Listen here - Marriage A Story Rankin Wilbourne Ephesians 531-32, Hosea 12-4, Hosea 25-8, Hosea 31-5 Sermon09.13.09

September 13, 2009 Texts: Ephesians 5:31‐21; Hosea 1:2‐4a; Hosea 2:5; Hosea 2:8; Hosea 3:1‐5

Sermon Title: Marriage: A Story

Reflection

The novelist with Christian concerns will find in modern life distortions which are repugnant to him, and his problem will be to make these appear as distortions to an audience which is used to seeing them as natural; and he may well be forced to take ever more violent means to get his vision across to this hostile audience…When you have to assume that [your audience] does not [hold the same beliefs you do], then you have to make your vision apparent by shock—to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.
Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manner

You cannot tell people what to do, you can only tell them parables; and that is what art really is, particular stories of particular people and experiences.
W.H. Auden

Human beings require stories to give meaning to the facts of their existence…If our stories are coherent and plausible and have continuity, they will help us to understand why we are here, and what we need to pay attention to and what we may ignore. A story provides a structure for our perceptions; only through stories do facts assume any meaning whatsoever…Without air, our cells die. Without a story, our selves die.
Neil Postman, “Learning by Story”

Because marriage, more than any other relationship, reflects God’s involvement with us and bears more potential to draw our hearts to heaven, it can more readily give us a taste of hell.
Dan Allender and Tremper Longman III, Intimate Allie

We have not sufficiently plumbed the wretchedness of man in general, nor our own in particular, when we are still surprised at the weakness and corruption of man.
Blaise Pascal, Pensée

A poem…begins in delight and ends in wisdom [and]…a clarification of life…For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn’t know I knew…There is a glad recognition of the long lost.
Robert Frost, “The Figure a Poem Makes”

Sermon Snapshot God uses the life and story of the prophet Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer to demonstrate to us the overwhelming nature of the unconditional and enduring love he has for us.

Sermon Overview Outside of passages in Ephesians and Genesis, the Bible offers little direct guidance in the “how to’s” of marriage. Instead, the Bible tells stories from which we are to learn. As W.H. uden wrote, “You cannot tell people what to do, you can only tell them parables.” And o…the story of Hosea.
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I. Gomer is unfaithful to Hosea (Hosea 1:29) e are not sure how Hosea and Gomer first met and married but we know what happened
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shortly after the marriage began: Gomer cheated on Homer. Gomer had three children. The first, “Jezreel,” recalled a place of honor that had been esecrated (cf. I Kings 21). To name a son “Jezreel” would be akin to a Polish mother naming
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her son “Dachau.” omer’s next two children were by another man. “Lo‐ruhama” means “no mercy.” “Lo‐ammi”
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means “not my people/not my kin.” hat happened to this broken hearted preacher gives us insight into the heart of God who oves his ever‐wandering children who are forever getting in bed with other lovers.
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II. Gomer abandons Hosea (Hosea 2:58) omer leaves Hosea for another man whom she supposes will provide for her. Little does she
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know, Hosea continues to make provision for her even when she is with another lover (2:8). When we read this story we want to demonize the Israelites – but the reality is they were very eligious people, very “nice.” In other words, very much like us. Sin is not breaking the rules – t is breaking the heart of God.
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III. Gomer is purchased by Homer from a slave market (Hosea 3) Gomer eventually ends up on the auction block and is purchased out of prostitution by her own husband. Hosea, the broken hearted preacher, has experienced a little bit of what appened to God and therefore has a better insight into the heart of God. The only thing that hanges a life (or a marriage) is a melted heart – a realization of how much God loves us.
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Community Group Discussion:
I. Biblical and Thematic Notes The book of Hosea was written in the latter 8th Century BCE. A major theme of the book is Israel’s unfaithfulness – vividly depicted with images: an indifferent mother, an illegitimate wife, an ungrateful son, a stubborn heifer and a luxuriant vine. The main issue Hosea addresses is the worship of Baal. Baalism was highly sexualized and a fertility cult. THE ajor theme is that despite Israel’s wandering, God will not give up on his people – He is
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faithful. Read I Kings 21 for background on “Jezreel.” Jezreel is mentioned several times in the Old Testament and has a bit of an elusive definition. It means “God will scatter” and can have the (negative) sense of God dispersing his people but can also have the (positive) sense of God cattering seed into ploughed ground so that it might bear fruit. Naming is very significant in
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the Old Testament as a persons name said something about their character. Turning our backs on God and “getting in bed with other lovers” is one of the major themes of he Bible. We are all prodigals running from God (consider the three parables of “lost‐ness” in
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Luke 15). As an encouragement, make sure to take time this week and meditate how you have “played the whore” with God. And then saturate yourself in the redeeming love of your God — who loved you so much he sent his Son to be born of a woman, to live a peasants life, to die a criminals death…all so that you could have life!
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Community Group Questions
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A.
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eting to Know One Another 1. Tell us about your name. Were you named after someone? What was she/he known for? Do you have any nicknames? How did you get your nickname?
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king at the Bible 2.Can someone summarize the story of Hosea and Gomer?
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Try to imagine: what would such a betrayal would feel like (for some, this doesnot take any imagination – just remembering)? 4. Read Judges 2:11‐15. Read Psalm 78:56‐58. Read/skim Luke 15:11‐32. What echo do you hear of the Hosea/Gomer story in each different section of int?
scripture? Are the
re other Biblical stories that illustrate this same po
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Ap
lication 5.Read Romans 6:16. What are the “Baals/other masters” in your life? 6. Read I Corinthians 6:20 (concentrate on verse 20) and Ephesians 5:25‐27. God has “bought” us (I Corinthians 6:20) and “cleanses” us (Ephesians 5:26‐27).
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our life could you use the hope of restoration that Hosea, Corinthians and Ephesians offer? 7. When (if ever) is the last time your heart was melted by someone else’s love for you? When is the last time your heart was melted by God’s love for you