God's Loving Sacrifice Podcast
Hello, Do you ever feel defeated as a Christian in the confusing times we are living in today? I know I do. This is were God’s Loving Sacrifice Podcast comes in. We do bible studies to help you strengthen your walk with the Lord in today’s crazy world. We also encourage you to share the gospel and the love of Christ with this world in need.
God's Loving Sacrifice Podcast
Finding Strength in Obedience: Lessons from Hosea part 1 / S3E21
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
Hello, today I'm going to do something a little bit different in the month of February. I am going to be talking about Hosea, and it's going to be four different lessons about what happened with Hosea. The story of Hosea is about a prophet who lived in Israel during the time when the people had turned away from God to worship other gods and live sinful lives. So God selected Hosea's life as an example to teach Israel about his love and forgiveness. Hosea's story is about God's never-ending love for his people when they mess up, and it teaches us that no matter how far someone strays, god is always ready to forgive and bring them back. But the first part we're going to talk about today is Hosea's unusual marriage.
Speaker 1:Now Hosea 1, 2-3 says went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. That's kind of funny that God would tell somebody to marry a harlot, and in reading this it was a question that I even had. That I even had. We aren't supposed to be unequally yoked, but yet God had Hosea marry a harlot and that was a sample of obedience. If you are unequally yoked, your marriage isn't sanctified. But this marriage was sanctified by God. He didn't contradict being unequally yoked. He was using it as an example of obedience and love towards Israel. And we have to remember that the whole thing, this whole story, that the whole thing, this whole story, was an illustration of the way God loved Israel. God's love is unconditional. Even when we're unfaithful, he's always there.
Speaker 1:And God tells Hosea to marry Gomer, a woman who had been unfaithful. But their marriage represents Israel's relationship with God. Gomer's unfaithfulness was how Israel had turned away from God. But you know, god still loves us. Even when we fail, he always calls us to forgiveness. You know, you look at the things that happened to Hosea and you think, okay, but that was just in Hosea.
Speaker 1:But let's look at some other scriptures God's faithful love, romans 5.8 says. But God demonstrates his own love toward us that while we were still sinners, christ died for us, and he did. He died for us while we were sinning. Hosea he had a really kind of a horrible life, if you think about it, where he had to marry a harlot, she ran off from him and was marrying other men and then he had to go buy her back. But why? Because God calls us to faithfulness. In Deuteronomy 6, 5, it says you shall love the Lord, your God with all of your heart, all of your soul and all of your strength. That's the way God wanted Israel to love him and that is the way Hosea loved Gomer.
Speaker 1:It's strange my son and I was talking about this today and we even kind of compared it to the things that happened with Job that Hosea was called to do something that you wouldn't expect, because he was doing something outside of what God normally taught, and Job was treated so poorly by Satan and God was allowing it. But both of those were illustrations. It says in the Bible that we can't be tempted more than our ability, that God will come in and give us a way out. Homer's way out was to obey God. His way out of suffering was believing in God and having faith in God. Job's way out of suffering was believing in God and having faith in God. Homer was restored to Hosea, just like Job had everything restored to him, and that's what God expects of us. And God has made a commitment to 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 his people. Isaiah 45.5 says for your maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name, and your redeemer is the holy one of Israel. He is called the God of the whole earth.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let's look at this. Hosea was told to marry a harlot and to have children, and what kind of faith did he have to have? And what kind of trust did he have to have to do it? God told him to do it, so he did it. He didn't question, he didn't tell God well, I don't know if I really want to do this. No, he went and he did what God asked of him. Do we do that when you see things 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.
Speaker 1:Before I started this podcast, I've had it written, I've been studying it, I've got all four lessons done, and earlier tonight I thought I should sit down and do that podcast, but I thought, oh, no, let me play one game. So I played three or four games and then no, let me go out and see if anything's going on on Facebook. No, let me go out and see if I got any emails. I wasn't doing what God called me to do, and so many times we do that on what God called me to do. And so many times we do that when I felt like I should do the podcast, I should do the podcast. But you know what? God still loves me. God's still faithful and I never have to worry about being taken away from him. Only I can do that.
Speaker 1:But think of Hosea. I suspect he was pretty much the laughingstock of the area around there that he married a harlot. I mean you know there had to be men there that had been with her and he was. You know. You know how people can be and he was. You know. You know how people can be.
Speaker 1:But Hosea had such faith in God that he knew that this is the thing that he should do. Do we do the things that we should do? Do we listen to God, no matter if it might make us look silly or make us uncool? That's not what's important Obedience. Hosea was obedient to God. Are you obedient to God? Do you listen to His voice? Do you step out on faith and do what he asks and know that in the end, it's going to be the best thing? As we study Hosea, we're going to find out lots of things that went on, and I hope you enjoy it. Next week is going to be our second lesson, and it is going to be our second lesson and it is 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.
