When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD." So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the LORD said to him, "Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel." She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, "Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen." When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the LORD said, "Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God." (Hosea 1:2-9 ESV) In 753 B.C. Israel was in serious trouble, times had been good under Jeroboam II, prosperity and peace being the rule. This seemingly good fortune masked a serious evil: Israel lusted after and whored with other gods that were not Jehovah. The story of Hosea, like all Old Testament prophecy, can be hard to understand out of the context of the time. One could make an excellent case that we (like ancient Israel) lust after many things, other than God and they would be right. That is not our focus today; our focus is on this little known man himself and the remarkable person he was. He modeled something for every believer: Sharing your story, even when it hurts. In that light let s look a bit of what God asked Hosea to do. The Lord has a message, a serious condemnation of a people, they needed a model or example that the hearers could relate to. So The Lord asks Hosea to do something totally outside of
Jewish law, personal dignity, and social standing: choose, love and marry a woman of harlotry. Of course a good student will immediately recognize that this woman is representative of Israel herself, but that isn t the point here, valid as it is. Instead, look what happens to Hosea: first he loves this woman, marries her, she bears him a son: a child of punishment, Jezreel. At some point some Jewish historians believe that Gomer began to slip into a promiscuous lifestyle shortly after the birth of the first son, so the subsequent children may or may not have been Hosea s. That is why the names of the children reflected so strongly the actual condition of Israel. No Mercy, Not My People. Later it is seen that she leaves Hosea to pursue whatever desires that seemed more important to her than his love. Much like the Israelites of the day and us also, yes. That still isn t the point. Later in Chapter 3 we see that Hosea, at the command of the Lord, will retrieve her from her sunken state and returned her to his love. Vivid examples, totally true with what God has planned for His people. The message was visible, loud and lived out in the sight and hearing of those who needed to hear it. Here is our point for today: Hosea gave that message in pain, loving a woman who did not love him, fathering children that may not have been his, enduring the scorn of those he was to bring the Lord s message to. He was faithful, he endured and accomplished the task given him, even if it fell on deaf ears. He shared his story in spite of and because of his pain: his story, his pain was the message. Your story, my story our testimony is vital to the world outside our door and the pain we have been given is essential in giving our testimony. It makes it real. Take a quick look around every person you see has been on a life journey, that if truth be known, none of us would want to walk in their shoes; I can almost guarantee that everyone here has a testimony, a story of pain and redemption there is probably enough pain in just this room alone to save a dozen
Israel s. Or a thousand souls. Hosea s pain became the point, his circumstances were the story, vivid and real and incontrovertible God s story through an obedient and humble heart. One of my professors calls this our recovery testimony and in some cases it has far greater impact because of the object lessons and real life that is demonstrated and exhibited, many people can relate to. Let s look at one additional example and one very wonderful reward to sharing our story while in pain. In John 4, Jesus takes a shortcut through territory that I am sure His disciples were freaking out about: Samaria. Now we all have heard this story of the woman at the well; it was because of this stop that Philip had a place to start when he began his evangelistic tour. This story is awesome but there is a more subtle point here and one that I almost missed the woman herself. Let s look at a bit of her character quickly. She had a rough life, many relationships that went nowhere, a reputation that could not be denied and a life wasted. Yet, this is where Christ choose to stop and witness. Much like Hosea s Israel 800 years before, this woman s story was one of denial, sin, poor choices, and a life time of pain. Now she is confronted with the living Christ, Jesus reaches out to her and her life, her perspective changes completely. Can you see it? She still is an outcast, she still has the stigmata of her life stamped all over her BUT now she has a message. Look at what is says in verses 28-29 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" (John 4:28-29 ESV) Hosea had the misfortune to have to give his message to deaf ears, unfertile ground, yet the message was more important than non-hearing. This woman finds fertile ground, listening ears because her testimony was visible, her pain remembered but now just that, a memory the change in her is real and through her life and pain, new life began for a
whole town. Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." After the two days he departed for Galilee. (John 4:34-43 ESV) Like Hosea, the woman at the well was obedient but through her story, and changed life, others came to know the Christ. Hosea, had no such change forthcoming. His story fell on hardened hearts to the forbearers of the same people who later would be among the first to know Christ as Lord. In Hosea s time it would be a scant 20 years later, in 722 B.C. that Israel (Samaria) would fall to the Assyrians. His pain was unresolved, un-vindicated but absolutely necessary. The Lord ends Hosea s missive with this, I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 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. 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. (Hosea 14:4-9 ESV) So what is the result of sharing your story, your pain, and your testimony? For Hosea it was assurance that restoration can and will happen. For the woman at the well, it was acceptance in community, healing of a heart long dry from the lack of love and neighbors who now understood the nature of Christ. Is this kind of outpouring necessary, can t we just walk away from where we have come? Nope. Remember what Isiah said in Chapter 53? Our story begins with Christ will bearing our pain Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV) That is our pain, that is our sin and this is our Story up on that cross. But that still does not take away the necessity we have of telling our story our pain belongs to Him but our stories are now charged with His redemptive power. Like that woman so many years ago; leave your bucket at the well and tell your story, pain and all. That makes it real. Like Hosea, we may see unfertile ground but our example still needs to be shared. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV) You have to love Peter his pain was personal, his sin centered in denial and his healing was in a personal one on one with
Christ when grief was still very much present in Peter s life. Peter s story certainly included a lot of personal pain, yet his alcohol, your journey through infidelity, the loss of those you loved, the healing of a cancer, loss of limb or horrors of war. testimony is that our pain, refined through the fire of holiness, will bring praise and glory to Jesus Christ. It would not be too many years after Peter wrote his second letter that he would find himself at death s door, his story driving him into direct conflict with the government of the day but he never stopped sharing his message of redemption and grace. Now that is a story; born in denial, honed in the fires of direct forgiveness, sharpened in the life lessons of shepherding new believers and given until the point of death. Some of you have stories of war, stories of healing, stories of sin but one thing we all have in common is that Christ was Everyone here has been on a journey that no one else can take. It is ours alone but the lessons learned, the healing done, the changed lives all of needs to be shared. Anytime you have the opportunity, tell your story, let people see your pain but also see what God has done for you and through you. This is your faith trial, your faith expression and your faith under fire. Hosea did not wait, Peter refined his testimony, and the woman at the well changed her living environment all because they shared their story of how or Christ, His Son, changed their lives. Share your story! right there, every minute, never denying us, never letting us go. He sees the purpose ahead, the lessons of life are applied to those we meet that next person does need to hear how you, through the power of His love, overcame your addiction to