Hosea 2:2-13 “In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’ 2 “But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—for she is no longer my wife, and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts. 3 Otherwise, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will leave her to die of thirst, as in a dry and barren wilderness. 4 And I will not love her children, for they were conceived in prostitution. 5 Their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said, ‘I’ll run after other loversand sell myself to them for food and water, for clothing of wool and linen, and for olive oil and drinks.’ 6 “For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her lose her way. 7 When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think, ‘I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.’ 8 She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—the grain, the new wine, the olive oil; I even gave her silver and gold.
But she gave all my gifts to Baal. 9 “But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine
I generously provided each harvest season. I will take away the wool and linen clothing I gave her to cover her nakedness. 10 I will strip her naked in public, while all her lovers look on. No one will be able to rescue her from my hands. 11 I will put an end to her annual festivals, her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals. 12 I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees, things she claims her lovers gave her. I will let them grow into tangled thickets,
where only wild animals will eat the fruit. 13 I will punish her for all those times when she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me,” says the Lord."
Introduction: "Sometimes a man and a woman can have an understanding, that no one understands. Not even their own selves." ~Rachel in Lackawanna Blues
Transition: Love has taken a sharp turn between God and Israel, in Hosea chapter 2. Israel is too busy turning tricks in the street, to notice that God's patience with them had run out...
Exposition: God's love actions, show us the way love is...
1) Love is attentive (verses 2, 4-5, 8, 12-13)
It's important that you notice differences in behavior and appearance. This isn't license to be a detective but to not be so love struck that you're stupid.
2) Love aims to please (verses 8-9)
Healthy relationships involve both give and take. If things are one sided, then the giver needs to consider a major adjustment to the dynamics of the relationship.
3) Love has feelings (verses 6-7, 9-13)
Your emotions make you human. So, don't attempt bottle up what needs to be expressed. Nothing beats a good understanding.
*This week's sound track (follow the links): Love's Train by Con funk shun
Next Sunday, it's going down!!!
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