The Covenant Love of God

Introduction

There is great benefit to repetition when done with patience and care. There is repetition out of frustration — parents with children — how many times have I told you. There is repetition out of boredom — same job and tasks day after day. Repetition done with the intent of reminding of certain things so that one does not forget what is important — this type of repetition encourages. To hear “I love you” doesn’t get old or boring when said by someone who is precious to you. There are times of repetition in the Bible. Annually, God’s people repeated certain significant events in their history through feasts and sacrifices. We do the same thing each Sunday. Through the repetition of the Lord’s Supper we are reminded of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.

We begin a six week study of Hosea. There is great repetition in this prophetic writing. Each of the six lessons will sound similar. The themes of covenant, marriage, and faithfulness are repeated over and over again in Hosea. So why not preach just one sermon and be done with it? Because there is benefit to repetition. God could have made his point with Israel in one chapter. He could have said everything that needed to be said in one chapter, but instead he has Hosea write and rewrite the same message with different ways. He wanted the message to be heard in different ways. Today we begin our series looking at God’s covenant love.

Hosea prophesied from around 760 B.C. for about 40 or so years. The Northern Kingdom is going through a time of relative prosperity and peace. Assyria to the north will eventually destroy Israel but for now things are calm. But with Jeroboam’s death around 750 B.C. things begin to change. Political and military unrest begins. Assassinations occur. The nation is destabilized and instead of searching for the true God the people turn to other gods and trying to make things work without God. Hosea begins his prophetic work before the unrest and through the unrest. The circumstances change but the message does not — God wants to be the only God. Let’s be encouraged.

Help, I Married a Prostitute

Current talk shows could not come up with a better plot. Jerry Springer and Maury troll for these kind of stories. A man marries a prostitute hoping to love her in such a way that she will willingly give up her profession. This isn’t just any marriage. There is a spiritual point to this marriage and the children who are born to this union. In a world where the vast majority admit to having engaged in sex before marriage, most are not looking to marry someone who has sold their body for money. But this is what God tells Hosea to do. He is to marry a prostitute. There is no surprise. He is to marry her, love her, and have children with her. God is going to use this marriage to make a point.

We do not know what Hosea’s immediate response is to God’s direction. It appears that he didn’t argue the point. But surely there is a part of him that is leery of going forward. Do not think for a moment that Hosea feels nothing. God calls him to act out a spiritual truth and Hosea obeys. Three children are born. There is disagreement whether these are all Hosea’s children. Some speculate that one or two may have been as a result of returning to prostitution. But the first one is Hosea’s child and he is named Jezreel because God is going to punish Israel and the house of Jehu. The house of Jehu is the current dynasty of kings including Jeroboam II.

A daughter is born and she is named “not loved” or “no mercy.” Her name carries the intent of God to be merciless toward Israel because of their sin. The third child, a boy, is named “not my people.” His name depicts God turning away from Israel. With this arrangement of marriage and children Hosea lives out in real life the spiritual reality of God’s intent. God is going to punish the Northern Kingdom. For over 200 years they have pursued idols and their own devices. God’s patience is done.

What’s It Like to Be Married to God?

There are two lessons to be learned from today’s text. The first comes as a question — what’s it like to be married to God? Being in relationship with God is like a marriage. Throughout Israel’s history, God had used marriage language to describe his relationship with Israel. At the base of Sinai, in simple language God spoke the words of marriage — you will be my people and I will be your God. This is marriage language. It is the same thing a man and woman would say to each other when getting married — you will be my wife and I will be your husband. In Ezekiel almost 200 years later, God will describe himself as a husband to the Southern Kingdom. The same language is used in the NT to describe the relationship between God and his people.

So what’s it like to be married to God? The perfect spouse. The one who loves with a perfect love. What we learn from Hosea is that our sin is adultery. When we sin against God, we are exactly like Gomer. We give our body and our mind to something else. This pushes us. We do not see ourselves as adulterers in relationship with God. We minimize our sin. We find ways to excuse ourselves. We give reasons and explanations. We compare ourselves to others that we deem to be worse. The result — we underestimate how our sin breaks the marriage bond. Like the one who is married believes a little flirting is no big deal, we act as if a little sin is no big deal.

This is not a call for perfection but to recognize the depth and intensity of our sin. To minimize our sin is to presume upon God’s loving and consistent holiness. There are no small sins. Every sin is an adulterous and idolatrous attempt to replace God and to welcome another into our life and heart. This is the significance of our sin. Notice verse 9. There are numerous word plays in Hosea. We will not note every one of them, but in verse 9, there is a significant word play. In Exodus 3, God introduces himself to Moses after Moses asks what name he should give to the religious leaders in Egypt when he goes to meet with them. God’s name is “I AM.” Here in 1:9 God calls himself “Not I AM.” In other words, Israel’s sin is so serious that God is going to change his name. Instead of “I AM” they will know him as “Not I AM.” The marriage will be dissolved because of Israel’s faithlessness.

But there is another lesson. It is found in 1:10-2:1. There is a reversal of God’s judgment. A renewal. A new people will come out of Israel and Judah. The kingdoms will reunite. There will be a new people who will in unity be called the children of the living God. For Israel, God is dead. For the new people, God is alive, valued, sought, and honored. God is a covenant maker and keeper. God is determined to fulfill his covenant made with Israel at Sinai and promised anew to David. It is a covenant not based on the goodness of his people but on the nature and character of God. God does not give up on you. He wants your heart. Understanding the seriousness of sin, we seek reconciliation with him. And God restores. He renews. He keeps his covenant because that is who he is. He doesn’t ignore our sin. He pursues us. He loves us more intensely because he is our husband. Invitation.

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