“A STORY OF LOVE”
Hosea 3:1-3
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Hosea 3:1-3 Then the Lord said unto me, Go yet, love a women, beloved
of her friend, yet an adulteress....."
INTRODUCTION:
- This is surely the
strangest book in the Bible.
Story of a broken home –
Broken lives –
Broken hearts.
- Story of a grievous
wife and a grieving husband.
- Baal worship -
Astaroth worship
Girls persuaded to run away to the temples to become prostitutes.
Corinth, years later had one temple that
had 1,000 prostitutes.
Gomer's name means "perfection"
Priests sold girls - Same
with Baal & Astaroth.
- Great prosperity and
abundance.
Israel forgot God. - Prosperity
does that.
Hosea spoken to by the Lord –
Surrendered – Dedicated – Fervent
Hosea (Joshua - Jesus
= same
meaning)
- Here the Bible
sounds like True confessions or True Romance magazine.
- Young woman -
Beautiful - attractive - carefree - good times.
- They got married and
started having babies.
- She was not the
typical Preachers wife
-
Why
did you marry her? The Lord told me
too.
1. First baby – (vv
1:3-5) Boy - Jezereel
Means Judgment for Israel & you and I
2. Second baby –(vv 1:6-7) Girl - Loruhamah
Means Unloved
– Unwanted
3. Third baby – (vv
1:8-9) Boy - Loammi
Means Not
my own (illegitimate)
Problem - Unfaithfulness
Hosea forgives and tries to forget -
He gives Grace –
He Gives Love –
He Gives Forgiveness
He tries to rebuild the marriage - She leaves again -
What we are trying to see in this Book of Hosea is our application
for today. I see three things God is
trying to relate to us, His Grace, His Love and His Forgiveness through the
actions of Hosea.
I. GOD’S GRACE (v 2:14)
A.
I
Will Allure Her
1.
Back
to the land (Israel)
2.
Speak
comfortably
B. I
Will Betroth Thee (v 2:19)
1. Forever
a.
In
righteousness
b.
In
judgment
c.
In
loving kindness
d.
In
Mercies
2. In
faithfulness
a. Thou salt know the Lord
(Israel)
II. GOD’S LOVE (v 2:23)
A.
I
Will Sow Her Unto Me
1.
I
will scatter
(As planting grass seed)
B. She Will Call ME Ishi (My Husband)
1.
She
will no longer call me Baali
(My Master) (v 2:16)
Song of Songs 6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth
among the lilies.
2.
The perfect union
a.
A personal
relationship
b.
The name of Baal
will be forgotten
C. Thou Art My People (v 2:23)
2.
You
were Gomer’s daughter Loruhamah (Not
my people)
a. Now
you are my people
III. GOD’S FORGIVNESS (v 3:1)
A. Hosea
Loved Gomer
1. Hosea
never wanted her gone
a. Like
God loves us
B. Hosea
Bought Her
1. As God commanded
2. The price of a slave (v 3:2)
a.
15
pieces of silver & 1 ˝ homers of Barley
C. Hosea
Forgave
1. As God Commanded
D. You
And I Are Forgiven
1.
We
Gomer’s are forgiven
2.
Through
Jesus Christ
CONCLUSION: Here we
see a direct parallel of what God requires Hosea (Israel in the millennial
reign) to go through, with what Christ was required to do. (Except to die on the cross)
I know you are going to ask Bro. John; God didn’t require Christ
to marry a harlot now did He?
!!!REALLY?!!!
But what did God require Christ do then?
Jesus was required to die for our sins, actually take all of our
sins, past, current and future and bury then in the deepest of the deep.
When was the last decision you made, that you actually went to God
for the solution of that problem, instead of family and friends?
You and I are the Gomer’s of this day; we (harlots) were bought
with a price, Jesus paid it all.
If we are preaching apostasy, if we do not believe the Bible, if
we believe it doesn’t apply to me we are cheating on God.
We are all rotten to the core, backsliding Gomer’s. (harlots)
God has asked you to separate yourself from Baal, and you won’t.
God has ask you to forgive your brother and you won’t.
God has asked for your devotion, you won’t give it.
You expect God to look the other way when you go to Baal.
You expect God’s forgiveness, in your life, but so long as you
don’t have to change.
You expect your children’s and grandchildren’s devotion (Love)
regardless of what you do,
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be
not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
It is all personal; YOU are the subject of the two verses;
You are the one who must change.
God does not change;
God has never accepted Baal;
However YOU and I have.
The world has accepted a universal rainbow of Unitarianism, a
group of thoughts all contrary to God’s thoughts and commands.
If you accept that homosexuality is natural;
That having babies out of wedlock is
normal;
That safe sex is ok for
unmarried people; That
shacking up is ok;
Then; I hate to be the one to tell you; you are worshipping Baal.
If you repent of these things; as did Gomer, get back to God; ask
for His forgiveness, God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will
forgive; even though we each have been the harlot; we and Israel each have
turned our backs to God and gone whoring after Ball (the world).
Only
through the GRACE OF GOD can we receive that forgiveness.
Romans
3:23, 6:23, 5:8; Ephesians 2:8-9,
John
3:16; Romans
10:9, 13.