All right, well, we're going to get into our
time in the Word. If you will, join me in praying
for this time. Go ahead and bow your head. Father,
we come to you today, and we, humbled in your
presence, the King of the universe reigning over
all, we come to submit ourselves to you, to your
Word. Lord, I pray that it would go deep into
our heart as we marvel at your grace and your
mercy. Lord, may we never be too proud, too big
for your amazing grace and mercy. But may, Lord,
even today we submit to that as you transform
our minds and our hearts for your glory. We ask
this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. If you have
a Bible, go ahead and turn over to the book of
Hosea. Hosea. We're going to be starting a brand
new series called Scandalous Grace, and it is
out of the book of Hosea. Just one of the minor
prophets, if you're in your Old Testament book,
and it's toward the back, half of the Old Testament,
you'll find it. It's also page 510 in the book,
so the Bibles that are inside of the chairs there.
You can turn over to page 510 or look for Hosea.
If you need help, you can go to the table of
contents in your Bible, or you can ask a neighbor
to help you out if you need to find that. It's
not a usual place for us, but we're going to
be here for the next few weeks, so get used to
it. Mark it in your Bible, all right? Hosea chapter
1, verse 1. The word of the Lord that came to
Hosea, son of Be 'erai, during the reigns of
Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of
Judah, and of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, king
of Israel. When the Lord first spoke to Hosea,
he said this to him, go and marry a woman of
promiscuity and have children of promiscuity.
For the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity
by abandoning the Lord. So he went and married
Gomer. daughter of Dibliam. And she conceived
and bore him a son. And then the Lord said to
him, name him Jezreel. For in a little while,
I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel on the
house of Jehu and put an end to the kingdom of
the house of Israel. On that day, I will break
the bow of Israel in Jezreel Valley. She conceived
again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord
said to him, name her Loruhamah. for I will no
longer have compassion on the house of Israel.
I will certainly take them away, but I will have
compassion on the house of Judah, and I will
deliver them by the Lord their God. I will not
deliver them by bow, sword, or war, or by horses
or cavalry. After Gomer had weaned Lo -Ruhamah,
she conceived and gave birth to a son, and then
the Lord said, Name him Lo -Ammai. For you are
not my people and I will not be your God. Yet
the number of Israelites will be like the sand
of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted.
And in the place where they were told, you are
not my people, they will be called sons of the
living God. And the Judeans and the Israelites
will be gathered together. They will appoint
for themselves a single ruler and go up from
the land for the day of Jezreel will be great.
This is God's word. Have you ever loved someone
who didn't love you back? Anyone ever love someone
who didn't love you back? Or someone who said
all the right things and made all the right promises
but kept walking away? Maybe it was a friend
who betrayed your trust or a spouse who broke
their vows. Maybe it was a child who didn't respond
to your love. Or someone you would have done
anything for, but they stopped showing up. And
that kind of love is painful, isn't it? That
kind of love feels one -sided. And eventually
most of us just stop offering it altogether,
don't we? But God doesn't. The theologian D .A.
Carson puts it this way, the love of God is not
the consequence of our loveliness. The love of
God is utterly astonishing because God loves
the unlovely, the unlovable, and the unloving.
And that's what the book of Hosea is all about.
God doesn't just tell us about his love in this
book, but he puts it on display in one of the
most shocking ways imaginable. He commands a
prophet named Hosea to marry a woman who will
betray him. He knows that he's going to. He's
going into this marriage and she will let him
down. She will betray him. God told Hosea in
advance it will happen. Why? That he might live
out in real time the pain of unfaithfulness.
Hosea's very life will become a story, a parable,
a living illustration in order to experience
the heartbreak of rejection so that Israel, the
nation of Israel, and us today, we might see
the truth that this is how we treat God. And
this is how he loves us anyways. This is scandalous
grace. And it begins with a nation that had everything,
but walked away from the God who had given it
to them. And so let's begin with this setting
in Hosea chapter 1, verse 1. And it opens in
the days of political strength, but spiritual
decay. Israel looked strong on the outside, but
they were far from God on the inside. If you're
taking notes, the first of five points. Is a
nation gone astray? The book of Hosea opens quietly
the word of the Lord that came to Hosea, son
of Be 'erai. Sorry, I practice the names a lot.
Did pretty good. Till then, Be 'erai. During
the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash,
king of Israel. That's where it starts. But behind
this verse, behind this really plain, unemotional
recounting of the time and place of this occurrence,
there lies an entire world of political chaos
and spiritual decay. Hosea lived and ministered
during the reign of Jeroboam II in the northern
kingdom of Israel. It was in many ways a golden
age for the nation. The economy was strong. The
borders were secure. The military was powerful.
The people were enjoying prosperity like they
hadn't seen in years. And from the outside, Israel
looked successful and blessed. But on the inside,
at the level of the heart, the nation was crumbling.
Anyone ever seen someone who looks successful
and blessed on the outside? And you went, wow,
God's favor must be with them. Only to find out
that they were a mess on the inside. That was
Israel. The people had abandoned their covenant
with God. He was their God and they would be
his people. And idolatry was now rampant in the
land. Injustice was everywhere. The rich grew
richer while the poor were exploited. And they
still claimed the name of the Lord. And yet their
worship was empty or polluted or oftentimes mixed
with pagan rituals. They were going through the
motions of religion without the reality of relationship
with God. And worst of all, they thought they
were fine. They thought they were okay. They
mistook the prosperity for God's pleasure, and
they assumed that because life was going well,
God must be happy with them. But as we'll see
throughout Hosea, success is not always a sign
of God's blessing. And the tragedy is this, that
Israel had forsaken who she was. She was meant
to be the people of God, the nation chosen through
Abraham, called to be a light to the nations,
set apart in covenant love, rescued from Egypt
by the very hand of God. But by the time Hosea
receives this word from the Lord, Israel looks
just like the pagan nations around her. And this
is the moment when the Lord speaks to Hosea.
But God doesn't just send him like a normal prophet
to go and speak this word. Instead, he says,
you're going to live this message, Hosea. Hosea
is not going to only declare God's heartbreak.
He's going to embody it himself. His entire life
will become a living parable of God's love and
God's pain and God's relentless pursuit of his
people, even as they were, spiritually speaking,
already in bed with another lover. And as we
consider that reality, we have to ask, are we
really so different? Have we in our own lives
exchanged covenant relationship and love for
cultural comforts? Have we traded in a passionate
love for God for polite, manageable religion?
It's always the danger. A spiritual drift, man,
it rarely feels like rebellion at first. It usually
feels like busyness or a series of compromises
or pragmatism. But over time, we wake up and
we realize we have drifted far from God. God
doesn't just want Hosea to speak to his people.
He wants Hosea to live the message out. And he
tells him to marry a woman who will break his
heart. Because that's exactly what Israel had
done to God. If you're taking notes, the second
point I'll have you write is a marriage that
makes headlines. Even today, we're talking about
it. After introducing Hosea in verse one, verse
two, takes this sudden turn. Go and marry a woman
of promiscuity. You could substitute in a word
there, a prostitute. Go and marry a woman of
promiscuity and have children of promiscuity,
for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity
by abandoning the Lord. Could you imagine Hosea's
reaction? Like, what did you say, God? Wait,
what? I think I got to get on a boat and go somewhere
far, far away. Tarshish or Nineveh or somewhere.
Like, let's get out of here. Like, you want me
to do what? This isn't a normal prophetic assignment
here, right? God didn't tell him to just go and
preach to a rebellious people, you know, and
stand on a stage and tell them how wrong they
are, maybe perform some, you know, symbol or
act. He tells him to go and get married, but
not just any marriage. Hosea is commanded to
pursue and unite his life with a woman who will
be unfaithful. A woman who embodies the betrayal
of the nation of Israel itself. And her name
is Gomer. You don't hear that name too often,
do you? That always reminds me of my dad talking
about Gomer Pyle. Don't know who it is? Many
of you probably do. Gomer Pyle. But this is Gomer.
Hosea's marriage is going to be a lived out parable
of God's love for his unfaithful people. And
that's the tension, man, because this isn't just
scandalous for Hosea. It's also scandalous regarding
God. That's what makes Hosea such a unique prophet.
Most prophets just spoke the word of God with
their mouth, but Hosea is speaking with his whole
life. His most personal, intimate relationship
will be a reflection of God's relationship with
the nation Israel. And Hosea's heartbreak will
be a window into God's heartbreak over the nation.
And so often we think of sin as merely breaking
rules. And of course it is, but it's more than
just merely breaking rules. Sin is breaking God's
heart. It's relational. It's betrayal. And Israel
didn't just disobey. They abandoned the Lord.
They exchanged covenant love for counterfeit
gods. They traded the God who rescued them from
Egypt for God's made of stone and wood and sensuality
and self -centeredness. This is uncomfortable
because it feels unfair. Why would God call a
faithful man like Hosea to suffer this kind of
pain? Why would he tie the prophet's heart to
someone who's going to hurt him? And it's because
that's what God has done. That's what makes this
grace so scandalous. God has bound himself in
covenant love to a people who continually wander.
That's you and me, by the way. God has bound
himself to a people in covenant love. who continually
wander. He's attached his name, his heart, his
promise to a bride who refuses to be faithful.
And if you think, wow, I feel real sorry for
Hosea, then you're starting to understand how
God feels. And this isn't just a story about
Hosea and Gomer. It's about God in Israel. And
more, it's about God in us. His covenant people.
Because if we're honest, every one of us has
been Gomer. Every one of us. We've looked at
the goodness of God and we've wandered away anyway.
We've all said, I'll be faithful and we've turned
to something else to satisfy. We've all betrayed
him in one way or another and still, even still,
God pursues us. And that's what makes God's love
so scandalous. It isn't transactional. Well,
I'll love you if you love me. I'll love you if
you show up. He doesn't love us because we're
lovable. Tim Keller said it beautifully. He said,
God's love for his people is not based on their
attractiveness or performance. He loves them
because he loves them. It is a love rooted in
his own character, not in our worthiness. Hosea
didn't choose Gomer because she deserved it.
And neither did God choose Israel or us because
of what we had to offer to him. He loved because
he is love. And he made a covenant that he refuses
to walk away from. And that's what this marriage
is meant to show, the love of God. which is not
neat, it is not tidy, it is not safe, and it's
not based on what we deserve. It's risky and
it's relentless love. Now this marriage, man,
this marriage would not have made for a good
family portrait. Not at all. You guys ever seen
those people who take pictures with their cats?
Anyone in here take pictures, portraits with
your cats? Well, this is worse. Or those people
who wear sweaters. Or those maternity pictures
where the men take off their shirt and the woman
shows their stomach. And you're like, what is
that? Yeah, this is bad. It's not about romance.
It's not about what's comfortable. But it was
real. It was a living demonstration of a God
who refused to give up. on the people he loves.
And if that weren't shocking enough, you might
think, okay, there's the story right there. This
marriage, that's crazy. But the story actually
gets more uncomfortable because Hosea, I mean
Hosea, yeah, Hosea, sorry. In the first service,
I said Homer. I tried to like put the two names
together and I was like, I'll just stick with
Homer for the rest of the time, right? You know,
like Brad and Angelina. Gomer, no. Hosea and
Gomer are going to have children. And God gives
them names that no child would ever want. But
through those names, God continues to speak a
message that the nation cannot ignore. And so
if you're taking notes, point number three is
name them what? Look at verse four. Then the
Lord said to him, name him Jezreel. For in a
little while, I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel
on the house of Jehu and put an end to the kingdom
of the house of Israel. Their first son is named
Jezreel, a name that literally means God scatters
or God sows, but it carries a deep historical
sting. Jezreel was a valley in northern Israel
associated with a brutal massacre. carried out
by Jehu. He was commanded to go and to kill the
house of Ahab, the household of Ahab, but he
took it much further than he should have. He
went beyond the bounds. He took it further than
God had commanded and he did it for political
gains and it was excessive and he shed blood.
And God is saying in the naming of their first
son, name him Jezreel. God is saying, I have
not forgotten the sin. Jezreel will become a
prophetic name of judgment, a reminder of the
violence and corruption and injustice. Even under
the guise of religious fervor, it will not go
unpunished. And so name the first son. Then comes
the second son in verse six, second child. She
conceived again and gave birth to a daughter.
And the Lord said to him, name her Lo -Ruhamah,
for I will no longer have compassion on the house
of Israel. I will certainly take them away. Lo
-Ruhamah means no mercy or no compassion. No
mercy, no compassion. Can you imagine calling
your daughter to the dinner table? Come here,
no mercy. Come here, no mercy. Get over here,
no mercy. What kind of name is that? Every time
Hosea looked at his daughter and every time someone
asked what her name is, they would hear the message
again. You have exhausted the compassion of God.
God will send judgment. This doesn't mean that
God's character had changed. He's still merciful.
He is slow to anger. But Israel had presumed
upon that mercy for too long. And we have to
make sure that we don't ever make the mistake
of God's patience as permission for sin. Just
because we haven't experienced the consequences
of our sin yet doesn't mean That they're not
coming. It might mean that God is patiently waiting,
calling us to repentance. And for Israel, now
judgment was inevitable. And then came their
third child. The Lord said, name him Lo -Amai,
for you are not my people and I will not be your
God. Lo -Amai means not my people. And this is
the most devastating name of all. Why? Because
those words, you are not my people and I am not
your God, are a reversal of the covenantal formula
that had defined Israel's relationship with the
Lord since the beginning. Over and over and over
again, God had said, I will be your God and you
will be my people. It was the heartbeat of the
covenant. And now God says that relationship
has been broken. These names are not just strange
names. They're heartbreaking. They tell the story
of a people who have run so far from God that
they no longer recognize him. A people who have
rejected his mercy and forfeited their identity.
And this part of the story, any part that involves
judgment is uncomfortable for us because we demand
grace. We want grace. We want love. All we need
is love, man. But what do we do when God speaks
a word of judgment? God's judgment is never impulsive.
It's never petty. It's always purposeful and
it's always preceded by his grace. He warns us
because he loves us. He names our brokenness
and he names our sin. Why? Because he wants to
heal it. And these names, are not the end of
the story. They are, though, an urgent call to
return to God. When we reject God's mercy and
we go our own way, there are consequences. Sin
isn't just rebellion. It redefines everything.
It distorts our identity. It cuts us off from
the God who made us. It leaves us scattered and
ashamed and alone. But even here, in Hosea chapter
1, in the darkest moment of this chapter, there's
a flicker of hope. Because the judgment is real,
but it's not final. In verse 10, right after
declaring, not my people, God begins to whisper
a new name. A promise of reversal, a restoration.
a grace that will never let go. If you're taking
notes, write down number four, a promise that
refuses to let go. Just when you think that the
story couldn't get heavier, something incredible
happens. It's marked by the small yet powerful
word, yet. After laying out the judgment through
the names of these children, Verse 10 then begins,
almost out of nowhere, it seems almost out of
place. Yet the number of the Israelites will
be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be
measured or counted. And in the place where they
were told, you are not my people, they will be
called sons of the living God. The scandal of
grace comes now into full view. Right after pronouncing
judgment, God breaks into the darkness with a
promise so surprising and so undeserving, it
really does seem out of place. He's essentially
saying, you will be as numerous as the stars
in the sand, which is a direct echo of his covenant
to Abraham. Even though Israel has broken faith,
God has not forgotten his promise. And then he
says something that's even more astonishing.
In the very place where you were called, not
my people, you will be called children of the
living God. God is not just forgiving. He's restoring.
He's rewriting the name. The place of your rebellion
becomes the place of your redemption. The label
of shame becomes this title of belonging again.
And this is the heart of our God. Lo am I, not
my people was a name of disownment. But God says,
I'm going to reverse it. I'm going to bring you
home. I'm going to renew you. Even when you are
faithful, God remains. Even when you're faithless,
God remains faithful. Even when you push him
away, he draws near and pursues. Even when we
deserve to be cut off, he opens his arms. Why?
Because he is a covenant -keeping God. His love
is not based on our performance. We get so used
to love that's based on performance, don't we?
We experience it in every relationship. that
we've ever had as a human, love that's based
on a performance. As parents, we try not to do
that with our kids, but we do it oftentimes.
It seeps in as in relationships, marriages, wherever
it is, relationship that's based on performance,
love that's based on performance. We don't understand
that God is not like that. His love is not based
on a performance. It's based in his character,
who he is. And that's the scandal is grace. Grace
that keeps pursuing the undeserving. Grace that
holds on to broken people and says, I'm not done
with you yet. Stop squirming. There's more. Verse
11, the people of Judah and the people of Israel
will be gathered together. They will appoint
for themselves a single ruler and go up from
the land for the day of Jezreel will be great.
This would have stunned Hosea's audience because
at the time, Israel and Judah were divided. They're
politically fractured. They were spiritually
hostile to one another. But God promises that
a day is coming when they will be reunited under
one king, one ruler who will lead them out of
exile and into blessing. And this future promise,
it's a promise of restoration. And that name,
Jezreel, which comes up there at the end, which
meant judgment or scattering. God now says it
means something new. Jezreel meaning God scatters
or sows. Before it was God scatters or sows in
judgment or in wrath. Now it's going to mean
God scatters and sows a new life, a new beginning.
God will replant what was torn up. He will sow
in mercy what was once scattered in wrath. And
what does that tell us? Well, it tells us that
there is no wound that is too deep. And there
is no name too broken. And no sin too stubborn
that God's grace can't rewrite it. I say that
again, there's no wound too deep, there is no
name too broken, and there is no sin that is
too stubborn that God's grace cannot rewrite
it. Some of you need to hear that today. Maybe
you've lived under the weight of some of these
names. Maybe you've carried around the name not
loved. Maybe you've walked under the name not
good enough. Maybe you've believed a lie that
you've gone too far. You're too messy. You're
too faithless. The story of Hosea tells us something
different. It tells us that there's a God who
specializes in name reversals. A God who doesn't
abandon the unfaithful, but comes pursuing them
with his goodness, pursuing them with his love
and his kindness. A God who promises. That he
can outlast our rebellion. And that's where this
story in the entire book is ultimately pointing.
Because Hosea's story is not only about Israel.
And it's not only about us who are in Christ.
But it is about a redeemer to come. A bridegroom
who would take scandalous grace to the cross.
And the last point I'll have you write this morning.
A scandalous grace. How can a holy God stay faithful
to such an unfaithful people? How can he forgive
betrayal and still be just? How can he show mercy
without compromising truth? And those questions
will linger throughout the whole book of Hosea
and not fully be answered here, not by Hosea
at least. But they will in Jesus. Because Hosea
ultimately is not the hero of the story. He's
the pointer, the signpost, the preview. He's
the shadow of a greater bridegroom to come. And
the Apostle Paul picks this up in Romans chapter
9 when he quotes Hosea 1 .10 directly. Apostle
Paul says, quoting Hosea 1, I will call not my
people, my people. And she who is unloved, beloved.
Paul sees in Hosea, the heart of the gospel,
that God has extended his covenant love not just
to rebellious Israel, but now to the Gentiles,
to outsiders, to us. The scandal has grown. Grace
is now reaching beyond the borders. The names
are being rewritten, not just for the nation,
but for the world. And how does this happen?
Well, it happens at the cross because Jesus,
the sinless son of God, stepped into our Gomer
story. And he didn't just love the unfaithful
from a distance. He came near incarnate to redeem
her, to buy her back, to take her shame, to take
her judgment, to take her name and wear it as
his own. On the cross, Jesus became, lo am I,
not my people, so that we could become sons and
daughters of the Most High. He bore, lo, Ruhamah,
no mercy, no compassion, so that we could receive
mercy that will never run dry. He endured Jezreel
scattered, torn, and crushed. So that we might
be gathered and planted in the garden of God.
That's the great exchange. The scandal of the
gospel. There's a church father, Athanasius,
put it this way over 1600 years ago. He said,
Jesus Christ became what we are so that we might
become what he is. That's the gospel that Hosea
is pointing to. Christ stepped into our unfaithfulness.
He bore our names of judgment. He gave us his
name of righteousness. He took on our shame to
clothe us in sonship. And Paul grabs this theme
in Titus chapter three, and he says, for we too,
we were foolish. We were once disobedient. We
were deceived. We were enslaved. But when the
kindness of God, our Savior, and his love for
mankind appeared, he saved us. Not by the works
of righteousness that we have done, but according
to his mercy. Scandalous grace. Undeserved. And
you know what that means? That means that there's
hope for every gomer in the room. There's hope
for every person who has wandered, everyone whose
love has grown cold, and every heart that's been
unfaithful. Because Jesus didn't come for the
well -behaved, and he came for the broken. He
came for the ones with the wrong names, the wrong
stories, and the wrong reputations. And he says,
I want you. I choose you. I've come to give you
a new name. So you may feel like Gomer, but Christ
is the better Hosea, and he has come to make
you his.