Hosea: Reckless Love

God's Story in Scripture  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  37:02
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Crazy things people do for love

People sometimes do crazy or even reckless things because of love.
One man faked his death in a car accident in order to propose to the woman he loved. “The man hired a movie director, stuntmen, make-up artists and a script writer to make a convincing accident scene.
“His reasoning for it all? "I wanted her to realise how empty her life would be without me and how life would have no meaning without me."
Surprisingly, she said yes!” (source: https://www.scoopwhoop.com/craziest-things-people-have-done-for-love/)
In another, more lasting demonstration of enduring love of a forbidden relationship, one couple lived in a cave for over 50 years. You see he was 19 and she was a widow about a decade older and she had children. Their society would not allow them to be together to they moved to a cave. The cave apparently was high in a mountain. For over 50 years, he carved out stairs in the side of the mountain so that it would be easier for his wife to climb. (source: ibid)
There are so many reasons that we may do amazing things, even reckless things out of love. These things don’t always make sense and defy logic - but we do them anyway.
Today, as we dive back into God’s Story in Scripture, we’re going to consider a bit of the reckless love that God displays for his people as it’s illustrated through his prophet Hosea.

Background

In our Bible’s, the prophet Hosea is the first of the “Minor Prophets.” These are called minor, not because of the importance of their message but because of their relative size. In the Hebrew Bible’s all twelve minor prophets are combined into one book.
Hosea served in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reigns of their final kings - from about 750BC to around 722BC.
(Background about history - David, Solomon, then split between north and south - north turned away from God quickly)
In 722BC the Assyrian army came and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel.
It is during this time that Hosea was ministering to the people of Israel - sometimes referred to in the book as Ephraim.
One of the peculiar things about the book is that it seems to be contrasted between the life that Hosea is called to live and the message he is called to give. You see his life seems to parallel the message that God is calling him to preach to the people of Israel.
As we consider the book, we’re not going to look at it in order or even according to it’s outline, but we’ll consider it more thematically as we see Hosea’s reckless love for his wayward wife and God’s reckless love for His people and us.
The first thing that we see in the book is that both Hosea and God...

Love the unfaithful

Just as people do seemingly difficult and reckless things for love, both Hosea and more importantly God choose to love people who are and will be unfaithful.

Hosea loved an unfaithful wife

Right from the outset of the book, Hosea receives a strange and difficult command from the Lord...
Hosea 1:2–3 ESV
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
Hosea’s home life became a metaphor for God’s love for his people. God blessed Hosea and Gomer with children. Each of their names meant something significant in relation to the people of Israel.
God has done things like this with the other prophets as well. In fact, we saw a few weeks ago how Ezekiel’s life became illustrative of what God was doing with the people of Judah as Ezekiel’s wife died, but he was not allowed to mourn. He was also struck mute for a season and laid on his side for a great deal of time to signify the length of time that the nation would be in exile.
It seems like this personal experience became a powerful tool in the lives of God’s prophets.
Imagine how the conviction that Hosea would have had as he called the people to return to God, knowing full-well that even in his own household, his wayward wife was not faithful to him.
Oh what love. And that is really only a small part of the God’s love toward his people.

God loved unfaithful Israel

When God established the nation of Israel, he had set them apart as a people unto himself. They were to be distinct from the people around them. They were to live holy lives. And yet they were doing the exact opposite.
Hosea 4:1–3 ESV
Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
Just as Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea, the people of Israel were unfaithful to God. In just this brief list of indictments, the people have broken four of the ten commandments (Ex. 20).
But probably their biggest act of unfaithfulness was their spiritual adultery - idolatry. You see, they had been participating in the worship of Baal. Baal was considered to be the storm god - a deity who would bring rain to the land and fertility to the soil. Wrapped up in the worship practices of this false god were all sorts of sensual acts that were unbecoming of God’s people - or really of any people.
Their worship of this false god would also result in human sacrifice.
Hosea 13:2 ESV
And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!”
Rather than kissing humans, they are killing them!
What an abomination!
And yet - these are the people that God has chosen to love - which also gives us hope, because...

God loves us in our unfaithful idolatry

We may consider that statement and say - “but I’m not an idol worshiper - I’m sitting here watching a church service, participating as best as I can, I don’t kiss metal images or kill babies on altars.” And yet, I do think we suffer from unfaithfulness of idolatry from time to time.
Idolatry is essentially worshiping, adoring, or trusting in something more than God. That could be a person (like a parent or a child or a spouse or a friend), a position (I won’t be complete until I get that role…), a political ideology, possessions, and so much more.
One of the big challenges in our Nation right now is that we see injustice as the lives of some black men and women are taken. We see injustice as some wield power in a brutal way or as a national system favors one group of people over another. We see injustice as rightly justified protests get out of hand and become riots and looting. We see injustice as a criminal is honored or lifted up as a model for a cause.
For some of us, we’re afraid to speak up - I know I have been. Is it because we’re afraid that saying something would betray our political alliances? Is it because saying something would risk endorsing a side that doesn’t always align with our point of view?
The fact is that these people who have died are image bearers of God. The lives of those whose livelihood have been destroyed by the looting and violence are also image bearers. Our idols can easily get in the way of us doing what God has called us to -
Isaiah 1:17 ESV
learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Personal Story: This week, your elders and deacons met with the leadership from Hosanna Worship Center. We did this so that we could more fully understand the experiences and the hurt. It was eye-opening for me. I’m so grateful we did this.
Oh that we would repent of our adulterous idolatry and fully live in obedience to all that God has called us to.
Mark Dever has said,
“You and I are the unfaithful objects of God’s ever-faithful love. Only when we understand this do we begin to understand what love is.” (p. 690)
Hosea and God don’t just love and let live - they do take action as they...

Defend holiness and righteousness

Infidelity in a marriage can be devastating. There are occasions when the forsaken spouse is forgiving, but often it seems the marriage falls apart. In the case of Hosea and Gomer, it certainly appears that Gomer did not leave her promiscuous ways. Her faithlessness drove a wedge between them.
In chapter two, there is a long poem were it appears that either Hosea is speaking to his children about their mother, or God is speaking through Hosea about Israel. In either case, the point is the same - Gomer and Israel have been faithless and Hosea and God must defend their honor.
Hosea let Gomer go.
God, as we learned in 2 Kings, allowed the Assyrian army to invade and conquer faithless Israel.
Throughout the book, we get to see God in various ways - both responding negatively and positively toward Israel. Tremper Longman points out that God’s negative response toward Israels is seen as a “jealous husband” here in chapter 2;
He is seen as a “destructive moth or undesired rot hand”
Hosea 5:12 ESV
But I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like dry rot to the house of Judah.
He is also presented as a “frustrated shepherd” -
Hosea 4:16 ESV
Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the Lord now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture?
If you’ve ever cared for animals or tried to train a new puppy - you know a bit of what this is like. It can be so frustrating - that’s how God feels toward Israel.
He is also seen as a “ferocious lion”
Hosea 5:14 ESV
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
and
Hosea 13:7–8 ESV
So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.
Finally, God is viewed like a “trapper” -
Hosea 7:12 ESV
As they go, I will spread over them my net; I will bring them down like birds of the heavens; I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.
(quotes from Longman, p. 405)
In all of these ways, God is defending Holiness and disciplining His people because of their unrighteous and adulterous ways.
One things we have to recognize is that...
God does still discipline us and allows things to happen to us in response to our sin. Not all catastrophes or pandemics are judgments for sin, but I think that some are. There are sometimes natural consequences to sin and at other times there are broader and more extreme consequences. The writer of Hebrews reminds us...
Hebrews 12:5–6 ESV
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
God disciplines us because he loves us. He disciplined Israel and Judah, because he loved them. God’s discipline should humble us and lead us to repentance, which brings us to our next point to consider...

A call to repentance

Right in the middle and in the end of the book, the Hosea seems to present a call to repentance.
Hosea 6:1 ESV
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
He continues in verse three, calling the people of Israel to return to the God who truly does provide rain, the one who does cause the plants to grow.
Hosea 6:3 ESV
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
He even gets more specific in chapter 14...
Hosea 14:1–2 ESV
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.
There are so many ways that our sin can get us caught up. We think that we can get untangled from our problems by trying to “do the right thing.” Our sin can also be so blinding. You see, Israel was hoping that alliances with Assyria or Egypt would help them. They tried to fix their own problems rather than returning to the Lord.
True repentance acknowledges that I can’t fix my own problems. I don’t have a strong enough will and there are not enough good deeds that I can do to outweigh my sin. I’m stuck and need a Savior. We all are.
Friend, if you’re not yet a follower of Christ, I pray that you will come to a realization that we get ourselves into a position of being an object of God’s wrath because of our sin - the sin we’re born with and the sin that we willfully commit. Repent of your sin, acknowledge that you have rebelled against God, and ask him to forgive you. He wants to forgive, he wants to heal, he wants to restore - this is God’s desire. Our American way of “doing it ourselves” won’t work in God’s economy. If you want to talk more about this, put a note in the feed of the youtube or facebook feed or send me an email at pastor@poolesvillebaptist.com and I’ll be happy to make time to open the word of God with you and help you understand the depth of God’s love for you.
This brings us to our final point. God and Hosea...

Redeem and restore the wayward

Hosea
In Hosea chapter 3, God calls Hosea to go and redeem his wife again. She has left him for other lovers. So Hosea reaches out to her in her sin and seeks to restore her (Hos. 3:1-5). What a bold and selfless move.
God
Mark Dever notes that it is “God’s will, his wish, his desire, his heart” to redeem his people (Hos. 7:13) (p. 686). God longs for the renewal. He longs to be fully known by His people and longs for them to flourish and thrive in the environment that He has ordained.
Just as God is seen responding negatively toward Israel’s rebellion, Longman also points out God’s loving characteristics. “He is also a forgiving husband (3:1-5); a healing physician (6:1-2), the revivifying rains (6:3), a loving parent (11:3-4), a protecting lion (11:10-11), a life-giving dew (14:5), and a fertile pine tree (14:8).” (p. 405).
One of the beautiful aspects of all of this is the realization that it is God who is initiating. We see this as Hosea goes to redeem his bride. We see this as God moves to bring Israel and Judah back into a right fellowship. We see this in our lives as God prompts us by His Spirit to turn to Him.
God sent His son into the world to redeem us, to save us, even before we knew we had sin. He did that even before we knew we needed a savior. He did that knowing that we might reject him. God is the one who is calling us to him.

Closing thoughts

A few years ago, there was a song that became popular on Christian radio and in some churches. This song refers to God’s love toward us as “reckless.” In many ways, the song is true. Hosea loved Gomer recklessly, knowing she would forsake him and return to her adultery. God loved Israel recklessly, knowing they would forsake him and struggle in their adulterous idolatry. God loves us recklessly - not because he is not careful or thoughtless - but he loves us recklessly because he gave his one and only son to die for us - knowing we would reject him, knowing we would stumble and fall time and again.
Consider some of the lyrics to the song “Reckless Love”
Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah
We see God’s reckless love on display beautifully on the cross of Christ. We’re going to celebrate that in a few moments as we consider communion.
Beloved - let us lay down our idols and remain faithful to God.
Friend - I pray that you would respond to God’s reckless love for you.
John 3:16–17 The Message
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
Will you respond to God’s reckless love for you?
References:
Craigie, Peter C., The Old Testament: It’s Background, Growth, and Content (Abington, Nashville, 1987)
Dever, Mark, The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made, (Crossway, Wheaton, 2006)
Longman III, Tremper; Raymond B. Dillard; An Introduction to the Old Testament, 2nd Ed. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2006)
McConville, Gordon. Exploring the Old Testament: The Prophets. Vol. 4. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002.
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