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3:00Hosea doesn't end with chapter 3. There's a bit more to the book of Hosea. Chapters 4 through 14 are not as warm and fuzzy as the first three chapters. The emphasis shifts pretty dramatically. There's a lot of disturbing imagery in Hosea. It's a book that has a lot of descriptions of God's judgment. And so it can evoke the question, and I think it's a fair question: how can the same God who is characterized by steadfast love towards his wayward bride, how can that be the same God to allow these terrible things to happen to her?

3:48To rephrase the question, how can the God of love of Hosea 1 through 3 be the same God of love of Hosea 4 through 14? Well, I think this question, appropriately so, should challenge our definition of love. And I think that's a good thing for us to do as we are immersed in a culture that talks a lot about love. There's a lot of definitions. There's a lot of Taylor Swift love songs. It kind of pounds into our brain: okay, what are we really, really talking about? And it's good to kind of go to Scripture as we take this theme in Hosea of God's love, and we actually parse it out a little bit.

4:30We see what God's love is according to Scripture, not maybe how we think love should operate according to our culture. And that's the plan for this evening. This is going to be part two of Hosea. We're going to take this theme, God's unconditional love through the ages, and we're going to kind of, like a rock, skip it across the rest of Hosea. I know I'm switching metaphors on you here, so our new metaphor, instead of puzzle pieces, we're going to skip rocks this evening. And I wish, I wish, I wish we had the time to go verse by verse. That would be the best way to tackle Hosea.

5:09But because we don't have time, I've selected four passages to study. And I didn't just roll a dice or select them at random. These four passages are significant because these four passages actually appear in the New Testament. And they're not more significant than the rest of the passages of Hosea, but I figured that tonight we could get the most bang for our buck if we talk about God's love in the context of Hosea and his immediate audience, and then compare that to how the New Testament authors talk about God's love in the context of their audience. So that's the plan for tonight. Does that work with y'all? Okay, good. Good, good, good. So, with that, we can begin with our first passage in Hosea. If you have your Bibles, you can turn to Hosea chapter 2.

6:02And the key verse here is going to be Hosea 2.23, but I'm going to start reading in verse 19. And you can read along with me. God is speaking here. He says, I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in loving kindness and in compassion. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord. And it will come about in that day that I will respond, declares the Lord. I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth. And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. And I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion. And I will say to those who are not my people, you are my people. And they shall say, You are my God. All right. So you see a few things here in this passage. I think right out of the gate, we understand this passage in the context of Hosea's marriage. He went out and he married Gomer, redeemed her from the slave markets and established an everlasting covenant with her. And we know that this is symbolic of what God is doing with Israel. And so you see that word betrothed right out of the gate in verse 19. And God is betrothing Israel to him in righteousness and justice and loving kindness and compassion. Those would be some great wedding vows, by the way. Something else, though, is happening, something other than a marriage. Sometimes we get so caught up in the marriage metaphor that we forget that there's an adoption going on at the same time. And you can recognize here in verse 23, you recognize the names of Gomer's children. And so you can picture this. As Hosea is redeeming Gomer, at the same time, he is taking these three kids, who are literally named No Mercy and Not My People, and he is adopting them back into his family. In particular, the name Loami, which is not my people, you see that referenced in verse 23. I will say to those who were not my people, you are my people. And I like to think that this is literal. This is Hosea taking this young boy who is named Loami and then changing his name, giving him a new identity. Now you are my people.

8:22There's something else to recognize about the name my people. This distinction was very special to the Jews. If you remember back, or if you want to turn back, Exodus chapter 4, Moses at the burning bush. And this is where God, speaking to Moses through the burning bush, is going to call Israel my son, my firstborn son. Then just a couple of chapters later in Exodus 6, God is going to talk about Israel in these terms. He says, I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. I will take for you, excuse me, I will take you for my people. And I will be your God.

9:03My people. So, what is Hosea implying? I think Hosea is referring to Israel's adoption by God. And I think this because Hosea, you picture this, he's literally adopting a boy and calling him my people, just like God did with the Israelites in Egypt. And why would he refer to Israel's adoption? I think Hosea is reminding them of the fact that God chose them. God chose them. And there's kind of two sides to this coin of being chosen by God. I think there's a warning and there's a promise. And I think the warning that Hosea is after is saying that, okay, Israelites, if you are God's people, if you are chosen ones by God, then start acting like it. Come on, man. If you're the sons of God, then behave like the sons of God.

10:02So it's a warning, but it's also a promise. The promise is that as God's adopted sons, that God will show mercy on them. Why is God going to show mercy on them? Well, because God chose them. And to be chosen by God is to be loved by God. Now you can flip over to Romans chapter 9. Romans 9. And we'll pick up in verse 24. But Paul is going to pick up on this theme of being chosen by God.

10:39Now, I know Matt mentioned this this morning. Romans 9 through 11 is a unit of scripture in which Paul is making an extended argument. It's one argument through this chunk of scripture. And we don't have time to unpack it all this evening, but I encourage you, at some point, read these three chapters together. See the argument that Paul is making and the logical sequence of it. And the conclusion of Paul's argument, I'll give you that, is that salvation going to the Gentiles does not contradict God's faithfulness to the Jews. In fact, Paul is going to make the argument that the salvation going to Gentiles actually confirms God's faithfulness to the Jews. Salvation going to the Gentiles is mercy for the Jews. And he'll develop that through those three chapters. But in Romans 9, verses 24 through 26, he's going to reference Hosea.

11:40So it says this in verse 24: Even us, whom he also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. As he says also in Hosea, I will call those who are not my people, my people, and her who is not beloved, my beloved. And it shall be in that place where it was said to them, You are not my people. There they shall be called sons of the living God. So you can recognize that passage that we just read over in Hosea. But here there's a key difference, right? Here it certainly seems like Paul is including Gentiles in the phrase, my people. And I would agree that Paul is. How can Paul say this if my people was a category reserved for the Jews? How can he say this? Like I said, I encourage you to read his full argument there. But I think we can understand his premise of the argument by taking a peek at verse 11. So if you go backwards just a little bit to chapter 9, verse 11, Paul is referring to the twins Esau and Jacob. He's going to say this. He says, For though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to his choice would stand, not because of the works, not because of their works, but because of him who calls. And if you skip over to verse 16, he finishes this thought. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. So you see what Paul is doing here. Paul is making a connection between God's choice, God's calling, and God's mercy. And I think this connection perfectly applies to the people of Israel. Why does God show mercy to the people of Israel? Think historically. Think big picture. Why does God show mercy to the people of Israel? Because they are better than the other nations? Because they're more numerous than the other nations? Did they earn God's mercy in any special sort of way? No.

13:46At the end of the day, God shows mercy because God chose them. He plucked them out from all the nations of the earth. He said, You will be my people. And he made a covenant with them. And because God chose them, he has called them. And because God has called them, he blesses them. That's how God works. And it's also how adoption works. I know a few of y'all have been through the process of adoption with your family. It's a beautiful thing. And as a family goes through this process, you know that it begins with a choice by the parents. A choice by the parents to choose a child to welcome into their family. And when that choice is made, the family goes before a judge and swears a vow to protect this child, to provide for this child, to comfort this child, but also to correct and to discipline this child when necessary. In other words, the mercy that is shown to this child isn't predicated on anything the child does. It's not predicated on the child's worthiness. It is predicated on the parent's choice.

15:00Decision to love them. And that is what Paul is pointing to in the book of Romans. Mercy is based on God's choice, not your status. Israel wasn't adopted because they were special. Israel wasn't adopted because they were beautiful. Israel is adopted because God chose them. He chose them to be vessels for his glory. And so they obtained mercy. And Paul says that God is doing this again with his church. You can read it in Romans 9 through 11, but Paul's going to sum it up this way. Romans 11, 28, 31. I think I have, yeah, I have it.

15:46This is what it says. From the standpoint of the gospel, they, being the Jews, are enemies for your sake. But from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of their fathers. What's Paul talking about? He's talking about the covenant. The choice that God made to love Israel unconditionally. Verse 29, for the gifts in the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you, speaking to the Gentiles, were once disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so now these, the Jews, also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you, they may now be shown mercy.

16:31So, has God forsaken his steadfast love to the Jews? No. He has not. Why? Because the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. End of story. Will God forsake his steadfast love to you? No. Why? Because the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. What a wonderful, wonderful God we serve. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. Not to Israel, not to us. God will be faithful. Why? Because his love is everlasting. And this, by the way, is the only hope that you or I have that we will receive mercy on the day of judgment. Because God chose us.

17:29And here we see the ripple effect that this has in both Hosea and in Romans. God's steadfast love through the ages is on those whom God has chosen to be vessels for his glory. I think this is why Paul and Hosea both use the symbol of adoption. I think it's such a great symbol to describe the love of God. Adoption always begins with a choice from the parents. Adoption always includes an irreversible commitment. But adoption also includes a new identity, which brings us back to Hosea's son shall be in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there they shall be called sons of the living God.

18:171 John 3:1. Behold, what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we might be called children of God, sons and daughters of God. That is what we are. And friends, this is the identity that awaits all who have been chosen by God. And so the exhortation is: let's start acting like one. Don't go down the path that Israel goes in the day of Hosea. And we're going to see what that is in our next passage. So moving on, kind of the next skip of the stone. We'll look at Hosea chapter 6.

18:59And I'll start reading in verse 4. So you can turn with me to Hosea 6, verse 4. Here's what it says. What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud and like the dew which goes away early. Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets. I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and the judgment of the Judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. And we'll stop there.

19:43So, chapter 6, I know we've skipped a little bit in Hosea, but it comes after two, frankly, very depressing chapters that are filled with oracles of woe. You know, God's judgment poured out on Israel because of their idolatry. You might be thinking, but John, you just said that Israel has been chosen to receive mercy. So, why is God going to punish them? Well, I think that's a fair question. I think it's worth examining. And I want to point back a little bit to the Old Testament. We read several places of Israel doing this, of wanting to follow God, of claiming to follow God, but not really sure the right way to do it, or at least doing what's right in their own eyes instead of going to the prophets and to the word of God that has been laid out for them. And the Bible actually has a term for this kind of sin. It calls it the sin of presumption. And you can see how being called the chosen people of God might lead to presumption, right? It's like their special status gives them a free pass to do whatever they want. That's what presumption is. And I don't think you have to think very hard to see the logical inconsistency here. This is like saying, I have been chosen by God, therefore I don't need God. It just that doesn't make sense. One of my seminary professors likes to say, sin makes you stupid. I think this is a case of that happening here. And Hosea, for his part, he calls this out. He says, this is not right. Just because you've been chosen by God does not mean that you get to live however you want. God demands allegiance. God, because he chose Israel, he's going to expect Israel to be faithful to him. And there's going to be very severe consequences when Israel is not.

21:36By the way, these severe consequences are not loveless. They are always intended to draw Israel back to God so that God can show them mercy when they repent. And you can see an example of this in Hosea, particularly at the end of chapter 5. There is a calling to repentance. And so chapter 6 starts off on this really high point. You know, Hosea, the people of Israel, they look like they're repenting. Okay, let's go. Okay, this is awesome. God is showing them mercy. But unfortunately, it doesn't last very long. As you read down, you only get a few verses before you hit verse 4. And we learn that Israel's repentance was merely outward. It was just superficial. It describes it like a morning cloud or like the early dew which goes away. And this is a big problem.

22:31This is why the people are being slain by the words of the prophets. And then we get the famous line in verse 6 where Hosea says, or where God says, I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice. Or you might have it this way, I delight in mercy rather than sacrifice. Now, what is that word, loyalty, mercy? Well, that's the Hebrew word hesed. Hesed is a wonderful word, and it doesn't have a great English translation. And it's why, in many of your Bibles, you see the word loving kindness, kind of two English words mashed together. Whenever you see that, that's very likely the Hebrew word chesed.

23:12Hesed is not the love that is glorified in our culture. It's not the love that Taylor Swift sings about. Hesed is not based on affection. It's not romanticism. It's not passion or delight. It actually almost always refers to covenant keeping. It has this aspect of duty, of affectionate duty, which is why it's also translated often as loyal love. You see that word loyalty, that aspect that's thrown in there. God desires loyalty, not sacrifice. What's Hosea's point?

23:57I think that Hosea's point is that returning. To the Lord is more than penance. Y'all know what penance means? Penance is just this, okay, I did something bad, so I'm going to do something good to make up for it. Repentance is a matter of the heart. And this has implications for the judgment of God. It means that you can't just sacrifice a few animals and expect the Lord's vengeance to be appeased. You can't just do a few things, check a few boxes, and claim that you've repented. No, God requires loyal love, He requires Hesed. So keep that in mind as you turn to Matthew chapter 9. I'll put it up here on the screen, too. Matthew 9, verses 10 through 13.

24:52Jesus is going to refer back to Hosea. He's going to do so in a certain context, which we'll read together. Matthew 9:10 says, Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why is your teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners? But when Jesus heard this, he said, It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. Go. And learn what this means. I desire compassion and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous but the sinners. In Luke's account of the same passage, Luke is going to add: I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance. This is what Jesus is saying: that the end of Christ's love is repentance. We can kind of picture this scene with the tax collectors. Jesus is sharing a meal with Levi and his buddies, and you can kind of hear the snotty voice of the Pharisees, right? He's like, huh, why is your teacher eating with these tax collectors and sinners? That's presumption. And Jesus, of all the passages of the Old Testament he could have chosen, he chose to quote to them this passage from Hosea: I desire compassion, not sacrifice. Now, why did Jesus choose this passage? Well, I think Jesus is making a comparison between the Pharisees of His day and the Israelites of Hosea's day. And I think it is fascinating, almost comical, that Jesus tells the Pharisees, all right, go home and study this passage. You kind of expect he's telling them, all right, go home and open to the book of Hosea. You know, read what he said. Read the whole context of what he said. So, how are the Pharisees doing this? Well, They were presuming that their status as the religious elite of the chosen people of Israel, that that made them exempt from true repentance. And you see this in a lot of Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees. He says to them, Woe to you, for you tithe, mint, and dill and cumin, but have neglected the weightier provisions of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. But these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. So you see, the Pharisees had a special privilege. They were. Truly, they were chosen by God. But presumption is when privilege becomes pride. It's taking that status and saying, okay, because I was chosen by God, I don't need God.

27:47That was the Pharisees' problem. The tax collectors, they didn't have that problem. They knew that they were sick. They knew that they needed repentance. The Pharisees, on the other hand, we read what Jesus says about them, they honor God with their lips, but what? Their hearts are far from him. See, they did not repent with their hearts. We see that. God desires true repentance, which is found in chesed. It's found in mercy and compassion in a heart that turns from wickedness, not just for the outward show of things, but that earnestly desires to seek God, to know him, to love him, because this is a heart that has God's allegiance.

28:31So, what's the point? Well, I think Hosea and Jesus are making the same point, and that's God's steadfast love is not meant to comfort you in your sin. You know, sometimes we can think of love that way, right? You know, love is just unconditional acceptance for who I am, and I don't really have to do anything about it. That's not God's love. God's love is always, always, always meant to lead sinners into repentance. Repentance is the turning away, to use Hosea's metaphor, turning away from your old lovers and running back to the arms of your true husband. That's repentance. And that's true in Hosea's day, that was true in Jesus' day, and that's true today.

29:22Faith is all or nothing. Here's a verse to write down, Romans 2:3 through 4, which says this: But do you suppose this, O man, that when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and tolerate intolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads to repentance? Mercy of God leads to repentance. That's what you say. That's the danger of presumption. And so the Warning for us is clear. Don't presume. Don't fall into the trap. Don't presume that God looks favorably on you because you're sitting here in church. Don't presume that God looks favorably on you just because you come from a Christian family or a long line of Christians. Don't presume that God looks favorably on you because you're a good person, especially compared to most people, right?

30:26Unless you have repented and turned with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, the judgment of God will come upon you. That's the warning. So please, please, please remember this. The steadfast love of God is meant to draw you to repentance. Don't learn this the hard way. Don't wait. The time of repentance is now. We need to move on to our next passage. Hosea chapter 11, verse 1. I know we're flipping back and forth. I appreciate your patience.

31:02Hosea chapter 11, verse 1 says this. When Israel was a youth, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they called them, the more they went from them. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. It is I who taught Ephraim to walk. I took them in my arms, but they did not know that I. Healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, and I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws, and I bent down and fed them. We'll stop there.

31:43So, this passage, Hosea 11:1, is often cited in textbooks as being a problem passage. Does anyone know why? This passage is, well, let me put it this way, a problem passage is a passage that is difficult to interpret. And the perceived problem is that Hosea talks about God calling his son from Egypt. So, what is the identity of his son? Well, in Hosea's context, it seems pretty clear that Hosea is talking about Israel. Israel is God's son, that he is called from Egypt. And we've already talked about the adoption that happened in Egypt and God calling them out. And yet, when you flip over to the book of Matthew, chapter 2, the identity of my son seems to be assigned to someone else. So, you can go ahead and turn there, Matthew 2, verse 14.

32:46This is what the Gospel of Matthew says. Verse 14. So, Joseph got up and took the child, which is Jesus, and his mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. And he remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, out of Egypt I called my son, the prophet being Hosea. So, which is it? What is the identity of my son? Well, don't get too excited because I'm not going to make any broad statements about how to interpret all biblical prophecies, but we will try and examine this passage. I think I owe it to y'all to do that at least. So, we're going to stay in this lane here, but I caution you against taking the context of this passage and just wholesale applying it to every other problem passage out there. How can Matthew say that Hosea 11:1 is a fulfillment of the coming of Jesus? Well, to answer that question, I think we really need to dig in to the context. Hosea is talking to people. There is a situation going on in his day and age.

33:57So, let's examine it. This is not the first time that Egypt is mentioned in the book of Hosea. It's actually one of 13 times that Egypt is mentioned. And that's quite a lot for a book that doesn't take place in Egypt. And there are a couple different categories for when Egypt is mentioned. And the first one is fairly obvious. Egypt is mentioned to allude back to the Exodus. And that seems to be the case of what's happening here in 11 verse 1. Like I said, we've already talked about how Hosea previously has alluded to. To the adoption of Israel, and that happened in the physical location of Egypt. And so we take that, and we take that with us as we think about this. But there's another context in which Egypt occurs, and that is the current context, the day and age in which Hosea is prophesying. Now, you may remember, and we talked about this last time, that the Assyrian Empire is big and powerful. They're one of the superpowers of Hosea's day and age. And Egypt is another superpower. You have Assyria up in the north, and you have Egypt that's down there in the west. And both of them are mighty nations. They've got the military, they've got the prosperity to prove it. And Hosea is warning the people that when the judgments of God come, they're going to be tempted to turn to these national superpowers to save them. That would be specifically Assyria and Egypt. And there's a theme that goes through not just Hosea, but other books of the Bible as well. And that theme is don't go down to Egypt. You hear that repeated over and over again, especially in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 31. You can write that down as a reference. Don't go down to Egypt. Why does God say don't go down to Egypt? Well, because when things get hard, when God's judgments come, what are they intended to do? They're intended to turn the heart. Of the people back to God, not to other nations. Don't turn to other nations. Turn to the Lord. The other nations won't save you. Because what happens when you turn to another nation? You become indebted to them. In the case of Israel, you know, they turn to Assyria for help. They do this in their history. And what does Assyria do? Assyria, they have to pay tributes to Assyria. And then Assyria, when the tributes don't come, Assyria is going to come and conquer them. They are in bondage to these nations. And so you see the irony that Israel was delivered from physical slavery in Exodus. They had been brought by the mighty hand of the Lord out of bondage. And now, in Hosea's age, they are willingly putting themselves back into bondage in Egypt. So you see this: Egypt in the book of Hosea symbolizes these two types of bondage. It's the past physical bondage, but also this ongoing spiritual bondage that the nation is in. And I think both are important to Matthew's interpretation. Matthew was very well acquainted with the prophets, the book of Hosea, and he's writing to a Jewish audience. So I think he assumed that his readers would be familiar with Hosea. And I think he makes a connection that might have been more obvious to his audience than to us today. And I think that's. Connection is this. On the physical level, right, just as God delivered Israel, his son, from the physical land of Egypt, back when Israel was just a child being adopted by God, so too God will deliver Jesus, his son, from the physical land of Egypt. But there's something else. That's not the only level that this prophecy is operating on. Think of it this way: what will the Messiah do? What did he come on earth to do? Well, Matthew has already told his readers the answer to that question. Back up to chapter 1, Matthew says, Mary will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save the people from their sins. Jesus has already been identified as the deliverer.

38:28And we read that Jesus came by his own testimony to set the captives free. And so you can think of it this way: as Hosea is prophesying to the people in front of him. Why does Hosea bring up Egypt right here in chapter 11, verse 1? Well, I think Hosea alludes to Egypt to encourage the people in front of him. You might see his argument going this way. He says, Okay, do you remember? Remember how God sent a deliverer while you. You were slaves in Egypt. Remember how God treated you like a son, treated you tenderly, sent you a deliverer, and brought you out of your bondage. Well, guess what? You are still in bondage, and God is still God.

39:17And the natural progression is that a deliverer is coming. If these people are still slaves and God delivers them through a deliverer, then a deliverer must be coming. And I think that's what Matthew picks up on. And though Hosea doesn't specifically predict Messiah, he doesn't say Messiah, Matthew recognizes that Messiah is the logical fulfillment of Hosea's prophecy. To put it another way, because God shows steadfast love through the ages, and because Israel is still in bondage to their sins, a deliverer must be coming. And we know that that deliverer has come. And his name is Jesus. And we need to move on a little bit. And we'll go to the last passage tonight, which is Hosea 13, verse 14. I'll put it up there.

40:17Hosea 13:14. Bless you. All right. I'll do a little bit of audience participation here. I would like to take a poll. How many of you are reading from NASB or LSB? Okay, a few of y'all. Is anyone reading from ESV or NIV? Okay. Any KJVs out there? Don't be ashamed. Nice. All right. Let's go. I like it. I like it. Okay. So as I read this, I'm just going to warn you in advance that it may not match what your Bible says. And I'll explain that here in a minute. I'm reading from the NASB.

41:03Hosea 13, 14 says, Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from my sight. So if you're reading from another version, you might have heard a variation that sounds something like this in verse 14. You might have read, I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol. I shall redeem them from death. O death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. That would be ESV. NIV has something similar. I think KJV does too.

41:43One of the translations, the Net Bible, puts it this way: Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not. It inserts that little phrase there. Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not. So you see, there's a A big variation on how English translators choose to translate this passage and kind of leave us scratching our heads a little bit. You know, which one is it? Is God going to redeem Israel or is He not? You see both things, and it's kind of an important question, right?

42:17So there's two ways to go about this. You can either zoom in and look at the intricacies of the language and ask, okay, should this be a question or should it not be? If it is a question, does it imply a negative answer? And there are really good linguists that do that kind of work, but I'm not one of them. And I'm assuming you're not either. So we're going to take the approach of zooming out and kind of looking at the whole forest instead of the bark on the tree. And I don't think we have to zoom out very far. I think actually the end of verse 14 gives us a clue. In all translations, it translates approximately the same. Compassion will be hidden from my sight. So here's what I think is going on here. I do think that God is asking a question here. And I think that He gives the answer to the question at the end of verse 14. So you might read it this way. God is saying, Shall I redeem Israel from the power of Sheol?

43:13And verse 14 gives the answer to that. No, I won't. Kind of a surprising answer, right? Well, if you read on, kind of in the middle of verse 14, God does something unique in Old Testament literature. He's going to address Death directly. This is the only place to my knowledge that this happens. He's going to say, oh death, where are your thorns? O death, where is your sting? So my own paraphrase, kind of going in line with God choosing not to ransom Israel at this time, is that Israel is sinning, they're turning away from God, and there is a just consequence for that sin. And God has reached out, he's beckoned them to repent, and they will not, will not repent. And so God turns to death and he says, okay, death, now it's your turn. I tried, but my people have chosen you over me, and so I'm choosing to withhold my compassion. So go and do what you do best. Pour out your thorns and your plagues and your destruction. See what happens.

44:22If you zoom out further and you read the rest of chapter 13, we see exactly what the pangs of death are. There's really grotesque imagery. People's chests are being ripped open. People are falling by the sword. There are little ones being dashed to pieces. You read it, and it just makes you sick in the stomach. And I think it should. It should make you sick in the stomach. And I think Hosea is using this graphic imagery to warn the people. Watch out. The sting of death is coming. And God. Will not save you if you don't repent.

45:05When we study biblical history, we see that that's exactly what happens. The people fail to turn to God. And so, 20 years after Hosea is prophesying this, within Hosea's lifetime, Assyria comes and they taste the sting of death. They fall by the sword. The little ones are dashed into pieces. This is a fulfillment of Hosea's prophecy. To put it another way, death has the victory. Death takes the day. But it's not an ultimate victory. You fast forward to the Apostle Paul. He's going to address death directly. He's going to kind of evoke what God does in Hosea. And you can read this in 1 Corinthians 15, 54. I'll put it up on the screen.

45:581 Corinthians 15, 54 says, But when this imperishable, sorry, when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. And here it is, O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. The power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

46:30You see how Paul is quoting Hosea 13, 14. But you might have noticed that he tweaks it a little bit. Paul adds the word victory. Now, that doesn't appear in the Old Testament. Death, where is your victory? Why does Paul do this? Well, Paul knows what he's quoting. It wasn't just an error on Paul's part. He knows Hosea's prophecies. He knows how they were fulfilled in Hosea's day. Paul is intimately acquainted with the sting of death. He knows where that leads. He knows that in 722 A.D., death won a victory. The people lost. But Paul also knows that unless God intervenes, that this history is going to repeat itself again and again and again. Death will keep on winning.

47:36But this all changed on a Sunday morning when a man who also tasted the sting of death rolls back the stone and walks away from the grave. And this is why Paul is so excited. The resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything. Everything. And there's a A lot of theology to pack in here, but the implication is so simple. If Jesus rose from the dead, and if we are in Christ, then we too are part of his resurrection. This is Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 15. And if we are part of his resurrection, guess what that means? It means that there's a new victor in town. Death is no longer the winner. Who does Paul say is the winner? Well, he says we are. We are through Jesus Christ. And this is why Paul can use the same vocative tense. He can look death squarely in the face and say, oh, death, where's your victory? What you got now, right?

48:50I love that. I love imagining the excitement as Paul is thinking about Hosea and then evoking the resurrection, the victory over death. You might say, okay, well, that's great, but what does this have to do with God's steadfast love towards Israel? Because that's what Hosea is all about. Has God forsaken Israel? Well, I think there's an important nuance as we think about love. Love does not always mean getting what you want when you want it. Parents, you know that this is true, right? Sometimes love withholds. Sometimes loveholdsholds Love even punishes. But why? It's to achieve something far greater than the child can possibly think or imagine. And that's the case here. The far greater thing is eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have life. The victory of death has been swallowed up in Christ. And this doesn't just apply just to Gentile Christians. This applies in Israel's case. God is judging Israel. He's withholding mercy for a time so that Israel might repent and take hold of the eternal life that's found in Christ Jesus. That's the hope for Israel. It's not nationalistic. It's the same hope that you and I have. Death is swallowed up in Jesus Christ. In 722 AD, death achieved a victory, but it did not achieve the victory. The victory is found in Jesus Christ. And the love of God is present in Hosea. It's present by establishing a remnant, by not completely destroying them, so that one day later they may see Jesus' work on the cross and come to repentance. It's found in the beckoning Israel to repent and to return. All of these things are laid out through the Book of Hosea, God's love towards Israel is found in the hope of the ultimate victory over death through Jesus Christ, just as it is for you and me.

51:12Well, that's the last ripple. To sum it all up, we can say it this way: God's steadfast love through the ages, and I'll add the phrase, is different from culture's definition of love. God's steadfast love is characterized by this: it is on those whom God chooses, it is for the purpose of repentance, it is through his Son, and it is victorious over death. I hope you can see here that this love that we speak of is not just true in Hosea's day, it's not just true in the New Testament day, it's true today. God never changes, His love never changes.

52:04I'd like to end our study of Hosea, and I'd like to do this for each of the minor prophets, is by going through three questions just to kind of sum up what each of these prophets are telling us about who is God, what is the problem, and what is the solution. So, how does Hosea answer these questions? We'll start with who is God. God is a faithful husband. We see that in the opening metaphor with Gomer, but we also see that through. Through these tougher passages, these really hard prophecies, we see that God's love for Israel never wanes. It is the same, and He is loving Israel despite these judgments that are happening. I would say not even despite, He's loving Israel through the judgments that are happening. But what is the problem? Well, the problem is that even though God is a faithful husband, He has chosen an adulterous bride. You see that in Israel being drawn to idols and other lovers. But that's true for us today. You know, we are an adulterous people. We are drawn towards the desires of this world. And it's different for different people what those desires are. It might be sexual immorality. It might be substance abuse. It might be the work of your hands. It might even be this pious religiosity like it was for the Pharisees. But either way, James 4:4 says that friendship with the world is enmity towards God. And he uses the word, you adulterers. Anytime our hearts are drawn towards these affections, they're being drawn away from our true affection.

53:44So what is the solution? Well, just like it was in Hosea's day, I think the solution is the same for us. Return to your beloved. Return to your beloved because he is calling. I'm reminded of the passage. Parable of the prodigal son. You know the story. He ran away from his loving father. He wasted his inheritance. He was by all standards not a son. And he's sitting in a pig sty. I almost wish that he had a copy of Hosea to read in that state, because then he would have read the words in Hosea 14: Return to Israel. Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.

54:30I will heal their apostasy. I will love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. The ways of the Lord are right, the righteous walk in them. The prodigal son didn't have the book of Hosea, but we do. And so let's heed the word. Let's return to a God who loves us, to a God whose steadfast love will never change. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the opportunity to study your word, to study Hosea and minor prophets. Lord, I'm thankful that even through these books of the Bible that I know I've often breezed over, not taken seriously, you can speak to us your eternal truth.

55:24And so I pray that it wouldn't just be words, Lord, that we would go forth and live it. We would. It would seep out of us as you have loved us, so we also ought to love one another. Lord, may that be our aim this day, this week, this year, that we will love like you loved us. In Jesus' name, amen.