Love That Won't Let Go
[ READ ] Hosea 1–4
Hosea’s Wife and Children
2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.
10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.
Hosea 1:2-11
2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.
10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.
Hosea 1:2-11
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the Lord.
21 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the Lord—
“I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
Hosea 2:14-23
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the Lord.
21 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the Lord—
“I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
Hosea 2:14-23
The book of Hosea is radically different from any other of the other 12 minor prophets. Here we see a man who is called by God to do something that is unbelievable to our modern ears and certainly would have been equally unbelievable in Israel during the time of the Divided Kingdom. Hosea was called to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him. God had set apart a wife for Hosea who would squander his love, chase after other men, and think that the security Hosea afforded through God came from her adulterous lovers. Yikes! Impossible! This is too big of an ask, God. How can one love another when known betrayal at the deepest level stood squarely in the near future?
As we read this book so soon after Easter, we remember one who was asked to do a similar thing. Jesus was to go to a people who would not believe nor receive Him. These people had no righteousness of their own, but grace and love still came to them in a person. Grace and love came through Jesus as He took on flesh, lived the sinless life no one else could, paid the price for every unfaithful sinner, took every sin to the grave, and rose again to a new life so each relationship with God could be restored.
Romans 5:8 reminds us, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God asked Hosea to do a “Jesus thing” in the Old Testament. Hosea is one of many Old Testament “types” that point us to who the prophesied Jesus would be and what He would do when He came. Jesus does in fact come in the New Testament to rescue and redeem the lost, the sinner, the Gomer’s like you and me. He restores broken relationships. He brings beauty from the ashes.
In this age, the Spirit now empowers you and I to invite Jesus into spaces that need to be rescued and redeemed. We are to be like Jesus in our relationships, in our work places and in our homes. It’s a big ask. It feels impossible. Yet all things are possible with God. Hosea knew it. He lived it. Will we?
- Kimberly Williams
As we read this book so soon after Easter, we remember one who was asked to do a similar thing. Jesus was to go to a people who would not believe nor receive Him. These people had no righteousness of their own, but grace and love still came to them in a person. Grace and love came through Jesus as He took on flesh, lived the sinless life no one else could, paid the price for every unfaithful sinner, took every sin to the grave, and rose again to a new life so each relationship with God could be restored.
Romans 5:8 reminds us, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God asked Hosea to do a “Jesus thing” in the Old Testament. Hosea is one of many Old Testament “types” that point us to who the prophesied Jesus would be and what He would do when He came. Jesus does in fact come in the New Testament to rescue and redeem the lost, the sinner, the Gomer’s like you and me. He restores broken relationships. He brings beauty from the ashes.
In this age, the Spirit now empowers you and I to invite Jesus into spaces that need to be rescued and redeemed. We are to be like Jesus in our relationships, in our work places and in our homes. It’s a big ask. It feels impossible. Yet all things are possible with God. Hosea knew it. He lived it. Will we?
- Kimberly Williams
[ EXAMINE ] the passage. At this point, answer some questions about the meaning of the text. Take time to reflect:
+ What was “the land” guilty of according to Hosea 1:2?
+ What were the names of Hosea and Gomer’s three children? What was the meaning of their names? What surprises you about these name choices?
+ What happens in Hosea 1:9 that reverses the naming curse? How does this reflect God’s character/attributes?
+ What will happen to the Divided Kingdom and the divided household and the divided heart according to Hosea 1:10? What will unify them? Who might be in view here?
+ What was “the mother” guilty of according to Hosea 2:5, 8, 13?
+ What did God do as “the mother was going astray"?
+ What action did God take even as “the mother,” and “the land” were actively sinning? See Hosea 1:9-10 and 2:14-23
+ What was “the land” guilty of according to Hosea 1:2?
+ What were the names of Hosea and Gomer’s three children? What was the meaning of their names? What surprises you about these name choices?
+ What happens in Hosea 1:9 that reverses the naming curse? How does this reflect God’s character/attributes?
+ What will happen to the Divided Kingdom and the divided household and the divided heart according to Hosea 1:10? What will unify them? Who might be in view here?
+ What was “the mother” guilty of according to Hosea 2:5, 8, 13?
+ What did God do as “the mother was going astray"?
+ What action did God take even as “the mother,” and “the land” were actively sinning? See Hosea 1:9-10 and 2:14-23
[ APPLY ] the passage to your own life:
+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?
+ Paul quotes David in Romans 4:7-8. He links God’s grace between Testaments.
+ How is God calling you and I to extend grace, this free, undeserved gift to someone else in our life today?
+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?
+ Paul quotes David in Romans 4:7-8. He links God’s grace between Testaments.
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
+ Have you accepted God's own gift of grace to you? If so, are you walking in freedom?+ How is God calling you and I to extend grace, this free, undeserved gift to someone else in our life today?
[ PRAY ] through the passage and your application, and ask God to change your heart and your life.
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.churchcenter.com/groups)
+ What is my next step?
+ Who in your life needs to remember today that nothing can separate them from the love of God? Ask the Lord for a name today and reach out to them directly.
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.churchcenter.com/groups)
+ What is my next step?
+ Who in your life needs to remember today that nothing can separate them from the love of God? Ask the Lord for a name today and reach out to them directly.
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