Broken Marriage: Hosea 1v1-2v1

together and then we're going to look at God's Word.

Our Father God, we thank you for the amazing privilege that it is that you, the creator

of the universe, would speak to us personally through your Word, the Bible.

Thank you that we are not left grasping, trying to figure out who you are, but that you have

clearly told us what you are like and who you are and what you have done.

And so we pray that as we study this book of Hosea together, we would read it and understand

it not as some ancient document, but as the living Word of God, which changes and transforms

lives, helping us to see who you are and who we are and how we can be in relationship with

you.

So Father, bless this study together.

May we be encouraged, enriched and built up.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, everyone knew him as Mr. O'Shea.

He was a gentleman, kind, generous, considerate, and above all, loving.

He was the ultimate catch.

But despite many a mother pushing their daughter his way, he rejected all offers and advances.

It seemed he would never marry until one day he was sitting in his favourite restaurant, eating

with, well, a young lady.

Everyone knew her as Morag.

If she wasn't in the gossip pages of the local paper, she was in bed with her new lover.

She was the talk of the town.

Everything she owned was either a gift from sexual favours or earned by her work on the streets.

It was not uncommon for her to leave at different premises every morning.

She was, as Mrs. Jones called her, a common whore.

Well, if people were surprised at Morag sitting with Mr. O'Shea, they were in absolute shock when the wedding was announced.

Of course, it didn't take long.

Despite his constant devotion, his loyal and faithful love, Morag had an affair.

It broke Mr. O'Shea's heart.

He was devastated.

And even though he took her back into his home and loved her as his wife,

she continued to chase after other lovers.

Sometimes, she would be away all weekend.

On one occasion, he didn't hear from her for over two weeks.

But through it all, Mr. O'Shea continued to love his adorable Morag.

With every affair, he welcomed her back home,

wiping her tears, providing and caring.

How do you feel about Mr. O'Shea?

Do you feel sorry for him?

Do you think he's stupid?

What do you think Mr. O'Shea should do?

Or how do you feel about Morag?

Do you like her?

Does she deserve her husband's love?

What do you think should happen to Morag?

Well, this story is a true story,

and it's more closer to home than we think.

Have a look at verse 2 of chapter 1.

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea,

the Lord said to him,

Go take to yourself an adulterous wife

and children of unfaithfulness.

Now, the translation is being terribly polite.

Because literally it says,

Go and take a whore as your wife,

and take into your home the children of a whore.

Hosea, God's prophet,

was to marry a woman

who would have eyes for other men

and engage in multiple affairs.

It's not just shocking,

it is absolutely scandalous.

Look at verse 3.

So he married Gomer,

daughter of Divlim.

We're not told if Gomer was promiscuous

before they got married,

or if that's what she became.

Either way, Hosea knew

he was entering into a marriage

with an unfaithful,

adulterous wife.

Why would God command Hosea to do this?

Well, he gives us the reason.

Look at verse 2 again.

Go take to yourself an adulterous wife,

and children of unfaithfulness,

because the land, that is the people,

are guilty of the vilest adultery

in departing from the Lord.

You see, Hosea's marriage to Gomer

is to be a visible picture,

a living illustration

of God's marriage to his people.

Like Gomer,

God's people have had

one adulterous affair after another.

They are, as verse 2 says,

guilty of the most vilest adultery.

Go back with me to verse 1,

to the very beginning,

the introduction.

The word of the Lord

that came to Hosea,

son of Berai.

So, this is about 760 BC,

before Christ,

Hosea was called.

During the reigns of Uzziah,

Jotham, Ahaz,

and Hezekiah,

who were kings in Judah,

and during the reign of Jeroboam,

son of Joash,

king of Israel.

Now, this isn't just history.

This is to be a reminder

of their adultery.

Remember how God's marriage

with his people all started.

God, in his love,

had rescued his people

from slavery in Egypt.

He had chosen them

out of all the peoples

on the face of the earth

to be his people,

his treasured possession.

He gave them a new land

to live in.

He provided for all

of their needs.

He was their true,

loving,

loyal,

and faithful husband.

But despite God's affections,

they committed adultery.

They chased after other things

and other people.

And as a result,

this once great nation

divided.

That happened in about

931 BC.

Israel to the north

and Judah to the south.

And this is at the time

that Hosea begins to minister.

Over the course of 200 years,

their kings continued in adultery

and led the people

further and further

away from God.

Jeroboam,

who we're introduced to

at the very end of verse 1,

was one of the last kings

of Israel.

And he was remembered

like this.

The Bible records

that he did evil

in the eyes of the Lord

and did not turn away

from any of the sins

of the past kings.

Their history

was one of adultery.

Now,

God says to Hosea

in verse 2,

Go take yourself

an adulterous wife

because the land,

the people,

are guilty

of the vilest adultery.

So you could imagine

as Hosea walked

through the marketplace

with his brand new wife

hand in hand,

conscious

of her constant flirting

with all the other men,

so Hosea's marriage

would be a daily reminder

to the people

of Israel,

you

are Gomer.

You

are the adulteress.

You have been

unfaithful to God

all these years,

chasing after

other things

and other people.

But the story

is even closer

than that.

You see,

you and I

are just like

Gomer.

The sad reality

is

we all behave

just like

Israel did.

You see,

God is our

loving creator.

He made us

in his image

so that we could

know him,

relate to him,

enjoy him.

God has poured out

his kindness

and generosity

in abundance.

He's pursued us

and loved us.

He is chased

after us

but we have

continued to run

from his love.

Like Gomer,

we are the

adulterous people

running after

other lovers,

unfaithful people,

giving ourselves

to other gods.

For that is what

sin is.

We've rejected

the love of our

creator.

We've ignored

his kind rule.

We've walked

away

prostituting

ourselves in search

of joy and

happiness.

we have taken

all of his

love gifts

but we have

turned away

from the lover,

the giver

of those gifts.

We are the

adulterous.

We are

Gomer.

We are that

common

whore.

well how do

you think

Hosea should

respond

to his

unfaithful

wife?

How should

God

respond

to us?

Well God

has made

us for

himself

and he

will not

let us

share our

love with

another.

God is

jealous for

us

and he

will not

put up

with our

promiscuity.

The marriage

of Hosea

and Gomer

starts well

enough.

Together they

have a

child.

Look at

verse 3.

So he

married

Gomer

daughter of

Divlam

and she

conceived

and bore

him

a son.

But all

is not

as it

seems.

Look at

verse 4.

Then the

Lord said

to Hosea

call him

Jezreel

because I

will soon

punish the

house of

Jehu

for the

massacre at

Jezreel

and I

will put

an end

to the

kingdom

of Israel.

Now if

I say

to you

Aleppo

then you

will have

an idea

of what

Jezreel

would mean

to the

people.

Jezreel

like Aleppo

today

is a

place of

violent

bloodshed.

Let me

explain.

You can

read all

about this

in 2nd

Kings.

Ahab

was the

king of

Israel

about 200

years before

this

incident

here in

Hosea.

He was

married to

if you

remember

Jezebel.

He was

a terrible

king.

He ruled

the people

badly,

murdered

God's

prophets

and was

responsible

for setting

up the

Baals.

These

were places

where they

conducted

human

sacrifices

to appease

the gods.

And in

response

God

raised up

as we're

told in

verse 4

this man

called

Jehu

and he

was to

remove

Ahab

and Jehu

slaughtered

all of

Ahab's

family

at a

place

called

Jezreel.

He had

his wife

pushed off

from the

top of

the

palace

and he

beheaded

70 of

his

sons

and

grandsons.

Violent

bloodshed.

But if

God had

raised up

this

Jehu

to punish

Ahab,

why does

God say

as it

does in

verse 4,

I will

soon punish

the house

of Jehu

for the

massacre

at

Jezreel?

God's

people.

Well,

it could

be because

he went

beyond

what he

was meant

to do

in killing

all of

those

people.

We're not

told that,

but it

could be.

But history

does record

for us

that Jehu,

once he

had knocked

Ahab out

the way,

only replaced

Ahab's

gods with

his own

gods.

He

continued the

spiritual

adultery

and continued

to lead

the people

further away

from God.

Now,

says God,

what happened

to Ahab

is now

going to

happen to

all of

Israel

because they

have been

unfaithful

to me.

Verse 5,

in that

day,

I will

break

Israel's

bow

in the

valley of

Jezreel.

Israel will

not be able

to save

themselves.

Assyria,

that great

nation,

is going

to come

and they

will defeat

you and

they will

destroy

you.

Israel

will become

Jezreel.

They will

be punished

for abusing

my love.

But Jezreel

was not

the only

child.

Have a

look at

verse 6.

Gomar

conceived

again

and gave

birth to

a daughter.

no mention

of the

father's

name

here.

Gomar

conceives,

but as

the text

explains,

Hosea

is not

the father.

Can you

imagine the

pain and

heartache

of Hosea?

The wife

you love

and adore

comes home

with a

child that

is not

yours?

And no

matter how

much Hosea

would love

that baby

girl,

she would

be a

constant

reminder to

him of

his

unfaithful

wife.

Verse 6,

Then the

Lord said

to Hosea,

call her

low

Ruama,

for I

will no

longer

show love

to the

house of

Israel,

that I

should at

all forgive

them.

The one,

the treasured

one that

God loved,

the one

that God

had chosen

and rescued,

will no

longer be

loved.

Verse 7,

Yet,

I will

show my

love to

the house

of Judah.

But Judah,

don't think

that I

will love

you because

you are

so faithful.

The rest

of the story

will tell

us that

Judah is

actually no

different.

God will

keep on

loving Judah

simply because

he loves

them.

verse 7,

And I

will save

them,

not by

bow,

sword,

or battle,

or by

horses and

horsemen.

You will

not survive

by your

own strength,

but by

the Lord

their God.

Yes,

I will

continue to

love you.

Yes,

you will

still be a

people,

but only

because I

choose to

love unfaithful

people like

you.

But Israel,

they are

not my

loved one.

they are

not my

loved one.

Gomorh

had another

child,

verse 8.

After she

had weaned

Lo-Ruamah,

Gomorh

had another

son.

Again,

the father's

name is not

mentioned,

another lover's

child.

Verse 9,

then the

Lord said,

Call him

Lo-Ami,

for you

are not

my people,

and I

am not

your God.

Through each

child that is

born, God

makes clear he

is ready to

divorce his

people.

This marriage

is well and

truly broken.

It is

finished.

We could

imagine

Hosea

walking his

young son

along the

road,

and a

group of

ladies stop

and look

into the

buggy.

What a

cute little

boy.

What's

his name?

Judgment

is coming.

Or if you

prefer his

nickname,

violent

bloodshed.

Or listen

to Hosea

calling his

bastard

children in

for dinner.

Not my

loved one,

not my

people,

dinner is

ready.

Or watch

Hosea

collect his

kids from

school.

I'm here

to collect

not loved.

And that

kid in the

corner,

he's coming

with me as

well,

but he

doesn't

belong to

me.

You see,

it would

become crystal

clear to

everyone through

his adulterous

wife and

illegitimate

children.

that God

has signed

the papers

of divorce.

This

marriage

is over.

God

had declared

throughout

their history

and promise

so often,

I will be

your God

and you

will be

my people.

Now the

echoes are

heard throughout

the nation,

you are not

my people

and I am

not your

God.

But

God

will be

to

God

will be

well,

it's hardly

surprising.

And we

shouldn't be

surprised if

God treated

us like

this.

It's what

we deserve.

We are

illegitimate

children.

We have

no right

to God's

love,

love,

for we

have pushed

him away

and held

him at

arm's

length.

love.

But if

God's

love

of an

unfaithfulness

surprises

you,

then his

promise to

go on

loving and

unfaithful

people is

an even

greater

surprise,

for God

does not

forget his

promise.

Have a

look at

verse 9.

Then the

Lord said,

Call him

low,

Ami,

for you

are not

my people,

and I

am not

your God.

But

yet

the

Israelites

will be

like the

sand on

the seashore,

which cannot

be measured

or counted.

Just a

moment ago

we are told

that God

would bring

an end

to his

people.

Now he

makes a

promise to

restore them

into a

nation that

is without

number.

You see,

while we

are the

adulterous

wife,

God is

the promise

keeping

husband.

Remember

God's

promise to

Abraham

at the

very beginning

of the

Bible story?

God

said,

I will

make you

into a

great

nation

and I

will

bless

you.

And

later on

God

repeated

that

promise

to

Abraham,

I

will

surely

bless

you

and

make

your

descendants

as

numerous

as

the

sand

on the

seashore.

God

is saying

I

will

make a

people

for

myself.

I

will

raise

up a

nation

that

no one

can

count,

that

will

love

me,

that

will

follow

me.

So

despite

all

our

adultery,

God

is not

going to

give up

on his

promise.

Look at

the rest

of verse

10.

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

which

are at

this

stage

broken

and

divided

will

be

reunited

and

they

will

appoint

one

leader,

they

will

become

a

great

people

again

and

they

will

come

up

out

of

the

land

for

great

will

be

the

day

of

Jezreel.

Just

when

we

think

God

has

signed

the

divorce

papers,

just

when

we

think

the

marriage

is

over,

God

our

loving

husband

reminds

us

of his

eternal

promise.

Chapter

2

verse

1.

Say

of

your

brothers

my

people

and

of

your

sisters

my

loved

one.

How

can

God

do

this?

How

can

he

at

one

moment

say

I'm

going

to

wipe

you

out

and

then

make

them

great?

How

can

he

disown

them

but

then

take

them

all

back?

Well

look at

the

very

end

of

verse

11.

We're

told

that they

will

come up

out

of

the

land

for

great

will

be

the

day

of

Jezreel.

Jezreel

as we

have seen

is a

symbol

of

judgment

of

violent

bloodshed

God

punishing

his

people

for

their

adultery

but

now

God

is

promising

that

another

Jezreel

is going

to

take

place

another

great

day

of

judgment

is

going

to

come

that

will

not

end

the

marriage

but

that's

going

to

restore

the

marriage

that

day

that

great

day

would

take

place

as the

only

faithful

son

Jesus

Christ

would

die

on

the

cross

the

death

of

Jesus

is

our

Jezreel

Jesus

would

become

the

unfaithful

adulterous

wife

for us

Jesus

would

become

Gomar

for you

and for

me

the

judgment

the

violent

bloodshed

would fall

not on

us

but upon

his

son

the

apostle

Paul

experienced

this

as he

reflected

on the

death

of

Jesus

have a

look at

Romans

Romans 9 · chapter mention

chapter

9

Romans

Romans 9:22

chapter

9

verse

22

it's

on

page

1136

if you're

using

the

church

bible

Romans

9

starting

at

verse

22

it's

talking

about

the

death

of

Jesus

let's

read

verse

22

what

if

God

choosing

to show

his

wrath

and make

his power

known

instead

bore

with great

patience

the

objects

of his

wrath

prepared

for

destruction

so he's

asking the

question

what

what if

God

did not

bring

his

judgment

upon

us

verse

23

what if

he did

this

what if

he was

patient

instead

what if

he did

this

to make

the riches

of his

glory

known

to the

objects

of his

mercy

whom

he

prepared

in advance

for glory

what if

God

did not

bring

his

judgment

as he

promised

but instead

had great

patience

and showed

mercy

what if

he did

that

verse 24

even

for us

whom he

also

called

not only

from the

Jews

but also

from the

Gentiles

for that

is what

has

happened

Jesus

has

come

and he

has

absorbed

and taken

the judgment

that you

and I

deserve

so that

we might

receive

mercy

not just

people like

you and

me

not just

from the

Jews

but from

the Gentiles

from all the

nations

all those

who come

to Christ

all those

who run

away from

his love

and deserve

to be

put away

can now

come to

him

verse 25

as he

says in

Hosea

I will

call them

my people

who are

not

my people

and I

will call

her my

loved one

who is

not

my loved

one

and it

will happen

in the

very place

where it

was said

to them

you are

not my

people

they will

be called

sons

of the

living

gods

you see

it is

at the

cross

that we

become

God's

people

as

Jesus

dies

we are

shown

mercy

as

Jesus

suffers

we

receive

his

love

you see

this story

of Hosea

is more

personal

than we

think

we are

Gomer

we are

guilty

of

spiritual

adultery

we have

been

unfaithful

to God

but

through

the death

of Jesus

we are

now

so much

more

hear

the words

today

of our

promise

keeping

husband

you

are

my

loved

one

you

are

my

people

you

are

my

sons

and

daughters

of the

living

God

we

may

fail

we

may

be

unfaithful

but

God

does

not

fail

and

God

will

be

faithful

to

his

children

you

are

my

loved

one

let's

pray

pray

may

Roberts

be

you

may

may