My Servants The Prophets THE BETRAYED HUSBAND Hosea

“My Servants The Prophets” THE BETRAYED HUSBAND Hosea

Hosea Meets & Marries Gomer V. 2 – “…take unto thee a wife of whoredoms…” (a woman destined to become a harlot) Vv. 6 -9 – “…children of whoredoms…” (children disgraced because their mother was a harlot) This marriage & home a symbolic act of the prophet designed to show Israel how sinful they had become!

Similarities of Relationship Hosea married “Gomer” God married Israel And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. (Hosea 2: 15) And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast. (Hosea 12: 9) Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me. I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. (Hosea 13: 4 -5)

Similarities of Relationship Gomer left Hosea Israel forsook God For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. (Hosea 2: 8) And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD. (Hosea 2: 13) My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. (Hosea 4: 12) Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor. (Hosea 9: 1)

Similarities of Relationship Gomer gave her love to other men Israel gave her love to other gods For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. (Hosea 2: 8) And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD. (Hosea 2: 13) They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. (Hosea 7: 16) When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. (Hosea 13: 1)

Similarities of Relationship Hosea divorced Gomer God divorced Israel Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts; (Hosea 2: 2)

Similarities of Relationship Hosea loved Gomer God Still loved Israel And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now. (Hosea 2: 7)

Similarities of Relationship Hosea Bought Gomer Back To Be His Wife God Bring His People Back Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. (Hosea 2: 14 -15)

Similarities of Relationship Hosea Bought Gomer Back To Be His Wife God Will Bring His People Back For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. (Hosea 3: 4 -5)

The Husband/Wife Relationship • Religion is like a marriage: In Hosea • Not “mechanical”, but “individual” • A “communion” between two persons…God and Man! • Unfaithfulness condemned in our marriages. But what about our relationship with God?

The Husband/Wife Relationship In Hosea Israel: God’s Bride in O. T. Church: Christ’s Bride in N. T. “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. ” 2 Corinthians 11: 2

The Husband/Wife Relationship In Hosea Israel: God’s Bride in O. T. Church: Christ’s Bride in N. T. “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. ” Eph 5: 23

The Husband/Wife Relationship In Hosea • Has The Church Gone A whoring? • Seeking Other Lovers? • Committing Adultery? • Work of the church? • Worship of the church? • Organization of the church?

The Husband/Wife Relationship In Hosea • Has The Church Gone A whoring? • Seeking Other Lovers? • Committing Adultery? • Replaced work for entertainment? • Replaced worship with devotionals, camp meetings, Bible workshops • Social gospel for soul-saving gospel

Seeking Other Lovers… “As the congregation becomes an audience, the worship service is presented as entertainment. Across the Protestant and Roman Catholic spectrum, local congregational worship seems more and more like a Hollywood production. . Showbusiness elements are unmistakable in contemporary worship. The key words used by advocates are ‘relaxed, ’ ‘informal, ’ ‘interesting, ’ ‘relevant’ but the inevitable result is TV-styled services. ” [Televangelism And American

Seeking Other Lovers è Chasing numbers – Attendance Records – The customer is always right – provide what people want (tolerance, anonymity, positive reinforcement, humor, entertainment. . . ) – Provide a social, nonthreatening atmosphere where unbelievers can feel comfortable – never having their sins challenged. . .

Seeking Other Lovers “Many have left looking for the experiential aspect of religion. . . Baby Boomers’ lives are so filled with worry about economics and relationships that they want a place where they can flat out have some fun. ” [Boomers Demand Own Spiritual Paths: Prodigal Sons, Daughters Want Changes If, When They Return to Fold, ” The Tennessean, 11 April 1993, 14 A]

Seeking Other Lovers “We have a society filled with people who want what they want when they want it. They are into their own lifestyle, recreation, and entertainment. They want comfort, happiness, and success. When churches appeal to those selfish desires, they only fuel fires that hinder true godliness. ”

Seeking Other Lovers… “Now evangelicals everywhere are frantically seeking new techniques and new forms of entertainment to attract people. Whether a method is biblical or not scarcely seems to matter to the average church leader today. Does it work? That is the test of legitimacy. And so raw pragmatism has become the driving force in much of the professing church. ” (Ashamed of the Gospel, When the Church Becomes Like the World, pg 71)

Seeking Other Lovers… George Barna, Marketing the Church, pg. 145 “It is. . . Critical that we keep in mind a fundamental principle of Christian communication: the audience, not the message, is sovereign. If our advertising is going to stop people in the midst of hectic schedules and cause them to think about what we are saying, our message has to be adapted to the needs of the audience. When we produce advertising that is based on the take it or leave it proposition, rather than on a sensitivity and response to peoples’ needs, people will invariably reject our

Seeking Other Lovers… “Could any procedure be more surely predestined to dullness and futility? Who seriously supposes that, as a matter of fact, one in a hundred of the congregation cares, to start with, what Moses, Isaiah, Paul, or John meant in those special verses, or came to church deeply concerned about it? Nobody who talks to the public so assumes that the vital interest of the people is located in the meaning of words spoken two (“What Is the Matter With Preaching” thousand years ago. ” Harpers Magazine, July 1928, pg. 135)

What God Taught Hosea/Us! The true nature of sin and goodness! For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6: 6)

What God Taught Hosea/Us! The true nature of sin and goodness! He discovered that God is a “suffering” God! When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. (Hosea 11: 1 ) I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. (Hosea 11: 3 )

What God Taught Hosea/Us! The true nature of sin and goodness! He discovered that God is a “suffering” God! God would disown/disinherit Israel – sending them into captivity – graphically illustrated by the symbolic names given to Hosea’s children: 1 st child a boy named “Jezreel” – God scatters! And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. (Hosea 1: 4)

What God Taught Hosea/Us! The true nature of sin and goodness! He discovered that God is a “suffering” God! God would disown/disinherit Israel – sending them into captivity – graphically illustrated by the symbolic names given to Hosea’s children: 1 st child a boy named “Jezreel” – God scatters! 2 nd child a girl named, “Lo-Ruhamah” – one who has not obtained mercy – symbolized the fact that Israel had gone so far that God would no longer have pity on them to forgive them

What God Taught Hosea/Us! God would disown/disinherit Israel – sending them into captivity – graphically illustrated by the symbolic names given to Hosea’s children: 1 st child a boy named “Jezreel” – God scatters! 2 nd child a girl named, “Lo-Ruhamah” – one who has not obtained mercy – symbolized the fact that Israel had gone so far that God would no longer have pity on them to forgive them 3 rd child a boy named “Lo-Ammi” – Not My People! Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. (Hosea 1: 9)

What God Taught Hosea/Us! The true nature of sin and goodness! He discovered that God is a “suffering” God! That God is a merciful & forgiving God! “How shall I give thee up ”Hosea 11: 8 ) God said He will restore Israel to his house I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. (Hosea 11: 9)

What God Taught Hosea/Us! The true nature of sin and goodness! He discovered that God is a “suffering” God! That God is a merciful & forgiving God! “How shall I give thee up” Hosea 11: 8 ) God said He will restore Israel to his house Reinstate him to the status of full sonship And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God. (Hosea 2: 23)

What God Taught Hosea/Us! Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel. Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah. {Ammi: that is, My people} {Ruhamah: that is, Having obtained mercy} (Hosea 1: 10 - 2: 1)

HOW DID IT END? Hosea Still Loved Her! “… the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. (Hosea 9: 7) “A prophet is a crazy fool, A man inspired is a man insane. ” Hosea 9: 7 Moffatt

HOW DID IT END? Did she soften under such unbelievable love? Or, did she continue to resist that love and die as she had lived? A marvelous love story indeed! But there is one that surpasses it: God’s love for man! (1 Pet. 1: 18, 19) Will you resist Divine Love? Or let it soften your hearts and win you back to God?