Let's conclude the story of Hosea and Gomer today.
Then God does a second thing to show us His love...
#2. He Removes our Resources.
God ruthlessly knocks the props out of our lives to get our attention. Gomer was in serious trouble –again! The money and groceries that God extended her did not turn her attention back to him. She blew right through that blessing. She was in serious debt – serious trouble. She was unfaithful and unrepentant. So, God took her stuff away. Hosea 2:9 says “Therefore I will take back my grain at harvest time and my new wine in its season. I will also take away my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.”
During the briar stage, God made sure her essentials were met. But during this stage, during the resource removal stage, her necessities were nil. They were gone. The Bible says she was suffering, broke, busted and disgusted. That is the life of Gomer.
We see this theme throughout Scripture. God barricades us with briars and if we don’t respond, then he ruthlessly removes our resources.
That is where our girlfriend, Gomer, found herself. Gomer had it so bad; do you know what she did? She sold herself into slavery. Gomer, this Biblical babe, this beautiful wife of Hosea, this high-priced call girl, became a slave. There is an avalanche of material about what a slave auction was all about. It was a horrible thing. You had to strip naked and stand there in front of all the crowd, show off your strength, and people would bid for you.
So you might be thinking, “Okay, Mike, you were talking about several things God does when we run from him. You said that God builds these walls of briars. You said that God removes the resources. I know what God is going to do now, Mike. He’s going to take this big old heavenly baseball bat and just whack Gomer upside the head. He is going to rain fire and brimstone down from heaven. I know that is what God will do, because I have heard sermons like this before.”No, God is not going to do that.
You know what God is going to do next? Here is the third thing that God does.
#3. HE grips us, with his amazing and irrational grace!
That’s what God does. God gives and grants Gomer his grace. Hosea 3:1, “Then the Lord said to me, (This is the Lord talking to Hosea) ‘Go and get your wife again.’” Hosea says, “Wait a minute. This girl doesn’t even want to come back to me. This girl has not repented. She still loves adultery.” God then tells Hosea, “Bring her back to you and love her.” Even though she loves adultery. I’m sure Hosea is going, “God, this is asking way too much. Here my wife has been with every man under the sun. She is standing naked before the community and you are telling me, a man of God, to buy her back.” But Hosea obeyed.
Maybe Hosea stood at the back of the crowd when the auctioneer started the bidding. The auctioneer, I can just hear him saying, “What’s the bid for this lady, Gomer?” Maybe someone said, “Five.” Hosea said, “Seven.” Someone else said, “Eight.” Hosea said, “Ten.” Somebody else said, “Twelve.” It was silent for a while and then Hosea said, “Fourteen.” Then the gavel fell and the auctioneer said, “Sold to the man in the back.” I’m sure Gomer was thinking, “Oh no.”
Because she knew that she was now just a piece of property. She could be killed or tortured—you name it. Then what do you think she thought when she saw Hosea walking toward her? He was a little bit older and probably a little bit grayer. What do you think she thought when she felt Hosea cover her nakedness? What do you think she thought when Hosea welcomed her back as his wife? She thought about God’s grace. She thought about irrational and supernatural love.
We have all “Gone Gomer.” We have all been on the auction block. We have all sold ourselves into slavery, haven’t we? These voices have bid for us: the voice of greed, the voice of sexual addiction, the voice of rebellion—all these voices have bid. But there is a nail-pierced hand that goes up in the back that says, “I paid for you. I did the work for that one. I spilled my blood on the cross.” The auctioneer’s gavel falls and says, “Sold to the man in the back.” Then we have our Savior walking forward.
We don’t deserve it. We have been unfaithful. We have committed spiritual adultery. We don’t deserve it. After our best day, we don’t deserve it. Yet, Jesus, with his irrational and supernatural love, clothes us in forgiveness and righteousness. If we turn to him, he fills us up with his love and his grace. That is what true love is all about. It comes from the inside out. It’s a God thing.
When I read this unbelievable story of Hosea and Gomer, I think of two verses in particular that grip me and move me. The first is Romans 5:8 (NLT) it says ”But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
What does that mean? He didn’t wait to die for us till we were good enough or beautiful enough or clean enough – he died for us while we were still in our sin. Irrational, unconditional love.
The second verse is 1 John 3:1. It says “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” How great is that irrational, unconditional love. He embraces us and calls us His children – for that is what we are when we choose to receive him as our Lord and Savior.
My question to you this morning is very simple. Have you responded to that love? Just between me and you, have you responded to that irrational, supernatural, and one-of-a-kind love?
If you want to know him personally, just say these words to yourself. Just say, “God, I admit to you that I am a slave to my desires—to my sin—and that I have gone my own way. Now, God, I turn to you. I believe that you sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins and to pay the price to free me from my slavery. Right now, I turn from sins and ask you, Christ, to infiltrate my life. I respond to your irrational one of a kind love. Take control of me. I give you everything I am and everything I ever will be.”
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!
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