Hello , this week we are on Hosea , part 3 , and this is where Hosea redeems Gomer . This is a picture of God's forgiveness , hosea 3 , 1-2 says . Then the Lord said to me Go again . Love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery , just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel who took other gods .
So I bought her for myself for 15 shekels of silver and one and a half homers of barley . He purchased Gomer out of slavery . That is a representative of God's redemption of Israel , even though they were unfaithful . And you know the funny thing ?
I read this and realized Hosea loved Gomer , just like God loves us , and he paid the ultimate price for our redemption through Jesus Christ .
1 Peter 1 , 18-19 says knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct , received by tradition from your fathers , but with the precious blood of Christ as the lamb , without blemish and without spot . That's how we are redeemed , and God has such a willingness to forgive us .
Micah 7 , 18 says and God has such a willingness to forgive us . Micah 7 , 18 says Isn't that special ? Hosea trusted God enough that he did what he asked him to do and he went out and purchased Gomer , just like Jesus paid the price to redeem us from our sins . And how did Israel respond to God's redemptive actions ? Well , not very well .
But how do we do that ? And living faithfully for God ? Luke 15 , 20 through 22 says and he arose and came to his father .
But when he was still a great way off , his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him , bring out the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet , because the son had come home . The whole story of Hosea shows us unconditional love and redemption .
Gomer's unfaithfulness represents our sin and Israel's spiritual adultery . Israel turned so far from God and you see it every day . You see it in the world now that people pursue other gods like money and fame and sinful practices , and they stray . But God's unwavering willingness to forgive is just beautiful . Redeeming Gomer wasn't just about forgiveness .
It was about taking responsibility and showing grace . Taking responsibility and showing grace . Hosea's choice to redeem her despite her past teaches that redemption involves actively reaching out , offering second chances and rebuilding a relationship based on mercy and love . And that's what God does to us . No matter how far we fall , god's love is persistent .
Just as Hosea restored his marriage , god would restore Israel if they returned to him . Israel , much like Gomer , was deeply entrenched in unfaithfulness by embracing idolatry and forsaking their covenant with God . This spiritual blindness prevented them from seeing Hosea's personal life as a mirror of their collective relationship with God .
You know , I wondered when this happened . Did Israel notice what was going on in Hosea's life ? Did Israel see the children's names and what Gomer was doing ? Or did Israel just ignore Hosea and what was going on with him ? Well , they ignored him basically . Well , they ignored him basically .
And the message of Hosea was not internalized by the Israelites , but it has been a wonderful reminder of God's relentless pursuit of a repentant heart . Hosea listened . Hosea understood what God wanted from him . Now he went and bought Gomer . God tells us to go and preach the gospel .
And if we go out and preach the gospel and show their sin and let them know that God has redemption powers , that God is forgiving and merciful and loving and kind , and that they just need to turn from their wicked ways , that's what God's looking for . That's what he wants from us . That's what he asked of Hosea .
Can you do that , can you reach out to people that you loved , that have turned their back on God and let them know , tell them the good news , help to show them that Jesus bought them back and that the sin is no longer necessary , the sin is no longer needed , that God's grace and His mercy and His love and Jesus' work on the cross brought them home .