Power Hour Lesson Summary for January 17, 2016 An Unfaithful Bride Lesson Text: Hosea 1:1-11 Background Scripture: Hosea 1-3 Devotional Reading: Psalm 89:24-29 Hosea 1:1-11 (KJV) 1 The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. 4 And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel. 6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. 7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. 8 Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. 9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. 10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. 11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel. TODAY S LESSON AIMS Learning Facts: To tell the story of Hosea s unusual family. Biblical Principle: To explain how the marriage of Hosea and Gomer represented the relationship between the Lord and Israel. To discern that God wants us to remain faithful to Him. Daily Application: To identify one way to improve his or her spiritual fidelity and make a plan to do so. INTRODUCTION Well Begun? Some reports claim that the divorce rate among evangelical Christians is the same as the rest of the population (or perhaps even higher). Other analysis claims, however, that the divorce rate for active, churchgoing Christians is significantly lower than that of the general population. Either way, we should agree that the divorce statistics are too high, for Christians or anyone else. The reasons cited for divorce are familiar: money problems, infidelity, meddling in-laws, personal tragedies, constant fighting the list goes on and on. Operating under the maxim Well begun is half done, the best way to minimize these potential obstacles is in-depth premarital counseling. Today s lesson begins with a startling account of premarital counseling by the ultimate counselor: God. His directive counsel to Hosea was for that prophet to take a wife from among the local prostitutes! Could such a marriage possibly succeed?
LESSON BACKGROUND Time: 758 B.C. Place: Israel The opening verse of the book of Hosea dates that prophet s ministry as beginning during the reign of King Uzziah and ending during the reign of King Hezekiah, both of Judah. The date range is thus about 767-687 B.C. Hosea is also mentioned in conjunction with King Jeroboam of Israel. He is the second king of that name in the Bible; he is the son of Joash (2 Kings 14:23-29; Hosea 1:1), not Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an earlier king (compare 1 Kings 11:26-14:20). Jeroboam II reigned 793-753 B.C., a particularly prosperous time in the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 14:25-27). Hosea does not mention other kings of Israel who followed him, although Hosea surely ministered during their reigns since Hezekiah of Judah did not begin to rule until at least 24 years after the death of Jeroboam II. Hosea also does not mention the invasion of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. That catastrophic event ended Israel s existence as a nation, so Hosea s ministry to that kingdom ended before then. A general time line for Hosea s ministry therefore is 758-725 B.C., with its primary focus being the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital city of Samaria. This made Hosea a contemporary with Isaiah, Micah, and Amos. Hosea s name means salvation or he will save. Hosea s Commission: Hosea 1:1 1. Who was Hosea? What was his ministry? (Hosea 1:1) Hosea 1 begins with the commissioning of the prophet. The initial word of the Lord is personal, a command to the prophet Hosea himself. Verse 1 states his name, along with the names of the kings who reigned during his ministry. Hosea, the son of Beeri, came from the northern kingdom of Israel. His messages were primarily directed at Israel, but in some cases they encompassed Judah as well. Since Uzziah, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were alive during the time of Hosea s ministry, we know that he was a contemporary of Isaiah (see Isa. 1:1). Early in Hosea s ministry, the Lord told the prophet to compare Israel s loyalty to Him with the unfaithfulness of a wife to her husband. The resulting account is a tender, yet tragic, love story. It is tender in that Hosea and God loved their wives with an unfailing affection. The book is tragic in that their wives were habitually unfaithful. For instance, Israel left her true husband (God) to pursue a pagan husband (Baal) and become his prostitute. Heartbroken, God pleaded with Israel to return and be faithful, but the nation stubbornly refused to listen. Accordingly, sadness is woven throughout the literary fabric of Hosea. The parallel between Gomer s adultery and Israel s betrayal of God graphically teaches the meaning of forgiveness and enduring love in the face of sorrow. Again, Hosea, whose name means salvation, tried to deliver his wife from prostitution. In like manner, God desired that His people repent of their adultery. Yet that was not to be the case. Hosea described Israel s idolatry and wickedness, resulting in judgment, captivity, and deportation by the Assyrians. God s unchanging love, though, offers hope, for Hosea tells us about the remnant who would be restored to God and their homeland. 2. What was God s instructions to Hosea? (Hosea 1:2-3a) As noted earlier, Hosea was God s instrument to warn the Israelites about the hardships He would use to punish them unless they repented and reformed. The Book of Hosea is a mixture of literary genres. Threat and promise, doom and hope, judgment and salvation alternate rapidly with one another in Hosea. Yet the dominant theme is Israel s unfaithfulness. That theme comes out early in the book in the living parable of Hosea s marriage to Gomer. God commanded the prophet to marry a promiscuous woman. In turn, she would bear children (Hos. 1:2), who would prove to be as unfaithful in their behavior as adults as their adulterous mother. The prophet s family members were to be living reminders that the Israelites had committed spiritual adultery. They did this by forsaking their relationship with Him and bowing down before the fertility gods and goddesses of Canaan. Accordingly, Hosea s wife, as a sexually unfaithful woman, would represent Israel, a spiritually unfaithful nation. Hosea, in turn, would represent God. Hosea picked Gomer (v. 3) to be his wife. Hosea s prompt obedience shows that God had chosen the right person. The offspring resulting from Hosea s marriage will be considered children of whoredoms. This can have serious implications from a family relationship standpoint (compare Judges 11:1, 2).
Hosea is not on a mission of mercy to redeem a wayward woman. Rather, this is to be an object lesson for the nation, for the people of Israel have been unfaithful to their covenant with the Lord (see Hosea 4:10-13). What are some ways you have been challenged to obey God when doing so was not easy? The Birth of Jezreel: Hosea 1:3b-5 3. What did God instruct Hosea to name his firstborn child? What was the significance of that name? (Hosea 1:3b-5) The Lord is not finished with Hosea, and the symbolism is pressed further. It s not difficult to imagine the scandal connected with Hosea s domestic life. Perhaps like a tragic melodrama, his troubled marriage to Gomer played out before the audience of Israel. In this case, once Gomer gave birth to a son, Hosea obeyed God s directive to name the infant Jezreel (Hosea 1:4). The Hebrew noun means God sows or God scatters. Names in the Old Testament have meaning, and these meanings are readily apparent to Hosea s audience. So perhaps the Lord chose this name in part to indicate how He would scatter the Israelites by sending them into exile. Jezreel is the name of a city in the tribal territory of Issachar (Joshua 19:17-23). Jezreel is also the name of the valley within which that city is located (see the next verse Hos. 1:5; also see Joshua 17:16). But the name Jezreel is better remembered by Israelites in its association with various battles (see Judges 6:33; 1 Samuel 29:1; etc.). For Hosea, the name is more recently connected with the murder of an innocent man (1 Kings 21:1-14) and the retaliation massacre of the royal family and those closely associated with it in about 841 B.C. (2 Kings 10:1-11; compare 1 Kings 21:15-27; 2 Kings 9:7-26, 30). The name Jezreel has a blood-soaked history! Combining this history with the meaning God sows, the total effect may be construed as God will sow destruction. This is a prediction of His vengeance, punishment for the atrocities of Jezreel where innocents were murdered and the ruthless Jehu became king of Isreal. Jehu not only had killed all remnants of the line of Ahab, he also had slaughtered 42 emissaries from the king of Judah (2 Kings 10:12-14). God approved Jehu s actions in general (2 Kings 9:1-10; 10:30), but Jehu went too far by shedding more blood than God intended. God has not forgotten this outrage. The name of Hosea s son is a way for the Lord to communicate a future promise for Israel: He will break its bow, a reference to a weapon in the arsenal of an ancient army. In ancient times, the bow was a symbol of military strength, and a broken bow represented total defeat. God s promise forecasts the destruction of Israel s military power, leaving it defenseless against the might of Assyria. Specifically, in 724 B.C., the Assyrian victory in the Jezreel Valley was the handwriting on the wall foretelling the end of Israel s existence as an independent nation. 4. What did God instruct Hosea to name the second child? What was the significance of that name? (Hosea 1:6-7) Gomer again became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. She too is given a symbolic name as directed by the Lord. The name Loruhamah is the combination of two Hebrew words: Lo is a word of negation meaning no or not ; ruhamah is a word referring to compassion and can be translated mercy or love. The combination therefore means no more mercy. This is the signal that the Lord s compassion for Israel has come to an end, for He promises to utterly take them away. National disaster looms, and the hand of the Lord is behind it (contrast 1 Peter 2:10). We should not fail to notice the horror of the little daughter s name. It is a sign of rejection. There is nothing cute about it. Naming is the prerogative of the father, and Hosea s obedience to the Lord s command undoubtedly makes heads shake and gossipy tongues wag in his village. We can only imagine the toll this takes on Hosea himself. As biblical history makes clear, the Israelites remained obstinate and unrepentant in their sin, which included idol worship, child sacrifice, and temple prostitution. Consequently, God expelled them from the promised land. There is a profound theological truth evident from this object lesson. God is merciful and He forgives repentant sinners. However, when people refuse to abandon their wicked ways, they ultimately face God s judgment. The expression
of God's love is certainly unconditional, but our enjoyment of that love is conditional and depends on our faith and obedience. (See Deut. 7:6-12 and 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1.) In contrast, God s mercy upon the house of Judah, the southern kingdom, will continue (see Hosea 1:7). God would allow the Assyrians to swallow up the northern kingdom, but He would protect the southern kingdom of Judah. Apparently, that was due to the cleansing reforms carried out later by Hezekiah. In particular, he destroyed the pagan shrines in his country and restored the true worship of God in the Jerusalem temple (see 2 Kings 18:3-19:36; 2 Chron. 29-32; Isa. 36-37). Judah s deliverance would come not through military might, with Judah s warriors doing battle with their enemies. Rather, the deliverance would come directly through God s intervention. This prophecy was literally fulfilled in 701 B.C., when God miraculously wiped out an Assyrian invasion force of 185,000 soldiers under Sennacherib s command (see 2 Kings 19:32-36; Isa. 37:33-37). Indeed, Judah remained unconquered for more than a century, undoubtedly the result of godly leadership and nationwide repentance. How does God s heart toward Judah serve as a model, if at all, for how to respond when wounded by another? The Birth of Lo-Ammi: Hosea 1:8-9 5. What did God instruct Hosea to name the third child? What was the significance of that name? (Hosea 1:8-9) When Gomer had finished weaning Lo-Ruhamah, she became pregnant again and gave birth to a second son (see Hosea 1:8). The name of this child, LaAmmi (v. 9), means not my people. This name points to God s rejection of Israel and, in effect, breaking His covenant relationship with the nation (see Exod. 6:7). The Lord s patience finally came to an end, and He would disown His unfaithful people by means of exile (see Hos. 1:9). The Israelites had always been known as God s chosen people. As such, they were to love, obey, and worship Him. They were also to be a lighthouse of truth and holiness to the surrounding nations. Instead, they fell into idolatry and immorality. The disastrous consequences of their betrayal were spelled out in Leviticus 26: 14-39. What names would you give to different seasons in the spiritual life of a Christian? How can doing so be useful? The Future Time of Restoration: Hosea 1:10-11 6. What future prediction did Hosea share with the people of Israel? (Hosea 1:10, 11) Over a period of several years, Hosea delivers a message of coming disaster for Israel. The text now takes a turn to the longer-range vision of future restoration. Hosea 1:10-2:1 reveals that Israel s future was not completely hopeless. One day a future generation of Israelites would experience the fulfillment of God s promises. In faithfulness to His covenant pledges, God would restore His people and bless them. The blessing would involve population growth, a renewed relationship to God, and reunification of the northern and southern kingdoms. Whereas before they were called not my people, eventually they would be known as the children of the living God (Hos. 1:10). These promises were perhaps partly fulfilled when Jews returned to Judah from Babylonian exile beginning about 538 B.C. However, many think the final fulfillment comes later. Some say these promises are fulfilled in the church, while others maintain they are yet to be fulfilled in Jewish history. Some details of these verses deserve special comment. The promise that the Israelites would be as numerous as the sand of the sea (v. 10) was a repetition of a pledge originally made to Abraham (see Gen. 22:17). Paul applied the promise of divine adoption (see Hos. 1:10) to the inclusion of Gentiles in the church (see Rom. 9:26). The one leader (Hos. 1:11) under whom the children of Judah and the children of Israel would be united is probably the Messiah (Jesus). The prophecy that God s people would come up out of the land most likely is a reference to a return from exile. Instead of Jezreel being a place of slaughter and judgment, it will be a place of sowing where God will joyfully sow His people in their own land and cause them to prosper. The names of Hosea and Gomer s three children were used as contrasts to promised blessing. In a future day, the Israelites would once again be God s people and the object of His love (see 2:1). These truths were intended to
motivate the Israelites to take responsibility for their disobedience and come to terms with their spiritual adultery. As a first step in turning the nation around, successive generations were summoned to abandon their idolatrous heritage. Sadly the call went unheeded and in response, God stripped Israel of her land and possessions. What risks are worth taking and not taking when trying to rebuild a broken relationship? Why? POINTS TO PONDER 1. God can use anyone to do His will. (Hosea 1-2) 2. Obedience to God brings blessings. (vs. 3-4a) 3. Be aware that your actions have consequences. (vs. 4b-9) 4. God s Grace is sufficient for all generations. (vs. 10-11) CONCLUSION Restoring a Damaged Relationship Marriages between Christians are not immune from trouble and even failure. Divorce is a reality in our present world, and there is little to be gained from making divorced persons outcasts or fueling their feelings of guilt. They feel guilty enough already. On the other hand, the restoration of a damaged marriage should not be considered to be beyond the will or power of God. Hosea s marriage was clouded by sexual unfaithfulness and the undoubted tension arising from the scandalous naming of his children. The thing that saved the marriage was the prophet s willingness to heed God s commands to love Gomer again no matter how much she had hurt Hosea. This is symbolic of the way the Lord loves His people, despite their spiritual adultery. PRAYER Dear heavenly Father, help us ever to remember that the church, the bride of Christ, must remain pure! Show us our part in keeping her that way and strengthen us to do so. We pray in the name of the bridegroom, Jesus. Amen. THOUGHT TO REMEMBER Stay faithful to God, forsaking all other gods. ANTICIPATING THE NEXT LESSON Next week s lesson is A Wedding in Cana, where we learn about Jesus s first miracle. Study John 2:1-12.