“Hosea & Gomer: Living Picture of God’s Lovingkindness”
Hosea 1:2-11 July 16, 2006 Play
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Love - Romantic or Real?
• wisdom needed to prepare young couples for lasting
marriages
• superficiality of romantic love
Amorous Love, and Israel’s Adultery
• look to Scripture not world for definitions of
love (1Jn 3:16; 4:10)
• variety of Hebrew terms, Hosea uses three
• ‘ahab / aheb’ mutual urge of the sexes; also
non-sexual context (Hos 11:1,4)
• Israel & Gomer guilty of adulterous
unfaithfulness (1:2; 2:2,5,8,12f)
• love Baal-worship raisin-cakes, determined to turn
from God (3:1; 11:2,7)
Parental Love, and Children “Not Mine”
• ‘Racham’ to have mercy / compassion / pity /
fondness; related to ‘womb’
• Hosea’s children’s names reflect strained
relationship between God & Israel (1:4-9)
• not-loved, not-my-people (1:6,9; 2:2)
• hope for imperfect families
Covenant Love, Redeemed from Slavery
• ‘Checed’ mercy / kindness / lovingkindness:
steadfast love on basis of covenant
• Gomer’s unfaithfulness ended in slavery; Hosea
redeems, loves her again (3:1ff)
• contemporary prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s
delight in lovingkindness (Jer 9:24; 31:3)
• important for Church: sinners bought back by
Christ as ransom (Heb 9:15)
• Gentiles once “not my people”, now “sons of the
living God” (Rom 9:25f; 1Pet 2:10; Hos 1:10, 11:4)
Beyond Those Endearing Young Charms
• fears of husband seeing scarred face overcome by
assurance of unconditional love
• God’s grace enables us to “love on to the close”
despite charms that fade