Hosea 1

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• Hosea 1

The Journey Begins
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THE INTRODUCTION

• This book was written at probably the darkest
  hour in Israels history
• A time of division and of spiritual corruption
  and moral decay
• Yet at the same time of great affluence as they
  benefited from the disarray of the superpowers
  surrounding them

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• The golden years they thought would never end,
  were though about to come to an end, as the
  Assyrian war machine roused itself once more
• What chance would they stand? None less they
  turned to the Lord
• What a warning to our complacent nation!

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2. ITS ORGANISATION

• Its amazingly simple. The first three chapters
  are Hoseas story, and then in the rest of the
  book this story is related to Gods situation
  with His people
• But what is really amazing is what the Lord
  commands Hosea to do, to marry an adulterous woman

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• Why did the Lord command this? Because he wanted
  Hosea to really know what He was going through in
  His relationship with His people. That Hosea
  might then be able to preach into this situation
  in a way that otherwise he could never have.

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• For like the Lord, Hosea was called to enter into
  a relationship with someone unworthy of his love,
  called to pay the price of her sin, and not just
  to have her back, but to love her again.
• This is the central theme of the bible, this is
  the message of the Cross.

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• We are not Hosea, we are Gomer. God has given
  everything for us, what He calls us to do, is by
  faith make what Christ has done for us ours

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• But at another level, as we look at the story of
  Hosea from a different angle, we see just how
  different his experience from that which many
  would see as almost the birthright of the
  faithful believer.
• That if you are faithful and obedient, then you
  can expect to be happy, contented and prosperous.

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• This is not what the Bible tells us. Rather its
  message is that God is concerned about two main
  things. His Glory, and our spiritual maturity
• God is concerned about other things, like our
  material needs and our physical well being, but
  these are seen as of secondary importance

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• The problem is that we have been manipulated into
  turning this on its head. Happiness is equated
  to Gods blessing, times of hardship mean that we
  must in some way be displeasing God
• But times of suffering and hardship are often the
  way God equips us for ministry, and are tokens of
  the level of His trust in us

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• Going through an experience where we are called
  to learn the think as God thinks, to feel what He
  feels could never be easy
• Yet this is what the Lord called Hosea too, what
  He still calls His people too
• May we learn from his example in the weeks to come