The message was brought by Rev. Tim Powers on July 12, 202
We see in Hosea 1 that his wife Gomer bore children that were not his. She was unfaithful, but he loved her. Then in Hosea 3 we see a powerful example of the gospel. Gomer was a harlot; at God’s instructions Hosea married her. She is a picture of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God and our need for Jesus. She had gone so low she was of no use to anyone. Probably older now, used up so to speak. She owed somebody something because she was on the auction block to be sold as a slave. In the peak of her day she probably was with the “higher up’s” of society selling herself to them. She probably got paid well. Now the “pleasure in sin for a season” was up for her. I’m sure Hosea was at his wit’s end with her; she had put him through a lot.
Hosea 3: Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.
We see a love that pursues the unworthy. Look at verse 1; is this not what Jesus did for us. He came “to seek and to save the lost.” Gomer was unfaithful and didn’t seek Hosea out, yet God told him to go. Romans 5:8 says But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God pursued us through sending His Son; He is seeking people all over the world. Gomer was ruined, used up, ashamed, and broken BUT GOD told Hosea to go after her.
In verse 2 we see a love that paid the price. Seeing his wife on the auction block, can you imagine his emotions? I’m sure people were bidding. She could still be a servant and clean a house. He said, “So I bought her.” Right off the auction block, Hosea paid the price, all he had. Jesus bought us. Surely Gomer saw her husband in the crowd, this man who loved her. Realizing how low she’d gone, she probably cried out to him for help. He used silver and barley which means he didn’t have enough money to pay, but gave all he had to buy her back. He could have condemned her. Jesus paid a greater price. First Peter 1:18-19 says Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. The price for us cost Jesus His blood. We cannot live without blood. It pumps the oxygen to our body. Our redemption price was death; the death of Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament. All the sacrifices pointed to Jesus. No one else could pay it but Jesus. Hosea redeemed his wife. The blood of Jesus applied to hearts can redeem the whole world.
Look at verse 3. Gomer was restored. God could have written us off. Gomer was purchased to become Hosea’s. She was not only freed from a life of slavery; she was his! Jesus freed us from sin when He saved us; He freed us to be His. Gomer stayed with Hosea. Jesus forgave and adopted us. Redeemed. Forgiven. Restored. Accepted. Loved. Hosea did all this for Gomer, and Jesus did it for us. The devil may tell us we’re not worth it, but Jesus says, “I have paid the price!”
We were on the auction block of sin and death, hell, and the grave were all trying to get us. The devil was the auctioneer. Remember, in an auction it’s not final till the gavel goes down. Someone came between the gavel and that table: Jesus did that when He died on the cross. That death should have been ours, but Jesus paid the price to redeem us. It was the price of love.
Love produced faithfulness in Hosea, saying “so will I be for thee.” Jesus is faithful to us; let’s be faithful to Him. So we see the gospel clearly here on the side of both Hosea and Jesus in the seeking, paying the price, restoring, and loving. There was a cost, a heavy one for Jesus. The wrath of God was placed on Him when He became sin for us. Our sin. Our diseases. Everything was placed on Jesus. Isaiah 53 says “he was wounded for our transgressions.” Homer paid the price. Jesus paid it. That debt says, “paid in full.” The price of redeeming love.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 