Love's Train Sermon Notes...Part 1 of 4

Part-Time Lover
Hosea 1 The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. ² When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.” ³ So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. ⁴ And the Lord said, “Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu’s dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel’s independence. ⁵ I will break its military power in the Jezreel Valley.” ⁶ Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved’—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. ⁷ But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God.” ⁸ After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. ⁹ And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people’—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. ¹⁰ “Yet the time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’ ¹¹ Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel—when God will again plant his people in his land.

Introduction: The relationship between God and Israel was strained. Israel was free-spirited, in that polytheistic practices were considered customary instead of sinful. They weren't necessarily trying to leave God, but they wanted God as their main squeeze along with a side piece. In short, Israel was married to God and had a part-time lover. God's stance was clear, that his love train would not tolerate stow-a-way passengers.

Transition: Overwhelming Observations that are practical for us to us...

-Beware of marrying someone with expectations of them turning into someone better

-Don't think that being in God's will, deletes life's trouble

-Children will not make a strained relationship any better

-Part-time love may come with fulltime consequences

Exposition:

1) An illustration of desperation...verse 2

The prostitute (Israel) was desperately searching for love and affection and God was desperately searching for someone to loyally love him the way he would love them.

2) Promiscuity leads to questions of paternity...verse 2

Verse 3 says that the child was Hosea's. Verses 6 and 8 suggests that the second two aren't. Life has a ways of starting all right but end up going all wrong.

3) Time will turn things around...verse 10-11

God wasn't giving up on Israel. He combated there part-time love with tough love. Time and space will help part-time lovers miss the water that filled the well, but now is dry. However, not all strained relationship end up like God and Israel. Sometimes you have to know when to ease on down the road.

*This week's sound track: Love's Train by Con funk shun   Part-Time Lover
*Next week we'll study Hosea chapter 2:1-13 "That's The Way Love Is" A Bobby 'Blue' Bland classic