HOSEA #4 
                       Be sure to read Hosea #1 first                 

Hosea 3:1-4

"The LORD said to me, 'Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.'

“So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley.  Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you."

“For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.”

Chapter 3:1 is the bottom of the barrel. One day, I don't know when, I don't know how long after she left him, long enough that nobody will have her any more, she stood for days on the street corner but no one would take her home.  Years have wasted away her beauty and here's the irony, all that she had to do is go home.  You know the story about the prodigal son, well this is the story of the prodigal daughter.  Instead of this girl going home to a loving husband who would forgive her and treat her better than a queen, she sells herself on the slave market.  She reminds me of a lot of people today, rather than to admit that they have sinned against God, they will march head long into hell as though they are doing something that is heroic.  By now Gomer looks like a prostitute.  Have you ever seen a prostitute?  A woman propositioned Richard Rogers one day in Chicago, as he was walking down the street with his wife.  Richard asked her her age.  She looked to be 50.  She was only 26.  The years had been bad to her because she was selling herself for any price that she could get. 

Hosea is preaching and somebody runs in and says, "Gomer is selling herself, down at the slave market.”  Hosea says, "Good enough for her, that's exactly what she deserves!  I tried to invite that old whore back but she wouldn't come.  She deserves what she gets!"  Is this right?  Yes she does deserve what she gets, but that is not what Hosea does.  He drops what he is doing and runs home and gets all the barley he's got, and all the money he can borrow and runs down to the auctioneer.  Now this is not in the book but I can hear the auctioneer, "What am I bid for this old woman, I know she's not pretty, she can't be your lover but she can scrub your floors, and slop your hogs.”  Every body's snickering because you see she has too much makeup on.  That comes from an old woman trying to look young again.  But she's not old.  She looks older than she really is.  Her wrinkles tell her story.  Her voice is course with too much booze and too many long nights.  The auctioneer says I know that you can't use her as a mistress, I'm not going to insult your intelligence, but what am I bid?  Who'll start the bidding for me.  A dollar, a dollar, come on now she's worth a dollar, a dollar now who'll make it two?  Two dollars and who'll make it three?  Three dollars once, three dollars twice, and going for three, but no,’ from the room far back comes a gray haired man.  His name is Hosea you know.  "Wait a minute, Wait a minute!" he shouts, as her runs forward.  "I bid $2,000. (2 months pay) and 10 bushels of barley."  And he didn't even care what other people had bid.  May I add that God doesn't give a fig, to know how much glitter the Devil has offered for you.  God comes running in and says, "I'll bid the my most precious possession, I'll give you my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.  I'll let you torture him to death if only I can have you.”

It was battered and scared and the auctioneer thought it hardly worth the while to spend much time on the old violin but he held it up with a smile.  "What am I bid good folks," he cried, “who'll start the bidding for me?  A dollar, a dollar, who'll make it two, two dollars, and who'll make it three. Three dollars. Three dollars once, three dollars twice and going for three, but no.  From the room far back stood a gray he came forward and picked up the bow.  And wiping the dust from the old violin, and tightening up all the strings, he played a melody pure and sweet, as sweet as an angel sings.  The music ceased and auctioneer in a voice that was quiet and low said, "What am I bid for the old violin and he held it up with the bow.”  “A thousand dollars.” “A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?  Two thousand, two thousand and who'll make it three?  Three thousand once, three thousand twice, and going and gone," said he.  The people cheered but some of them cried, "We don't quite understand, what changed the worth of the old violin?"  Quick came the reply, "The touch of the masters hand."  And many a man with a life out of tune and battered and scared with sin, is auctioned cheep to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin.  A mess of pottage, a glass of wine, a game and he travels on, he's going once, he's going twice, he's going and almost gone.  But the master comes and the foolish crowd can never quite understand the worth of a soul and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master’s hand. 

That's what Hosea had in mind when he redeemed his wife.  He understood now how God felt.  He loved her.

Gomer is now worthless to every one but Hosea.  But he buys her, takes her home and sets her down and says, "You wait for me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will wait for you" (Hosea 3:3).  I think we have precedent here for an abused wife to tell her husband, prove yourself before I take you back.

And the curtain falls.  THE END.  What happened?  I don't know.  Wouldn't you and I like to believe that she cried and through her arms around him and said, "Honey, I'm sorry, I really do love you."  I don't know why I was such a fool."  And everybody lived happy ever after.

I don't believe that's what happened.  Because you see in this story Gomer is a parallel to Israel.  Hosea is a parallel to God.  Israel died as Israel lived, a prostitute.  So for Gomer to remain the parallel, she died Hosea's stubborn servant but never his wife.  Stupid, right?  Foolish, dumb!

How did the story end?  Only you and God know for sure.  For you see, you are really Gomer.  Did you return to God's incomprehensible love?  Are you going to receive His blessings forever or are you going to stubbornly reject his love?  How did the story turn out?

Is love the greatest thing in the world?  You had better believe it.  Can it be resisted?  You had better believe it.  I would like this story to end differently.  But I'll tell you another true story that did have a different ending.

A fellow lived in Chicago right before the depression --- a rich fellow.

Somehow he learned about the coming depression  so he sold all that he had and went to Canada and converted his money into gold.  He sneaked the gold back across the border, and by being very crafty and spending long hard hours he was able to come thought the depression a more wealthy man.  In fact he was worth $5 million when the depression came, and when it was over he was worth $5 billion. But the long hard hours, often 21 hours a day, broke his health, physically and mentally.  His doctor friend said, "What you need is to get away from it all until you get well.  I have a cabin in the woods in the blue grass section of KY.  Go down there and recuperate.”  So he did.  He climbed the beautiful mountains, wadded the crystal clear streams and soon he felt his mind becoming clear and his strength returning.  One day he was wading a mountain stream he rounded a bend and came face to face with a beautiful young Kentucky Bell.  She too was wading in her bear feet.  Well it was love a first sight and he married her.  Now he is feeling great.  He moves back to Chicago and love rules his home.  

Then she becomes ill.  She got a high fever, 105, 106, 107.  Though the best doctors in the world were called in they couldn’t seem to help.  Finally the fever is broken but her brain is damaged.  At her best she was mentally unsound, at her worst she was a raving maniac.  The doctors said that she would never be sane again.  Her cries in the night kept the neighbors awake.  Letters were written, petitions were circulated, a policeman came with a statement from the court, "You must do something!"  He went to his friend, the doctor, and the doctor said, "Commit her to an insane asylum.”  The man replied, "Never!"  In the 1930's there were no good mental institutions.  So he moved out to Wilmette, a northern suburb of Chicago.  He purchased a city block and built his mansion in the very center of it and he placed a tall steel fence around the outside of his block.  But, again there were screams in the night.  Again the neighbors.  Again, "You must commit her to an asylum."  Finally the doctor friend said, "Why don't you take her back to the cabin where you first met her.  Maybe if she is back in failure surroundings she will regain her mind."  So he took her and they climbed the mountains together, they waded the mountain stream, but the same wild look was in her eye.  They picked flowers from her childhood garden, but nothing helped.  Despairing of any hope he put her back in the car and drove back to Chicago.  When they arrived home, she was sleeping.  He picked her up and her head dropped down on his shoulder.  He looked down hoping that she had died, and was finally released from her prison.  But instead of death, she was asleep, peacefully, for the first time in several years.  He carried her up the stairs and put her to bed.  He lay awake all that night, 1:00; 2:00; 3:00; 4:00; 5:00: 6:00, the sun was up.  He pulled himself to his feet, went over to the window and pulled back the shades and the sun came streaming in.  It lit up her face.  Her eye lids quivered, she opened her eyes and stretched.  She saw her husband out of the corner of her eye, and smiled and said, "Darling I've been on a long, long journey, where have you been?"  And with eyes full of tears and a heart filled with love that only God, Hosea, and he could understand, he said, "Just waiting for you to come home dear.  Just waiting for you to come home."

I don't think Gomer ever came home.  Did you?  If you haven't, why don't you come home to your father, to your loving husband?  Come home now.

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