Answers Bible Curriculum Year 2 Quarter 3 Lesson 3
In this lesson, David Capoccia examines God’s message to Israel through Hosea the prophet. David Capoccia looks at the book of Hosea’s declaration of Israel’s spiritual adultery, God’s necessary chastening, and God’s restoration promise. At the heart of Hosea’s prophecy is a fundamental aspect of God’s amazing gospel: God will change the hearts of those He will save to believe Him, love Him, and be obedient to Him.
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by profession he was a shepherd and then those Shepherd images come out in his message he brought a message of warning epitomized by a certain metaphor what metaphor from Amos describes the danger that Israel was in it’s actually how he opens his prophecy well yeah he comes back to this motif of a lion and sheep he says the lion is roaring and then he talks about the line will come and he will tear he will consume and he will scatter the The Roaring was the prophesied Judgment it was the message of Amos himself the Judgment was coming for Israel’s sin and idolatry but the the lion was going to make good on that Roar and actually bring destruction and Exile what kind of response was this warning supposed to evoke in Israel exactly repentance it was supposed to return them to the Lord escape this judgment come back to God and the same is true today the lion is still roaring God’s word and his ambassadors still speak there is a sure judgment awaiting all people um all people today as well as John the Baptist said every tree that does not bear fruit that is every person that does not believe in Jesus and manifest a lifestyle of obedience toward him will be cut down and thrown into the fire the ax is already laid at the root of the tree the people today ourselves included live in danger of God’s sudden judgment and so we must learn from Amos God is both holy and just he hates sin and those who practice it he is too good to turn a blind eye to blasphemy and oppression he will punish all evil as it deserves but how are we who are innately evil because of Adam to be spared the only one who can save us from God is God and this is why we must look to Jesus and his covering his once for all covering his once for all sacrifice in our place on the cross this is why we must give up all to follow Jesus questions about last week’s lesson okay well at the end of amos’s Prophecy last week we saw a surprising message of Hope and restoration for Israel and we’re going to see more of that unexpected theme today as we look at a second prophet to the northern kingdom Hosea title of our class today is God loves Israel Jose is perhaps a little more famous than Amos but do we really understand the message of Hosea let’s take time to study Hosea today together now hosea’s prophecy is 14 chapters long and we’re not going to have time to closely study the whole book what we’re going to do instead is just highlight a key section and study that closely so here’s our outline for today’s class we’re going to focus on chapters one to three we’re going to observe Hosea and Gomer as they are pictured we’re going to hear the prophecy from Hosea from God through Hosea we’re going to observe we’re going to interpret and then we’re going to consider application for ourselves based on hosea’s Prophecy in the beginning of this book let’s pray for God’s blessing on this time of instruction look uh Lord God this is an amazing amazing word here in Hosea and really all these latter prophets they have such amazing declarations they show your Holiness but they also show your love they show your justice but they also show your faithfulness and it is so surprising in one sense the goodness that you have in store for Israel and that would also include the Gentiles and yet it’s not surprising because it’s something that you promised so early on in your revelation so God I pray that you’d help me to be able to explain this well and help the people to understand it and to apply it in Jesus name amen please open your Bibles to the book of Hosea page 899 in the Pew Bible if you’re using a different Bible just keep turning in the Old Testament until you get past Ezekiel and Daniel Hosea comes right after that right before Joel and Amos now like I said we’re going to read and observe the first three chapters but let’s first Orient ourselves to the historical context by considering Hosea 1 1.
so page 899 in the Pew Bible Isaiah chapter 1 verse one let’s just read that one verse the word of the Lord which came to Hosea the son of biri during the days of Uzziah jotham ahaz and Hezekiah Kings of Judah and during the days of jeroboam the son of joash king of Israel all right a couple of observations right off the bat here notice jeroboam the son of Joe Ash where have we seen this King lately yeah he was the king under whom Amos was prophesying in Israel jeroboam II and then we have four Kings of Judah mentioned Uzziah we’ve met him before he was also with Amos he reigned contemporaneously with jeroboam he was a good King but he made that big mistake by trying to offer incense he did that great evil um his son Jonathan was also a good King ahaz who came afterwards was an evil King well the fourth son Hezekiah was a great king and he was the most righteous king of all of judah’s Kings just as a reminder during hezekiah’s Reign what notable event Came Upon the northern kingdom Assyria came conquered them and took the survivors into Exile so that happens during the reign of Hezekiah now since Hosea was a prophet under all of these Kings in both Israel and Judah that means he was a prophet for a long time Amos was commissioned for a short time and he wasn’t a career Prophet but Jose is different he’s probably ministering from about 7.75 to about 7 15 BC 60 years of prophetic Ministry if he’s going to minister on all these Kings that’s a long period of declaring God’s word to God’s people and it makes Hosea a contemporary of Amos Isaiah and Micah but let’s now actually look at hosea’s prophecy we’re going to observe each chapter and then we’re gonna take all that we’ve observed and come back to interpretive conclusions but we start with chapter one let’s read verses 2 to 11.
follow along with me starting in verse 2.
when the Lord first spoke through Hosea the Lord said to Hosea go take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry four the land commits flagrant harlotry forsaking the Lord so he went and took Gomer the daughter of dibling and she conceived and bore him a son and the Lord said to him name him Jezreel for yet a little while and I will punish the house of jehu for the Bloodshed of Jezreel and I will put an end to the kingdom of the House of Israel on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter and the Lord said to him name her lo rouhama for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel that I would ever forgive them but I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the Lord their God and will not deliver them by Bow sword battle horses or Horsemen then when she had weaned Lo ruhama she conceived and gave birth to a son and the Lord said name him Lo Ami for you are not my people and I am not your God yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which cannot be measured or numbered and in a place where it is said to them you are not my people it will be said to them you are the sons of the Living God and the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together and they will appoint for themselves one leader and they will go up from the land for great will be the day of Jezreel okay let’s observe first thing God says to Hosea the first time God speaks to Hosea is a command what’s the command take a wife apology and have children of parlatry that’s God’s command now we should note that the word for Harlot tree here can also be translated adultery the Hebrew verb Acts or the word comes from a Hebrew verb that means to commit adultery so the command could also read take yourself a wife of adultery and children of adultery notice the reason given for this command for the land commits flagrant harlotry or the land commits flagrant adultery in other words this wife that I’m commanding you to take will be just like the land Jose obeys God and marries Gomer the daughter of dibling now those are specific names specific family information the wife gives birth to three children but God commands specific names to be given to each child and then explains why first Gomer has a son named Jezreel Jezreel means god sows but it can also mean God scatters it was the name of a city in Israel in which king Ahab had set his Palace and his Capital it was also the name of a valley in which many important battles were fought both in biblical times and in time since the valley of Jezreel is also known as The Plains of megiddo in Greek Armageddon but God gives the specific reasoning for naming this child Jezreel what’s God’s explanation why name him Jezreel so there’s two things but the first one mention is there was Bloodshed that took place at Jezreel by jihu and I’m going to punish his house for that now what is this Bloodshed he’s talking about here what is this Slaughter recall that God anointed jihu to become king and to punish ahab’s house for all their Evil by killing every male of ahab’s line as has happened frequently with the kings of the northern kingdom God says I’m going to annihilate your house I’m going to remove your name from Israel and he actually commanded yehu to cut off every male from Ahab jehu fulfilled this command but he also did more Second Kings 10 11 says so jehu killed all who remained of the House of Ahab in Jezreel and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests until he left him without a survivor so there was definitely Bloodshed that took place at Jezreel but there’s a second part God says I’m going to break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel so there’s a prophecy about another location another Jezreel where God says I’m going to accomplish I’m going to um break Israel’s military strength in that location so this son and the name of this son is going to be a prophecy regarding two different judgments one on the house of Ahab I’m sorry the house of jihu and one on Israel as a whole by the way God had promised jihu that because he had accomplished the slaying of ahab’s descendants that God would give jihu’s descendants four generations on the throne of Israel guess which king is the fourth generation from jihu jeroboam II so the time for the removal of that line from the throne is at hand so hosea’s son Jezreel is a living prophecy of judgment against the king of Israel and the people of Israel then there’s the second child Gomer has a daughter and her name is lo ruhama now you may notice the note in your Bibles which gives you the translation of the name it means not pity or she has not obtained compassion and God explains the reasoning of that name I will no longer have compassion on the children of Israel or ever forgive their sin though God does promise compassion and deliverance to Judah now this daughter is also a living reminder of what that God will no longer have compassion on Israel and then there’s one more child Gomer has a son named Lo Ami and that name means not my people and God gives the reason why you naming this kid this name because you are not my people and I am not your God so another living reminder of God’s pronouncement in the name of this son of the Prophet or the son of Gomer but then notice verse 10. a transition word yet that word indicates what what kind of word is that well it is definitely going to turn into a hopeful section um what would you say it’s a contrasting word so all these things that he said up to this point they’re all about judgment but then there’s this contrasting word and a new hopeful section begins and it may even notice that the formatting of your Bible changes at this point indicating there’s a switch from prose to poetry verses 10 to 11 feature a number of promises from God about the future what’s one of those promises that’s right he says Israel will again multiply into a great people what’s another one that’s right Israel and Judah will be gathered together and led by one ruler what’s another one that’s right a people who were said not to be God’s people or people disowned by God will be called as people and will even be called his sons and it says they will go up from the land this section concludes with another reason for all of this for greats will be the day of Jezreel as we noted Jezreel can mean scattering and that refers that can refer to judgment but it can also mean sewing like God sowing his people back in the land or firmly planting his people in the land God says there is going to be a day of sowing and that day is going to be great will be the day of Jezreel now this is chapter one this section of poetry continues into chapter two that was a little bit different let’s now actually turn over to chapter two and observe that section it’s a little bit longer we’re going to read the whole thing and then we’ll observe chapter 2 verse 1 all the way down to verse 23.
say to your brothers Ami which means my people and to your sisters ruhama meaning she has received compassion contend with your mother contend for she is not my wife and I am not her husband and let her put away her harlotry from her face and her adultery from between her breasts or I will strip her naked and expose her is on the day when she was born I will also make her like a Wilderness make her like a desert land and slay her with thirst also I will have no compassion on her children because they are children of harlotry for their mother has played the Harlot she who conceived them has acted shamefully for she said I will go after my lovers who give me my bread and my water my wool and my flax my oil and my drink therefore behold I will hedge up her way with thorns and I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths she will pursue her lovers she will not overtake them and she will seek them but will not find them then she will say I will go back to my first husband if it was better for me then now or better for me then than now for she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain the new wine and the oil and lavished on her silver and gold which they used for bail therefore I will take back my grain at Harvest Time and my new wine in its season I’ll also take away my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness and then I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers and no one will rescue her out of my hand I will also put an end to all her gaiety her feasts her new moons her sabbaths and all her Festival assemblies I will destroy her Vines and fig trees of which she said these are my wages which my lovers have given me and I will make them a forest and the beasts of the field will devour them I will punish her for the days of the Bales when she used to offer sacrifices to them and Adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry and follow her lovers so that she forgot me declares the Lord therefore behold I will Allure her bring her into the Wilderness and speak kindly to her then I will give her her Vineyards from there and the valley of acor as a Door of Hope and she will sing there as in the days of her youth as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt it will come about in that day declares the Lord that you will call me is she and you will no longer call me Bali for I will remove the names of the ball the the bales from her mouth so that they will be mentioned by their names no more and that day I will also make a covenant for them when with the Beast of the field the birds of the sky and the creeping things to the ground and I will abolish the bow The Sword and War from the land I will make them lie down in safety I will betroth you to me forever yes I will betrothed you to me in righteousness and Injustice and loving-kindness and in compassion I will betray you to me in faithfulness then you will know the Lord it will come about that day that I will respond declares the Lord I will respond to the heavens and they will respond to the Earth and the Earth will respond to the grains the new wine into the oil and they will respond to Jezreel I will sow her for myself in the land I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion and I will say to those who are not my people Lo Ami you are my people and they will say you are my God all right this is pretty awesome pretty incredible let’s observe though we had a singular low Ami and a singular low ruhama in chapter one what two shifts take place in chapter 2 verse 1.
they’re made plural and what happens to the names yeah the low has been cut off they’ve been reversed instead of not my people they are my people and instead of not receive compassion it is you have received compassion now what action does God urge in verse two he addresses the children what does he tell them to do yeah contending with your mother and tell her to do what yeah put away your Harley tree tell her to stop being an adulteress tell her to stop being unfaithful if she will not stop what will be the result according to verses three and four yeah she’ll be exposed what else what will be taken away the things that nourished her the sustenance those things will be taken away um it’s going to be made like a desert land and she’s no longer going to receive compassion nor will her children I’m sorry not her she her children will no longer receive compassion since they are the children of a harlot now God says in verse 4 that her mother has indeed played the Harlot but what motivates her to do so according to verse 5 and verse 12.
that’s right she thinks that it’s the lovers who have been giving her all the things that she wanted and all the things that she needed they are the ones who give me my flax and my food and my drink but this is a mistaken thought and George you already mentioned why because in verse 8 God says she didn’t realize that I was the one who was doing all that she kept saying thank you lovers for giving me all this stuff but God was saying the whole time I’m the one giving that to you they don’t give that to you but she used that as an excuse to keep going after her lovers she thinks her lovers provide her sustenance and joy God therefore provides a promises a series of judgments on this adulterous woman we see this in verses 6 and 7 verses 9 to 13. we already saw it a little bit in verse 3 and verse 4 then verses six to seven God promises he’ll make it impossible for this woman to reach or find her lovers and verse 9 it promises to take back withhold or destroy the provision Provisions granted to this woman and verses 10 to 12 he promises to expose her shameful behavior before her lovers in verse 11 he promises to put an end to her sabbaths and her joyful religious festivals and in verse 13 he promises to punish her for pursuing false gods but there’s also a promise at the end of verse 7. what will the woman do when she sees all this happening to her she will return to her husband saying it was better with him than it is now and then there’s another series of promises from verses 14 to 23.
what are the different promises that God gives there about the future what’s one oh yeah he says I’m going to we could break that down into some specific phrases because I’m going to bring her back to myself I’m going to Allure her again and just be kindly to her verse 14. what else does he promise yeah Danielle that’s right I’ll give back to her her land and the sustenance of that land I’ll give back those those Provisions that I took away from her what else that’s right I will remove the false gods the false worship I won’t even remember let her remember the names of the false gods she won’t even call me my Bali or my bailey which means my Lord which was one of the names of God he says you won’t even call me that anymore because that may remind you of those other gods those false gods you worshiped I’ll totally remove them from your from your mouth and from your memory you won’t worship the false gods anymore a number of other promises too he says that she will be joyful again verse 15.
he will grant her safety from wild beasts and from military enemies verse 18. God will betray with her to himself in complete righteousness and faithful Covenant Love not just his but hers God will sow her again in the land for himself God will have compassion on the one who formerly had none and will take a forlorn people for himself and that people according to verse 24 will acknowledge that he is their God now notice in all these declarations who’s the one who said to accomplish all of this God himself I will do all of this now before we turn to interpretation there is one more chapter that I want us to read and that’s a short chapter look over at chapter 3 and we’ll read verses one to six and this will complete they’re really the first section of Hosea then the Lord said to me go again love a woman who is loved by your husband yet an adulteress even as the lord loves the sons of Israel though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes so I bought her for myself for 15 shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley then I said to her you shall stay with me for many days you shall not play the Harlot nor shall you have a man so I will also be towards you for the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or Prince without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephon or household idols afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their King and they will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days all right let’s observe this last section what does God command Hosea to do in verse 1 Love Again a woman who in spite of her husband’s love is an adulteress it doesn’t say which woman that is specifically if I just say love again a woman what will this action a parallel according to verse 1 yesu that’s right God’s Own love to Unfaithful Israel in response to this command verse 2 says Hosea bought her not told who the her is specifically here for 15 shekels of silver and one and a half homers of barley that one and a half homers is equal to about 10 baths or 220 liters so a fair amount of barley and total the barley and the silver would equal about 30 shekels of silver the price the common price of a Slave Isaiah buys this woman and then tells this woman a few things you shall stay with me many days you shall no longer play the Harlot you shall no longer have a man that’s kind of a weird phrase the ESV to NIV in the King James version interpreted a little bit differently it says you shall no longer have another man and then he says so shall I be with you then the Lord gives the explanation of those things that Hosea just said in verse 4 because again notice that transition word for just as this woman will remained many days in this state with Hosea so the sons of Israel will remain many days without King Prince sacrifice sacred pillar ephod or household idols after those many days verse 5 says what will the sons of Israel do they will seek God again they will return to God they will seek Him and David their King they will come trembling toward the lord and his goodness in the last days okay now having observed so I see all those things that we just noticed there having observed these three chapters let’s now go back and come to interpretive conclusions on each of these chapters what kind of start in specific pieces and build up to something greater whom do Hosea and Gomer represent God in Israel yeah certainly every time God says in chapter one something for Hosea to do with Gomer he says and this is what I’m doing with Israel so Jose and Gomer represent God in Israel is chapter 2 of Isaiah addressed to Gomer or to Israel it says say to your mother contend or contend with your mother but is he talking about Gomer is he talking about Israel remember some of the things he promised to this woman or promise about this woman in a way it’s both but really this is about Israel now the reason I say it’s kind of both is because the things he says about Israel are based on the parallel to Gomer just as Gomer is like this Israel will be like this and here’s how I’m going to respond but this is really about Israel when it talks about removing her sabbaths and her festivals it doesn’t make sense if he’s talking about Gomer he’s talking about Israel there and removing her from the land he’s really talking about Israel was Gomer a prostitute or an adulteress before Hosea married her probably not now we often think about Hosea as the prophet who married a prostitute that’s not actually what the text says God calls Hosea to marry a wife of halitry or a wife of adultery saying that that is what typifies the land a person didn’t have to already be this any woman was going to become this because of this spiritual state of Israel because the people were spiritually immoral it was inevitable that they would become physically immoral and so whomever Hosea chose as a wife was going to become an adulteress Hosea 4 12-14 backs up this interpretation here’s what it says there my people consult their wooden Idol and their diviners want informs them for Spirit of harlotry has led them astray and they have played the Harlot departing from their God they offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains and burn incense on the Hills under Oak Poplar and terabith because their shade is Pleasant Therefore your daughters play the Harlot and your Brides commit adultery for the men themselves or I’m sorry I skipped a word there I will not punish your daughters when they play the Harlot or your Brides when they commit adultery for the men themselves go apart with harlots and offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes so that people without understanding are ruined so Hosea didn’t need to marry a prostitute to marry and a moral woman immorality was characteristic of Israel’s men and women so if he married anyone there was a good chance she would be immoral furthermore many of the images of God and Israel in the Bible they speak of Israel as a beautiful and blessed woman who turns Unfaithful after God makes a covenant with her think of Ezekiel 16 where he says I raised you up when you were just a baby squirming in your blood you became a beautiful woman I betrothed you to myself and then you turned away from me so it’s not that she was immoral already it’s that she turned immoral did Hosea actually marry Gomer or was all this just a prophetic vision what do you think Rob I know many respected commentators and interpreters do believe that this is all just a vision but I’m going to submit to you that it’s not that this is actually literal that this really happened and I’ll tell you why I say that for those who say that this is all a vision I think it’s partly because they don’t think that God would actually command is Prophet to do this why would he command God’s holy prophet to marry someone who would be an adulteress and they they make parallels to some of the other prophets they say look this Prophet was commanded to do something but he was doing that in a vision like when someone so was told to go measure Jerusalem with a Plumb line or something like that he didn’t actually do it that was just all in the visions but as we observe the text there’s no indication of a vision in chapter one it doesn’t say and then I saw and God told me to do something the very first word of God from the very first revelation to Hosea is a command go and marry a wife of adultery and we should note that while some prophets do some other prophets besides Hosea they do things only in a vision there are there are other prophets who do things in real life even though they are symbolic like there’s that one Prophet you may remember and I think um the historical books who he commanded one of his by one of the people with him to strike him on the face and the person wouldn’t do it and so we cursed that person and then another person actually did do it he was actually hurt and that was because he was going to present um present a disguise as it were to the king of Israel and then deliver a prophetic message I think also of another Prophet who was told to take a linen belt or something like that and hide it in a rock and then later pick up that belt and it was all frayed and destroyed and that was that was an actual happening though it had symbolic significance so I think it is here there’s no indication that this is all a vision there’s no customary language of Visions like I saw such and such or the Lord showed me it simply starts with God’s command and what Hosea does in response moreover we’re given specific information about this woman she has a name and she has a father who has a name and these names are not symbolically significant Gomer means completion dibbling means two cakes that doesn’t seem to be super significant in terms of a prophecy this is just normal family information so really I I believe that this is something that actually took place and the fact that people want to make this just figurative I think just emphasizes the Staggering nature of what God told Isaiah to do and what it um what it symbolize about God like God or like Hosea God entered into Covenant with Israel knowing she would be unfaithful if we look at Hosea and we’re like oh man that is just crazy how much more should we say that about God this really happened were the children born to Gomer also josees or where they illegitimate what’s that it’s a little bit hard to tell and the text doesn’t say specifically that they were or they weren’t though I’m going to say they probably were not josees and again I’ll tell you why God tells Hosea not only to take a wife of adultery but to take children of adultery seems to indicate that he’s not going to be able to trust the children that he has if his wife is really adulterous he doesn’t know whether they really belong to him furthermore after making the parallel of Gomer to the children of Israel in Chapter 2 God says in Hosea 2 4 also I will have no compassion on her children because they are children of harlotry says I don’t I don’t I’m not obligated to show them compassion because they’re not really my children now if that’s true of Israel then it would make sense that would be true of the symbol of Israel that is Gomer if this is indeed true and I think it is I think the evidence is more on that side this adds additional weight to the names that Hosea gives to his children or at least the two of his children Lo ruhama no compassion what Hosea is saying is she’s not my girl so she deserves no compassion from me or low Ami not my people could a person more obviously announce a child as illegitimate than by naming him not mine now the name Jezreel is a little different doesn’t seem to have that same kind of a announcement to it and the text does specifically say that Gomer bore him Hosea that is uh bore him this son or Hosea this son and that phrase is absent with the two other children is that significant well there is a distinction in the passage but in other places of scripture that doesn’t seem to be significant legitimate children are born without saying that he was born to so and so so maybe Jezreel is different maybe Jezreel is just like the other children now again if you’re feeling like whoa that is just crazy like this really happened to us they and the children were really illegitimate and you really gave them this names if you’re feeling the gravitas over this family situation this should again inform you about how you ought to feel about God and what he’s been doing with Israel they look to him for compassion but he knows they don’t really belong to him and so they deserve no compassion they call themselves the people of God oh God save us we’re your people but he says you’re not really my people look at the way you’re living look at the the way you serve your other gods you’re not my people you are illegitimate sons of a spiritually adulterous mother and then how much more impactful are God’s words promising to reverse these names for Israel and reverse their situation it’s like Hosea is saying I know these children aren’t mine but I will take these children as my own and show them a father’s compassion God says the same thing that’s what he’s going to do for Israel you children of Israel don’t really belong to me but one day I will take you as my own I will treat you as real sons and daughters and you will have a father’s care a good Father’s care another question why did God promise to judge jehu’s house when jihu was just obeying the command of the Lord God said destroy the line of Ahab but now he says in Hosea I’m going to judge you for the slaughter in Jezreel why I think that probably is the answer yeah Bill mentioned that from the passage we heard earlier doesn’t say he just killed the male descendants of Ahab but he killed just the acquaintances of um ahab’s line and the the Nobles that were under Ahab and even the priests under Ahab that was not specifically commanded by God so it sounds like out of his supposed Zeal for obeying the command of the Lord he actually went beyond the command of the Lord and just reveled and Massacre now it’s possible there were other details that we didn’t get but there was certainly something about the way that Jay that jihook obeyed the command of God that was evil and God says I’m going to judge you for it in fact I’ll make you like what you did I’ll annihilate your house in the same way Now who is the woman that Hosea Buys in Hosea 3. he’s not named at least in that chapter so who is she yeah Roy exactly yeah yeah I totally agree with you this is best understood to be Gomer his Wayward wife because this is the only way as you were saying Roy to make sense of the analogy of God and Israel if Israel I’m sorry if Jose and Gomer are supposed to be a symbol or an analogy if Hosea were to take a different woman and that suggests that God would take a different spouse himself that he even though he’s promising to restore Israel he’s actually going to go after someone else that doesn’t make sense the promises that God gives in these chapters center around Israel now they’re going to include the Gentiles too but they sent her around Israel so if that’s true of Israel then when God says Love Again a woman who is an adulteress though loved by her husband he means your first wife Gomer who has left you but why does he need to buy her it’s kind of abruptly mentioned in the text says go again and love her and he says and he went and bought her for this certain price why would he have to do that yeah Danielle yeah it seems like certain things had transpired so that she had to be bought that she actually belonged to someone as a slave at that point and that was indeed the price of a slave now we perhaps someone could say oh this was the basically like a bribe to get her away from her lover or something like that but I think it’s more likely that she had to become a slave and this again we could surmise an explanation that is consistent with what happens with Israel Israel turns away from God she becomes estranged from her Heavenly husband but is also later forsaken by her adulterous lovers she goes after these lovers but then they turn on her and she has nothing left and so in the same way we probably have something like that or we probably have something like that happen to Gomer she goes after her lovers leaves Hosea and then she’s abandoned by them doesn’t have any way to survive and so she sells herself as a slave and she may have been even a prostitute at this point working as a sex slave basically but I would say it buys her back what is Gomer’s condition after she returns with Hosea as everything back to the way it was or are things different ly certainly that um as you were saying Joe that she was bound to just Jose he says you’re no longer going to play the Harlot just like God said with Israel I’m going to cut you off from your lovers Hosea says I’m going to cut you off from your lovers you’re not going to be a harlot but you’re going to stay with me and you’re going to stay with me many days but is she fully restored to Hosea I would think not because of the parallel that is immediately made with Israel because Isaiah says you’re going to stay with me many days and these various things will happen and then God says Israel also is going to be in a certain condition many days but that condition is not a fully restored one so it may be that even though she was brought back into hosea’s house they didn’t enjoy full Fellowship immediately they didn’t enjoy full marital intimacy immediately why would that be was he just punishing her I don’t know exactly but it may be and I think this is this fits with the parallel with Israel that she had not yet learned to love Hosea she was bought back by him but she still didn’t love him she still was longing for her lovers that she no longer could visit anymore he says until you understand it you can’t have that we’re just going to be in this state we’re not going to have this fully restored Union and again I say that because of the parallel with Israel God says to Israel there’s going to be many days where you um where’s my place oh yeah you will be without King Prince sacrifice sacred pillar ephon or household Idols in other words what will Israel be without for many days say that again they will be without um public worship their worship system will be gone now it’s interesting you say proper worship because some of the things mentioned here are not proper like household Idols that’s definitely not proper um but he also says that you’re not going to have the ephod you’re not going to have sacrifice and sacrifice was part of public worship he says I’m going to move that or proper public worship he says I’m going to move that from you too and he also says you’re going to be without princes or Kings I’m going to remove the kingship from you the Hebrew kings that you’ve enjoyed for a long time you’re no longer going to have that you’ll be without Royal leadership Royal Hebrew leadership and you’ll be without a public worship system your public worship system proper or otherwise and then after that you will be fully restored but you’re going to be in that situation for a time so again that’s why I think that perhaps Gomer was not fully restored when she came back to him there’s going to be an interim period now consider the various promises that we’ve seen in these first three chapters of Hosea on the one hand we’ve seen because of Israel’s sin God promised to disown and cut off compassion from Israel he promised judgment on Israel’s King the religious system and the people they would lose all their sources of joy and sustenance they would be carried away into exile but God also promised to restore Israel he promised to again take Israel as his people and again show them compassion he would reunite Israel and Judah under one king he would restore the sources of joy and provision he would sow the people back into the land into their land but let’s not misunderstand God isn’t going to Simply do this for a people uh do all this for people stubbornly persisting in sin a people stubbornly rebellious they’re not going to say yeah you’re continually rebellious but I’m gonna bless you anyways because what is the most significant promise made in all of these chapters when he says I will betray with you to myself in faithfulness I will Allure you you will say you are my God what is he promising about Israel yeah Roy complete Restoration in what sense that’s right God will cause Israel to seek him God will cause Israel to love him God will cause the Wayward wife to rejoice in her husband this is really the most significant part he would turn the people back to himself and it’s just like we saw in Deuteronomy right a couple of lessons ago God promised to Moses one day I will circumcise Israel’s heart and then they will never depart from me again you see the same thing here God says I will Allure you not I will try to Allure you and I hope you like me no he says I will Allure you I will betrothed you to myself you will be faithful when I do this Israel will return and seek the Lord and they will return to David their King they will come trembling to the Lord in his goodness in the last days they will say sincerely you are my husband you are my God how could Israel possibly do that they’re so Unfaithful so stubborn they’ve been unfaithful all to this point well the answer is as Roy said God himself will accomplish it I will do it yes Craig exactly and that’s exactly where I’m going next really um Craig you mentioned it this is just like salvation process today and it is this is The Wonder of the Gospel I mean there are many wondrous aspects of the Gospel but I think this is essential one if not the central one God does not simply say you know what you’re really evil but I’m gonna ignore your sin and I’m just gonna bless you he says no you are really evil and in your current state my Holiness and my Justice will not allow me to bless you but forces me to destroy you therefore here is what I will do here is how I will show my great love and undeserved favor I will change your heart I will cleanse you I will I myself will provide a sacrifice that will cover your sins completely I will give you a new heart I will cause you to walk in a lifestyle of obedience I will cause you to love me and believe in me as you ought and with my Holiness and Justice satisfied in this way I will then pour out my abundant love and generosity on you forever that is the great love of God it doesn’t simply say I’m going to love you even though you’re so evil he says I’m going to make you into a new creation that is Holy and therefore I will be free to pour out my love on you in all its abundance that’s the beauty of the Gospel displayed in the Old Testament and the New Testament and in Israel deserve that not at all turn to God even or they were obligated to turn to God for all the different things that he did for his patience for the Wrath that was on them for the the gracious things he’s done for them he deserved or they deserve to just be cast off by God forever but he says I’m going to bring you back and I’m not going to bring you back in spite your sin I’m going to bring you back totally I’m going to change your heart you didn’t deserve me to do this for you but I’m going to do it because I’m that good then I’m going to do this because I remember my Covenant with Abraham where I promise that I would do these things why did I promise that to him because I’m good he didn’t deserve it either but I’m good what we’ve seen in the first three chapters of Hosea is really the theme of the whole book of Jose as you keep going through the the book and I hope that you do I hope that you read through the rest of Isaiah you’ll see that he’s just emphasizing again and again you are a spiritual Harlot you are so unfaithful to God but look at how completely faithful he is to you he’s so faithful that he himself will bring you back not just bring you back into his house and you don’t love him but he’s going to actually cause you to love him again he’s that good of a husband the people as you keep showing them her their harlotry he says or he shows them to be ungrateful totally worthy of God’s Wrath but by showing God’s complete faithfulness and love he shows how great God is and how worthy of turning to God um or how Worthy it would be for the purple to turn to God because really that’s the one of this just like the Book of Amos the point of the book of Hosea is repentance turn back to God he’s that loving let God restore you don’t be like the Shameless and foolish adulteress who stubbornly fights against her good husband it says Isaiah 14 1-3 says return of Israel to the Lord your God for you have stumbled because of your iniquity take words with you and return to the Lord say to him take away all iniquity and receive us graciously that we may present the fruit of our lips if Syria will not save us we will not ride on horses nor will we say again our God to the work of our hands for in you the orphan finds Mercy that’s exactly it true for them true for us too let’s now consider application God promised all this to Israel and even though we’re not Israelites as we’ve already seen we can become recipients of the same undeserved love of God Paul and Peter both quote Hosea 1 1-2 in their writings Romans 9 25 and 26 and first Peter 2 10 showing that the people God one day intended to take as his own a people that were not his people included Gentiles included us we Gentiles can become grafted into Abraham’s tree into the Covenant that was given by God salvation is the same for both Jew and Greek if we turn from our sins and believe in the Son of God to cleanse us from all unrighteousness we will be saved as well as Israel and experience God’s never-ending faithfulness and love Israel has never had all these promises fulfilled for them not in full the return from Exile did not fulfill them nor did did Israel in the church symbolically fulfill them rather they still away fulfillment God will betrayed Israel to himself again one day in never-ending faithfulness he will establish again the Throne of David reuniting Israel and Judah the kingdom of God will one day be on earth as God promised to Israel but we even though we’re not Jews can have a part in that Kingdom we can be brought in or like the people on the highways remember that one Parable that Jesus tell us about the banquet various people were invited but they wouldn’t come it says bring in the Blind and the lame they say there’s still room we’ve done all that and he says go get the people on the highways the people who aren’t really part of this community bring them in they’ll enjoy my banquet while those stubborn original invitees will not we can be brought into God’s kingdom even though we’re technically not from the line of Israel we can we can have this but let us not sin against the Monumental love of God or we like this generation of Israel in hosea’s time in the same way the generation of Israel in Jesus time we will prove ourselves to be harlots to be utterly ungrateful and wicked right for the full Justice and Judgment of God not all Israel is saved this is not a promise saying I’m going to save you I’m going to save every single one of you even though you’re all evil he says no I’m going to judge many of you but there will be a time where I’ll restore you as the people not this generation but a coming generation we could prove ourselves to be not among that saved generation if we refuse God’s love if we sin against God’s love we’ll have no parts of God’s kingdom but will instead be assigned the outer Darkness whether it be weeping a gnashing of teeth so a couple questions for you to consider as we end our lesson today have you come to see the faithful undeserved love of God to you and your previous incessant Rebellion toward him have you seen that you are just like Israel and just as he acted with Israel he has acted with you God has been gracious and faithful do you still spur in God’s patient love and invite judgment on yourself are you a spiritual adulterer or adulteress do you put on a show of righteousness a show of faithfulness for others to see and maybe even thinking you can deceive god with this show but in reality you love and worship something else besides God even many things besides God remember that it’s not simply what you feel in your heart oh I feel like I love God what’s really in your heart is Manifest in what you do and what you say what you think and what you do every day that shows you where your heart is do you falsely believe as Israel’s did that the good things that you have your sustenance it has come from you serving Idols rather than serving God do you believe that it’s your own strength a wisdom that has sustained you and brought you to where you are in your life do you believe that somehow through your hard work or your righteousness you’ve earned the universe’s blessing rather than seeing that Yahweh has been bestowing on you it’s the whole time undeservedly everything every good thing you have comes from God he’s the giver of good gifts do you still believe that somehow you’re getting it somewhere else and do you love and praise God for his gracious love to you for his actually if you’re in Christ giving you a new heart and causing you to see him as he really is causing you to believe in him and then to inherit his Blessing we’re out of time today though Israel heard this declaration from Hosea they is a kingdom did not repent therefore God came as the lion of judgment just as he promised to he came with judgment on that generation just as Amos and Hosea prophesied and that’s what we’re going to look at next week God judges Israel that’s a closing prayer father great God we thank you for this word this is just so incredible that your love is that deep for those who do not deserve it for those who are spiritually harlatrists our sins are so great God apart from you we are abundantly Wicked but not only have you been patient with us but God for those of us here who believe in your son you did all the work you changed our hearts you caused us to see you brought us to yourself and now we’re going to experience all of the Abundant goodness that you have you’re going to Lavish on us your Treasures both now and forever we’ll be blessed by you you did all that for us and we didn’t deserve it thank you thank you for being so gracious and changing our hearts I wanna and pray that you would do more of that for the people that we know that don’t know you pray that they’d be saved that they can be free from their their life is slavery and God that they would come back to you and they would know your love and they would receive your abundant goodness in Jesus name amen this is