Finding Strength in Obedience: Lessons from Hosea part 1 / S3E21

Send a comment.

Ever wondered what it truly means to trust in God's plan, even when it feels like the craziest idea in the world? Join us for a deep exploration into the life of Hosea, where we uncover a tale of profound obedience and unwavering faith. This episode promises to enlighten you with the compelling narrative of Hosea's marriage to Gomer, an astonishing symbol of God's enduring love for Israel despite their unfaithfulness. We draw insightful parallels between Hosea's trials and those of Job, both of whom remained steadfast in faith amidst suffering. This thought-provoking journey invites reflection on how we navigate our own struggles with trust and patience in God's ultimate plan for us.

As we unpack the story, we also spotlight the theme of obedience and the courage it takes to follow divine guidance. Can we embrace God’s call, even if it seems bizarre or makes us look foolish to others? Reflecting on Hosea's faith journey, the episode spurs listeners to consider their own willingness to step out on faith, understanding that God's guidance is always for our good. Looking ahead, we're excited to explore the unique and humorous aspects of Hosea's children's names in the next part of our series. Additionally, we share personal tales of overcoming procrastination, reinforcing the importance of acting on God's call without delay.

My website is https://www.godslovingsacrifice.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, today I'm going to do something a little
bit different in the month ofFebruary.
I am going to be talking aboutHosea, and it's going to be four
different lessons about whathappened with Hosea.
The story of Hosea is about aprophet who lived in Israel

(00:23):
during the time when the peoplehad turned away from God to
worship other gods and livesinful lives.
So God selected Hosea's life asan example to teach Israel
about his love and forgiveness.
Hosea's story is about God'snever-ending love for his people
when they mess up, and itteaches us that no matter how

(00:45):
far someone strays, god isalways ready to forgive and
bring them back.
But the first part we're goingto talk about today is Hosea's

(01:15):
unusual marriage.
Now Hosea 1, 2-3 says went andtook Gomer, the daughter of
Diblaim, and she conceived andbore him a son.
That's kind of funny that Godwould tell somebody to marry a
harlot, and in reading this itwas a question that I even had.

(01:41):
That I even had.
We aren't supposed to beunequally yoked, but yet God had
Hosea marry a harlot and thatwas a sample of obedience.
If you are unequally yoked,your marriage isn't sanctified.

(02:05):
But this marriage wassanctified by God.
He didn't contradict beingunequally yoked.
He was using it as an exampleof obedience and love towards
Israel.
And we have to remember thatthe whole thing, this whole
story, that the whole thing,this whole story, was an

(02:32):
illustration of the way Godloved Israel.
God's love is unconditional.
Even when we're unfaithful,he's always there.
And God tells Hosea to marryGomer, a woman who had been
unfaithful.
But their marriage representsIsrael's relationship with God.
Gomer's unfaithfulness was howIsrael had turned away from God.

(02:58):
But you know, god still lovesus.
Even when we fail, he alwayscalls us to forgiveness.
You know, you look at thethings that happened to Hosea
and you think, okay, but thatwas just in Hosea.

(03:20):
But let's look at some otherscriptures God's faithful love,
romans 5.8 says.
But God demonstrates his ownlove toward us that while we
were still sinners, christ diedfor us, and he did.
He died for us while we weresinning.
Hosea he had a really kind of ahorrible life, if you think

(03:43):
about it, where he had to marrya harlot, she ran off from him
and was marrying other men andthen he had to go buy her back.
But why?
Because God calls us tofaithfulness.
In Deuteronomy 6, 5, it saysyou shall love the Lord, your
God with all of your heart, allof your soul and all of your

(04:05):
strength.
That's the way God wantedIsrael to love him and that is
the way Hosea loved Gomer.
It's strange my son and I wastalking about this today and we
even kind of compared it to thethings that happened with Job

(04:26):
that Hosea was called to dosomething that you wouldn't
expect, because he was doingsomething outside of what God
normally taught, and Job wastreated so poorly by Satan and

(04:49):
God was allowing it.
But both of those wereillustrations.
It says in the Bible that wecan't be tempted more than our
ability, that God will come inand give us a way out.
Homer's way out was to obey God.

(05:10):
His way out of suffering wasbelieving in God and having
faith in God.
Job's way out of suffering wasbelieving in God and having
faith in God.
Homer was restored to Hosea,just like Job had everything
restored to him, and that's whatGod expects of us.

(05:34):
And God has made a commitmentto his people.
He made a commitment to Israel.
He had promised them so much,but yet they so easily turned on
him.
God has total commitment to hispeople.

(06:00):
Isaiah 45.5 says for your makeris your husband, the Lord of
hosts is his name, and yourredeemer is the holy one of
Israel.
He is called the God of thewhole earth.
Okay, so let's look at this.
Hosea was told to marry aharlot and to have children, and

(06:24):
what kind of faith did he haveto have?
And what kind of trust did hehave to have to do it?
God told him to do it, so hedid it.
He didn't question, he didn'ttell God well, I don't know if I
really want to do this.
No, he went and he did what Godasked of him.

(06:49):
Do we do that when you seethings in your life that you
know God wants you to give up?
Do you say, well, let me see,I'll do?
You know?
I'll give you an example for me.
Before I started this podcast,I've had it written, I've been
studying it, I've got all fourlessons done, and earlier

(07:14):
tonight I thought I should sitdown and do that podcast, but I
thought, oh, no, let me play onegame.
So I played three or four gamesand then no, let me go out and
see if anything's going on onFacebook.
No, let me go out and see if Igot any emails.
I wasn't doing what God calledme to do, and so many times we
do that on what God called me todo.
And so many times we do thatwhen I felt like I should do the

(07:35):
podcast, I should do thepodcast.
But you know what?
God still loves me.
God's still faithful and Inever have to worry about being
taken away from him.
Only I can do that.
But think of Hosea.
I suspect he was pretty muchthe laughingstock of the area

(07:59):
around there that he married aharlot.
I mean you know there had to bemen there that had been with
her and he was.
You know.
You know how people can be andhe was.
You know.
You know how people can be.
But Hosea had such faith in Godthat he knew that this is the

(08:23):
thing that he should do.
Do we do the things that weshould do?
Do we listen to God, no matterif it might make us look silly

(08:44):
or make us uncool?
That's not what's importantObedience.
Hosea was obedient to God.
Are you obedient to God?
Do you listen to His voice?
Do you step out on faith and dowhat he asks and know that in
the end, it's going to be thebest thing?
As we study Hosea, we're goingto find out lots of things that

(09:05):
went on, and I hope you enjoy it.
Next week is going to be oursecond lesson, and it is going
to be our second lesson and itis going to be about his
children's names.
That's a funny area too.
So listen to God, be obedient,and he will be faithful to you.