God’s Relentless Love For His Children The Book of Hosea
Week 2 Desperately Seeking Love
Hosea’s Prophecy • Set in the marriage relationship • Love, intimacy, privilege and responsibility
My Cousin Sydney’s Wedding
Wives and Husbands Ephesians 5: 25 - 32 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Hosea and Gomer Hosea (“the Lord saves”) represents God Gomer (prostitute) represents the nation of Israel…and us What is distinctive about these relationships?
Hosea 1: 2,3 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD.” So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
Love World’s love: God’s love: Temporary Eternal Conditional Unconditional Self-centered Centered on others
Focused on others • “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country.”
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
Lamentations 3: 22-24 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Attributes of God Love – God’s concern for our well-being Faithfulness – He is true to His promises All-knowing – It’s impossible to hide from Him Justice – He is just Mercy – He is full of compassion Grace - Abundant in unmerited favour to us
The power of intercessory prayer - praying for others • The power of faithfulness • The power of love • The power of forgiveness
When we choose to accept God’s love through: 1) Surrender 2) Forgiveness 3) Reconciliation 4) Transformation
1 Thessalonians 3:12 “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”
Hosea 2: 19,20 I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord.
Hosea 2: 21,22 “In that day, I will answer,” says the Lord. “I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds. And the sky will answer the earth with rain. Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain, the grapevines, and the olive trees. And they in turn will answer, Jezreel.”
Hosea 2: 23 At that time I will sow a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself. I will show love to those I called ‘Not Loved’ And to those I called ‘Not my people’, I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’ And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’”
Jeremiah 31: 31,32 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,”
Jeremiah 31: 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.
Ephesians 3:18-19
Application in our lives • God’s love always pursues us. • God relentlessly desires to draw us into relationship with Him. • God invites us to join Him in loving others
Week 1 - The Book of Hosea: A Powerful Story of God’s Relationship with Us Week 2 - Desperately Seeking Love Week 3 - Bought out of bondage (Grace) Week 4 - Re: Turning to God Week 5 - Knowing God, Knowing His Relentless Love
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