We felt we need to do a series on Hope and the book of Hosea stood out.
We started this year with a promise of Rebuild , Restore and Renew.
The book of Hosea is the first of the twelve Minor Prophets. Hosea began service as a prophet about 750 B.C. and concluded his work about 722 B.C., shortly before the Assyrian conquest of Israel (the ten tribes that constituted the Northern Kingdom). He thus began his work shortly after Amos concluded his shorter prophetic ministry (about 760-755 B.C.).
Unlike Amos, who was a native of Judah (the Southern Kingdom), Hosea was a native of Israel (the Northern Kingdom). Both addressed their prophecies to Israel (the Northern Kingdom). Like Amos, Hosea proclaims a message of judgment on Israel for her unfaithfulness to Yahweh. However, Hosea also proclaims God’s continuing love and pleads for Israel’s repentance. He holds out the hope of forgiveness and restoration (1:10-11; and chapters 3, 11, and 14).
In Hosea 1: “the word of Yahweh… came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel” (1:1). The Jeroboam in question here is Jeroboam II, who reigned in Israel (the Northern Kingdom) from about 785-745 B.C.
Hosea began his prophetic work during the last years of Jeroboam’s reign. That reign appears to have been prosperous—both Amos and Hosea condemn the extravagance of Israel’s wealthier citizenry. However, Jeroboam “did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh” (2 Kings 14:24). He was succeeded by his son, Zechariah, who reigned for only six months before being assassinated. Zechariah’s successor, Shallum, reigned only a month before he was assassinated. In the three decades of his prophetic ministry, Hosea saw a total of seven kings—all bad—come and go.
The very first thing God ever said to Hosea tells us about his unlikely marriage: “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord” (Hos. 1:2). These instructions have been variously understood by different students of Scripture through the years. Some believe that God was commanding Hosea to marry a woman who had formerly been a prostitute. Others contend that taking a wife of promiscuous would merely refer to marrying a woman from the northern kingdom of Israel, a land which was guilty of spiritual adultery. In either case, it is obvious that she was a woman who had been deeply affected by the moral laxity of her society, and God intended to use the prophet’s personal relationship with her as a penetrating object lesson of His own relationship with His unfaithful people, Israel.
Son – 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.
Daughter – Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”)
Son – Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”)
Let us read Hosea 2:
Israel Punished and Restored
2 “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,
because they are the children of adultery.
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband as at first,
for then I was better off than now.’
8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold—
which they used for Baal.
9 “Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
and my new wine when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
intended to cover her naked body.
10 So now I will expose her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;
no one will take her out of my hands.
11 I will stop all her celebrations:
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.
12 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
which she said were her pay from her lovers;
I will make them a thicket,
and wild animals will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot,”
declares the Lord.
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[b] a door of hope.
There she will respond
[c]
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.[d]’
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[e] righteousness and justice,
in[f] love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in[g] 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.[h]
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]’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[j]’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
Israel being prostituting themselves with other gods leaving their first love. Israel was supposed to be distinct a light to the nation . Israel was supposed to represent God’s love to the people but what we find, through that they have compromised . Israel has adopted the way of the brothel , The ways of the Egyptians , Assyrians, cult practices, prostitution , fertility god Baal, doing things in secret thought they can hide it from their lover God
They all were good, God himself lead them but what happened over the period of years. They started adopting to the culture around them , adopting the values of the nations around them and their consciences start dying, temptations of living a different life and started justifying their wrong doings. They were taken over the ambitions , that is anything that they love more than God.
God speaks to Hosea about all this act as unfaithful , prostitution. It’s been harsh words.
This is the spiritual state of Israel or maybe it is our Spiritual state
Maybe today as we sit here , we feel dirty , unworthy or we have gone astray
adopted the way of the brothel , The ways of the world, using technology , using the OTT platforms, corrupting our minds with lust , pleasure, doing things in secret thinking we can hide it from our first love i.e God. and started compromising our values, we feel ok , to cheat , tell lies , bribe others , make fake bills . Our ambitions , our carreer has taken over the place of God in our lives.
With all this if we are sitting here and asking now , Does God still loves me?
When we read Chapter 2
God is hurt towards his wife. He is jealous of her love and he is hurt as she is sharing it with others.
Verse 2 & 3
2 “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
It is not a desire of revenge but it’s a desire to bring her to her senses. God wants her attention
We don’t talk a lot about Sin in our Church during our sermons , but we need to . As Christians we normalise Sin. If a child disrespects their parents , we say they are small, now they don’t understand. When our children become teenagers and when they follow different lifestyles , we say yea , that’s their age everyone is like that. We normalise sin.
We have not understood God until we realise that our Sin has broken his heart.
The Assyrians sweep over and God removes their comfort , security and happiness. And Israel was out of Map. The northern kingdom has fallen. Israel was no more.
God sometimes removes things in our life to win us back. Is God shaking the foundation so that he can knock over the gods which you and me are relying on.
Now God promises restoration, Verse 14, 15 God reminds Israel the days of Egypt. Where He made a covenant in the Desert. Where he married her. God says Let’s start all over again. Let’s have a fresh start
There are at least three things the Lord does to win you, His wayward wife, back to Himself:
- The Lord speaks tenderly. (v. 14)
- 14:“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.” Incredible! Though you and I are all guilty of spiritual harlotry, and we have loved other lovers more than God, yet the Lord has not cast us off. In fact, He takes us into the wilderness to be alone with us. Why? So that he can speak tenderly to us. Literally, so that He can speak “to her heart.” And when He speaks, He allures you.
So go with him into the places (Church , cell group, prayer group, family , work place) and listen with your heart.
- The Lord promises Hope (V 15-18)
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor[b] a door of hope.
There she will respond
[c]
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.[d]’
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.
A vineyard requires more preparation than most crop-producing lands. Established vineyards are a sign of prosperity.
In this verse, God promises to give Israel vineyards—a substantial gift that promises future prosperity—reversing the curse of verse 12, where Yahweh said, “I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees.”
I believe , God promises Spiritual Prosperity , if we turn back to him.
“and the valley of Achor for a door of hope” (v. 15b). The word Achor means “trouble”, and the Valley of Achor was the site of a troubled moment in Israel’s history. The story is told in Joshua 7. Achan stole some “devoted things” (Joshua 7:1), and God punished Israel for Achan’s sin. God required Israel to sanctify herself by punishing the offender. The Israelites did as commanded, stoning Achan and burning all of his possessions, including his family. “Therefore the name of that place was called ‘The valley of Achor’” (Joshua 7:26)—the Valley of Trouble.
Now God points back to that troubled incident to promise that he will turn Israel’s troubles into hope.
- The Lord Promises Restoration
Verse 17-23
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in[e] righteousness and justice,
in[f] love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in[g] faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the Lord.
God says , I will do , I will restore. The initiation to restore is all God’s.
Now in Hosea Chapter 3, let us read the first 2 verses.
3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels[a] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[b] of barley. 3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”
Imagine this , Gomer has gone back and God commanded Hosea to go and bring her and to take her and love her.
Imagine this that there is an auction and Gomer is standing ashamed, in front of a huge crowd and all people are looking at her and thinking how much should they pay for her? it starts with Rs 1000 , who wants Gomer , Rs 2000 , Rs 5000 , who wants Gomer , Who wants Virjil? Hosea comes and says that I want her, give her to me ,she is mine and I love her, I will pay for her. Jesus says , I want him /her, give him /her to me, I love him / her , I will pay for it.
And Jesus paid the ultimate price on the cross for us and bought us.
Romans 5:6-8
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Virjil Selvan is Pastoring the New Hope Community. The New Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that New Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Karanjade, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.
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