Dwell in the Word: Hosea 1:1-11

Consider these questions as you dwell in Hosea 1:1-11:

1. In this passage, God instructs Hosea to marry a woman who will be unfaithful to him, symbolizing the unfaithfulness of Israel to God. How does this unique command serve as a powerful metaphor for God's relationship with His people, and what does it reveal about God's covenant faithfulness?

2. The names of Hosea's children, especially the daughter named "Not My People," carry significant meaning and reflect the consequences of Israel's unfaithfulness. How do these names contribute to the broader message of God's judgment and mercy? In what ways do they foreshadow the redemptive work of Christ?

3. The passage concludes with a promise of restoration, emphasizing God's covenant faithfulness and the future unity of the children of Israel. How does this promise, rooted in the Abrahamic Covenant, find its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ? What role does Christ play in bringing together God's people and establishing a new covenant?

Transcript:

 As we start out, we see that the word of Hosea is coming to both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Remember, there was the split after King Solomon where Israel was divided into two and one, the Northern Kingdom was Israel, and the Southern Kingdom was Judah. But here we have the word of the Lord coming to Hosea, and he is speaking to both kingdoms.

So, we get to verse 2, and we see that this is a very challenging passage. It's an interesting passage. Because of what God commands Hosea to do.  It's almost, it's hard enough to read, it's difficult to say out loud. But it's clear, right here, what does God tell Hosea to do? Go take yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom.

Okay? Now, what is he saying? I mean, we know what he's saying but he's saying go and have yourself a wife who is going to be unfaithful to you.  Now we, we struggle with that. Why would God tell him to do that? What is he telling Hosea to do? Now notice that God is not telling Hosea to sin here. He's not saying that he should be unfaithful.

He's saying that you're going to marry somebody who is unfaithful. And the answer comes right away. We don't have to wait very long to figure it out. Why this is God tells Hosea why he has him doing this right away After he's told to have children with this woman He says for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord in other words The people who I am faithful to as God  They are committing adultery against me, the one who has made them, the one who has, has, um, made this covenant union with them, right?

And so, basically, he's saying to Hosea, go and marry someone who's going to be unfaithful to you, because I have married myself to my people, Israel, and they have been unfaithful to me. They have gone and they have chased after others, someone other than myself. They are unfaithful. They are an adulterous people.

Now, we see something awesome here as we look at verse 3. So, he went.  He heard the word of the Lord, and he went.  How many of you are doing that? How many of you are being obedient to that command? How many of you are justifying not taking the Lord at his word? But what does Hosea do? He does what he has been commanded to do.

And we see this story unfolds that she conceives and bears him a son. Now we see here for sure that this is a son of Hosea and Gomer. Now we don't see that the following children are the children of Hosea, do we?  She conceived again and bore a daughter. She didn't bear him a daughter, right?

And so, we see these different names saying different things about the story that is unfolding here in the life of Israel and we get down to the bottom and we get down to this section in verse 10 that sort of tells this interesting story. It actually starts in verse 8 and verse 9, uh, after no mercy is, um, is weaned, the Lord has, uh, uh, the Lord causes Gomer to have another child, and the name is Not My People.

Now that is an intense name for somebody. Um, imagine walking on the street and going up to somebody with a baby in the stroller. Oh, your baby's so cute! What's his name?  Not my people. Right? This is this is a difficult thing, but God is doing something here  He's saying, you know, you have been unfaithful to me I am going to punish you but then we get to verse 10 and we see the covenant faithfulness of God Even though he has said you're not my people they have they have gone off after other gods They are adulterous people  God is saying, yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sands of the sea, which cannot be measure number.

And in the place where it was said to them, you are not my people. It should be said to them, children of the living God and the children of Judah and the child of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head and they shall go up from the land. For great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Now notice what is happening here.  What is this language? You know it, like the sand of the sea. What's that language coming from? The Abrahamic Covenant, the promise of God, that he would be a God to Abraham and to his children. God is going to remain faithful. And even though they have run off, and even though God is punishing them by sending them into exile, they will come back.

And they will come together. And ultimately, this is to happen. In the Lord Jesus, the one who is the descendant of David, the king of kings, the one who sits at the right hand of the Father, God shows his covenant faithfulness to the people of God in Jesus Christ. And so, as we think about this difficult passage, there's something important that I want us to remember.

We look at this passage and we say, how could God tell Hosea to do this?  And we put ourselves in Hosea's shoes, right?  That's not, that's not really where we should be putting ourselves. Hosea is a picture of Christ. He's a picture of God and his faithfulness. So, in the story, where do we place ourselves?

And unfortunately, it's Gomer. We are unfaithful. We are prone to wander. We are prone to turn away from God. And so, we need his grace. We need his forgiveness. We need him to bring us together under one head, the Lord Jesus Christ, to forgive us of our sin and of our unbelief. Because we will be an adulterous people.

We will turn away from God unless He brings us to himself unless he gives us faith and he builds us up in faith and makes us holy through his word and spirit We will turn away And so we need we need with the grace of God to bring us together to bring us to be his people and to continue to be his people.

That is the only way that is accomplished It is accomplished through Jesus. And so may we relish in that truth that even though we are unfaithful to God He is faithful to us. May this bring us joy as we look at this story and it is difficult for us May we remember  that the reason that we have faith the reason that we have salvation is because God was Faithful in this story Hosea is a picture for us of how God comes to us and is faithful to us despite Our sin, despite our unbelief, and He gives us forgiveness.

May we relish in this truth.