second chapter of Hosea and trying to understand what it means and how we get quiet to our lives. Now if you'll turn in your order of worship you have some notes to help you follow along and the text is there that we'll refer to frequently throughout this time. Now I want you to see the three primary things that we want to get out of this passage to see how they're at work. First is this threat of judgment. That he uses very harsh language as as a way of warning gomer and as she represents the nation of Israel of the impending judgment for her harlotry. And then second I want us to see the scars that harlotry leads the wounds and even as the wounds are healed the scar tissue that remains there. And then third I want us to see the promise of redemption that runs throughout this text as well as through this whole book and throughout the whole of scripture. So that's what we're going as we look this morning at Hosea. First the threat of judgment. Look the first the first line God is calling through Hosea calling to the children. These children that God has used in verse one that we saw last week whose very names are judgment whose very names point out that party time is coming to an end and that God's judgment will be visited upon them. But notice also that there's a conditional element to this morning that he starts out saying review your mother review her for she is not my wife and I am not her husband. So it starts out using language like the divorce is already happened. But as we'll see he is he is saying this is what will happen. I will divorce you unless something else happens and we pick this up in verse three in our version NIV that you have printed there says otherwise I will strip her naked. So he says here's what's going to happen call her back from that. And if she doesn't repent this is what's going to happen and he goes on to the message so he gives this warning he gives this threat of impending doom and judgment and a lot of times for for to our heat ears that so misunderstand the the Bible to begin with. It's easy for us to hear these things and say see it's just it's that fire and brimstone kind of God that how can you how can you stand it. But I want us to see that he is warning. This is a God who could righteous look blot out these people who could blot out us for our sin. But he doesn't do that as the first step. Instead he takes great pains to warn us to tell us of what our actions will result in if we don't turn from them and to him. Why is this judgment. Why is this discipline being threatened. I want us to see in this the twofold error of Gomer that the things that she gets wrong and by illustration what she is showing that the people of Israel have gotten wrong. First of all she credits the wrong person for the stuff that she's got. But then secondly she thinks of those things that she has in very selfish terms. She thinks of those things as as her thing for her own good and doesn't see anything past that. Notice in the in the text it says in verse five she's been unfaithful and can see them in discretion. She said I will go after my lovers who give me my food and my water my wool and my linen my oil and my drink. She's hoarding all of those things she's thinking of those. And the whole time she's she's not giving thanks to Hosea who provided them but rather to her lovers. Now here's here's the picture and some of this is there in the text but you have to read the whole of it and fill in the gaps of what's going on. Here's here's the the essence of what's happening. You know that that Hosea is called the Mary Gomer this prostitute, this unfaithful woman. And that she is instead of being faithful to him she's not just you know got an adulterous affair going on but she is going out after all the lovers she can find. I mean it's it's shocking in the extent to which her sin is displayed to her but the the picture is not just of Hosea at home ringing his hand saying what am I going to do. In fact what the picture is that of Hosea whose wife is being grossly unfaithful who has left their home and is choosing a her own accord to live in the warehouse to go and live with these various different lovers. And the the picture is that she goes pursuing these chasing these other men and all the while what Hosea is doing is loving her so much so that she goes out or he goes out and calls up the lover that she's living with. You can you can imagine that in our current context he gets his number calls him up when he knows that that gomer is out. Hi yeah is this friend? Oh yeah who's this? Well this is Hosea you know my wife gomer but you can imagine the tension right what the husband is doing. Can I come and meet you? Sure let me get my Smith and Wesson and where would you like to meet? Why don't why don't we meet down the down the street at the Duncan Donuts? Okay? Sure. Hangs up the phone. He doesn't get his buddies. Hey I need a little backup would you come with me? Let's go down to the Duncan Donuts. It gets to the Duncan Donuts to find Hosea there. Not coming to kill him or shout with him but instead Hosea has his trunk open. He says my beloved when she left to come stay with you she left some things at the house. This this is her favorite dress. Would you take it to her? This is the little thing that she has on the night's game that she really loves because her mom gave it to her. Would you take this to her and then he reaches down and says on my way over here I stop and got this jewelry box. I like her to hand. I filled it with rings and necklaces that match her eye filled out with that dress she had done. And then what did it? Anything. And what a fool. Sure I'll take it to her. Yeah great. So positive is called. Take it home to Gomer. Gomer comes home and I got some stuff for you. Of course he doesn't mention that Hosea has just given him. Oh and Gomer is look at all of these. And so she thrills him. She gives him her affection for all these things. But you see it's not just once that Hosea goes down to the Duncan Dome. Gomer continues not just with this one lover but goes on to other lovers and others and others. And Hosea follows after her. Taking gifts. Taking groceries. Taking clothes. Showering them upon this whore of a wife. And she all the while gives the thanks to the latest lover that she's with. The picture of what's going on with Hosea and Gomer which is a picture as this could she tell us of God's relationship with his unfaithful but notice it's not just that she gives the praise to her latest lover that Israel gives the praise to these false God but the whole while she takes those blessing and hoards them for herself. I don't know if you you've seen that the towers or any of the the token movies you know but as the the ring there who's the I always forget the guys the the guy who hasn't in the case that the ring gets stolen from golem. Yes remember golem stroking it my precious right and then that goes on right to the ring there not using the ring for what it was intended to know in that case of course it's intended for evil but in this case God has given blessing and all the while he gives blessings to his people for two reasons he gives blessings to his people for them to enjoy those blessings but for them to then use those blessings to bless others instead when what we're supposed to be doing at the richness with which God has blessed us do you have me there's plenty more we're the same you see gomer and Israel and we do both of those things we give the credit to the wrong person instead of blessing God and praise him for what he's given us we bless and praise the latest self-help the latest job the latest boss the latest person who's looking at us like we're really worth them and then we selfishly hoard those blessings but also notice God's long suffering that God is like Jose it's not just once that he goes but again and again and again and offers the word of warning the impending judgment turn back to me my beloved come home it's not about the blessings it's about being with me but even as we see this call to repentance this call to return home given to gomer to Israel and to us we also see the problem that gomer's unable to do anything about it brings us to these scars of parlor tree we see in the text and throughout this this book this descend into horror that gomer undergoes see at first she starts out going to the the top dollar job she starts out going to those who who take her on cruises and put her up at the rim and shower her with first and all kinds of things again she thinks they're the ones who are doing it all the while Jose is the one bank rolling the blood but of course then she spirals down into this second and three or four levels aren't enough then it's ten that it's 20 and she goes from the ritz to the trailer park and wakes up saying how did I give you I I know what I'll do I'll go back to Hosea that's what we see here in verse seven then she will say I will go back to my husband as it first where I was better off then that I am now but she says that and doesn't move she says yeah I I need to go back to Hosea now notice her her her her motives aren't particularly noble right why is she going to go back to Hosea because I understand how loving he has been he's been so faithful to me even as I've been faithful he's really the one who loves me I'll go back to him now she decides I'll go back to him because well I mean he didn't he didn't put me up at the ritz but you know at least he's got an apartment you see our hearts like Homer's are jaded they're scarred we have gone after false gods we've gone after our own desires we've so ordered the things that we don't even know how to respond to them lovingly we struggle even knowing how to give affection but as much as she is unable to repent as much as she's unable to return to Hosea on her own God shows the way for her to come back it's here in this text just briefly and we'll pick it up much more next week but look here at what he says in verse six therefore I will block her path with thorn bushes I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way she will chase after her lovers but not catch them she will look for them but not find them God says what I will do is I will I will hedge her in I will take her out of the the prostitute's home and bring her instead into a place where she's surrounded and protected
being after chase after her other lovers it's interesting this word picture of a hedge of protection better place that this is used is in Job where remember Satan comes to God and says you know use that you think Job is so great but it's only because you put this hedge around him see my attacks can't get to him I can't get to him because your hedge is there protecting him in that case the hedge keeps out the attack from outside in this case it's a hedge that instead of keeping other things out it keeps gomer in it keeps her from being able to find the lovers that she's chasing her it keeps her from the sins that her heart is so longing for you see this promise of redemption comes and God speaks to us tenderly but he also speaks to us powerfully to the love that we find that God has for us and the love that he demonstrates through Hosea to gomer is not the false loves that are world promises it is neither the false love of the liberal who says it's okay it's all right you don't need to worry about that we'll just look the other way we'll act like it didn't happen but neither is it the love of the conservative it's not the love that says toe the line and I love you it's rather the pursuing love of God the love that comes in and says there is a price for what you've done and I'm willing to pay it we know this experientially right have you had someone who's wronged you have you had a lover who has hurt you have you had a spouse that has cut you deeply now you may be non-confrontational like me right and just try to avoid it okay we'll just pretend that didn't happen but it doesn't go away it has to be dealt with the price has to be paid and the question is will you pay it or will you make your spouse pay for it now we have all kinds of different ways there's a technical or a variety in terms of how will make others pay for their wronging maybe it's quiet and withdrawn maybe it's shouting and throwing things maybe it's just growing bitter and keeping Italian in line but however we do that we recognize that in love and relationship the price has to be paid and God comes and says you can't pay it but I will pay it I will take you out of where you are now and I will put you in a place of protection and I will change you over time he is the one who's changing our jaded hearts see we have these scars of heart heartory we have these wounds that are left and the scar tissue doesn't work like the rest of the tissue around it's hardened it's tallet it doesn't allow us to have that warm affection it keeps us from those things and yet what God is doing is healing us putting us in places where we can't even get to the sin we want to and he's changing our hearts one of the disciples of Hosea was the prophet Jeremiah and it's very interesting the way in which Jeremiah picks up the same kind of language and imagery that is used in Hodea and it's through the prophet Hosea Jeremiah that God gives us that promise and Jeremiah 31 that he will give us a new heart see even if we come to him saying okay God I've got it figured out I'm not going to I'm not going to run after these other things anymore I want to run after you
we've got this problem that we don't know how to do that and God says I will take your heart of stone and replace it with a living beating heart the very scars themselves then become trophy the God's grace and forgiveness when I was in fifth grade I was I had done some stuff that I wasn't supposed to as was the greatest do and I know it's hard to believe and my parents because they love me grounded me they put me on a restrict now you know I'd much rather get beat up you know the worst banking is far better than restriction especially during the summer right you don't have anything to do but you can't leave you well I had kind of led some of my friends to this great project of of of building this little log cabin fifth grade so we thought of this log cabin it was really kind of more like a lane two but but we had this great plan the the problem was that the plan conflicted with this thing of restriction you know we wanted to build the the cabin in the middle of the woods not in the backyard and so like most fifth graders I waited until mom was preoccupied it's knock out the back door and ran as fast as I could do the woods right set up with my buddies to meet and we'd all brought our little pieces of the things that we needed for building this cabin my buddy across the street brought the hatchet that we were using to cut down the trees to make said log cabin that was a great plan but we were in fifth grade and so this one particularly large tree that we were chopping down got stuck it's it had started to fall and the top branches got caught in some of the other branches and so there it was you know kind of at 45 degrees stuck with the other trees so being the ringleader I said well here's what we'll do we'll we'll all of us we'll get on and push the tree away from those branches well my buddy continues chopping on on the tree and as it gets free and we free from the branches it'll fall over there we can chop it up and use those for the log cabin this will be great but we're in fifth grade and couldn't push the tree enough to get out of the branches so as I'm still there straining everybody else has given up and sitting down my friend is faithful he's trying to help me so he's chopping and finally he says does this is not going to work and so he just takes the hatchet and goes to stick it in the tree he's a good place to have his hatchet rest while he takes a break set my hand was right there 32 stitches later the split nerve now when it's particularly cold that split nerve acts up and this inside part of my finger really hurts or if I'm working and happen to hit it just in the right place you know shoot shooting pains all the way up to my chest and hurt split the finger right into walked home mom said well let's see what you've done running under the water ran into the water and the water went right through between so one half of the finger was this side of the water one half of mom nearly faded got me to the hospital at the scar I'll have it for the rest of my life it shows my stupidity there for anybody to see on my right hand I use it all the time I didn't get that wicked scar I was in fifth grade on restriction I'm supposed to leave you are but I was in the woods making a while can it's a scar that shows how dumb I how much I run after my affection and it's a scar that shows God's faithfulness a little bit this way little bit that way the finger's gone a little bit further down it doesn't just sever the nerve that hurts a little bit sometimes but it splits the hand and I don't have the right hand it's a scar of God's faithfulness of his protection that no matter how stupid I am no matter how much I run away and chased after the wrong thing that he is ever there chasing me protecting me hedging me in
he has some scars like that maybe they're not 32 stitches maybe they're more in your heart maybe they have to do with every time that certain person's name is mentioned or anybody ask you what you do as a job I don't know where they scar so but I challenge you to think of them not just as scar of our stupidity and our rebellion but understanding the gospel can transform those scars the memorials it is great see our savior as a far worse far than this if you know that the resurrected Christ who is God himself when he showed himself out to the resurrection they could still put their fingers in the nail scar they could still see and feel the place in the side where he's spirit all throughout eternity the resurrected savior the demon will bear the scar for you and me