The Heart of the Matter (Hosea 3 - 9)
Marriage is most certainly a gift! However, at times it can also be the source of greatest pain. The choices you make as a married person directly and indirectly affect your spouse whether you realize it or not.
The same is true in our relationship (“marriage”) to God. Just as it is on a deeper level, so also, it is the heart of the matter behind our choices that affects our relationship with Him.
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Marriage is most certainly a gift! However, at times it can also be the source of greatest pain. The choices you make as a married person directly and indirectly affect your spouse whether you realize it or not.
The same is true in our relationship (“marriage”) to God. Just as it is on a deeper level, so also, it is the heart of the matter behind our choices that affects our relationship with Him.
It’s never too late to start!
Download your first two weeks free by signing up below (or buy Book One of the Family Bible Plan)!
History of Hosea
Hosea was a prophet, estimated to have been ‘in service’ for around 38 years. Born into the Northern Kingdom, it is believed much of his ministry was focused there with the message being used as an example for Judah to also learn from.
The book itself begins a new bundle of books often referred to as the “Minor Prophets”.
In these, the prophets spoken of or written about were not minor in comparison to the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, & Daniel); rather, it gives reference to the size of the books written.
Hosea and Gomer...
Going through the book of Ezekiel let us see some of the unique ways God used him literally and physically to be a sign for the people. While widely debated that the first 3 chapters of Hosea are figurative, a majority of scholars believe it as a true representation of a marriage God called him to. Similar in many ways to the way God used Ezekiel’s life and circumstances.
Whether figurative or literal, the marriage represented here provides a clear picture of God’s love for us, a love that far surpasses the covenant promises we have on earth.
Assuming the literal life is true, Hosea was called to remain faithful to an unfaithful wife, name his three children symbolically, and encourage his wife to be reformed. It was the heart of the matter at stake. Her heart.
He set aside his earthly feelings to do what was best for her… to walk through true repentance.
God with us...
True to symbolic representation, the picture of that marriage provides an understanding about God we may not have seen.
Here, He shows us His desire is for our reform, our repentance, our hearts. It truly is the heart of the matter at stake here, our hearts!
Without this crucial element, we fail to recognize His love for us. He wants us to seek Him, know Him, and love Him back.
The significance...
The gospel accounts in the New Testament provide the climax when Jesus comes and saves us from our sins.
Re-think through the consequences of not following the specific instructions God gave the Israelites:
Intentional and unintentional sins all had consequences, many with the result that they were to be cut off from the people or faced death. Sin was to be seen as a big deal then, and should be seen as a big deal today. Our culture today has softened many viewpoints and convinced many to accept sins all under the umbrella of the unbiblical use of the word ‘unity’.
Without the Old Testament understanding of how holy God is and then this beautiful picture of the mercy God wants to lavish upon our softened hearts, it diminishes the true saving power that Jesus came to offer us!
A covenant founded in love...
Marriage is a covenant relationship, one designed by God with its intention set from the beginning of the Bible and reinforced throughout:
One man, one woman.
Marriage is the entering into of a covenant, an agreement of sorts, that often includes, at minimum, the pledge to forever: remain faithful, love each other, and care about the best interests of the other person.
It holds with it the express implication of continual action; the heart of the matter in marriage is hearts turned toward one another.
Marriage restrictions...
When you say your vows, you commit to following through on what you promise, and without explicitly stating it, are committing to actions you agree to not do.
You are promising to be an active participant, not one where a ring and piece of paper comprise your relationship. It is living and active, your love and relationship are designed to grow through the ups and downs you experience together. You both enter the same path headed in the same direction.
You also commit to not do things. Your vows insinuate your agreement to not cheat on your spouse, to not give your love to another, to not share with others what is only to be shared with your spouse.
Your vows are the boundaries of your marriage. When you and your spouse honor your mutual commitment to and the upholding of your boundaries it often signifies the success of your relationship. The heart of the matter with regard to your marriage is the upholding of your vows.
Vows to God...
When God chose the Israelites, a commitment was made. God had His part in it, but so did they!
All through the Old Testament, God makes it clear what the expectations were. The Israelites were told multiple times over they were to obey (and everything else that came with obedience: sharing, remembering, moving, etc.).
It is the same with us today. As Christians, we are also committing to obedience and it is through obedience that we show we trust Him. The heart of the matter is always bringing us back to our relationship with God.
Where does it stand? Where is it going? Are we actively honoring our commitment?
In these few short chapters, read through the condition Israel had put herself in.
They do not cry to Me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against Me.
The heart of the matter...
God constantly shows us through the Old Testament that He is deeply concerned with our hearts.
In the book of Hosea, it is shown on a much deeper level with a real-world analogy through marriage that hits home, whether you are married or not.
A marital covenant is a bond and when broken, it can shatter the people involved. Yet, we see God’s love rises above the shattered pieces THAT WE CAUSED, and wants our hearts to turn back to Him.
Do you seek Him? Is He your heart’s desire?
Our sins will be forgiven through Jesus, they will no longer be in front of His face. We become new creatures as the old has passed away and the new has begun. Our entrance into this covenant signifies a new relationship that we never had before. It is not passive, it is not filled with unrepentant continuous sinning, it is not ignored.
Christian, we are to live differently! No longer single, we are committed to GOD now! You committed to live like it because your heart is in the right place.
And it is now that the picture of the Old Testament God of the Bible makes more sense.
Last Week
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Hosea may be my favorite minor prophet. He reveals the broken heart of our jilted-lover God.
So thankful for our God who cares about the heart and calls us to care for our hearts!