Please turn with me this morning to Hosea. Hosea, one of those considered to be the minor prophets because the book is not necessarily lengthy, following Daniel. We'll read together the first chapter and the first verse of chapter 2. For this introduction this morning, we will consider the first two verses of chapter 1. Before we read that, allow me to read the first three verses of Hebrews chapter 1. Hear now the word of God. In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. In Hosea chapter 1. So he married Gomer, daughter of Dibliam, and she conceived and bore him a son. Then the Lord said to Hosea, Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day I will break Israel's bow in the valley of Jezreel. Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to the house of Judah, and I will save them, not by bow, sword, or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God. After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, Call him Lo-Ami, for you are not my people, and I am not your God. Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted in a place where it was said to them you are not my people they will be called sons of the living God the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land for great will be the day of Jezreel say of your brothers my people and of your sisters my loved one let's bow together in prayer Dear Heavenly Father, with humble hearts we bow before you once again in this morning hour. Having read your most holy word, we come before you now asking for your blessing upon not only the reading but the preaching of your word and upon our hearts. Father, make us vessels, ready and willing vessels into which you can flow. Work in our hearts by your Holy Spirit. that we might receive your word with humility and encouragement. You will cause us to grow thereby. And be with your servant, O Lord. Speak through him powerfully and effectively for the glory of God, for the edification of your people, and for the conversion of sinners. Hear our prayer for Jesus' sake, and in his name we pray. Amen. a beloved in the lord jesus christ you can catch more flies with honey than with water as the saying goes and that means of course when it comes to people you can gain their attention you can get them to listen to you you can make friends with them more quickly and more effectively if you do not offend them if you do not come up to them and say things that they don't like to hear but instead speaking positively speaking unoffensively stroking their ego a little bit well if you think about it if you know anything about the old testament prophets you know that they had a tough time with this because the old testament prophets of the lord were what we might call prosecuting attorneys prosecuting attorneys who came on behalf of God, to shake their finger in the face of God's people, pointing out their sin, pointing out their breaking of the covenant. These prophets often came with words of judgment, which were not very popular. Some were put to death because of it. Others were treated very, very badly because of it. But yet a reminder for you and me today that God's word must be preached, even if it is offensive, even if it is a word of judgment, even if it steps on your toes and my toes. Now Hosea was one of those prophets. He was one of those prophets who was called to look the covenant people in the eye directly and say, you have sinned. Boys and girls, Hosea was an 8th century B.C. prophet. He was a contemporary of another prophet we know named Amos. And we know that Hosea preached to the northern kingdom of Israel. He had a long ministry. It was probably a minimum of 25 years and might have extended to double that time. He warned of judgment against Israel. He witnessed Israel's downfall as well. He witnessed her overthrow by Assyria. And we know from the very first few words of this book, that he was used by God in a striking way, as he was commanded to use his personal life to give Israel an unmistakable picture, a visible, true representation of her relationship with Yahweh. Now Hosea means salvation or salvation bearer, the same as Joshua or even Jesus. And we know that Hosea was an instrument of God, and he was an instrument of God to bring warning for sin, to call to repentance, and as well to bring a word of promise of restoration. If you know anything about this book, this prophecy, you might think it seems harsh, it seems unpleasant. You might wonder, well, why in the world do we have to consider this book? We would like something a little bit more uplifting, a little bit more honey-like. And after all, it has nothing to do with us today, does it? But the beauty of the prophecy of Hosea, as it has been described, is that some of the most moving language about God and his relationship with his people may be found in this book. About a couple of months ago, Dr. Godfrey preached a sermon on Psalms 1 and 2, and his points were easy to memorize, meditate, celebrate, separate. We are called to meditate upon the Word of God. We are to celebrate that which God has done for us through Christ Jesus, and we are called to separate from that which opposes Him. I don't remember exactly if that's what he said with regard to those, but it sounds good to me. He nodded. Thank you. But, beloved, my prayer is that as we meditate on the difficult prophecy of Hosea, that we may celebrate God's love and mercy. And that we, too, may be moved to separate from all that opposes him. As we will see not only the judgment of God against sin, but also the mercy of God, which is evident at the very beginning in these introductory words of Hosea's call to confront Israel. And notice, first of all, in this call to confront Israel that it comes from the covenant deity. Hosea sets it up right from the very beginning whose word this is. And in doing so, showing them, showing us just how important this word is, even though they might not like it. And we see that it comes from a covenant deity recorded in the name, the word of the Lord. And boys and girls, you know what that word Lord is. It is Yahweh. It is the name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush. He is the great I Am, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had established a covenant relationship with His people when He said, I will be your God and you shall be My people. He had bound Himself with, He stuck Himself to His people. And this covenant deity we know had a history with His people, a long history. as this covenant relationship is revealed in the kings that are listed. Notice, the word of the Lord that came to Hosea, son of Beri, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, king of Israel. Now notice, the kings of Israel listed, only one. Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash, we would call him Jeroboam II. You remember Jeroboam I was the first king of the northern tribes after the division. And he is infamous because he set up the altars with golden calves at Dan and Beersheba so the people wouldn't have to bother going all the way back to Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. Make it convenient for them. And what he did was draw their worship or begin to draw their worship away from God. He's the only king of Israel listed, but there were others during whose lives Hosea lived and prophesied. And the history books of the Bible tell us who they are. And some of the kids who had to memorize these for school, for Bible class, will remember them. Zechariah, Shalem, Amenahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hosea, who was the last king before captivity. Now, they were all there during Hosea's life, but he doesn't mention them and there has been much ink spilled with regard to speculation. Why? Maybe it's because Jeroboam II was of the house of Jehu and he was the last one of whom the Lord talked about in 2 Kings 10.30 when he said that the sons of Jehu would reign up to four generations. He was the fourth generation to sit on Israel's throne after that word of the Lord. And the rest of them, the other six that we just mentioned, it could be that they are those whom the Lord is talking about in Hosea 8, verse 4, when he says, they set up kings without my consent, without my approval. It may be that Hosea doesn't mention them because God did not approve of them. But certainly they are unmentioned because they represent a dark time of godlessness and anarchy in Israel. Four of them were assassinated by their successors. Three of them only reigned for any sort of significant amount of time. But notice here the kings of Judah. Even though Hosea was ministering to the northern kingdom of Israel, he identifies his time with the southern kings of Judah. And not that they were all virtuous, God-fearing men. They weren't. But most likely, Hosea is pointing to the legitimate throne of David with whom God had covenanted and said that it would never fail that one of David's sons would sit on a throne. Therefore, again, pointing to the seriousness of this word that it came from the covenant God, which also is reminded of in the complaint, because the land is guilty. And that very mention of the land was a reminder of Israel's exodus out of Egypt and the allowance, as Bill Godfrey taught us beautifully this summer, the allowance, boys and girls, that Israel was given of the land, given on oath to Abraham. It was given to them as an allowance. And the land was a reminder as well of the law of God that God had given to them to regulate them in the land. And we might say especially the fifth commandment which says, Honor your father and mother. Why? So that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Hosea identifies himself as one sent with divine authority. And this confrontation is serious business because it is from the very God whose commandments Israel in the days of Moses and Joshua they had promised to keep. And therefore they had better listen up and not take the prophet's word lightly. But they did take it lightly. Because this call to confront came in the second place in a prosperous day. Now, Hosea's call came toward the end of Jeroboam II's reign, maybe with five years or so left in his reign. And we know that it was a day of prosperity, a prosperous day. Not that Jeroboam II was a God-fearing man. He was not. He did not give credit to God for all the triumphs that God, the victories that God had given to them. But he was an instrument in the hand of God. God used him to restore Israel for a time, and they enjoyed a prosperous day of power. Indeed, Hosea witnessed the nation decline throughout the following six kings all the way to captivity. But during Jeroboam II, it was considered to be a golden age, a prosperous day of rule, for example. Their rule extended, except for Judah, their rule extended almost as far as in the days of David and Solomon. And they enjoyed release from the domination of Damascus. In 2 Kings 14, verse 25, we read, He, that is Jeroboam II, was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through His servant Jonah, son of Amittai. It was a prosperous day of power. And with enemy threat low, it was also, therefore, a day of growth, a prosperous day of prestige. They enjoyed economic success. which included revival in trade, revival in commerce, increase in wealth, and well, certainly that must be a blessing from the Lord, right? And any word that would come from the Lord must be positive because everything is going well. Everything is going to our advantage, in our favor. So what possibly could God have to say against us? It was the best of times. But it was also the worst of times. As Hosea's call comes in the third place with an unbelievable delivery. Verse 2, When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery and departing from the Lord. What a command. What a situation. Now we say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, this picture, this real life portrait would be unmistakable. It would tell a shocking story. And even before getting into the nitty-gritty details of the problem of the Lord's complaint, which is throughout the book, what Israel was to see in Hosea's marriage was a powerful indictment of their relationship. with their covenant God. They were to see a mirror image of that relationship. The preached word was no longer effective had it needed to be reinforced with deeds. This wasn't the first time. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. God sent a flood. Elijah preached earnestly. God sent on Mount Carmel the fire to come down and to lick up and consume Baal's altar that was doused with water. And once again, the preached word was no longer effective. It would be reinforced with deeds, a visible word from the Lord. As Hosea was called to live in his house in a relationship that was the same as the relationship that Yahweh was living with Israel. And this message was to be delivered included a surprising wife. Go take an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness. Imagine that command. And of course, there are various opinions that have circulated throughout history with regard to this whole prophecy, and especially these first couple of chapters. Was she already a promiscuous, adulterous woman, or would she become one? Did she already have children due to her promiscuity and Hosea was to adopt them? Or is the Bible talking here about the children that we read about later on in chapter 1? Is this whole thing literal? Did it really happen? Did Hosea really have to do this? And did he actually do it? Or was it simply a vision or a parable or just a story with a strong point? Because many throughout the history of redemption, the history of the church, have had a hard time believing that God would command Hosea to do something like this, especially since promiscuity and adultery was commanded to be severely dealt with. And Lord willing, we'll talk more about some of these things next time, but I believe it's literal. The power in this picture, this visible representation, is the fact that it was true. Not to mention the fact that Gomer's father is listed, which points to historical figures. And other prophets were commanded to demonstrate the word of the Lord in various odd ways. Isaiah walked around three years barefoot and stripped. Jeremiah had to wear the yoke across his shoulders and his neck. And Ezekiel was called upon to do a number of things, including not mourn when his wife had died. And all of these things were visible sermons that God intended for the people. But I also believe it's literal because the Hebrew term which qualifies the wife Hosea was to take points to her character as it already was. Not only what she would do, but what she had already done. Already living a life of prostitution and adultery. But Hosea, you see, was to enter into a relationship that he knew would be difficult and painful with a wife whose character was opposite of his. He was called to stand in God's shoes, as it were, and experience for himself from his wife what God had experienced from his wife, the pain and suffering of rejection. And oh, what a message then he would be able to preach, huh? He was called to show Israel, God's wife, the truth of herself and the pain that she caused God. And no doubt, when Hosea took Gomer as his wife, he would be picked on. He would be ridiculed, he would be made fun of, laughed at. What in the world are you doing? That kind of woman is the last kind of a woman that you would ever want to be with. But then when the laughter died down, Hosea would point and say, You are the woman. And this unbelievable delivery includes a real-life example, a surprising wife to show Israel that theirs was a sad condition. The land is guilty of the vilest adultery and departing from the Lord. The Lord loved His people. He demonstrated His love by their exodus out of Egypt and by giving them the allowance of the land and by rescuing them from their enemies on various occasions. Yet Israel spurned Him. Israel spat in His face. Israel took advantage of every mercy of God and fell deeper into sin. Amos talks about that sin as well, but he points to it in the sense of social injustice instead of caring for the poor, taking advantage of them. Whereas Hosea points out Israel's sin of faithlessness and unfaithfulness seen in her politics. Again, after Jeroboam II. And Jeroboam II, as I said before, did not give credit to God for his victories. But after Jeroboam II, The other wicked kings, instead of going to the Lord for help, they made alliances with Egypt and with Syria. And eventually, they had to pay tribute to Assyria, who finally took them captive. And Israel's unfaithfulness and faithlessness was seen in her morality. It was a day of extreme wickedness for all their prosperity. Extreme wickedness and violence, lying, cheating, stealing, killing, including rampant sexual immorality. Such vile symptoms of godlessness. But ultimately, her faithlessness and unfaithfulness is seen in her religion. In 2 Kings 14, verse 24, He, that is Jeroboam II, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, we read, and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, Jeroboam number one, which he caused Israel to commit. The golden calves, which at one time may have been used simply to represent Jehovah, had become full-blown Baal worship. And the land was filled with shrines and altars for heathen idol worship. The people put their trust and confidence in Baal and the other gods. Israel was guilty of stepping out on her husband right into the arms of another man, denying the one who saved her, who gave her her life, who stuck himself to her in a covenant commitment. But not only did Israel fail to give the Lord her undivided devotion and loyalty and trust, but she gave her allegiance away to false gods. And Israel must now listen up because this unbelievable delivery comes with this serious message. You see, the peace and prosperity that they enjoyed did not mean at all God's favor upon them. It did not mean God's favor upon them. He was not coming to praise them. But He comes with a message of judgment. The very accusation of adultery is a message of judgment. It meant that Israel had broken God's covenant, which he commanded them to keep in order to stay in the land, by which he would protect them. And Israel knew the penalty for adultery and prostitution, and as it was listed in the law, death. It was a message of judgment. You have departed from the Lord. You've turned your back on Him. And Hosea's prophecy, again, will give details about the extent of Israel's wickedness and adultery, yet though it was a message of judgment, believe it or not, it is also a message of hope. It's a message of mercy. Seen in the command, I believe, for Hosea to take. And in the biblical languages, to take has the idea of to take and to marry. It's seen in the command for Hosea to take and to marry one known to be an adulterous wife. Even if she had the inclinations toward it, Hosea knew that going into this marriage. But that points to rescue. That points to care for. That points to protection. And beloved, that demonstrates God's faithfulness to an unfaithful wife. He would not write Israel off as we might expect. God will punish them because he was angry with them. They had broken covenant and he would keep his word. But he would punish them because he loves them. And his discipline would be for restoration. As the writer of Hebrews says, God disciplines those he loves. You see, even though God's love was spurned, even though it was rejected, his love was not extinguished. It did not die out against his people. We can tell in this introduction, we can tell by God's command to Hosea what a story it will be. But here in the year 2008, we must also rejoice in what a story it has been. As the writer of Hebrews says again, In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. What a story it has been. God has spoken through Jesus Christ. You see, God settles for nothing short of love and nothing shorter than forever. And that love has been given to the Father by Jesus Christ for you and for me. He sent His Son for a people who turned away from Him who didn't even want Him. He loved a loveless people. He gave His life. You see, the very coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh was a word of judgment as He walked among the people of this land. But at the very same time, as He walked among the people of this land, His very presence was a word of mercy. And Calvary is not only a symbol of judgment, but it's a symbol of the mercy of God. Oh, how deep is the love of God for His people. He sent His Son, He spoke through His Son to make His people His bride, whom He is making, as Paul says, holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Did you hear that? For those who didn't even want Him, For those who by their sin completely turn their backs on Him. That's what Christ has done. That's what He is doing. What a story it has been. And beloved, what a story it continues to be. God confronts us with His Word every Lord's Day from the pulpit. And in our personal study, and face to face at times, He confronts us in so many ways, but to an unbelieving world, that Word is a Word of judgment to come upon those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. But at the very same time, it is a word of mercy by its very coming that today is the day of salvation. And that for all who turn in repentance and faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, God's love for them is everlasting. And for those who believe by the grace of God, His Word confronts us, reminding us that we belong to Him because of our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. And His Word comes to you and me over and over again to encourage us to keep our devotion and loyalty and trust on Him because our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. We are not to give it to another because He is worthy of all of our allegiance. We enjoy prosperity, don't we? Well, many of us may be feeling an economic pinch at this time, but compared to so many in our world today, we enjoy such prosperity, but we must not be deceived, beloved, at this assume, or assume that this means that God favors our nation. Not at all. And sadly, much of modern evangelicalism preaches that prosperity is God's blessing upon our faithfulness. the danger is prosperity divorced from allegiance to God will become a curse. And may we recognize that all that we enjoy is a blessing from God to be used for His glory and is to be seen in the light of the saving work of Jesus Christ. And by the grace of God, may we not allow prosperity to draw us away from God, to become proud and self-sufficient instead of humble and thankful. We are called to live in faith, demonstrating faithfulness and gratitude to God, being holy, devoted to the God of our salvation. Indeed, we fall short. Day by day, our sins rise up against us. We look elsewhere at times and put our confidence in the things of this world, and we need to be reminded that our sin grieves God. Our sin grieves God deeply. But yet we must also be reminded of His love. Christ's sacrifice is a reminder of God's love to the loveless and that He will not send a flood of His wrath upon His people. But the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is a promise of the forgiving grace of God for all of our sin. And that He will restore. That our sin will never again separate us from the love of God. Jesus Christ is the final Word of God. And praise God that He does not sugarcoat His Word. But praise God that He speaks the truth, even though it might be hard to hear at times. Praise God for that, because that truth alone sets us free. Our Almighty God confronted and still confronts an arrogant world with His one and only Son through the unbelievable delivery called the cross. And those who reject Him will face the judgment and the wrath that He endured. But those who look to Him in faith, in hope, with allegiance, enjoy the blessing of God's undeserved love. And they are given the confidence that when He shall come with trumpet sound, then we in Him will be found forever. Amen. Let's pray together. Dear Heavenly Father, we do thank You and praise You for Your Word. Your Word, which is indeed humbling, to us, and may it ever be humbling to us. But yet that word which is oh so powerful, a reminder of your great and your deep love for your people. That rather than to let us stay turned away from you, running away from you, that you have chosen to stop us in our tracks, to turn us toward you. for Jesus' sake. Father, may we grow in praise for You because of what You have done for us in Christ Jesus. Bless our study of Your Word. Through it, strengthen our faith and increase our assurance of such a great salvation for both now and forever. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake, and in His name we pray. Amen. Thank you.