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Freely Loved
Hosea 14:1-9
In order to understand sin, we need to understand that we are not merely rebelling against a king or straying from a shepherd, but that we are committing adultery and breaking the heart of a God who has entered into a marriage covenant with us. In the book of Hosea, we see one of the clearest Biblical images of God as a wronged lover who sacrifices everything in order to save his wayward bride.
We are freely loved by our Heavenly father not out obligation but out of his good pleasure. That is hard for many of us to believe and even more difficult for us to live our lives out of that reality and truth. Through the Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection we have been reconciled to our heavenly father and been given access and peace with God.
To see our sins, wounds, idols, and failures apart from God's amazing grace is simply too much. So often we will either minimize our condition, thus marginalizing our need of grace, or we will run away in hopeless despair to the arms of a lesser love or to the worship of lesser gods. But as the pastor Scotty Smith once wrote...
God pursues us in our restlessness.
receives us in our sinfulness.
holds us in our brokenness, and
frees us from our lovelessness.
Come join us this week as we finish our series in the book of Hosea and grow in our ability to rest in the amazing love in grace of our Lord and Savior.
Central Text:
Hosea 14:1-9
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take with you wordsand return to the Lord; say to him,“Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, And will pay with bullsthe vows of our lips. 3 Assyria shall not save us; will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” 4 I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel;he shall blossom like the lily;he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; 6 shoots shall spread out;his beauty shall be like the olive,and his fragrance like Lebanon.7 They shall return and dwell beneath myshadow;they shall flourish like the grain;they shall blossom like the vine;their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?It is I who answer and look after you.I am like an evergreen cypress;from me comes your fruit.9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right,and the upright walk in them,but transgressors stumble in them.
Commentary:
Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise)
Chapter Contents
An exhortation to repentance. (1-3) Blessings promised, showing the rich comforts of the gospel. (4-8) The just and the wicked. (9)
Commentary on Hosea 14:1-3
(ReadHosea 14:1-3)
Israel is exhorted to return unto Jehovah, from their sins and idols, by faith in his mercy, and grace through the promised Redeemer, and by diligently attending on his worship and service. Take away iniquity; lift it off as a burden we are ready to sink under, or as the stumbling-block we have often fallen over. Take it all away by a free and full forgiveness, for we cannot strike any of it off. Receive our prayer graciously. They do not say what good they seek, but refer it to God. It is not good of the world's showing, but good of God's giving. They were to consider their sins, their wants, and the remedy; and they were to take, not sacrifices, but words stating the desires of their hearts, and with them to address the Lord. The whole forms a clear description of the nature and tendency of a sinner's conversion to God through Jesus Christ. As we draw near to God by the prayer of faith, we should first beseech him to teach us what to ask. We must be earnest with him to take away all iniquity.
Commentary on Hosea 14:4-8
(ReadHosea 14:4-8)
Israel seeks God's face, and they shall not seek it in vain. His anger is turned from them. Whom God loves, he loves freely; not because they deserve it, but of his own good pleasure. God will be to them all they need. The graces of the Spirit are the hidden manna, hidden in the dew; the grace thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. They shall grow upward, and be more flourishing; shall grow as the lily. The lily, when come to its height, is a lovely flower,Matthew 6:28,29. They shall grow downward, and be more firm. With the flower of the lily shall be the strong root of the cedar of Lebanon. Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root, which is out of sight. They shall also spread as the vine, whose branches extend very widely. When believers abound in good works, then their branches spread. They shall be acceptable both to God and man. Holiness is the beauty of a soul. The church is compared to the vine and the olive, which bring forth useful fruits. God's promises pertain to those only that attend on his ordinances; not such as flee to this shadow only for shelter in a hot gleam, but all who dwell under it. When a man is brought to God, all who dwell under his shadow fare the better. The sanctifying fruits shall appear in his life. Thus believers grow up into the experience and fruitfulness of the gospel. Ephraim shall say, God will put it into his heart to say it, What have I to do any more with idols! God's promises to us are more our security and our strength for mortifying sin, than our promises to God. See the power of Divine grace. God will work such a change in him, that he shall loathe the idols as much as ever he loved them. See the benefit of sanctified afflictions. Ephraim smarted for his idolatry, and this is the fruit, even the taking away his sin,Isaiah 27:9. See the nature of repentance; it is a firm and fixed resolution to have no more to do with sin. The Lord meets penitents with mercy, as the father of the prodigal met his returning son. God will be to all true converts both a delight and a defence; they shall sit under his shadow with delight. And as the root of a tree; From me is thy fruit found: from Him we receive grace and strength to enable us to do our duty.
Commentary on Hosea 14:9
(ReadHosea 14:9)
Who profit by the truths the prophet delivered? Such as set themselves to understand and know these things. The ways of God's providence towards us are right; all is well done. Christ is a Foundation Stone to some, to others a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence. That which was ordained to life, becomes, through their abuse of it, death to them. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. But those transgressors certainly have the most dangerous, fatal falls, who fall in the ways of God, who split on the Rock of Ages, and suck poison out of the Balm of Gilead. Let sinners in Zion fear this. May we learn to walk in the right ways of God, as his righteous servants, and may none of us be disobedient and unbelieving, and stumble at the word.
Articles:
We Are Gomer, by Brandon D. Smith, January 26. 2015
We often compare the story of Hosea and Gomer to the story of God and Israel, and rightly so.Hosea 3:1 says:
And the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”
The application is clear: Hosea is called to love this adulterous woman in the same way that God loves his wandering-eyed people. But looking back on the complete canon of Scripture, with the Trinity in view, we can make another comparison: Hosea and Gomer represent Christ and the church.
We are Gomer. And that is immensely comforting.
Hosea’s Obedience and Perseverance
One can only imagine Hosea’s surprise when God told him to continue to chase after his adulterous wife. He could’ve given her a bill of divorce. He could’ve walked away. Instead, he heeded the Lord and never deserted her.
In the incarnation, God sent his Son to redeem his wayward people. Jesus Christ, the God-man, obeyed his Father. He sacrificially pursued his people even to the point of having nails driven into his hands and feet by the people he came to save. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he asked God to give him another way to restore broken humanity, but also said, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
God would not allow Hosea a way out; he told him to stay and fight through the grueling pain of lying in bed at night with an adulterous woman. Jesus went to the cross, bearing the wrath of God and the sins of the world on his own shoulders. He didn’t walk away. He didn’t acquiesce to Pilate and save his own skin. Because of his great love for his bride, he laid down his life for her (Eph. 5:25-27).
Gomer’s Disobedience and Indifference
While we’re not entirely sure of Gomer’s love for Hosea, it is clear that her heart is not entirely given to him. Perhaps she loves him but cannot break away from old habits. Though his love for her is palpable, she continues to be wooed by (or perhaps even prey upon) other men.
Throughout the Book of Hosea, we see both the loving-kindness and frustration of God with his people. Like Gomer, they refuse his repeated attempts at reconciliation and continue to ignore his love. But we must remember that God did not leave Israel to continually wallow in her own desires. At least not entirely and not forever.
Christ echoes God’s steadfastness with Israel inMatthew 23:37:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
Jesus’s life, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming show that God wasn’t telling Hosea to do something he wasn’t willing to do on a much grander scale. He did not forsake his people, despite their long history of disobedience and indifference. The Father’s sending of the Son is the definition of grace: unmerited, underserved, logic-shattering favor.
Story of Hope
We are Gomer. We are spiritual adulterers. We want to have it our way, and we are willing to reject God’s covenantal faithfulness for fleeting one-night stands with idols. While it’s hard to admit that we are no different than Gomer, it’s a truth that we can embrace with humility and comfort.
The story of Hosea and Gomer reminds us that God loves us not because of our faithfulness, but because of his. Christ saves, and continues to intercede for, the bride who covets other men. Until we see God face-to-face, we will continue to be drawn to other things. But for now, our Husband stands and fights.
We are Gomer. And we are hopeful.
Sermons:
Hosea and Gomer: The Love that Frees Us, by Matt Chandler
Repentance and the Way Home, by Troy Albee
Freely Forgiven, by Paul Green
Sermon Questions:
- When you think of the word repentance what are some things that come to mind? Where do you see the theme of repentance in other parts of God’s word?
- In the first three verses what is mentioned on how Israel could avoid judgement?
- What was the promise of restoration in verses 4-6?
- How is Jesus Christ the opposite of Israel? Why are you hopeful about being “in Christ” today?
- God desired a people who were faithful to Him. Israel perpetually broke the covenant of God. How does the book of Hosea and Israel repeated unfaithfulness point to our need for Jesus Christ?
- How have you been impacted by Hosea’s presentation of mankind in this book? Is it hard for you to view yourself as having violated the essence of God’s covenant as summarized in the Ten Commandments? Do you understand yourself as an idolater? An adulterer? A murder? A liar? Why? Why not?
- There comes a point when mankind is like an immovable stubborn cow (BTW: the people were worshipping a bull/cow idol) and God must act radically. How does this impact you?
- What challenge does the prophet Hosea leave the people in verse 9? The last verse of Hosea (Hos 14:9) calls for any wise individual exposed to the message of Hosea to carefully pay attention. As the conclusion of Hosea, this verse casts Hosea’s entire message as a lesson in wisdom. What value does wisdom have? Who are the people in your life that you view as wise and why do you see them that way?