Marriage made in Heaven

On Wednesday the 15th of April 2009, I commenced ministry here at St Paul's as your rector.

There was a special commencement of ministry service here in this building on that evening.

And for most of you at St Paul's, it was the first time that you had seen Natalie or I in the flesh.

Some things are particularly memorable for me on that evening,

especially the comment from one parishioner that my wife looked hot.

Imagine if at that service your first glimpse of your new rector's wife was in fact more flesh than you had anticipated.

You can't help but noticing that she's wearing a rather risque miniskirt, inappropriate for Chatswood Mall,

let alone church, especially on such an occasion with all ages of dignitaries gathered.

You try to put first impressions out of your mind,

but it's hard not to notice that maybe the heels are a bit too high,

the neckline's a bit too low, and the make-up is overdone.

Your mind starts to make assessments and judgements,

and you can't wait for the issue to be raised afterwards over tea to see what other people think.

After the formal bits of the service is over,

and the less formal welcome begins,

a real clangor is dropped in the hope of getting to know the new rector and his wife a little more.

The MC asks the wife,

so what is it that you do?

At that moment, the new rector shuffles,

and he coughs and mentions something about how glad they are to be here

and looking forward to ministry beginning,

but there is not so much as even a blush as she says into the microphone,

I'm into prostitution actually.

There is an audible gasp.

Someone laughs thinking it's a joke,

and then it's a deafening silence.

She wasn't joking.

So the MC is wondering,

what do I do now?

Throw to the floor for further questions?

Sing a hymn?

Go to confession?

Maybe close with prayer?

Instead, he nervously blurts out,

well, at least you've got three great kids.

A couple of people nervously laugh with the MC,

but then the new rector says,

holding back tears,

well, the first one's mine,

but the other two you'll need to ask my wife.

I'm not sure who the fathers of those two are.

Now it's time really to serve the tea and coffee.

Some go into damage control,

hoping that it won't leak into the media.

Others take the opportunity to express

they were never in favour of this appointment in the first place.

Others are wondering just how much he charges per hour.

But the wardens pull the new rector aside and ask him,

are you okay?

Have you lost your faith?

How did you end up with a prostitute?

And his answer is unbelievable.

God told me to go to King's Cross and to marry her.

It is his way of getting across his message to his people

that their faithlessness to him is no trivial matter

and it breaks his heart.

But it's also a reminder

as they see his children

that God is going to take this stuff seriously

and he will judge them.

And also a reminder as they see me walk in pain day by day

that he remains faithful to his people.

This is the shocking scenario

that we're introduced to at the beginning of Hosea.

The account of Hosea's family life

is not made up illustration.

This is not a parable.

He is a real man

who lived in real time

at a real place in history.

This before us is enacted prophecy

through the family life of Hosea.

It is Hosea's personal history being worked out

and ordered by God

to speak to his people

in all of its bluntness and its rawness.

We can see from verse one

when all this took place

the word of the Lord came to Hosea son of Beri

during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah

kings of Judah.

That's the two tribes of the south

the original 12 tribes

before they split in two.

And during the reign of Jeroboam son of Joash

king of Israel

Israel is the ten tribes of the north.

And so we can work out from this list of kings

that Hosea was active in the 8th century BC

and that he lived and prophesied

to the ten northern tribes

called Israel.

It was a time of growing affluence

and relative peace

from preoccupied neighbours.

The grim Mesopotamian war machine Assyria

which was just the north of the borders of Israel

had begun to falter

under threats from their own enemies around

but also from internal disunity.

But with Israel's growing affluence

came decadence.

There was underlying corruption

throughout the kingdom

and especially religious idolatry.

The people had prostituted themselves

to other gods.

And then halfway through the century

their world began to crumble.

Jeroboam II of Israel

was near the end of his reign

and at the same time

Assyria's problems became distant

as they grew and grew

in terrifying strength.

Within a generation

the kingdom of Israel would be extinct

and it was to this generation

before their extinction

that Hosea was sent to preach

a message of repentance

not just with words

but with his family life.

It is into this situation

that we have the word of God

breaking in

with an extraordinary command

to Hosea

verse 2

Go

take to yourself

an adulterous wife

and children of unfaithfulness

and so he married

Gomer.

The Jerusalem Bible

captures the shock of it

a little better

than the NIV

that I just read from.

It says

go marry a whore

and get children

with a whore

because the nation

is a whore.

It means quite literally

a wife of whoredom

and children of whoredom.

There's been a lot of discussion

over the years

about exactly what Hosea

has been commanded

by God to do here

but it was most likely

that he was

that she

Gomer

was a practicing prostitute

when they married

rather than becoming one later

in their marriage.

Hosea is called here

to shower his love

upon a woman

of unknown faithlessness

who will continue

in that vein

throughout

their married life.

It is

before us

in verse 2

a marriage

made

in heaven

that is a living hell

for Hosea.

The movie

Pretty Woman

isn't a modern take

on the Hosea

Gomer story.

Hosea here

is not the wealthy

businessman

rescuing the prostitute

the prostitute

with a heart of gold

and a lovable innocence

who's just been served up

a whole lot of bad luck

in her life.

That's not the story.

This is not Pretty Woman

eight centuries before.

Deep down

Gomer

is a person

of unfaithfulness.

That is her character.

She will openly

and consistently

betray Hosea

and she will rub

his nose in it.

Why does God

call this man

to do this?

Because Hosea's

marriage to Gomer

represents God's

relationship

to his people Israel.

Just as Gomer

is unfaithful

to Hosea

so God's people

Israel

are unfaithful

to him.

It's all there

in verse 2

because the land

is guilty

of the vilest

adultery

the vilest

whoredom

in departing

from the Lord.

Israel

didn't deserve

God's love.

Israel

and God

weren't the perfect match.

It wasn't that God

looked down from heaven

across all the nations

of the earth

and thought

Israel

they're the most godly

they're the one

most suited to me

they're the one

most deserving

of my love.

Israel

was just like

any other people

they were

no better.

they were faithless

like the rest of us

God amazingly

chose them

to be his bride

his special

covenant

people.

And so every time

God's people

saw Hosea

walking down the street

through the mall

with Gomer

on his arm

or every time

they hear the news

of her latest

infidelity

around town

they receive

a message from God.

Hosea's life

and marriage

is a living parable

designed to confront

God's people

with the full horror

of how

they have treated

God.

Hosea's life

plays out this message

in all its rawness

so that we

so that he

the people of God

and we

the people of God

can feel

the heart

of God.

at least one of the

messages of Hosea

is that God

suffers

and this

book helps us

to see

what God

thinks

and feels

about our sin

and our failure

and our presumption

it breaks

his heart.

Israel

presumed that God

wouldn't care

about their

faithlessness

and they had

a cavalier

attitude

towards their

sin

and they

were wrong

it's an act

of betrayal

and so

as we see

here God

the broken

hearted lover

becomes the

angry lover

of his people

we see God's

judgment

on his

faithless bride

played out

in the names

of his three

children in chapter

one

the first one

there is a son

born in verse

four named

Jezreel

it means God

scatters

it's a strange

name

why would you

call your child

Jezreel

Jezreel

was a place

of infamy

it's like calling

your child

twin towns

or Port Arthur

and then the next

child in verse

six

is a daughter

low

which means

not loved

what a terrible

name

not loved

it's time

for dinner

you can imagine

the cost of

counselling to

sort that one

out

notice

especially

the gradual

deterioration

of the

relationship

revealed in

the names

God

scatters

they're not

loved

and in the

last child

verse eight

is another

name

son named

Lo-Ami

and this is

the most

shocking name

of all

the covenant

refrain

throughout the

old testament

the marriage

vows between

God and his

people if you

like is

you are my

people and

I am your

God

that comes up

again and

again and

again and

so this is

devastating

God's patience

had run out

with his

faithless people

it is like he

is taking back

his marriage

vows

he is divorcing

his people

and you can

understand it

God had

called them to

himself he had

rescued them from

slavery in Egypt

he had made

them his own

he had given

them his law

that they would

govern their

relationship

and frame how

his new bride

would live with

him

but three words

sum up the

actions and the

attitude of

Israel and

Gomer

it's there in

chapter 2

verse 13

me she

forgot

I will punish

her for the

day she burnt

incense to the

bals

she decked

herself with

rings and

jewelry and

went after

other lovers

but me

she

forgot

declared the

Lord

and this

chapter 2

spells out

Israel's

utter

abandonment

of their

covenant

relationship

with God

they had

fallen for

the same

lie that

was there

in the

garden of

Eden

that their

husband

their father

their God

was holding

out on them

that he is

stingy

that he is

mean

that real

life is

found somewhere

else and in

someone else's

arms

they ran

after others

and attributed

all the good

things that they

had in life

to their

lovers

rather to their

faithful and good

husband

and so the

shock of

chapter 1

verse 9

is God

saying you

are no longer

my people

I am no

longer your

God

God

wanted

these

Israelites

his people

to know

that he

was angry

with them

and the

judge

would

come

it did

come

as God

had promised

Israel

was destroyed

and the

people of

God

were either

killed

or deported

but the

judgment

that came

to Israel

from the

hand of

God

through the

armies of

Assyria

in 722

BC

was not

the end

yes God

is a

broken hearted

lover

and yes

he is

an angry

lover

but he is

also the

faithful

lover

take a look

at verse

10

yet

what a

word

yet

yet

is the

great good

news

that changes

the whole

mood of

this text

yet

the Israelites

will be like

the sand

on the

seashore

which cannot

be measured

or counted

in the

place

where it

was said

to them

you are

not my

people

they will

be called

sons of

the living

God

the people

of Judah

and the

people of

Israel

will be

reunited

and they

will appoint

one leader

and will

come up

out of the

land

for great

will be

the day

of Jezreel

say of

your brothers

my people

and of

your sisters

my loved

ones

what a

dramatic

change of

mood

the message

of judgment

and the

message

of hope

and salvation

derive

from the

same

source

it is

the same

God

the same

covenant

that was the

source of

his anger

and his

righteous

anger

is the same

covenant

which is the

source of

his

faithful

love

he promised

that he

would love

them

and be

faithful

to them

and to

keep

his

promise

to

them

what

God

promises

he must

do

he will

not

and he

cannot

forsake

his

promises

to his

people

he has

committed

himself

to them

in love

and so

in chapters

2

verse 14

through to

23

is a

moving

and it

is a

beautiful

song

of God's

tender

love

and commitment

to his

wayward

faithless

people

have a

look

just at

verse 14

with me

I am

going to

allure

her

I will

lead her

into the

desert

and speak

tenderly

to her

that's

beautiful

there is

no

coercing

there's

no

raving

and ranting

there's

no

let's

try and

meet

halfway

you

love

me

a

little

bit

I'll

love

you

back

a

little

bit

there is

precious

little

exercise

of

power

and

force

in this

love

triangle

because

power

in a

relationship

would

solve

nothing

to just

let that

one sink

in for a

little

bit

an

exercise

of

power

would

not

wing

back

the

heart

of

his

love

because

it's

the

heart

of

his

love

that

he

wants

it is

such a

tender

gentle

forgiving

deliberate

commitment

to win

over

his

wife

there is

no

sense

of

subjugating

her

no

sense

of

controlling

her

let me

tell you

as a

Christian

and as

a

husband

I

read

verse

14

and I

conclude

it makes

absolute

perfect

sense

why God

would say

to me

husband

Steve

love

your

wife

as

Christ

loved

the

church

and

gave

himself

up

for

her

because

he

has

given

himself

up

for

you

according

to

verse

14

God's

love

for

his

people

is

what

roused

Hosea

to go

again

and show

love

to his

unfaithful

wife

she is

loved

by

another

man

she is

in

the

arms

of

another

man

but

Hosea

is

loved

by

God

and

so

he

will

pay

the

price

to

get

his

wife

back

see

the

beginning

of

chapter

3

the

Lord

said

to

me

go

show

your

love

to

your

wife

again

though

she

is

loved

by

another

and

is

an

adulteress

love

her

as

the

Lord

loves

the

Israelites

and

verse

2

so

I

bought

her

for

15

shekels

of

silver

and

about

a

homer

and

a

lethic

of

barley

it

it

it

it

would

seem

from

verse

2

that

Hosea

had

to

scrape

together

everything

that

he

had

a bag

of

grain

as

well

everything

that

he

had

in

order

to

pay

the

price

to

buy

his

wife

back

was

the

price

the

price

of

her

debts

was

it

the

price

that

her

pimp

required

was

a

compensation

for

the

disgruntled

boyfriend

or

simply

according

to

exodus

the

price

of

a

slave

woman

whatever

the

price

is

the

price

to

redeem

her

is

insight

into

how

far

she

has

fallen

and

how

tightly

she

is

held

by

another

Nat

and

I

just

celebrated

15

years

of

marriage

some

of

you

saw

that

on

Facebook

we've

got

three

kids

but

that's

about

as

far

as

the

comparisons

go

between

us

and

Hosea

and

Gomer

if

I

was

in

Hosea's

shoes

here

I

could

imagine

the

people

of

God

and

my

own

heart

saying

just

divorce

her

she

doesn't

love

you

the

Bible

makes

it

clear

you

justify

it

here

Steve

the

Hosea

I

am

Gomer

I

am

the

person

of

deep

unfaithfulness

has

it

hit

you

yet

my

friends

we

are

Gomer

we

are

the

wife

of

whoredom

of

deep

unfaithfulness

Romans 3

paints a

terrible

picture

of our

character

there is

no one

righteous

not even

one

there is

no one

who

understands

no one

who

seeks

God

all

have

turned

away

turned

away

from

him

put

their

backs

to

him

and

together

they

have

become

worthless

worthless

we are

undeserving

of God's

love

for us

but God

wants you

to remember

that his

desire

to have

you

back

is not

based on

some

naive

estimation

of your

character

the point

of Hosea

is that

God

exalts

his

mercy

by not

giving up

on his

wife of

Hortum

even

though we

are worthless

and we

are unworthy

God

paid the

price

and he

brought us

back to

himself

Jesus

gave up

his life

to redeem

to pay

the price

what a

wonderful

fulfillment

of the

rawness of

these verses

comes in

the person

of the

Lord Jesus

Christ

Romans 5

8 puts

it beautifully

God

demonstrates

his own

love for

us

in this

that while

we were

sinners

while we

were whores

Christ

died

for us

and so

if we put

our trust

in Christ

then we

can be

sure that

we are

of the

people of

God

for whom

he died

and loves

we are

the people

to whom

he has

made

covenant

promises

forever

the apostle

Peter

echoes

the words

of Hosea

as he

writes

to the

people

of God

who have

put their

trust in

Jesus

with these

words

you are

a chosen

people

a royal

priesthood

a holy

nation

a people

belonging

to God

that you

may declare

the praises

of him

who has

called you

out of

darkness

into his

wonderful

light

once you

were not

a people

but now

you are

the people

of God

once you

had not

received

mercy

but now

you have

received

mercy

and if

you have

accepted

God's

love

for you

in the

Lord

Jesus

and put

your

trust

in him

then it

means that

you belong

to God's

people

you are

his bride

he's the

beautiful

New Testament

preacher

and if that

has happened

in our lives

then it

must have

profound

repercussions

on how

we live

his love

and his

mercy

and grace

leaves no

room for

complacency

because straight

after declaring

that we are

the people

of God

and that we

have received

his mercy

his chosen

people

Peter says

this in

verse 11

dear friends

I urge you

as aliens

and strangers

in the world

abstain from

sinful desires

which go to

war on

your soul

too often

we think

little about

disobedience

we just

think

God

will overlook

it

he'll

forgive

that's

what

he does

best

if the

Lord

Jesus

has

invited

us

to

become

part

of

his

people

his

bride

doesn't

that

make

our

disobedience

against

him

a really

serious

thing

just

think

for a

moment

about

the

hurt

it

causes

our

divine

lover

when

we

take

him

for

granted

and

we

live

unfaithfully

to

him

you see

the

closer

the

relationship

you

have

with

someone

the

more

they

can

hurt

you

a

stranger

insults

you

and you

brush it

off

relatively

quickly

an

argument

with a

friend

can get

you

down

for

days

the

betrayal

of a

spouse

creates

wounds

that endure

for many

years

and let

me just

say

if

you know

first hand

those kinds

of wounds

from a

spouse

then at

least take

this

comfort

God

knows

first hand

those

wounds

and what

they feel

like

he has

been

portrayed

by his

bride

century

after

century

after

century

God

understands

the pain

as he

sees his

own people

flirting

with other

lovers

going off

with the

gods of

this world

and pursuing

the desires

of their

hearts

he is not

number one

in their

heart

bowing down

superficially

on Sunday

and the odd

weekly meeting

and then going

off with the

gods of

wealth and

prosperity and

comfort and

pleasure and

ambition and

leisure and

security

what Hosea does

for us

what it should

do for us

it open

our eyes

not only to

the awesome

nature of

God's love

for us

but also the

terrible harm

our sin

causes in

our

relationship

with him

it breaks

his heart

and so

Hosea here

challenges us

to examine

the nature

of our

love

and particularly

whether or not

we love

our God

it is a

passionate

personal

relationship

with the

living God

is that

how you

would describe

your relationship

with God

is love

characterised by

faithfulness

and by

devotion to

God alone

is it

seriously a

case of

man and

woman standing

up and

saying forsaking

all others

I commit

myself to

you is that

how you

would describe

your relationship

with Christ

is it

authentic and

not just the

performance or

a serrade of

following some

acceptable

religious behaviour

Hosea helps

me to see

that God

wants me to

love him

warmly as

a husband

and not

just serve

him dutifully

as a

master

when you

think my

friends of

your failures

and hopefully

that's what

you are doing

right now

you think of

your failures

and your sins

and your

half-heartedness

that you're not

fully devoted

to Christ

and God

wants you to

remember

that his

desire to

have you

back is

not based

on a

naive

estimation

of your

character

we are

Goma

and he

knows it

the point

of Hosea

is that God

exalts his

mercy by not

giving up

on his

wife of

Hordom

the good

news of

Hosea

in the

whole Bible

is that

God knows

that we

have sold

ourselves

for a

song

and yet

he is

wooing us

tenderly

with his

love in

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

according

to

Hosea

2.16

God does

not want

you to

return and

say to

him

yes sir

I'll

try harder

this year

he wants

you to

respond to

him

my

husband

my

lover

God

wants your

heart

not just

your

hands

because if

he has

your

heart

he has

everything

and so

my friends

we struggle

that's

that is the

picture of

the Christian

life

and what

we look

forward to

as his

people is

the day

when all

unfaithfulness

is finally

dealt with

the war

against our

souls is

over

in Revelation

19 we see

God finally

and eternally

destroying the

great prostitute

the mother of

all unfaithfulness

and then in

chapter 21

it says

then I saw

a new heaven

and a new

earth

for the first

heaven and the

first earth

had passed

away and

there is no

longer any

sea

I saw the

holy city

the new

Jerusalem

coming down

out of heaven

from God

prepared as a

bride

beautifully

dressed for

her husband

and I heard

a loud voice

from the throne

saying

now the

dwelling of God

is with men

and he will

live with them

and they will

be his people

and God

himself will

be with them

and be their

God

and he will

wipe away

every tear

from their

eyes

there will be

no more

death

or mourning

or crying

or pain

for the old

order of

things

has passed

away

that is his

promise

to his

bride

let's pray

friends

and in

praying

can I

just

encourage

you

just to

bow your

heads

now

and

just

reflect

upon

this

message

and maybe

God

in his

spirit

by his

spirit

has

roused

in you

a sin

failures

that you

need to

bring to

him right

now

to take

them

seriously

as he

takes

them

seriously

and then

I'll

pray

our

loving

and

faithful

heavenly

father

our

husband

our

lover

we

give

you

thanks

for

calling

us

to be

your

children

you

have

made

us

your

bride

you

adopt

us

as

your

people

you

have

showered

us

with

every

good

gift

and

promised

us

eternal

life

with

you

in

perfection

in

your

great

love

and

mercy

you

have