I'm turning to the book of Hosea, the book of Hosea. Hosea is not easy to find. It's
one of those small books toward the back of the Old Testament
right after Daniel, the book of Hosea. I'm reading from my text verse
two of Hosea Hosea 1 verse 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. Go, God said, Hosea, and Mary,
and Harlot." Now the songwriter in the song, God Moves in a Mysterious
Way, has made these statements, in a mysterious way, his wonders
to perform. He plants his footsteps in the
sea and rides upon the storm, deep in unfathomable minds of
never-failing skill. God treasures up his bright designs
and works his sovereign will. Now ye fearful saints, fresh
courage take the clouds you so much dread, are big with mercy,
and will break in blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord
by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning
providence God hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen
fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower. I know that God is the first
cause of all things. If you'll turn to the book of
Proverbs, chapter 16, verse 33, you'll read these words. Proverbs
16, verse 33. The lot is cast into the lap, even the tossing of dice, even the casting of lots, but
the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. I know that God
is the first cause of all things, and I know that God has a divine
purpose in all that he does. I know that all things will work
together according to his will for his glory and for the good
of his people. I know that. But that does not
keep me from complaining And that does not keep me from wondering
when things aren't going exactly the way that I feel like they
ought to go. And it does not keep me personally
in my human nature from grumbling and finding fault with the providence
of God. I know that Moses wondered why
and for what purpose that he sat tending sheep on the back
side of the desert for forty years. Moses was a brilliant
man. Moses knew God, and Moses had
rejected the pleasures of Egypt and the power of Egypt and the
possessions of Egypt to suffer the affliction of God's people.
And he had in his own wisdom and strength set out to defend
the name of God and the honor of his people, and he had been
rejected. And not only rejected, but cast
out of Egypt and away from those people whom he sought to defend.
And for forty long years, from the time he was forty years old
to the time he was eighty years old, he was nothing but a shepherd. taking care of another man's
flock on the backside of a desert. And I know during those forty
years, I'm as sure of it as Moses was a human being, that though
he knew that God had a purpose in all things, I know he wondered,
well, what am I doing here? What on earth is God doing, if
anything? Why am I here? Surely there are
more important things for me to do. Surely there are more
important battles for me to fight. Surely there are some victories
to be won. Surely somewhere God could use
me." But he sat there for forty years. Now you and I read the
last chapter of the book. We know what happened during
the next forty years. We know that Moses was used of
God more than any man prior to his time in a much greater fashion. gave him power, the power of
God himself. But I know that Moses, who lived
that life day by day and week by long week and month after
long month, must have found himself many times in utter despair.
And I know that Joseph wondered what purpose could possibly be
served by his being cast into prison. First of all, his own
brothers ten of them rejected him, cast him into a pit, and
sold him into slavery. And I know rumbling down the
road, perhaps riding with his hands tied in the back of an
ox cart, that it must have gone through Joseph's mind what in
the name of common sense is God doing to me. Why is he doing
this? I haven't done anything. All
I've tried to do is to tell the truth. He told his brothers the
dreams that he had. He told them the things God had
revealed to them, and for that they cast him into the pit. And
here he is on his way to slavery. Why? And then after he'd worked
his way up from slavery to the place of position of honor in
a man's household, he's accused of something he didn't do, and
they cast him into jail. Now he's sitting down there on
a stool in the bottom of a jail in the dungeon. God had a purpose
in it. God had a reason for it. God
was bringing Joseph into contact with the men from Pharaoh's palace,
whose dreams he later interpreted. But I know Joseph, who lived
this experience day by day, thought, and I'm sure, being a human being,
that he found some fault with it, this plan. It just didn't
fit into his plan. And how often God's plans do
not fit into our And that's just speaking truthfully, that we
murmur, we find fault with it. I don't like it. That's all there
is to it. Who does like to sit in jail?
Who does like to sit on the backside of a desert? Who does like to
watch less talented men receive the acclaim and the applause?
Who does like it? Men who are lying on God. And
yet that's the purpose of the Lord. God moves in a mysterious
way. his wonders to perform. And then I know that Daniel,
it was Daniel who had come up through the ranks, and now he
was the first president of three in the whole land, and the king,
King Darius, he was in King Darius's favor, and Daniel got himself
up to the place where he thought, Now I can be used of God. Here I am right next to the King.
There's no power greater than mine in this kingdom. There's
no word of authority greater than my word in this kingdom.
I'm right next to the King, and I can be a real witness for the
glory of my God. And brother, it wasn't a week
till he was on his way to the lion's den. and all the hooting
and the hollering and the mocking and the fun-making and the humiliation. Here was the man who, a week
ago, was next to the king, and now he's on his way and changed
to a lion's den. And I know that Daniel, being
a human being walking along there, must have thought, in the name
of God, what's he doing? What on earth is God doing? Why
this humiliation? Why this disappointment? Why
this suffering? What purpose can it possibly
serve? He treasures up his bright designs
and works his sovereign will. Behind the frowning providence
he hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter, bitter
taste, but if you can give it long enough to bloom, and if
you can patiently wait for it to bloom, sweet will be the flower. But we, in our impulsiveness,
cut the bud off, dismiss ourselves from God's service, throw in
the towel, and quit the race. I know that the disciples, here
they'd been with the Lord Jesus Christ for three and a half years.
They said, Lord, we've left everything and followed you. We left our homes, we left our
families, we've lost all our friends, we've been excommunicated
from the synagogue. We've given everything, we've
taken the reproach and the shame, and we've followed you everywhere. And here they are standing at
the foot of a hill called the Place of the Skull, and they're
looking at the Son of God, their Messiah, their Savior, their
Leader, hanging in shame on a cross. On a cross. And here they are,
rejected men, ignored, dishonored. having lost their position in
the community, having lost everything that they ever had, putting in
all their trust and hope in Him, and now He's dead. And I know when they went to
that upper room and they all sat around in the circle, nobody
said anything for a long time. They didn't understand the purpose
of God. We know it because we were reading
the last chapter, but they were living it. There's a whole lot
of difference in looking at something and living it. There's a whole lot of difference
in reading about it and living it. That's the reason I think
everybody's got good sense, has quit saying, well, if I was you,
I'd do so-and-so. That's the reason I think everybody
that's got good sense has quit looking at other people's problems
and trying to solve them. You can't look at it and solve
them, you've got to live it. There's a lot of difference in
looking at it and living it. And I know these disciples were
sitting around there wondering what in the name of heaven God
was doing. And I know their faith must have
suffered, they must have suffered some very certain moment. Why? And finally, Peter got up
and said, Well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going
fishing. That's where I was when I heard the name of Jesus Christ,
and that's where I was when he came along, and that's where
I was when he called me, and that's where I'm going now. I'm
going back fishing. And the other disciples said,
Well, if you wait on us, we'll go with you. we'll go with you." I think Peter
quit the ministry that night. I think the other disciples did,
too. And it wasn't until the next
day or so that they were out there fishing and the Lord appeared
on the shore, and somebody said, It's the Lord. And Peter jumped
in that water and swam to the shore, and the Lord Jesus sat
him down beside the fire. He was just a human being, just
a fallible, finite human being. And Christ sat him down and said,
Now, Peter, do you love me? Lord, you know I love you. Now,
you go feed my sheep. You get back in the ministry,
and you feed my sheep. Lord, I thought you were dead.
I know you're dead, but I'm not dead. I told you, but I didn't
understand. Well, Lord, it got awful dark
there, and it got awful lonesome, and I didn't understand what
you were doing. I know I know that. Do you love me? Yeah, Lord, you
know all things. You know I love you. Well, you
get back in the ministry and feed my sheep. Or they'll spit
on you and they'll call you names and they'll crucify you upside
down one of these days, but you feed my sheep." We can see the purpose of God
unfolding in the lives of these men. We can see the will and
purpose of God unfolding because we can see it from the side where
it was all accomplished. But these men lived it day by
day. They lived in the light and they
lived in the darkness. They lived in the association
and communion with God, and they lived in the days of desertion
when the heavens were black. It looked like God had abdicated. Anyway, it looked like God had
left them. And David often said, Lord, how long are you going
to hide your face from me? Will you never hear me again?
Will you never hear me again? Why are you doing this? If you
get your amplified version of the Bible, read the book of Job,
it will shock you to find out that old Job did a lot of complaining. And it's good for us to read
that. And Job got down into a place of despair and desertion where
he did a lot of complaining and not knowing God's will, not knowing
God's purpose. But I believe God was working
it all out. Now look at our text again. And I know this must have
come as quite a shock to this righteous man, Hosea. Hosea was
a man of God. Hosea was a righteous, God-fearing
man, and God came to him and said, Hosea, yes, Lord, I want
you to marry a harlot. Now, we're not left to wonder
about the purpose of God in this matter. He tells us why he had
Hosea do that. If you'll turn to Hosea chapter
3, verse 1, Lord said, Hosea, the reason I want you to love
and marry this fallen woman is because I'm going to illustrate
my love for fallen sinners. I'm going to teach the people
a lesson, I'm going to use you to do it. I'm going to use a
living experience, I'm going to use a man's living experience
to teach people the living truth of God's love. I'm going to let
you, Hosea, live what I live. I'm going to let you experience
what I experience in my relationship with my bride. I'm going to let
you live the very same experience that the God of heaven lives
in his love for sinners. In Hosea 3, verse 1, then said
the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman, beloved of her friend,
yet an adulteress according to the love of the Lord. for the
children of Israel who look to other gods according to the love
of God for the children of Israel who look to other gods." In other
words, God is saying, Hosea, I loved my people when they were
yet in sin. I loved my people when they loved
other gods. I loved my people when they didn't
love me. I chose my people when there
was nothing in them that would merit my affection or draw my
love." Turn to Ephesians 2, let me show you that. And God's talking
about you and me right here. Israel is certainly all of the
people of God. In Ephesians chapter 2, listen
to it, verse 1, and you the wife of God, the bride of Christ,
you hath be quickened who were dead, who were dead in trespasses
and sin, wherein in time past you walked according to the course
of this world. You walked according to the prince
of the power of the air, Satan. You walked according to the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past." What? In the lust
of the flesh? fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind, not very spiritual were we, not very holy
were we, not very God-minded were we, and were by nature the
children of wrath, just like everybody else. But God, who
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us. Here
was Hosea's future bride. Gomer was her She was a fallen
woman. She was an adulterous woman.
She was a sinful woman. She was a woman of the street,
and yet Hosea loved her, and he set his affections upon her,
and he entered into an engagement with her, and he finally married
her. And God says, that's the way
you were. You were walking according to
the precepts of the power of the air, following him. You were
children of wrath. There was no goodness in you.
But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith
he loved us, even when we were in that condition, he quickened
us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved. Turn to Romans 5. Here's another
picture of the Bride of Christ in Romans chapter 5, beginning
with verse 6. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet for adventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God, God, commended his love
for us. and that while we were yet fallen,
yet sinners, Christ died for us. Verse 10, When we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. Now, happy
is the man who can see both the holiness and the mercy of God. Happy is the man who can see
both the holiness of God. God is holy, God is true, God
is righteous, God is strict, God is just. But thank God He's
also mercy and love and grace. Hosea was a righteous man, Hosea
was a God-fearing man, Hosea was a man of integrity and honesty,
and yet Hosea was a man who could love. And happy is the man who
for every one look at the law and at God's holiness is able
to take ten looks at the cross in God's mercy. For when we view
our sin in the light of God's law and God's holiness, we'll
be only driven to despair. But when we view our guilt in
the light of God's love, will be made to rejoice. Gomer, left to the law, didn't
stand a chance. Gomer, left to God's holiness,
didn't stand a chance. Gomer, left to God's justice,
was destined for the stoning pit. But Gomer found in Hosea
somebody to love her, and somebody to intercede, and somebody to
be her mediator. and somebody to be her advocate.
And I know that after she came to knowledge of Hosea's love
for her, she spent more time looking at that love than she
did at her lost condition. Now, the second thing. Turn back
to Hosea. First, God said, Hosea, enter
into a marriage covenant enter into a marriage agreement with
a fallen woman. And this wasn't only a legal
thing, this was an affectionate thing. Hosea really did, by God's
grace, love this woman. It wasn't just a legal thing,
it wasn't just a robot obeying orders. Hosea really loved this
woman. and he entered into a covenant
with her and took her to be his bride, and she bore him some
children. But in chapter 2, verse 5, she left him again. For your
mother hath played the harlot, she that conceived them hath
done shamefully, for she said, I will go after my lovers. Now, if you listen to me just
a moment, I'll show you how this pictures the bride of Christ.
First of all, Hosea loved Gomer, and he chose her, and he entered
into a marriage covenant with her, and they became one. She didn't appreciate this covenant
at all. She didn't have any intention
of abiding by it. She didn't have any desire to
abide by it, and it wasn't any time at all till she was gone,
gone her own way. She left after very little time
had passed. Now then, when did the bride
of Christ become his bride? When did we enter into a marriage
relationship and a covenant relationship with Christ? Back in eternity. We were chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. That's what Scripture says. God
hath from the beginning chosen you unto eternal life. So God
chose us in Christ as the bride of the Redeemer before the world
began. He set his love upon us, an everlasting
love. Turn to John 16. He says here
in the 16th chapter of John, verse 16, Christ said, didn't choose me. I chose you." Gomer didn't choose Hosea. She
didn't love Hosea. She didn't want Hosea. Hosea chose Gomer. Hosea loved
Gomer. Hosea wanted Gomer. But the love
was not returned, not at all. He chose her, she did not choose
Him. And God Almighty in eternity
chose us, we didn't choose Him. Back before we were born, back
before the foundations of the world were laid, God entered
into a covenant relationship with a people and gave them to
His Son. That's what the Word of God teaches. Christ said, You didn't choose
me, I chose you. We were chosen in Christ before
the world began. Who they are, I don't have the
faintest idea, but he knows. He knows. He said, I know my
sheep and have known of mine. The Pharisee said, well, if you're
the Christ, tell us plainly. He said, I told you, but you
don't believe me. You don't believe me because
you're not of my sheep. My sheep here, my boy, I give
them eternal life. All right, turn to 1 John 4. I said, Hosea chose Gomer. She didn't choose him, he chose
her. Hosea loved Gomer. She didn't love him, he loved
her. God chose you. You didn't choose him. God loved
you. You didn't love him. Look at
1 John 4.10. Herein is love. 1 John 4.10. Not that we love God. He loved
us. God loved you when you were a
baby in the cradle. God loved you when you were a
squalling brat. God loved you when you were a
rebellious teenager. God loved you when you didn't
have time for God, when all you were concerned about was fun
and money and popularity and gains and
hilarity, God still loved you. God loved you when you were in
rebellion and sin. God loved you when you were in
the dunghill of sin. God loved you! We didn't love
Him, He loved us! Gomer didn't love Hosea, she
left him just quick as she could. And another thing Hosea remained
faithful to Gomer. She did not remain faithful to
him. Turn to 2 Timothy 2. She left
him for other lovers. She walked her own way. She served,
as Israel, other gods. But God Almighty never had but
one bride, and that's the one He chose in eternity, and that's
the one for whom Christ died. Gomer denied Hosea. He never
denied her. Gomer left Hosea. He never left
her. Never for one moment. And 2 Timothy
2, verse 10, says this. Paul says, I endure all things
for the elect's sake. God has an elect. And Paul said,
I'll take the whippings, and I'll take the scourgings, and
I'll make the boat rides, and I'll take the shipwrecks at sea.
and I'll take the stoning, I'll do all that, I'll endure the
persecution for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It's
a faithful saying. If we be dead with him, we shall
live with him. If we suffer with him, we shall
reign with him. If we deny him, he'll deny us. But if we believe not, he abideth
faithful. He cannot deny himself. Oh, you'll
have your times of unbelief. Aren't you glad God doesn't leave
you every time you leave Him? Aren't you glad that God doesn't
desert you every time you desert Him? Aren't you glad the Lord
doesn't get mad at you every time you get mad at Him? Aren't
you glad God doesn't quit you every time you quit Him, every
time you get your feelings hurt and things don't go your way?
and you get a little discouraged and you quit, aren't you glad
God doesn't quit you? It says, if we believe not, he
about it faithful. Oh, thank God, he about it faithful. He cannot deny himself. He cannot deny himself. And you
know over here in Hosea chapter 2, Old Hosea, all the time Gomer
was living out there, she left him and she lived out there in
her tent or her apartment or wherever she lived. He provided
for her. It says in verse 8, she didn't
know that I gave her corn and wine and oil and multiplied her
silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal, which she used for
her rotten living. I gave her everything she ate
and everything she wore, and I kept supplying her with everything
she needed. how good God is to us even when
we walk our own way, how he supplied us with breath and health and
food and a family and all the good things God had given us.
In our rebellion, God kept us. In our sin, God delivered us. And in our rottenness and guilt,
Almighty God preserved us. It was grace that taught my heart
to fear, and grace my fears How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils,
and snares I have already come. T'was grace that brought me safe
thus far." And another songwriter said,
"'He stood at my heart's door mid sunshine and rain, and he
patiently waited.' I didn't come to the door. I
didn't want him in, but he waited, and he waited, and he waited.
And he said, I gave her corn and oil and wine, and what'd
she say? Down here in verse 5, she said, I'll go after my lovers.
They give me my bread and my water and my wool, my flax, my
oil, and my drink. She gave the credit to somebody
else. And God says, that's the way
my bride is. I chose her back yonder and entered
into a marriage covenant and a marriage agreement with her,
and yet she left me. And we wandered, all we like
sheep have gone astray. We turned every one to his own
way, out yonder in sin. But now wait a minute. God's
not through with Gomer, and God's not through with you. Paul said,
I endure all things for the elect's sake. And no elect of God is
going to wander so far that God's not going to bring him back.
And no child of the King is ever going to ultimately depart from
the King. And no bride of Christ is ultimately
going to be somebody else's bride. He plans to have his own. Look
at John 17. Look at John 17, verse 3. Now
listen to this. John 17, verse 3. Christ said,
Thou hast given me, John 17, 2, Thou hast given me power. over all flesh, that I should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. And Christ said in John chapter
6, verse 39, This is my Father's will, that of all which he hath
given me I lose nothing. Now then, what's God going to
do with Goma? Well, he's going to bring her
down. all the way down. In chapter
2, verse 10, God says now, He let her go just as long as He
was willing to let her go. Just like Saul of Tarsus. Oh,
how he hated the name of Christ, but he belonged to Christ. Oh,
how he persecuted the Church of Christ, and yet he was part
of the Church of Christ. Oh, how he wanted to put into
prison the believers in Christ, and yet he himself was destined
by God's elective grace to be a believer. And God let Saul
of Tarsus go just as far as God was willing for him to go, and
then one day God brought him down, and God unhorsed him, and
God put him down in the dust, and God made him suffer a humiliating
experience. And God says about Gomer here,
he said in chapter 2 verse 10, I'll discover her lewdness in
the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of
my hand. It's not a pleasant experience
to discover what we are by nature, but it's a necessary experience
if we are to embrace Christ. We've got to be done with rebellion. We've got to be done with other
gods. We've got to be done with following
after other gods. We've got to be brought to the
place of spiritual shame. And that's what God did to Gomer.
He brought her down. He brought her down. And you
know what he did? Gomer hurt lovers got to where
they didn't want her anymore. I guess she was so pitiful and
so ugly after a life of depravity and a life of looseness and a
life of evil. They got to where they didn't
want her and she was sick of herself and sick of them and
all things. And so they put her on sale. She was a slave and they put
her on sale. Back in those old oriental countries,
they had down in the marketplace, they had a built-up block like
this pulpit here, and they'd bring these slaves up here and
sell them to the highest bidder, people out there bidding for
them. And Gomer was brought down from popularity to desertion. She was brought down from beauty
to ashes. She was brought down from the
place of of being wanted by others to the place of being unwanted
and being sold as a slave. And God came to Hosea in chapter
3, and he said, Hosea, they're selling Gomer down there on the
marketplace. She's at the end of her rope.
I think she's at the place now where she'll appreciate you.
I think she's at the place now where she'll appreciate your
love. and she'll appreciate your grace and your mercy, and I want
you to go down there to the marketplace, and I want you to buy her. I
want you to buy her." And so Hosea went down to the marketplace,
and there on the market slave block stood Gomer, and they were
bidding for her. And Hosea said in chapter 3,
verse 2, I bought her for fifteen pieces
of silver, and I bought her for an omer of barley and a half
omer of barley. The Lord Jesus Christ chose his
bride back in eternity. He entered into an everlasting
covenant, into a marriage relationship with his people. They belonged
to him, just like Hosea married But his people left him. We were
born in sin. We went astray as soon as we
were born, speaking lies. We walked in the valley of corruption. We walked in the dunghill of
guilt. We walked in our own way. We turned our backs on him, and
we sold ourselves to sin. We became the slaves of sin. And that's what Gomer did. You
see, she fell into somebody else's hands, and though she was married
to Hosea, She became the property of the law. And the only way
in the world that Hosea could get her out of the hands of the
law and out of slavery was to buy her, to ransom her. He came
up here and he said, How much do you take for that woman there? He's my wife. The fellow got
out his pencil and paper and his pen and he said, Well, man's
got to have 15 pieces of silver. That's the ransom price only.
And Hosea got out his money and he paid it. And the Lord Jesus
Christ came down here into the world, and you and I, though
we belonged to Him by an everlasting covenant, though we were His
bride, He came down here and He had to ransom us because we
were in the hands of the We'd violated the law. We'd become
the slaves of sin. We were on the market, slave
law, being sold by sin. And Christ came down here and
he bathed us with the silver of his sweat and the gold of
his blood. And Hosea came up there and took
Gomer by the hand and he said in verse 3, Now you're going
home with me, and you're going to abide with me many days. The
Lord Jesus Christ said, You're mine. I chose you. I loved you. I wouldn't let you go. And I
came down here and I bought you. And you're mine, and you're going
to abide with me many, many days. You shall never sin again. And
you shall be not for another. Never will you be for another.
But you'll be for me, and I'll be for you. They'll be his people. and he'll be their God, and he'll
wipe away all tears from their eyes. That's what he says over
here in the book of Revelation. He says in the book of Revelation,
And he shall be their God, and they shall be his people, and
God himself shall be with them, and God will wipe all tears from
their eyes, and there will be no more death, and no more singing,
no more crying, for the former things have passed away. He chose
me, and he loved me, and he kept me, and then he came down here
and he bought me again. I belong to him. And none can
take them out of my hand." You reckon anybody could have got
Gomer away from Hosea after that? Oh, boy. Nobody could have got
her away from him, and nobody could have got him away from
her. Our Father, take the Word and make it live for us. We appreciate,
O God, from our hearts this beautiful illustration of Thy sovereign
mercy and Thy redeeming grace, and the price which our Lord
paid, and the love which He had for us when we were so unloved,
that even now when we compare ourselves with Thy holiness and
Thy beauty and Thy love, we are made ashamed. O how we thank
Thee, O God, for Thy redeeming grace. O the beauty of Thy love,
O the depth of Thy grace, O the height of Thy mercy, O the length
and breadth of Thy tenderness to us unworthy creatures. Make it real to every heart.
Let us carry it with us through this week, and feast upon it. For Christ's sake we pray, amen.