WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.680 All right, well, we're going to get into our 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:04.599 time in the Word. If you will, join me in praying 00:00:04.599 --> 00:00:07.660 for this time. Go ahead and bow your head. Father, 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:12.919 we come to you today, and we, humbled in your 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:17.160 presence, the King of the universe reigning over 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:21.579 all, we come to submit ourselves to you, to your 00:00:21.579 --> 00:00:25.359 Word. Lord, I pray that it would go deep into 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.379 our heart as we marvel at your grace and your 00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:36.280 mercy. Lord, may we never be too proud, too big 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:42.799 for your amazing grace and mercy. But may, Lord, 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:45.060 even today we submit to that as you transform 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:51.619 our minds and our hearts for your glory. We ask 00:00:51.619 --> 00:00:56.990 this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. If you have 00:00:56.990 --> 00:00:59.710 a Bible, go ahead and turn over to the book of 00:00:59.710 --> 00:01:04.569 Hosea. Hosea. We're going to be starting a brand 00:01:04.569 --> 00:01:06.930 new series called Scandalous Grace, and it is 00:01:06.930 --> 00:01:09.829 out of the book of Hosea. Just one of the minor 00:01:09.829 --> 00:01:12.269 prophets, if you're in your Old Testament book, 00:01:12.409 --> 00:01:15.069 and it's toward the back, half of the Old Testament, 00:01:15.269 --> 00:01:18.609 you'll find it. It's also page 510 in the book, 00:01:18.629 --> 00:01:21.049 so the Bibles that are inside of the chairs there. 00:01:21.370 --> 00:01:24.569 You can turn over to page 510 or look for Hosea. 00:01:24.650 --> 00:01:27.010 If you need help, you can go to the table of 00:01:27.010 --> 00:01:28.750 contents in your Bible, or you can ask a neighbor 00:01:28.750 --> 00:01:30.890 to help you out if you need to find that. It's 00:01:30.890 --> 00:01:32.489 not a usual place for us, but we're going to 00:01:32.489 --> 00:01:35.329 be here for the next few weeks, so get used to 00:01:35.329 --> 00:01:38.530 it. Mark it in your Bible, all right? Hosea chapter 00:01:38.530 --> 00:01:45.290 1, verse 1. The word of the Lord that came to 00:01:45.290 --> 00:01:49.489 Hosea, son of Be 'erai, during the reigns of 00:01:49.489 --> 00:01:54.769 Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of 00:01:54.769 --> 00:01:58.409 Judah, and of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, king 00:01:58.409 --> 00:02:01.959 of Israel. When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, 00:02:01.980 --> 00:02:05.819 he said this to him, go and marry a woman of 00:02:05.819 --> 00:02:09.819 promiscuity and have children of promiscuity. 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:13.740 For the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity 00:02:13.740 --> 00:02:17.680 by abandoning the Lord. So he went and married 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.509 Gomer. daughter of Dibliam. And she conceived 00:02:21.509 --> 00:02:24.349 and bore him a son. And then the Lord said to 00:02:24.349 --> 00:02:27.729 him, name him Jezreel. For in a little while, 00:02:27.889 --> 00:02:30.610 I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel on the 00:02:30.610 --> 00:02:33.949 house of Jehu and put an end to the kingdom of 00:02:33.949 --> 00:02:37.069 the house of Israel. On that day, I will break 00:02:37.069 --> 00:02:41.949 the bow of Israel in Jezreel Valley. She conceived 00:02:41.949 --> 00:02:44.430 again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord 00:02:44.430 --> 00:02:48.580 said to him, name her Loruhamah. for I will no 00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:51.259 longer have compassion on the house of Israel. 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.520 I will certainly take them away, but I will have 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:56.460 compassion on the house of Judah, and I will 00:02:56.460 --> 00:02:59.280 deliver them by the Lord their God. I will not 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:02.719 deliver them by bow, sword, or war, or by horses 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:08.219 or cavalry. After Gomer had weaned Lo -Ruhamah, 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:11.780 she conceived and gave birth to a son, and then 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:15.729 the Lord said, Name him Lo -Ammai. For you are 00:03:15.729 --> 00:03:19.750 not my people and I will not be your God. Yet 00:03:19.750 --> 00:03:22.129 the number of Israelites will be like the sand 00:03:22.129 --> 00:03:24.550 of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. 00:03:24.669 --> 00:03:26.590 And in the place where they were told, you are 00:03:26.590 --> 00:03:29.430 not my people, they will be called sons of the 00:03:29.430 --> 00:03:32.189 living God. And the Judeans and the Israelites 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:34.930 will be gathered together. They will appoint 00:03:34.930 --> 00:03:37.849 for themselves a single ruler and go up from 00:03:37.849 --> 00:03:41.250 the land for the day of Jezreel will be great. 00:03:42.169 --> 00:03:48.270 This is God's word. Have you ever loved someone 00:03:48.270 --> 00:03:53.289 who didn't love you back? Anyone ever love someone 00:03:53.289 --> 00:03:57.050 who didn't love you back? Or someone who said 00:03:57.050 --> 00:03:59.669 all the right things and made all the right promises 00:03:59.669 --> 00:04:04.289 but kept walking away? Maybe it was a friend 00:04:04.289 --> 00:04:07.370 who betrayed your trust or a spouse who broke 00:04:07.370 --> 00:04:12.409 their vows. Maybe it was a child who didn't respond 00:04:12.409 --> 00:04:16.420 to your love. Or someone you would have done 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:20.259 anything for, but they stopped showing up. And 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:24.000 that kind of love is painful, isn't it? That 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:27.680 kind of love feels one -sided. And eventually 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:29.620 most of us just stop offering it altogether, 00:04:29.899 --> 00:04:37.699 don't we? But God doesn't. The theologian D .A. 00:04:37.699 --> 00:04:41.100 Carson puts it this way, the love of God is not 00:04:41.100 --> 00:04:45.060 the consequence of our loveliness. The love of 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:48.500 God is utterly astonishing because God loves 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:51.939 the unlovely, the unlovable, and the unloving. 00:04:54.899 --> 00:04:57.420 And that's what the book of Hosea is all about. 00:04:58.459 --> 00:05:02.060 God doesn't just tell us about his love in this 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:04.399 book, but he puts it on display in one of the 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:08.720 most shocking ways imaginable. He commands a 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:12.040 prophet named Hosea to marry a woman who will 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:15.639 betray him. He knows that he's going to. He's 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:17.759 going into this marriage and she will let him 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:20.819 down. She will betray him. God told Hosea in 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:26.819 advance it will happen. Why? That he might live 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:30.740 out in real time the pain of unfaithfulness. 00:05:32.790 --> 00:05:36.350 Hosea's very life will become a story, a parable, 00:05:36.350 --> 00:05:40.709 a living illustration in order to experience 00:05:40.709 --> 00:05:44.149 the heartbreak of rejection so that Israel, the 00:05:44.149 --> 00:05:46.829 nation of Israel, and us today, we might see 00:05:46.829 --> 00:05:52.370 the truth that this is how we treat God. And 00:05:52.370 --> 00:05:57.569 this is how he loves us anyways. This is scandalous 00:05:57.569 --> 00:06:02.259 grace. And it begins with a nation that had everything, 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:05.000 but walked away from the God who had given it 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:09.000 to them. And so let's begin with this setting 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:12.800 in Hosea chapter 1, verse 1. And it opens in 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.160 the days of political strength, but spiritual 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:21.220 decay. Israel looked strong on the outside, but 00:06:21.220 --> 00:06:26.000 they were far from God on the inside. If you're 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:30.579 taking notes, the first of five points. Is a 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:37.620 nation gone astray? The book of Hosea opens quietly 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:40.519 the word of the Lord that came to Hosea, son 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:44.920 of Be 'erai. Sorry, I practice the names a lot. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:53.949 Did pretty good. Till then, Be 'erai. During 00:06:53.949 --> 00:06:57.990 the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, 00:06:58.149 --> 00:07:01.589 kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, 00:07:01.730 --> 00:07:04.930 king of Israel. That's where it starts. But behind 00:07:04.930 --> 00:07:08.629 this verse, behind this really plain, unemotional 00:07:08.629 --> 00:07:12.970 recounting of the time and place of this occurrence, 00:07:13.310 --> 00:07:15.829 there lies an entire world of political chaos 00:07:15.829 --> 00:07:20.600 and spiritual decay. Hosea lived and ministered 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:23.800 during the reign of Jeroboam II in the northern 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:27.439 kingdom of Israel. It was in many ways a golden 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:31.000 age for the nation. The economy was strong. The 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.060 borders were secure. The military was powerful. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:36.680 The people were enjoying prosperity like they 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:40.759 hadn't seen in years. And from the outside, Israel 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:46.079 looked successful and blessed. But on the inside, 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.779 at the level of the heart, the nation was crumbling. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:50.720 Anyone ever seen someone who looks successful 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:53.259 and blessed on the outside? And you went, wow, 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:57.699 God's favor must be with them. Only to find out 00:07:57.699 --> 00:08:01.040 that they were a mess on the inside. That was 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:04.980 Israel. The people had abandoned their covenant 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:07.870 with God. He was their God and they would be 00:08:07.870 --> 00:08:10.370 his people. And idolatry was now rampant in the 00:08:10.370 --> 00:08:13.209 land. Injustice was everywhere. The rich grew 00:08:13.209 --> 00:08:15.870 richer while the poor were exploited. And they 00:08:15.870 --> 00:08:20.129 still claimed the name of the Lord. And yet their 00:08:20.129 --> 00:08:23.250 worship was empty or polluted or oftentimes mixed 00:08:23.250 --> 00:08:27.769 with pagan rituals. They were going through the 00:08:27.769 --> 00:08:30.949 motions of religion without the reality of relationship 00:08:30.949 --> 00:08:34.889 with God. And worst of all, they thought they 00:08:34.889 --> 00:08:39.129 were fine. They thought they were okay. They 00:08:39.129 --> 00:08:42.289 mistook the prosperity for God's pleasure, and 00:08:42.289 --> 00:08:44.350 they assumed that because life was going well, 00:08:44.370 --> 00:08:47.169 God must be happy with them. But as we'll see 00:08:47.169 --> 00:08:50.330 throughout Hosea, success is not always a sign 00:08:50.330 --> 00:08:54.389 of God's blessing. And the tragedy is this, that 00:08:54.389 --> 00:08:59.450 Israel had forsaken who she was. She was meant 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:02.169 to be the people of God, the nation chosen through 00:09:02.169 --> 00:09:04.330 Abraham, called to be a light to the nations, 00:09:04.490 --> 00:09:07.970 set apart in covenant love, rescued from Egypt 00:09:07.970 --> 00:09:14.470 by the very hand of God. But by the time Hosea 00:09:14.470 --> 00:09:16.649 receives this word from the Lord, Israel looks 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:21.629 just like the pagan nations around her. And this 00:09:21.629 --> 00:09:25.309 is the moment when the Lord speaks to Hosea. 00:09:27.659 --> 00:09:30.620 But God doesn't just send him like a normal prophet 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:33.759 to go and speak this word. Instead, he says, 00:09:33.779 --> 00:09:38.139 you're going to live this message, Hosea. Hosea 00:09:38.139 --> 00:09:40.679 is not going to only declare God's heartbreak. 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:44.279 He's going to embody it himself. His entire life 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:47.519 will become a living parable of God's love and 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:50.419 God's pain and God's relentless pursuit of his 00:09:50.419 --> 00:09:54.539 people, even as they were, spiritually speaking, 00:09:54.820 --> 00:10:00.279 already in bed with another lover. And as we 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:02.620 consider that reality, we have to ask, are we 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:08.740 really so different? Have we in our own lives 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:11.539 exchanged covenant relationship and love for 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:16.279 cultural comforts? Have we traded in a passionate 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:20.019 love for God for polite, manageable religion? 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:28.320 It's always the danger. A spiritual drift, man, 00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:32.019 it rarely feels like rebellion at first. It usually 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:35.840 feels like busyness or a series of compromises 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:40.799 or pragmatism. But over time, we wake up and 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:47.460 we realize we have drifted far from God. God 00:10:47.460 --> 00:10:49.860 doesn't just want Hosea to speak to his people. 00:10:50.419 --> 00:10:53.360 He wants Hosea to live the message out. And he 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:55.860 tells him to marry a woman who will break his 00:10:55.860 --> 00:10:58.950 heart. Because that's exactly what Israel had 00:10:58.950 --> 00:11:02.429 done to God. If you're taking notes, the second 00:11:02.429 --> 00:11:04.470 point I'll have you write is a marriage that 00:11:04.470 --> 00:11:07.309 makes headlines. Even today, we're talking about 00:11:07.309 --> 00:11:13.450 it. After introducing Hosea in verse one, verse 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:17.730 two, takes this sudden turn. Go and marry a woman 00:11:17.730 --> 00:11:23.250 of promiscuity. You could substitute in a word 00:11:23.250 --> 00:11:27.429 there, a prostitute. Go and marry a woman of 00:11:27.429 --> 00:11:29.950 promiscuity and have children of promiscuity, 00:11:30.029 --> 00:11:33.049 for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity 00:11:33.049 --> 00:11:36.070 by abandoning the Lord. Could you imagine Hosea's 00:11:36.070 --> 00:11:40.970 reaction? Like, what did you say, God? Wait, 00:11:41.169 --> 00:11:44.710 what? I think I got to get on a boat and go somewhere 00:11:44.710 --> 00:11:49.169 far, far away. Tarshish or Nineveh or somewhere. 00:11:49.289 --> 00:11:51.409 Like, let's get out of here. Like, you want me 00:11:51.409 --> 00:11:56.549 to do what? This isn't a normal prophetic assignment 00:11:56.549 --> 00:12:00.070 here, right? God didn't tell him to just go and 00:12:00.070 --> 00:12:02.029 preach to a rebellious people, you know, and 00:12:02.029 --> 00:12:04.090 stand on a stage and tell them how wrong they 00:12:04.090 --> 00:12:06.450 are, maybe perform some, you know, symbol or 00:12:06.450 --> 00:12:10.049 act. He tells him to go and get married, but 00:12:10.049 --> 00:12:13.210 not just any marriage. Hosea is commanded to 00:12:13.210 --> 00:12:16.690 pursue and unite his life with a woman who will 00:12:16.690 --> 00:12:21.830 be unfaithful. A woman who embodies the betrayal 00:12:21.830 --> 00:12:24.799 of the nation of Israel itself. And her name 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.720 is Gomer. You don't hear that name too often, 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:35.340 do you? That always reminds me of my dad talking 00:12:35.340 --> 00:12:38.679 about Gomer Pyle. Don't know who it is? Many 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:42.539 of you probably do. Gomer Pyle. But this is Gomer. 00:12:47.720 --> 00:12:50.840 Hosea's marriage is going to be a lived out parable 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:56.490 of God's love for his unfaithful people. And 00:12:56.490 --> 00:12:58.269 that's the tension, man, because this isn't just 00:12:58.269 --> 00:13:00.629 scandalous for Hosea. It's also scandalous regarding 00:13:00.629 --> 00:13:05.330 God. That's what makes Hosea such a unique prophet. 00:13:05.409 --> 00:13:07.809 Most prophets just spoke the word of God with 00:13:07.809 --> 00:13:09.950 their mouth, but Hosea is speaking with his whole 00:13:09.950 --> 00:13:12.730 life. His most personal, intimate relationship 00:13:12.730 --> 00:13:15.929 will be a reflection of God's relationship with 00:13:15.929 --> 00:13:19.710 the nation Israel. And Hosea's heartbreak will 00:13:19.710 --> 00:13:23.929 be a window into God's heartbreak over the nation. 00:13:25.389 --> 00:13:27.929 And so often we think of sin as merely breaking 00:13:27.929 --> 00:13:31.470 rules. And of course it is, but it's more than 00:13:31.470 --> 00:13:35.289 just merely breaking rules. Sin is breaking God's 00:13:35.289 --> 00:13:41.830 heart. It's relational. It's betrayal. And Israel 00:13:41.830 --> 00:13:44.690 didn't just disobey. They abandoned the Lord. 00:13:45.429 --> 00:13:49.870 They exchanged covenant love for counterfeit 00:13:49.870 --> 00:13:53.190 gods. They traded the God who rescued them from 00:13:53.190 --> 00:13:57.049 Egypt for God's made of stone and wood and sensuality 00:13:57.049 --> 00:14:04.330 and self -centeredness. This is uncomfortable 00:14:04.330 --> 00:14:08.870 because it feels unfair. Why would God call a 00:14:08.870 --> 00:14:12.629 faithful man like Hosea to suffer this kind of 00:14:12.629 --> 00:14:16.309 pain? Why would he tie the prophet's heart to 00:14:16.309 --> 00:14:21.149 someone who's going to hurt him? And it's because 00:14:21.149 --> 00:14:27.110 that's what God has done. That's what makes this 00:14:27.110 --> 00:14:30.850 grace so scandalous. God has bound himself in 00:14:30.850 --> 00:14:34.289 covenant love to a people who continually wander. 00:14:36.649 --> 00:14:40.409 That's you and me, by the way. God has bound 00:14:40.409 --> 00:14:45.769 himself to a people in covenant love. who continually 00:14:45.769 --> 00:14:48.909 wander. He's attached his name, his heart, his 00:14:48.909 --> 00:14:51.769 promise to a bride who refuses to be faithful. 00:14:53.769 --> 00:14:56.509 And if you think, wow, I feel real sorry for 00:14:56.509 --> 00:14:59.549 Hosea, then you're starting to understand how 00:14:59.549 --> 00:15:05.450 God feels. And this isn't just a story about 00:15:05.450 --> 00:15:09.889 Hosea and Gomer. It's about God in Israel. And 00:15:09.889 --> 00:15:14.820 more, it's about God in us. His covenant people. 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:19.240 Because if we're honest, every one of us has 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:25.059 been Gomer. Every one of us. We've looked at 00:15:25.059 --> 00:15:27.759 the goodness of God and we've wandered away anyway. 00:15:28.740 --> 00:15:31.519 We've all said, I'll be faithful and we've turned 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:34.779 to something else to satisfy. We've all betrayed 00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:37.519 him in one way or another and still, even still, 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:44.750 God pursues us. And that's what makes God's love 00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:48.590 so scandalous. It isn't transactional. Well, 00:15:48.669 --> 00:15:52.850 I'll love you if you love me. I'll love you if 00:15:52.850 --> 00:15:57.149 you show up. He doesn't love us because we're 00:15:57.149 --> 00:16:03.129 lovable. Tim Keller said it beautifully. He said, 00:16:03.210 --> 00:16:07.649 God's love for his people is not based on their 00:16:07.649 --> 00:16:10.789 attractiveness or performance. He loves them 00:16:10.789 --> 00:16:16.240 because he loves them. It is a love rooted in 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:23.980 his own character, not in our worthiness. Hosea 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:26.139 didn't choose Gomer because she deserved it. 00:16:26.299 --> 00:16:29.279 And neither did God choose Israel or us because 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:32.980 of what we had to offer to him. He loved because 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:36.639 he is love. And he made a covenant that he refuses 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:40.899 to walk away from. And that's what this marriage 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:43.769 is meant to show, the love of God. which is not 00:16:43.769 --> 00:16:47.190 neat, it is not tidy, it is not safe, and it's 00:16:47.190 --> 00:16:50.649 not based on what we deserve. It's risky and 00:16:50.649 --> 00:16:57.049 it's relentless love. Now this marriage, man, 00:16:57.090 --> 00:16:59.090 this marriage would not have made for a good 00:16:59.090 --> 00:17:02.629 family portrait. Not at all. You guys ever seen 00:17:02.629 --> 00:17:04.789 those people who take pictures with their cats? 00:17:06.650 --> 00:17:09.549 Anyone in here take pictures, portraits with 00:17:09.549 --> 00:17:13.930 your cats? Well, this is worse. Or those people 00:17:13.930 --> 00:17:17.190 who wear sweaters. Or those maternity pictures 00:17:17.190 --> 00:17:20.789 where the men take off their shirt and the woman 00:17:20.789 --> 00:17:22.690 shows their stomach. And you're like, what is 00:17:22.690 --> 00:17:32.630 that? Yeah, this is bad. It's not about romance. 00:17:32.789 --> 00:17:36.029 It's not about what's comfortable. But it was 00:17:36.029 --> 00:17:39.309 real. It was a living demonstration of a God 00:17:39.309 --> 00:17:43.170 who refused to give up. on the people he loves. 00:17:45.190 --> 00:17:46.890 And if that weren't shocking enough, you might 00:17:46.890 --> 00:17:49.130 think, okay, there's the story right there. This 00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:53.509 marriage, that's crazy. But the story actually 00:17:53.509 --> 00:17:57.349 gets more uncomfortable because Hosea, I mean 00:17:57.349 --> 00:18:00.650 Hosea, yeah, Hosea, sorry. In the first service, 00:18:00.769 --> 00:18:05.509 I said Homer. I tried to like put the two names 00:18:05.509 --> 00:18:06.930 together and I was like, I'll just stick with 00:18:06.930 --> 00:18:10.289 Homer for the rest of the time, right? You know, 00:18:10.329 --> 00:18:20.369 like Brad and Angelina. Gomer, no. Hosea and 00:18:20.369 --> 00:18:23.930 Gomer are going to have children. And God gives 00:18:23.930 --> 00:18:28.809 them names that no child would ever want. But 00:18:28.809 --> 00:18:31.349 through those names, God continues to speak a 00:18:31.349 --> 00:18:35.250 message that the nation cannot ignore. And so 00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:37.349 if you're taking notes, point number three is 00:18:37.349 --> 00:18:44.089 name them what? Look at verse four. Then the 00:18:44.089 --> 00:18:50.349 Lord said to him, name him Jezreel. For in a 00:18:50.349 --> 00:18:53.210 little while, I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel 00:18:53.210 --> 00:18:56.250 on the house of Jehu and put an end to the kingdom 00:18:56.250 --> 00:19:01.670 of the house of Israel. Their first son is named 00:19:01.670 --> 00:19:04.690 Jezreel, a name that literally means God scatters 00:19:04.690 --> 00:19:07.470 or God sows, but it carries a deep historical 00:19:07.470 --> 00:19:11.730 sting. Jezreel was a valley in northern Israel 00:19:11.730 --> 00:19:15.000 associated with a brutal massacre. carried out 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.079 by Jehu. He was commanded to go and to kill the 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:21.740 house of Ahab, the household of Ahab, but he 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:24.079 took it much further than he should have. He 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:26.759 went beyond the bounds. He took it further than 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:29.400 God had commanded and he did it for political 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:33.180 gains and it was excessive and he shed blood. 00:19:33.299 --> 00:19:36.559 And God is saying in the naming of their first 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:40.599 son, name him Jezreel. God is saying, I have 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:47.009 not forgotten the sin. Jezreel will become a 00:19:47.009 --> 00:19:50.170 prophetic name of judgment, a reminder of the 00:19:50.170 --> 00:19:54.329 violence and corruption and injustice. Even under 00:19:54.329 --> 00:20:00.230 the guise of religious fervor, it will not go 00:20:00.230 --> 00:20:06.079 unpunished. And so name the first son. Then comes 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:08.779 the second son in verse six, second child. She 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:10.599 conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:14.079 And the Lord said to him, name her Lo -Ruhamah, 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:16.980 for I will no longer have compassion on the house 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:21.640 of Israel. I will certainly take them away. Lo 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:26.500 -Ruhamah means no mercy or no compassion. No 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:28.960 mercy, no compassion. Can you imagine calling 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:31.660 your daughter to the dinner table? Come here, 00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:34.799 no mercy. Come here, no mercy. Get over here, 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:40.359 no mercy. What kind of name is that? Every time 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:46.519 Hosea looked at his daughter and every time someone 00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:49.680 asked what her name is, they would hear the message 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:54.619 again. You have exhausted the compassion of God. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:06.000 God will send judgment. This doesn't mean that 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:08.480 God's character had changed. He's still merciful. 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:15.079 He is slow to anger. But Israel had presumed 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:18.420 upon that mercy for too long. And we have to 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:20.279 make sure that we don't ever make the mistake 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:27.759 of God's patience as permission for sin. Just 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:30.299 because we haven't experienced the consequences 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:33.430 of our sin yet doesn't mean That they're not 00:21:33.430 --> 00:21:36.390 coming. It might mean that God is patiently waiting, 00:21:36.589 --> 00:21:43.410 calling us to repentance. And for Israel, now 00:21:43.410 --> 00:21:46.549 judgment was inevitable. And then came their 00:21:46.549 --> 00:21:49.710 third child. The Lord said, name him Lo -Amai, 00:21:49.750 --> 00:21:53.390 for you are not my people and I will not be your 00:21:53.390 --> 00:22:00.289 God. Lo -Amai means not my people. And this is 00:22:00.289 --> 00:22:04.599 the most devastating name of all. Why? Because 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:07.940 those words, you are not my people and I am not 00:22:07.940 --> 00:22:11.160 your God, are a reversal of the covenantal formula 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:14.599 that had defined Israel's relationship with the 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:17.920 Lord since the beginning. Over and over and over 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:20.920 again, God had said, I will be your God and you 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:23.099 will be my people. It was the heartbeat of the 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:26.940 covenant. And now God says that relationship 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:33.160 has been broken. These names are not just strange 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:36.599 names. They're heartbreaking. They tell the story 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:40.680 of a people who have run so far from God that 00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:43.039 they no longer recognize him. A people who have 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:45.819 rejected his mercy and forfeited their identity. 00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:51.619 And this part of the story, any part that involves 00:22:51.619 --> 00:22:54.279 judgment is uncomfortable for us because we demand 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:57.680 grace. We want grace. We want love. All we need 00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:02.740 is love, man. But what do we do when God speaks 00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:08.380 a word of judgment? God's judgment is never impulsive. 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:12.220 It's never petty. It's always purposeful and 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:19.140 it's always preceded by his grace. He warns us 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:23.140 because he loves us. He names our brokenness 00:23:23.140 --> 00:23:25.700 and he names our sin. Why? Because he wants to 00:23:25.700 --> 00:23:32.059 heal it. And these names, are not the end of 00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:35.420 the story. They are, though, an urgent call to 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:40.140 return to God. When we reject God's mercy and 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:43.019 we go our own way, there are consequences. Sin 00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:46.480 isn't just rebellion. It redefines everything. 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:51.059 It distorts our identity. It cuts us off from 00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:54.740 the God who made us. It leaves us scattered and 00:23:54.740 --> 00:24:03.710 ashamed and alone. But even here, in Hosea chapter 00:24:03.710 --> 00:24:08.750 1, in the darkest moment of this chapter, there's 00:24:08.750 --> 00:24:12.549 a flicker of hope. Because the judgment is real, 00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:20.950 but it's not final. In verse 10, right after 00:24:20.950 --> 00:24:24.250 declaring, not my people, God begins to whisper 00:24:24.250 --> 00:24:28.930 a new name. A promise of reversal, a restoration. 00:24:29.789 --> 00:24:32.089 a grace that will never let go. If you're taking 00:24:32.089 --> 00:24:34.549 notes, write down number four, a promise that 00:24:34.549 --> 00:24:39.930 refuses to let go. Just when you think that the 00:24:39.930 --> 00:24:42.730 story couldn't get heavier, something incredible 00:24:42.730 --> 00:24:46.150 happens. It's marked by the small yet powerful 00:24:46.150 --> 00:24:51.470 word, yet. After laying out the judgment through 00:24:51.470 --> 00:24:54.539 the names of these children, Verse 10 then begins, 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:57.099 almost out of nowhere, it seems almost out of 00:24:57.099 --> 00:25:00.059 place. Yet the number of the Israelites will 00:25:00.059 --> 00:25:02.380 be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be 00:25:02.380 --> 00:25:04.700 measured or counted. And in the place where they 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:07.400 were told, you are not my people, they will be 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:12.750 called sons of the living God. The scandal of 00:25:12.750 --> 00:25:16.289 grace comes now into full view. Right after pronouncing 00:25:16.289 --> 00:25:19.049 judgment, God breaks into the darkness with a 00:25:19.049 --> 00:25:21.630 promise so surprising and so undeserving, it 00:25:21.630 --> 00:25:26.609 really does seem out of place. He's essentially 00:25:26.609 --> 00:25:29.329 saying, you will be as numerous as the stars 00:25:29.329 --> 00:25:32.289 in the sand, which is a direct echo of his covenant 00:25:32.289 --> 00:25:38.069 to Abraham. Even though Israel has broken faith, 00:25:38.349 --> 00:25:43.450 God has not forgotten his promise. And then he 00:25:43.450 --> 00:25:45.750 says something that's even more astonishing. 00:25:45.890 --> 00:25:48.630 In the very place where you were called, not 00:25:48.630 --> 00:25:51.890 my people, you will be called children of the 00:25:51.890 --> 00:25:57.349 living God. God is not just forgiving. He's restoring. 00:25:57.569 --> 00:26:03.630 He's rewriting the name. The place of your rebellion 00:26:03.630 --> 00:26:06.970 becomes the place of your redemption. The label 00:26:06.970 --> 00:26:10.069 of shame becomes this title of belonging again. 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:19.240 And this is the heart of our God. Lo am I, not 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:24.900 my people was a name of disownment. But God says, 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:29.279 I'm going to reverse it. I'm going to bring you 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:35.480 home. I'm going to renew you. Even when you are 00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:38.700 faithful, God remains. Even when you're faithless, 00:26:38.700 --> 00:26:42.750 God remains faithful. Even when you push him 00:26:42.750 --> 00:26:47.309 away, he draws near and pursues. Even when we 00:26:47.309 --> 00:26:53.769 deserve to be cut off, he opens his arms. Why? 00:26:55.009 --> 00:27:00.230 Because he is a covenant -keeping God. His love 00:27:00.230 --> 00:27:04.150 is not based on our performance. We get so used 00:27:04.150 --> 00:27:06.450 to love that's based on performance, don't we? 00:27:06.509 --> 00:27:09.059 We experience it in every relationship. that 00:27:09.059 --> 00:27:11.420 we've ever had as a human, love that's based 00:27:11.420 --> 00:27:15.099 on a performance. As parents, we try not to do 00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:16.839 that with our kids, but we do it oftentimes. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:19.720 It seeps in as in relationships, marriages, wherever 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:22.059 it is, relationship that's based on performance, 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:24.980 love that's based on performance. We don't understand 00:27:24.980 --> 00:27:31.500 that God is not like that. His love is not based 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:33.880 on a performance. It's based in his character, 00:27:34.059 --> 00:27:37.299 who he is. And that's the scandal is grace. Grace 00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:41.000 that keeps pursuing the undeserving. Grace that 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:43.440 holds on to broken people and says, I'm not done 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:53.039 with you yet. Stop squirming. There's more. Verse 00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:56.859 11, the people of Judah and the people of Israel 00:27:56.859 --> 00:27:59.829 will be gathered together. They will appoint 00:27:59.829 --> 00:28:02.849 for themselves a single ruler and go up from 00:28:02.849 --> 00:28:05.950 the land for the day of Jezreel will be great. 00:28:09.130 --> 00:28:11.549 This would have stunned Hosea's audience because 00:28:11.549 --> 00:28:15.089 at the time, Israel and Judah were divided. They're 00:28:15.089 --> 00:28:17.569 politically fractured. They were spiritually 00:28:17.569 --> 00:28:20.829 hostile to one another. But God promises that 00:28:20.829 --> 00:28:24.029 a day is coming when they will be reunited under 00:28:24.029 --> 00:28:26.910 one king, one ruler who will lead them out of 00:28:26.910 --> 00:28:30.880 exile and into blessing. And this future promise, 00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:34.900 it's a promise of restoration. And that name, 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:37.339 Jezreel, which comes up there at the end, which 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:40.599 meant judgment or scattering. God now says it 00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:43.460 means something new. Jezreel meaning God scatters 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:45.920 or sows. Before it was God scatters or sows in 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:48.180 judgment or in wrath. Now it's going to mean 00:28:48.180 --> 00:28:51.740 God scatters and sows a new life, a new beginning. 00:28:55.640 --> 00:28:59.710 God will replant what was torn up. He will sow 00:28:59.710 --> 00:29:05.369 in mercy what was once scattered in wrath. And 00:29:05.369 --> 00:29:07.410 what does that tell us? Well, it tells us that 00:29:07.410 --> 00:29:11.289 there is no wound that is too deep. And there 00:29:11.289 --> 00:29:16.309 is no name too broken. And no sin too stubborn 00:29:16.309 --> 00:29:20.710 that God's grace can't rewrite it. I say that 00:29:20.710 --> 00:29:23.549 again, there's no wound too deep, there is no 00:29:23.549 --> 00:29:26.349 name too broken, and there is no sin that is 00:29:26.349 --> 00:29:28.990 too stubborn that God's grace cannot rewrite 00:29:28.990 --> 00:29:35.589 it. Some of you need to hear that today. Maybe 00:29:35.589 --> 00:29:37.750 you've lived under the weight of some of these 00:29:37.750 --> 00:29:41.490 names. Maybe you've carried around the name not 00:29:41.490 --> 00:29:46.309 loved. Maybe you've walked under the name not 00:29:46.309 --> 00:29:51.400 good enough. Maybe you've believed a lie that 00:29:51.400 --> 00:29:55.240 you've gone too far. You're too messy. You're 00:29:55.240 --> 00:30:00.200 too faithless. The story of Hosea tells us something 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:02.819 different. It tells us that there's a God who 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:08.440 specializes in name reversals. A God who doesn't 00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:12.000 abandon the unfaithful, but comes pursuing them 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.660 with his goodness, pursuing them with his love 00:30:14.660 --> 00:30:18.599 and his kindness. A God who promises. That he 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:23.880 can outlast our rebellion. And that's where this 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:25.740 story in the entire book is ultimately pointing. 00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:29.019 Because Hosea's story is not only about Israel. 00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:32.880 And it's not only about us who are in Christ. 00:30:33.339 --> 00:30:37.759 But it is about a redeemer to come. A bridegroom 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:41.119 who would take scandalous grace to the cross. 00:30:42.700 --> 00:30:45.119 And the last point I'll have you write this morning. 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:52.579 A scandalous grace. How can a holy God stay faithful 00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:57.480 to such an unfaithful people? How can he forgive 00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:04.059 betrayal and still be just? How can he show mercy 00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:10.759 without compromising truth? And those questions 00:31:10.759 --> 00:31:13.019 will linger throughout the whole book of Hosea 00:31:13.019 --> 00:31:17.700 and not fully be answered here, not by Hosea 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:24.319 at least. But they will in Jesus. Because Hosea 00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:27.259 ultimately is not the hero of the story. He's 00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:30.599 the pointer, the signpost, the preview. He's 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:35.880 the shadow of a greater bridegroom to come. And 00:31:35.880 --> 00:31:37.900 the Apostle Paul picks this up in Romans chapter 00:31:37.900 --> 00:31:41.960 9 when he quotes Hosea 1 .10 directly. Apostle 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:46.640 Paul says, quoting Hosea 1, I will call not my 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:51.710 people, my people. And she who is unloved, beloved. 00:31:54.069 --> 00:31:57.150 Paul sees in Hosea, the heart of the gospel, 00:31:57.329 --> 00:32:00.730 that God has extended his covenant love not just 00:32:00.730 --> 00:32:03.750 to rebellious Israel, but now to the Gentiles, 00:32:03.750 --> 00:32:08.769 to outsiders, to us. The scandal has grown. Grace 00:32:08.769 --> 00:32:13.269 is now reaching beyond the borders. The names 00:32:13.269 --> 00:32:15.930 are being rewritten, not just for the nation, 00:32:16.009 --> 00:32:20.019 but for the world. And how does this happen? 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:22.839 Well, it happens at the cross because Jesus, 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:25.940 the sinless son of God, stepped into our Gomer 00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:29.680 story. And he didn't just love the unfaithful 00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:33.299 from a distance. He came near incarnate to redeem 00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:38.559 her, to buy her back, to take her shame, to take 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:41.079 her judgment, to take her name and wear it as 00:32:41.079 --> 00:32:48.039 his own. On the cross, Jesus became, lo am I, 00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:51.660 not my people, so that we could become sons and 00:32:51.660 --> 00:32:57.740 daughters of the Most High. He bore, lo, Ruhamah, 00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:00.740 no mercy, no compassion, so that we could receive 00:33:00.740 --> 00:33:07.900 mercy that will never run dry. He endured Jezreel 00:33:07.900 --> 00:33:14.460 scattered, torn, and crushed. So that we might 00:33:14.460 --> 00:33:17.220 be gathered and planted in the garden of God. 00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:23.180 That's the great exchange. The scandal of the 00:33:23.180 --> 00:33:25.400 gospel. There's a church father, Athanasius, 00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:27.880 put it this way over 1600 years ago. He said, 00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:32.740 Jesus Christ became what we are so that we might 00:33:32.740 --> 00:33:40.200 become what he is. That's the gospel that Hosea 00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:43.039 is pointing to. Christ stepped into our unfaithfulness. 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:46.319 He bore our names of judgment. He gave us his 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:49.559 name of righteousness. He took on our shame to 00:33:49.559 --> 00:33:53.859 clothe us in sonship. And Paul grabs this theme 00:33:53.859 --> 00:33:56.880 in Titus chapter three, and he says, for we too, 00:33:57.039 --> 00:34:00.599 we were foolish. We were once disobedient. We 00:34:00.599 --> 00:34:03.990 were deceived. We were enslaved. But when the 00:34:03.990 --> 00:34:07.130 kindness of God, our Savior, and his love for 00:34:07.130 --> 00:34:12.849 mankind appeared, he saved us. Not by the works 00:34:12.849 --> 00:34:15.530 of righteousness that we have done, but according 00:34:15.530 --> 00:34:26.989 to his mercy. Scandalous grace. Undeserved. And 00:34:26.989 --> 00:34:29.130 you know what that means? That means that there's 00:34:29.130 --> 00:34:34.119 hope for every gomer in the room. There's hope 00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:37.659 for every person who has wandered, everyone whose 00:34:37.659 --> 00:34:41.719 love has grown cold, and every heart that's been 00:34:41.719 --> 00:34:45.760 unfaithful. Because Jesus didn't come for the 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:50.579 well -behaved, and he came for the broken. He 00:34:50.579 --> 00:34:53.960 came for the ones with the wrong names, the wrong 00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:59.639 stories, and the wrong reputations. And he says, 00:34:59.639 --> 00:35:06.400 I want you. I choose you. I've come to give you 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:13.280 a new name. So you may feel like Gomer, but Christ 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:18.019 is the better Hosea, and he has come to make 00:35:18.019 --> 00:35:18.460 you his.