes of the Lord. Their sin specifically was worshiping idols. From the time the Israel were divided into Northern and Southern kingdom, the first king of the Northern kingdom already did evil things in the eyes of the Lord, then his successor inherited it, so was the people in that kingdom.

Lord God sends Hosea to tell the people in the Northern kingdom about their sins, their punishment and about God’s love.

In the book of Hosea, God uses metaphor of a relationship between a husband and an adulterous wife to communicate His message to His people.

Summary:

• God said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife”.
• He married Gomer and bore him 3 children. He named his first born, Jezreel. Her daughter, Lo-Ruhamah. His youngest, Lo-Ammi.
• After sometime, Gomer left Hosea to go back to her previous life.
• God said to Hosea,”Go show your love to your wife again.”
• Hosea bought Gomer back with 15 shekels of silver and a lethek of barley.
• Hosea said to Gomer,”You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man and I will live with you.

Points:

1. Hosea witnessed how magnanimous God’s love is.

-          Hosea portrays the role of the husband in the story who loves his adulterous wife. Hosea experience loving someone who’s not worth loving.

-          Jesus can love a person who is not worth loving. Even if you are the worst kind of person living in the planet, Jesus still loves you.

-          We all experience God’s loves. And with His love He forgives us from all our sins.

-          Jesus also has a way to show us His love.

-          We all witnessed and feel what God’s love is. And by knowing it, what should we do..? We also have to make other people, especially those people who do not know God, feel God’s love. By loving them as our Lord Jesus Christ loves us.

2. Hosea felt how hurt was God when the Israelites love other gods than Him.

-          When Gomer left Hosea for another man, we could say that Hosea was very hurt.

-          God also was hurt by the acts of the Israelites. The people in the Northern kingdom worship other God. It seems that they forgot about God, and believe on the gods of other nations.

-          By reading the book of Prophet Hosea, we could feel how painful it is for God to see His people turned their backs from Him.

-          In our time, we may not worshiping stone baals, but we may be worshiping other things. Baals just transform into gadgets, friends, careers, money, and so forth.

-          The author of the book “the air I breathe” said we are made to worship. So, let us look in our hearts, who do we really worship? Is it God or the baals of today?

3. Hosea saw God’s grace and mercy.

-          Grace and mercy has different meaning

-          Grace is getting what we do not deserve.

-          Mercy is not getting what we deserve.

-          When Hosea took back Gomer, or rather bought her back, Hosea experience giving grace and mercy. He could have left Gomer and go on in his life, he doesn’t need Gomer anyway. He could let Gomer suffer the consequences of her action.

-          Our Father God is much more than the act of Hosea. With all our sins, and him being powerful, he could make us disappear in an instance or go straight to the burning fire of hell, but his not doing it. 

-          Because of His grace we’re getting what we do not deserve-to be called His sons and daughter, to be with Him in heaven and most especially dying in the cross for us.

-          Because of his mercy we are not getting what we deserve-to suffer in hell because of all our committed sins.

**After Hosea bought Gomer back, he told her in chapter 3 verse 2, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.”

-          All of us already accepted Jesus in our hearts; however let’s visit our heart if Jesus holds the number one place in it.

**Returning to my question: Is Jesus loving someone but doesn’t love Him back? Are you that someone?