Our Solution Prefigured: Prophets

I don't know what you think about profits.

Not the kind of profits that you want to have in your bank account,

but the ones who kind of speak messages to us.

Because I think actually every one of us in life wants our own profit.

The other day I saw, I was walking along, I saw on a bus an advertisement.

And on the advert, I think it's for a tutorial center,

there was this guy looking like he was a member of a boy band.

And emblazoned next to him on the bus was the title something like,

Edwin Wong, he is considered by some to be an exam profit.

And I got thinking, we all want our own profit.

If you're in business on the stock market,

wouldn't you just love to have a profit who could tell you what was going to happen?

In your family life, for your kids, wouldn't you like to have a profit?

Well, in the Bible, there are profits.

And these profits are maybe not quite the kind of profits

that you might like to have in your life.

Because these profits didn't just tell you about the future,

they told you about what God was like, what God was thinking,

and how God felt about his people.

They were a bit like an alarm clock.

You know, an alarm clock is very annoying, and you want to turn them off.

But actually, you need an alarm clock to wake you up.

Otherwise, you won't be able to live.

You won't be able to work.

You won't be able to function.

At least, if you are like me.

But if you were to imagine and to go back in time,

into the time when the Bible was written,

and you were to look in the Jerusalem classified post,

and you were to look at the job description of a prophet,

you would see some very unusual, strange things.

You would see things like wanted,

wanted, man who can lie on his side, on his left side, for a year,

and then turn over and for 40 more days lie on his right side.

You might see wanted, man skilled in cooking bread over human poo.

You might see wanted, man who can walk around butt naked for three years.

Some of you might like to take that one.

But these were unusual things that they were asked to do,

because prophets were like this alarm clock to Israel,

a nation which was slipping and sleeping further and further away from God.

And the prophets came on the scene at the same time as the kings.

And if this is your first time here,

we've been going through a series looking at the Bible's story,

calling it God's story, our story,

and seeing what is God up to in the world.

We've seen how God created human beings for relationship with him.

Human beings, Adam and Eve, turned away from God.

They rejected him.

And yet God came again, and he promised a man, Abraham,

that he was going to give a people a land and blessing

that was going to go to all the nations.

And so God raises up a people, Israel.

He releases them from captivity.

He brings them to Mount Sinai.

He makes this marriage covenant where he says,

I want you to be mine.

I've rescued you.

I want you in relationship with me.

And Israel then continually, time and time again,

goes away from God.

God continues to be faithful,

bringing them into the land that he's promised them.

He then gives them a king,

even though they wanted a king because they were rejecting God.

He gives them a good king, David.

But then he gives them kings,

and he tells them,

you must obey me.

You must trust me.

You must love me because the way that you live

will affect the whole of the nation.

Because as goes the kings,

goes the rest of the nation.

And the problem is,

if you know the story,

the kings, time and time again, mess up.

They disobey God,

and their legacy is destruction

in the nation of Israel.

The nation splits in two,

a bit like North and South Korea,

and then the northern kingdom of Israel

has 20 wicked kings.

And God sends them prophets,

like the one we're going to look at today,

called,

who will light that alarm clock

to wake them up to what was happening

in their lives.

Because they were good

at turning their ears off,

putting the alarm on snooze function.

And so God had to do

some dramatic demonstrations

so they could visibly see

what he was trying to tell them.

So that's what we're going to look at today.

We're looking at the life

of this guy, Hosea,

this prophet.

Okay?

I know some of you say Hosea,

but Hosea is the correct way to say it.

And we're going to look at it

in three parts.

We're going to look at this

as a story of marriage.

It's a story of a terrible marriage.

And it's a story of a cost

of restoring this marriage.

Okay?

A marriage,

a terrible marriage,

but a cost of restoring this marriage.

So I don't know if you,

if you think about an image of God,

what comes into your mind?

In the Bible,

there's lots of images.

There's king,

judge,

shepherd,

father.

There's lots of beautiful images.

But one of the images

that the Bible has of God

is that he is a lover.

He is a husband.

Here's a couple of verses.

Isaiah 54 says,

your maker is your husband.

In Isaiah 62,

it says,

and this is beautiful,

it says,

for as a bridegroom

rejoices over his bride,

so the Lord,

God,

shall rejoice over you.

Now,

if you think about that image,

that picture,

just for a minute,

the images of a wedding day.

And I remember,

I went to see,

I went to one of my friends' weddings.

And,

you know,

they'd been waiting there for a while.

And then,

the music played,

and the bride started walking down the aisle.

And my friend,

the groom,

was at the front.

And I looked at his face

as he looked around

to see the bride coming.

And I wish I had had a camera at that moment,

because his face was just stunned.

He was captivated.

He was amazed

at the dazzling beauty

of his wife.

And at that moment,

I can imagine

that he just wanted

to sweep her off her feet

and make her his,

because

that

was just

his greatest desire

at that moment.

The problem was,

he had the rest of the ceremony

to keep going,

so he couldn't do that

and express his emotions.

But the thing is,

that picture

is the image

of God

looking at his relationship

with his people.

Have you ever thought about that?

That is his image

of how he looks at his people.

And we've seen

in the story

that God was the one

who made the first move

in this relationship

because he wants us

to be in this marriage

relationship with him.

Now, if you think about it,

what's distinctive

about a marriage relationship?

Because if you're married,

you know that being single

and being married

is quite different.

I feel you, brother.

Confirmation from the Lord.

You see,

when I was single,

I remember

I lived in France

for a year

and I stayed with this

in a person's house

and the owner of the house

once sat me down

very kind of,

you know,

properly

and she looked across

at me and said,

you know,

you really need

to get a wife.

And,

you know,

I totally got

what she was saying.

I mean,

I would eat

baked beans

for breakfast

cold straight out

of the can.

Okay?

I'd wear the same

t-shirt for a week.

I mean,

anyone who knew me

would say that

getting married

for me was a good thing.

Okay?

And when I did get married,

things did begin to change.

You know,

your sleeping habits,

your eating habits,

your cooking habits,

your dressing habits.

All your habits

begin to change

because marriage,

and I think most people

would say for the better,

that marriage

shapes you.

Marriage is meant

to direct

the course of your life.

It shapes every aspect

of your life.

You can't just say,

okay,

let's do marriage

at 10.30

on a Sunday morning,

shall we,

and then we'll book

another appointment

a week later.

That's not marriage.

Marriage shapes

everything in your life,

your decisions,

the way you think,

what you do.

It shapes you

because marriage

becomes your priority,

and if your marriage

is not your priority,

then your spouse

will soon tell you

that it should be.

That's what our relationship

with God

is meant to be like.

Our relationship with God

is not just

for a Sunday morning.

It's meant to shape

every aspect

of your life.

But it's not just

this aspect.

It's also the aspect

that marriage

is also about intimacy.

When you're married,

you're known

by someone.

You see,

if someone comes up

to me and says,

hey, listen, Chris,

you're a pretty calm

kind of guy.

You know,

you don't get stressed

out so easily.

You can just go

and talk to my wife,

and she will soon

tell you

all the areas

that I get stressed in

because

I may think,

okay,

I fooled you guys,

okay,

but I can't fool

my wife.

I can hide

from most of you,

but I can't hide

from her.

And

there's intimacy

because you're known.

And more than that,

if

other people

criticize me,

you know,

someone could come up

to me and say,

you know,

Chris,

you're the most stupid

guy in the world.

And I would say to you,

I probably agree with you.

Fine.

It doesn't bother me.

Really,

it wouldn't bother me.

But if my wife

said that to me,

that would be devastating

because my wife

actually really knows me.

Right?

Because your wife

or your husband

has a power

that nobody else

has over you.

But it's not just a power

that can damage you.

It's a power

that can also bring

great healing.

Because if all the rest

of the world says

you are useless,

and yet your wife

or your husband says,

I believe in you,

I can keep going.

I can carry on.

But if all the world

says to me,

you're amazing,

and my wife says to me,

you're useless,

then I'll think

I'm useless.

Right?

Because marriage

is a place

that shapes

all of your life.

It's a place

of intimacy,

but it's also

a place

of great healing

and restoration.

Because your wife

or your husband

can speak words

into you

which can give you

the strength

to keep going.

And by the way,

that's as an aside.

Be your wife

or your husband's

greatest encourager

if you are married.

Because you should be.

Because you have

that power

in their lives.

And that's what

God is saying

he wants

for each one of us.

He wants

that relationship

where we make him

our greatest priority

and where we come

into that place

where we are known

by him,

where we share

our hearts with him

and where we can feel

safe and secure

with him.

Because that's where

we get restoration

to keep going

in life.

Well,

that's how

relationship with God,

and this story

is going to be

going to be

going to unpack it

is about marriage.

But as we get

into the story

we're going to see

it's not just about marriage

it's about a terrible marriage.

And so let's go

and dive into this story

a little bit.

Because right at the beginning

of this guy

Hosea's

profiting career

God basically says

to him

if you're going to go

and deliver

my message

you need to show

people what

my heart is like.

And if you want

to show people

what my heart is like

you're going to have

to feel

what my heart is like.

And you're going

to feel

the agony

that I feel

over my people.

And so what does God do?

He tells him

go

you see that woman

over there

Goma

I want you to go

and marry her.

And

by the way

she slept

with more women

than you've had

hot dinners.

And most of the kids

that you're going

to have with her

they won't be yours.

And we don't know

if Goma

was actually

a prostitute

or whether she was

just promiscuous

as the passage says

but

imagine how Hosea

is feeling

at this moment.

I mean he's going

but I like Linda

over there.

You know

she's got great career

prospects

my mum really loves her

you know

but God says

marry Goma.

I mean

imagine

him going home

and telling his mum

you know

mum

I'm

decided that

I want to get married

and

it's to

Goma

you know

the one who goes

with anyone.

Imagine her mum's

his mum's reaction

imagine the family's

reaction

and yet

he marries her

and they

have their first

child together

and then

the story

begins to unfold

and

I haven't given you

all of Hosea 1

but

the story

basically shows

that maybe

one night

Goma doesn't

come home.

She comes back

the next morning

makes up some

lame excuse

about where she's been

and frequently

more and more

frequently

she's just missing

one night

two nights

three nights

and Hosea

must have been

thinking at this

moment

what did I

get myself

into?

Did I do

something wrong?

Did I hear from

God all wrong?

Look at who

I've married.

Some of you

maybe know

what that's like

that sense

of betrayal

and if

you haven't

experienced it

then you're

sure to know

somebody who has

but it gets

worse

because

she finds

that she's

pregnant

again

and Hosea

1 shows us

that Hosea

it doesn't

mention Hosea

was the

father

and imagine

Hosea has to

bring up

two children

who are the

fruit of his

wife's

adultery

and maybe

he's got to

do it

single-handedly

because

Goma's

off with

her latest

boyfriend

and things

are getting

worse and

worse

and chapter

two

I've just

put it in

your bulletin

for reference

but shows

that one

day she

finds a

note on

the table

saying

thanks for

everything

but I got

a better

offer

you were

disappointing

Hosea

my boyfriends

give me

what I want

they give

me everything

I need

and he

has given

everything to

her but she

does not

recognize

anything that

he has

given

and angry

and hurting

and betrayed

Hosea

is crushed

and maybe

his friends

are telling

him just

get rid

of her

forget about

it

she's not

worth it

put it

behind you

because he's

such full

of shame

imagine in

the community

everyone knows

what he's

like

everyone

knows his

situation

every time

he looks

at his

two children

he feels

that same

sense of

betrayal

and then

in chapter

three

God comes

to Hosea

again

and says

go again

go again

love a

woman

love a

woman

love your

wife

again

even though

she's an

adulteress

go again

Hosea

didn't want

to go

so God

has to say

go again

because

you need to

know my

heart in

this

you're hurt

so badly

and

and the

thing is

when she

says go

again

she's with

somebody else

already

but what

Hosea does

he goes

and he says

he buys

her for

15 shekels

and some

barley

and most

scholars think

that the

reason why

he bought

her

was because

she'd either

become so

heavily

indebted

through her

work that

she could

pay nothing

off

or her

boyfriends

had actually

made her

had become

her pimp

and they'd

used her

and exploited

her so

much

until the

point where

she was

past her

sell-by date

and so

then they

just threw

her on the

bargain section

of the slave

market which

happened in

the town

and so

there is

Goma

stripped down

naked in

the middle

of the town

because all

the buyers

of the slaves

wanted to

see what

they were

getting

down

head bowed

down

covered

with shame

maybe closing

her eyes

to just

salvage some

dignity

from this

situation

and all

the men

around in

the town

examine her

wondering

how much

she's worth

maybe shouting

obscene

comments

at her

because

Goma

is to be

sold as

property

she's there

exposed

naked

fearful

and she

knows

it's all

her own

fault

and one

guy starts

the bidding

it's an

auction

one guy

starts the

bidding

he says

I'll give

you 10

shekels

for her

another

says

I'll give

you 11

another

says

give you 12

and then

finally

someone says

15

and Hosea

says

no I'll give

you 15

and a load

of barley

and everyone

says

okay

she's not

worth any

more than

that

go on

take her

do what

you want

with her

we know

how she's

treated you

and Hosea

goes to

take Goma

and if you

were Goma

maybe she's

been trying to

blot out the

sound of

people because

it's such a

harrowing

experience

and she

looks up

at who

has actually

bought her

and as

she looks

up she

sees

the one

that she

has betrayed

so badly

coming towards

her

and terror

grips her

heart

because you

know in

that culture

if you

were a

slave

your master

could do

anything

with you

they could

even

kill you

that's what

everyone else

thought was

going to

happen

that's why

they thought

Hosea was

buying her

but actually

as she

comes

thinking

this is

my last

moments

alive

as Hosea

takes her

out of

the market

she's

thinking

he's

going to

lay

into

me

and

then

she

looks

up

into

his

eyes

and

what

does

he

say

to her

he says

not

words

of

anger

but he

says

I want

you to

be

with

me

I

want

you

to

be

my

wife

stop

playing

around

I

don't

want

you

to

go

with

any

other

men

now

come

and

be

with

me

stay

with

me

I

want

you

to

be

my

wife

and

I

am

going

to

be

faithful

to

you

I

haven't

given

up

on

you

she's

stunned

stunned

that's

what the

Bible

calls

grace

God's

undeserved

incredible

love

for us

that's

what

God

is

like

that's

how

beautiful

he

is

that's

the

kind

of

husband

the

kind

of

lover

that

God

is

and

if

you

think

just

for

a

moment

if

you

really

know

that

somebody

loves

you

that

much

in

spite

of

all

you've

done

how

secure

will

you

be

how

secure

that

you

know

even

if

you

failed

even

if

everyone

else

tells

you

that

you

have

messed

up

that

you

have

failed

that

you

have

screwed

up

your

life

but

he

says

to

you

I

love

you

I

want

you

to

be

mine

come

and

be

with

me

how

does

that

now

change

the

way

that

you

view

yourself

in

marriage

your

husband

or

your

wife

can

bring

that

power

of

healing

and

restoration

that's

what

God

wants

to

do

in

our

lives

that's

just

liberating

is that

you don't

have to

go

around

trying to

prove

your

worth

to

anybody

else

because

even if

the rest

of the

world

says

you're

useless

he

comes

to

you

and

says

you're

mine

and

I

ain't

never

letting

you

go

isn't

that

amazing

but

I

think

if

I'm

honest

if

I'm

really

honest

I

actually

know

this

I've

preached

on it

before

I

can

tell

you

all

the

places

in

the

Bible

which

tell

it

but

I

forget

this

so

quickly

and

in

fact

I

can

guarantee

there

is

not

one

person

in

this

room

who

doesn't

forget

this

regularly

when

it

comes

to

Monday

morning

we

suddenly

start

feeling

insecure

again

because

we've

forgotten

something

why

do I

try

and prove

myself

again

and again

well

imagine

Hosea

is in

your

community

group

or

he's

your

next

door

neighbor

imagine

living

he's

living out

this

message

you're

seeing

him

working

struggling

wrestling

with all

of these

things

a sense

of

betrayal

and

what

do

you

think

you're

living

next

door

to

him

what

do

you

think

about

him

you

think

what

an

idiot

don't

you

like

who

would

marry

a

prostitute

you've

just

you deserve

everything

you've

got

okay

you should

have been

more like

me

who

married

more

sensibly

I

married

up

okay

we

all do

if you're

men

okay

but

the thing

is

we

miss

what

Hosea

is

what

Hosea

is

speaking

through

his

life

and

to

all

the

people

around

him

who

couldn't

see

it

but

what

he's

saying

to

them

is

this

this

isn't

just

about

the way

Gomer

is

treating

me

this

is

about

how

you

are

treating

God

because

you

are

just

like

Gomer

I

don't

want to

admit

that

but

the

way

God

is

saying

the

way

that

you

treat

me

the

way

that

you

think

you

can

just

come

once

a

week

on

a

Sunday

and

just

have

your

little

bit

of

religion

and

then

go

away

for

the

rest

of

the

week

doing

whatever

you

want

that

hurts

and

breaks

my

heart

the

way

that

we

you

come

to

me

and

you

only

pray

to

me

when

you

want

to

get

something

from

me

or

life

suddenly

gone

bad

that's

the

only

time

you

ever

come

to

me

you

forget

about

me

the

rest

of

the

time

that

breaks

my

heart

because

I

want

you

in

relationship

with

me

in

this

marriage

with

me

and

the

way

that

I

am

calling

Hosea

to

love

Goma

is

the

way

that

I

love

you

and

I'm

calling

you

back

to

myself

you

see

God

if

you

know

the

story

God

has

continually

lavished

his

blessings

on the

people

of

Israel

he's

continually

every

promise

he's

made

he's

kept

he's

brought

them

into

the

land

he's

made

them

a

people

he's

blessed

them

again

and

again

and

again

and

what

do

the

people

of

Israel

do

in

spite

of

all

the

wealth

and

the

prosperity

what

they

were

doing

they

were

running

after

other

gods

and

they

were

saying

they're

the

ones

who've

made

us

rich

and

if

you

were

to

look

in

verse

one

of

chapter

three

it

says

God

says

to

love

Gomer

as

the

Lord

loves

the

Israelites

though

they

turn

to

other

gods

and

love

the

sacred

raisin

cakes

I

don't

know

if

you

notice

anything

strange

there

is

raisin

cakes

in

your

top

ten

list

of

sins

I

don't

know

did

you

have

a

cheeky

little

cinnamon

raisin

bun

this

morning

and

think

oh

I'm

disobeying

God

no

I

mean

God

is not

anti

desserts

okay

some

of you

are

worried

okay

it's

okay

but

what

is

God

saying

why

does

he

talk

about

raisin

cakes

I

mean

he

could

have

picked

anything

why

raisin

cakes

well

the

raisin

cakes

were

the

things

that the

Israelites

would

sacrifice

and offer

to all

the other

gods

around them

and they'd

have this

little feast

together

and they'd

celebrate

these other

gods

and eat

the

raisin

cakes

together

and what

God

is saying

in this

is

he's

saying

do you

realize

Israelites

how

extraordinarily

stunning

my love

for you

the cost

of my

love

the betrayal

and yet

I keep

loving you

and look

what you do

in return

how do you

love me

do you

love me

faithfully

in return

no

what do

you love

you just

love

little

raisin

cakes

that's

what you

go after

you are

captivated

by something

so small

and so

trivial

as a

little

raisin

cake

because

they thought

if I can

get a

blessed

life

you know

I'll have

maybe a

bit of

God

but I'll

also have

the other

ones

just in

case

and they

seem to

be working

out a bit

better than

God

so we'll

go with

them

okay

and what

he's saying

is

if you

don't

see

that all

these

other

gods

that eventually

if you keep

following them

and if you

know the rest

of the story

Israel goes

sent into

exile

because of

this

if you

keep

following

all these

other

gods

they're

just

going to

pimp

you out

you're

going to

become

a slave

the thing

that you

think

you need

the most

in your

life

that you

think

is going

to be

the greatest

lover

is actually

going to

enslave

you and

just pimp

you out

that's

what he's

saying

and if

you think

today

what are

those

things

that we

do

the same

because

this is

not just

to the

Israelites

it's

to us

as well

what are

our

little

raisin

cakes

that we

go

after

I think

it can

be many

things

one thing

other

people's

approval

you know

I remember

and

I can't

remember

the exact

details

but

I remember

a long

time ago

when indie

music

had just

come out

and

I didn't