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Mug shot one: hosea. “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry , For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the L ord ” (Hosea 1:2). Hosea’s mug shot tells us two stories. The first story is one of God.
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“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the Lord” (Hosea 1:2). • Hosea’s mug shot tells us two stories. • The first story is one of God. • God is always faithful, even though His people are not. • In the Old Testament, unfaithfulness was like adultery (Is 1:21; Jer 3:6). • God is willing to forgive (Rom 3;25-26; 1 Jn 1:9). • The second story is one of Hosea. • He was willing to obey God even in this (1 Sam 15:22; Acts 5:29). • How willing are we to obey God?
“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the Lord” (Hosea 1:2). • Gomer went right back to her adultery. • “The Lordsaid to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lordfor the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans” (Hosea 3:1). • What a perfect picture of us! • How are we, like Gomer, giving in to the world around us?
“So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. Then the Lord said to him: ‘Call his name Jezreel, For in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. It shall come to pass in that day That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel” (Hosea 1:3-5).
“Jezreel” literally means “God scatters.” • This reminds us of the blood massacre that took place when Jehu became king (2 Ki 9-10). • God commended Jehu for the slaughter of Ahab’s household (2 Ki 10:30). • However, the slaughter went far beyond what God intended. • The point of this text is twofold: • One: God does not forget sin (Amos 5:12). • Two: God punishes sin (Heb 10:31).
“And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: ‘Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, But I will utterly take them away. Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, Will save them by the Lord their God, And will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen” (Hosea 1:6-7). • Lo-Ruhamah means “No Mercy.” • This isn’t a picture of God we like to see. • God, however, is a God who calls people to account for their sin. • “For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rom 2:8, ESV).
“Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then God said: ‘Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God” (Hosea 1:8-9). • Lo-Ammi means “Not My People.” • God abandoned His people. • Deut 7:6-8. • God’s promises are conditional (Deut 11:13-17; 1 Jn 1:7).
God is more than willing to give up on His people when they rebel. • Israel. • God will do the same with us. • Rom 1:24-25. • Rev 2:20-23. • Heb 3:12-13. • Thomas Fuller: “You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it may become too late.”
