Hosea 3:1-5

Hosea 3:1-5

We Need a Hero

I.                    Only God’s unconditional love in Christ can save us; so we must see the full power and magnitude of God’s love in Christ       (Vv. 1-3)

a.       Gomer had turned her back on her husband, her children, and on God, and prostituted herself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Her promiscuous lifestyle and false worship has seen her passed from one man to the other until she found herself enslaved, and now put up on the auction block for sale. Amazingly, God commanded Hosea to do what He would do, go and love her again. He didn’t tell Hosea to love Gomer again because she had finally cleaned up her act, He commanded him to love her in all her faults and warts because that’s the way God loves His people even when they turn their backs on Him and misappropriate His blessing and provision. Gomer’s plight is a reflection of the plight of Israel and of us all. She turned her back on her husband and family, and followed her own heart into the deepest state of depravity and helplessness. She didn’t deserve to be loved. She deserved to be held accountable for her sin according to the law, which literally meant execution. But instead, Hosea scrapes us everything he has to pay the price to buy her back to himself, and to deliver her permanently from slavery. The one who suffered the most at her hand, was hurt the deepest, and had the greatest reason to turn his back on her, gave all he likely had to ransom her from slavery! And after he bought her back to himself, he clothes her, loves her, and waits patiently with her as she turns away from her old ways and their marriage covenant and relationship is restored in full. Just like Gomer and the nation Israel which she represents, we’re all helpless to remedy our slavery to sin and death. We’ve all sold our commitment to God for things which are inherently worthless and seek our satisfaction, fulfillment, purpose, value, and worth in financial gain, personal pleasure, leisure, influence, prestige, personal performance, power, and even religion. We convince ourselves that if we have any of these things, or can attach ourselves to someone who does, then we’ll be saved from the things to which we know we’re ultimately powerless. We all end up enslaved to sin and death, powerless to deliver ourselves, and exposed on the auction block. But Jesus in the perfect and amazing demonstration of God’s unconditional love, bid His whole life, given through the most tremendous suffering ever, to buy us back to Him. Only the love of God in Christ is more powerful and extensive than all of our failures and more valuable and important than anything else in life or eternity. Only God’s unconditional love in Christ can save us! It cost Him everything to redeem us, and it calls for us to offer up everything to follow Him. If we want to experience God’s great love of Christ in our lives to the fullest here in this life, we must also love those who are unfaithful to us and to God so that they see His amazing love and grace. (Vv. 1-3; Lev. 20:10; 27:4; 2 Sam. 6:19; 24:24; Amos 5:21-24; Matt. 20:28; Luke 9:23-25; John 3:16; Rom. 3:21-26; 5:1-11; 6:8-14, 21-23; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 5:17, 21; Gal. 3:13; 4:4-5; Tit. 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9; Rev. 5:9)

II.                 Only God’s unconditional love in Christ can save us; so we must see the unchanging nature and full measure of God’s love in Christ (Vv. 4-5)

a.       Gomer’s great sin had consequences, but God came for her, bought her back even in her sin, restored her in her relationship with her husband, and changed her heart so that she’ll never be the same again. All of this is also the picture of how God will redeem Israel. Their idolatrous ways have tainted all the other areas of their lives. All they thought was important and pursued with their hearts will be proven worthless, and ultimately removed from them along with God’s presence. They will endure a time without leadership, true worship, or God’s full blessings. But at the end of days, Israel will acknowledge their sin, humble themselves, and repent and return to God, seeking His promised Hero, the Messiah. The Israelites will come trembling before the Messiah whom they will realize they rejected and killed, knowing He’s their only hope. In the full measure of their failure, they’ll discover and experience the full measure of God’s unchanging and unconditional love in Christ! That love and grace is continually available, certain, and life changing for all us today. Grace begets grace, and grace given overflows with grace received. We must live each day in the redemption of God’s unconditional love, and endeavoring to love others with the fullest measure of the love we’ve received in Christ! (Vv. 4-5; Deut. 28:64-68; Ps. 84:11-12; Prov. 3:33-34; Isa. 11:11-12; 12:1-6; 60:21; Jer. 16:14-16; 31:31-34; 33:10-11; Ezek. 36:22-28; 37:24; Amos 9:14-15; Zech. 12:10-13:1; Luke 21:24; John 1:14-17; 13:34-35; Rom. 8:18-39; 11:23-12:2; Eph. 2:1-10; Rev. 7:4-10)