We may not have a plan but God always has a plan. The covenant of faith has continued throughout history since the time it was given to Abraham. There are numerous descendants from Abraham such as Moses, Joshua, the Judges, David, Solomon, etc. There was an earthly kingdom but this has been divided into two nations called Judah and Israel. The future for them is not great as judgment is coming. God chooses Judah to continue and Israel will go into captivity. Micah now warns Judah that they too are going into captivity. The good news is that God will save a remnant and there will be a future restoration.

1. The symbolic message

Hosea is commanded by God to marry Gomer. A woman whom Hosea knew would be unfaithful to him. He did as God commanded. He has three children to Gomer and their names are used to convey messages to the nation. The names were Jezreel (God plants), Loruhamah (no more mercy) and Loammi (not my people). Gomer was not faithful, and she left Hosea, which caused him much pain.

God compared this pain to the sorrow he felt when Israel left Him and worshipped idols. He had loved Israel. It shows that God loves us. He wants to be with us, and for us to learn about Him. When we turn away from Him, and don’t talk to Him or include Him in our lives then he is sorrowful. He will not tolerate betrayal and when we desert Him, He will not claim us as family any more. That’s why he had Hosea name his children “No more mercy” and “Not my people”. Leaving God out of our lives is dangerous. He is the light. If we walk in the dark we are prone to stumble. The only safe and rewarding place to be is near God. He knows what’s best for us and will provide it if we are near Him. God said Israel’s destruction came from a lack of knowledge about God. This was not a valid excuse for Judah!

It was not unusual for the Lord to instruct His prophets to use some symbolic act to accompany some part of the message, but Hosea was unique in that his whole life was symbolic, an object lesson of his message. Any who saw or knew about Hosea’s ordeal could only feel sorry for him. The Lord was using his whole miserable, tragic experience of personal sorrow and emotional distress to portray a vivid lesson to Israel. Hosea’s constant love and loyalty to Gomer provided a beautiful picture of the Lord’s unfailing love and loyalty to Israel. Gomer’s unfaithfulness to Hosea was a tragically clear picture of Israel’s treacherous unfaithfulness to the Lord. Though many in the nation were deaf to Hosea’s preaching, even the dullest of them could see his grief, sympathise with his sorrow and wonder at his persistent love. Hosea’s marriage became a living sermon: What Hosea did for Gomer, God did for Israel; what Gomer did to Hosea, Israel did to God. Humanly speaking, Hosea’s love for Gomer did not make any sense. But, that is the very point of the message. God’s love for sinners is inexplicable apart from His free and sovereign grace.

2. The direct message

Hosea’s direct preaching to the nation focused on three basic themes.

• God’s relationship to Israel was initiated by divine love. See Hosea 2:19-20. God proposed marriage between Himself and Israel. The picture of marriage suggests strong affection between the parties, but the primary focus of God’s love for Israel is more on the inclination of His will, His choice. The motive for the choice is not found in the attractiveness or worthiness of the chosen. Moses said that God loved Israel because He loved her (Deuteronomy 7:7, 8). God’s love is totally of grace. That is what makes grace amazing. God chose Israel in spite of what she was, not because of what she was. He knew her sin, her weakness, her bent to evil. God’s love for Israel was not “blind” and neither was Hosea’s love for Gomer.
• That relationship was spurned by Israel’s sin. The nation had played the harlot in departing from the Lord. Hosea 6:6, 7 declares that Israel failed to give the Lord the covenant loyalty He deserved and demanded and that she had overstepped the bounds of the covenant agreement and behaved treacherously against the Lord. The word “treacherous” is significant because it refers to deceitful behaviour and frequently designates the violation of marriage. Israel was doing to God just what Gomer did to Hosea. A big part of Hosea’s message to the nation exposed and condemned the sin of forsaking the Lord (4:10-19; 5:2-7; 6:10; 7:4; 11:7).
• The relationship was maintained by divine loyalty. Whereas Israel was bent on backsliding (11:7), God purposed to remain faithful (11:8; 14:4). Whereas Israel’s covenant loyalty was like the passing cloud and dew (6:6), the Lord’s covenant loyalty was central to the relationship He initiated and established (2:19-20). He would not quit His love.

He would allure her, persuading her irresistibly to return (2:14-23). Likewise, Hosea isolated Gomer from her former lovers and enticed her with bridal gifts; once again she would be his. Hosea 2:22, 23 also suggests the restoration theme in terms of the children. There was to be a reversal: “Scattering” (Jezreel) becomes a sowing; “No-pity” will receive mercy; “Not-my-people” will become my people. Third, repentance is the response to loyalty. Without repentance there could be no enjoyment or experience of reunion. God made the terms of the covenant clear. To repent means simply to return, to reverse directions. Israel had been backsliding, turning away from God (11:7); God called her to turn around and come back to Him (6:1-3; 14:1-3). He left the door open for the estranged wife to come home.

3. The end time message

Hosea’s closing words transcend his time and circumstance to ours: “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things prudent, and he shall know them? For the ways of the Lord are right and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein” (14:9). Saints can be sure that their sowing in righteousness will bring a harvest of mercy. Sinners can be sure that their ploughing wickedness will produce further iniquity and certain punishment (10:12, 13). Both saints and sinners must learn that “it is time to seek the Lord” (10:12), for those who seek Him with all their heart will always find Him. He draws near to those who draw near to Him.

Categories: Hosea