Our Restored Marriage: Hosea 3v1-5

turned into months away.

Mr O'Shea looked out the window,

as he always did before going to bed,

hoping, longing, that she would come home.

A picture on the windowsill caught his eye.

She looked so beautiful in her wedding dress,

and he remembered those vows.

Never will I leave you.

Never will I forsake you.

Of course he knew where to find her.

He had heard the rumours.

He knew it was true.

Awkward and embarrassed,

he walked into the strip club.

The sight of his wife in the arms of another man

cut to his heart.

Putting cash into the hand of her pimp,

Mr O'Shea gently put his coat around his beloved Morag,

and led her out the door,

amidst jeering and laughing.

hurt and ashamed.

But how could he leave her?

He loved her.

she was his wife.

Now that's a true story.

In fact, it's my story,

and it's your story.

Remember what God had said to Hosea.

Have a look back at chapter 1 and verse 2.

Chapter 1 and verse 2.

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea,

the Lord said to him,

Hosea,

go take to yourself an adulterous wife

and children of unfaithfulness,

because the land,

that is the people,

is guilty of the vilest adultery

in departing from the Lord.

So he married Gomer.

It's what theologians call

enactment prophecy.

The prophet not only speaks

God's word to the people,

his life becomes a visible illustration

of God's word to the people.

Hosea's marriage to Gomer

plays out God's marriage to Israel.

You see, Israel is Gomer.

She is an adulterous wife.

Israel has turned her back

on God's faithful, loyal love.

She is chased after other gods.

But God is not about to give up

on his loved one.

God is like Hosea.

He is that loyal, faithful husband.

And through an act of grace

and redemption,

Hosea takes back his adulterous wife

to show us

the depth of God's love for us.

You see, this is my story.

And this is your story.

First, an act of grace

towards an adulterous people.

Look at chapter 3, verse 1.

The Lord said to me,

to Hosea,

go show your love to your wife again.

Again?

You want me to love her again?

Do you not know what she's like?

Do you not know the men

that she slept with?

Hosea had loved his wife again and again.

And now he must love her again.

It's an act of scandalous grace.

The Lord said to me,

go show your love to your wife again,

though she is loved by another

and is an adulteress.

How can Hosea trust her?

What if she runs off again?

After all, you can't trust an adulteress.

Everyone knows you're asking for trouble

if you take back someone

who has had multiple affairs.

You see, the law was crystal clear.

You don't welcome back an adulterous wife.

You stone her.

But yet Hosea reaches out.

He remembers the vows on their wedding day.

Never will I leave you.

Never will I forsake you.

And he shows his love again.

It's scandalous.

Can you imagine the shame Hosea felt

as he walked hand in hand with his wife?

Taking her back in.

The jokes.

Pointing of fingers.

He's an idiot.

What a fool.

But it's not just scandalous.

It's also reckless.

Look what God commands Hosea to do

the second part of verse 1.

Love her

as the Lord loves the Israelites

though they turn to other gods

and love the sacred raisin cakes.

Well, I think we all get the loving

the other gods bit.

But what on earth are these sacred raisin cakes?

Where do you get them?

Down in Lidl or where?

Well, when the Israelites wanted something

instead of turning to God

they went to their made-up gods.

And to provoke the gods in the heavens

to bring blessing down on the people

they would bring

well, one of their acts of sacrifice

was to bring food.

Raisin cakes.

And they would feed

these lifeless

stone wooden gods

so that they would

in return

get better crops

and their animals

would reproduce

and the rains would fall.

They went to their made-up gods

instead of turning

to the only

true God.

Now we

mightn't be into

baking raisin cakes

but we have all turned

from God

to other things

and other people.

We sacrifice

our lives

to the God of work

in search

or in return

for joy

and happiness.

We search

for a partner

or a spouse

hoping that they

will provide

the love

that we long for.

We spend

our money

to the gods

of upgrading

our home

and getting

the latest gadget

or fashion items

in search

of acceptance

of other people.

You see

just like

Gomer

just like

she went

after her

other lovers

just as Israel

went after

their gods

so we

have turned

our back

on the faithful

loyal love

of God.

I

am Gomer

and you

are Gomer.

But look

at the story.

Now Hosea

must love

his wife

again.

Why?

Well look

what it says

in the middle

of verse 1.

Love her

as the Lord

loves

the Israelites.

Hosea

is to take

back

his adulterous

wife

because that

is exactly

what God

does with

unfaithful

Israel.

By taking

back his

promiscuous

wife

Hosea

enacts

the grace

God shows

towards his

people.

It's

reckless.

It makes

no sense.

There's no

guarantee

that Gomer

is going

to stay

and stop

her adulterous

behaviour.

but that's

the point.

That's

the reckless

grace

God shows

to people

like you

and me.

You see

if we are

in any

doubt

about God's

act of

grace

just look

at what

God has

done

for us.

The

scandalous

act as

God

the

almighty

the

one

who

has

existed

from

before

time

began

the

creator

and

sustainer

of the

universe

the

one

who

alone

is

pure

and

holy

becomes

like

one

of us

to

search

for us

to

bring us

home

to

love

us

again.

the

reckless

act

of

God

as

he

takes

on

my

impurity

on

himself

and

suffers

my

shame

my

guilt

and

clothes

us

with

his

purity.

This

is

outrageous

grace.

We do

not

deserve

it.

It's

not

fair.

It

doesn't

make

sense.

But

that

is

the

act

of

grace

God

shows

to

spiritually

adulterous

people

like

you

and

me.

So

first

an

act

of

grace

towards

an

adulterous

people.

Second

an

act

of

redemption

towards

a

broken

people.

Gomer

is

an

adulteress

and

she

is

living

with

another

man.

In

fact

the text

implies

that she

is now

owned

by

another.

Look

at

verse

two.

So

I

bought

her

for

fifteen

shekels

of

silver.

That's

about

six

ounces

just

a

little

necklace.

And

a

homer

and a

lethic

of

barley.

That's

a

barrel

if you

like

of

grain.

and

calculating

these

costs

of

the

silver

and

the

grain

what

Hosea

paid

out

was

the

price

that

you

would

pay

for

a

slave.

In

other

words

Gomer

his

wife

is

in

a

form

of

slavery.

Even

if

she

wanted

to

leave

she

can't.

Gomer

has

exchanged

the

love

of her

husband

for

the

abuse

of

a

pimp.

Hosea's

wife

is

owned

by

another.

So

for

Hosea

his

act

of

grace

must

become

an

act

of

redemption.

Look

at

verse

2

So

I

bought

her.

This

is

costly.

Someone

must

pay.

Someone

must

bear

the

cost.

The

only

way

Gomer

can

be

released

is

for

Hosea

to

redeem

her.

Now

we

mightn't

think

a few

silver

coins

and a

bag

of

barley

is

much

but

it

seems

it's

all

Hosea

had.

He

didn't

have

enough

silver

to

pay

off

it

all.

He

has

to

pay

the

rest

of

it

off

in

grain.

In

other

words

he's

giving

all

that

he

has

to

be

able

to

redeem

his

wife.

And

if

that

doesn't

stir

your

heart

see

how

God's

love

redeems

you

and

me.

You

see

what

Hosea

did

for

Gomer

God

has

done

for

you

and

me

in

Christ.

The

apostle

Peter

reminds

us

for

you

know

that

it

was

not

with

perishable

things

such

as

silver

or

gold

that

you

were

redeemed

from

the

empty

way

of

life

handed

down

to

you

by

your

forefathers

but

with

the

precious

blood

of

Christ.

He

gave

his

all

to

buy

us

back.

Well

Hosea

not only

bought

back

his

wife

he

redeemed

the

relationship.

Verse

3

Then I

told her

you

are to

live

with me

for

many

days.

You

must

not be

a

prostitute

or be

intimate

with

any

man

and

I

will

live

with

you.

The

effects

of

this

redemption

are

both

personal

and

intimate.

You

will

live

with

me

and

I

will

live

with

you.

Hosea

takes

his

adulterous

wife

back

into

the

family

home

but

it's

a

relationship

that's

going

to

take

time.

Hosea

if we

look

carefully

places

conditions

upon

Gomer.

Look at

verse 3

again.

He

says to

her

you

are

to

live

with

me

or

as

it

can

be

translated

you

must

wait

for

me

many

days.

You

must

wait

for

me.

Before

Gomer

can

enjoy

the

trusting

sexual

intimacy

with

her

husband

she

must

wait.

And

further

on in

verse 3

he says

you

must

not

be

a

prostitute.

Gomer

you're

to

stop

playing

the

whore.

So

before

Gomer

can

enjoy

the

full

blessings

of the

marriage

she

must

wait.

She

must

show

that

she

has

no

eyes

for

no

other

man

than

for

her

husband.

And

she

can't

complain

can she?

the

conditions

are

fair

and

reasonable

after

all

that

she's

done.

She

can't

complain

about

this.

Well

how much

greater

then is

God's

redemption

of us?

You

see

when

God

redeems

us

it's

for

the

purpose

of

redeeming

the

relationship

and

guess

what?

There

are

no

conditions.

God

doesn't

look at

us

and

go

well

let's

see

how

this

relationship

goes.

Let's

see

if

you

are

going

to

be

faithful

to

me.

Let's

see

if

you

are

going

to

be

loyal

in

your

love

and

never

turn

your

back.

No

when

God

redeems

us

it

is

immediate

and

complete.

There

are

no

conditions.

We

are

treasured

and

treated

as

his

own

son

enjoying

the

privileges

of

God's

children

with

access

to

the

loving

father

welcomed

and

embraced.

When we

experience

God's

redemption

we

experience

a brand

new

relationship.

The past

put behind

our sin

dealt

with.

God

is

worthy

Schweiz.

The reason

we

drift

from

God

like

Gomer

drifted

from

Hosea

is

why

we

chase

after

other

things

and

people

is

because

we

don't

believe

that

what

God

has

to

offer

is

truly

satisfying

and

fulfilling.

Our

sinful

hearts

continually

tell us that God is not sufficient,

that his love is not enough,

we must go in search of it elsewhere.

Well, listen to what God offers.

We read it at the very beginning

of this morning.

The psalmist wrote,

Apart from you, Lord,

I have no good thing,

for you have made known to me

the path of life.

You will fill me with joy

in your presence,

with eternal pleasures

at your right hand.

We do not need to play the gomer.

We do not need to run from God.

In him our deepest longings are met.

He alone will fully satisfy us.

So, an act of grace,

an act of redemption,

and third, an act of repentance

towards a faithful God.

You see, while God acts in grace

and redemption,

we must respond

with repentance.

God is loving.

But part of his love means

he will not overlook

or ignore our sin.

We must deal

with our sin.

You see, just as

Hosea had said to Gomer

in verse 3,

You must wait

for me many days.

So God says to Israel,

look at verse 4,

For the Israelites

will live for many days.

They too must wait

without king or prince,

without sacrifice

or sacred stone

where they had their idols,

without ephod,

which was what the priest wore,

or idol.

In a sense,

God is saying to the people,

you are going to live

many days

without me.

God is going to strip Israel

of everything they have

and all that they rely on.

And history tells us

that within a few short years,

Assyria would come

and they would invade the nation

and crush them.

And they will have nothing left.

Not even God.

You want to live

life without me?

You want to chase

after your own lovers?

Then a life without me

you shall have.

Judgment

will come.

The people of Israel

will be removed

from God's presence.

You see,

sin cannot be ignored.

and it cannot be overlooked.

We cannot live in sin

and at the same time

live in God's presence.

Adam and Eve knew that

right at the beginning.

They were shut out,

removed from God's presence,

guarded from going back

into the garden.

And that's what's happened to us

and the whole human race.

We have ignored him.

We have pushed God away.

And God is saying,

if you want to live without me,

then a life you shall have

without me.

We cannot have God

while we ignore our sin.

We must deal with it.

We must repent.

You see,

repentance

is not just

stopping

some kind of behaviour

or habit.

It's not

just stopping

some kind of behaviour

or habit.

It's returning to

and a seeking

after God.

And that's what God

promises Israel will do.

But look at who

they are to seek.

Look at verse 5.

Afterwards,

the Israelites

will return

and seek

the Lord

their God

and David

their king.

Now,

does that strike you

as something a bit odd?

David,

the king,

is long since

dead.

How can they

seek a king

who has died,

what,

some 200 years

before?

war?

What do you mean

they're to seek

and return

to David

their king?

This is not

a call to return

to their old

king of Israel

and to go back

to his tomb

or his grave.

This is a call

to return

to the king

who would come

from David's line,

the ultimate king.

king.

The king,

Jesus Christ.

For he is the one

we are to seek.

Jesus is the one

we are to return

to

because Jesus

alone can deal

with our sin.

When Jesus

died for our sin,

he was the one

who was shut

out of God's

presence for us.

He was the one

separated for God.

He was without

God for us,

suffering hell

so that we

could be welcomed

in and enjoy

his presence

forever.

But in returning

to Jesus,

it's not just

a dealing

with sin.

In a seeking

after our

true king,

Jesus Christ,

we are fully

satisfied

so that we

do not

have to sin.

Have a look

at John's

Gospel,

chapter 4.

John's

Gospel,

chapter 4.

You might

know this story

because John

records for us

the story

about a woman.

We don't know

her name.

from Samaria.

She's feeding

or giving

water to

her livestock.

But we know

from the place

where she's

come from,

Samaria,

if you could

trace her

family line,

she would

find her

roots

among the

people

of Israel,

the very

people Hosea

has been

ministering

to.

The people

Hosea had

said,

Assyria is

going to

come and

deal with

you,

but afterwards

you will

return to

me and

you will

seek me.

She is

one of the

ones God

promised

who would

return and

seek the

Lord.

We're told a

little bit of

what her life

is like.

In fact,

this woman

is not

unlike

Gomer,

is she?

She had

five husbands

and the

man she

was with

is not

presently

her husband.

And she

offers Jesus

a drink and

Jesus says

these words

to her,

chapter 4,

verse 13.

Jesus

answered

her,

Everyone

who drinks

this water

will be

thirsty

again,

but whoever

drinks the

water I

give him

will never

thirst.

Indeed,

the water

I give him

will become

in him a

spring of

water,

welling up

to eternal

life.

we do

not need

to chase

after other

lovers.

In Jesus

we are

fully satisfied,

in him

our thirst

is fully

quenched,

we do

not have

to sin.

You see

the story

of Gomer,

the story

of Israel,

the story

of this

woman from

Samaria,

it's my

story,

and it's

your story.

We are

just like

them.

And like

them,

we have a

faithful,

loyal husband

in Jesus

who comes

searching for

us,

seeking us

out,

knowing exactly

what our

lives are

like,

and in an

act of

grace and

redemption,

he provides

the way

home for

you and

for me.

so the

invitation is

return

to Jesus,

seek

Jesus,

for he

alone deals

with sin

and satisfies

us

completely.

Let's pray

together.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

We can hear

the rain

on the

roof

as we

listen to

the rain.

Think of

that rain

as the

water

that

Jesus

gives

so that

we will

never ever

thirst

again,

flowing

down

upon us.

the invitation to drink

that we might know him fully.

Father, help us

that we would return to you

the source of all life,

the one who gives us joy,

eternal pleasures.

Forgive us when we do run from you.

Help us that we may seek you

all our days

as the perfect, loving, faithful

and loyal husband.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.