Gomer

The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel:

~Hosea 1:1

Compare this verse with Deuteronomy 18:21-22.  How could the people know Hosea actually spoke "the word of the Lord"?

• Here is what Deuteronomy 18L21-22 says:
   

  You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?”  If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed

  I would say that they knew he spoke the word of the Lord because he had prophesied before and it came true

When a minister or evangelist speaks the word of the Lord today, how can you know if it's true or not?  What can you measure his or her words against to be sure they are from the Lord?

• If some of the statements he or she makes is a little far fetched to be teh truth
• If they quote something from the bible and you might question the accuracy of their memorizatoin, you should look it up yourself

When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.”  So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

~Hosea 1:2-3

What sin is the Lord accusing his people of committing?

• Adultery

How would you compare the people of Isreal and their sins with the nation you live in today?  How is your nation like Isreal?  How is it different?  What do you think God would say through Hosea to your nation?

• I would say that sin has not changed for the good by very much at all today. 
• I think Hosea would tell us to repent or our natoin would be destroyed without warning

Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.  In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

  Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them.  Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the LORD their God, will save them.”

  After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son.  Then the LORD said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

~Hosea 1:4-9

What do each of the names of Hosea's children signify?  How clear should that message have been to the people of Isreal?

• Lo-Ruhamah would signify something similar to a break-up, wherase Lo-Ammi would signify disownership
• This message should have been very clear as to what God was going to do.

How does God speak to us today?  How clear is his message?  Are we any better at understanding and following as the Isrealites were?

• It's definitely not an audible voice we can here, but I think I experience God speaking to me by the way my feelings might change when I speak to Him.
• His message should be clear to us, but there is so much that we either might not understand or might misinterpret, so I would say that we are definitely no better than the Isrealites were

“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’  The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

^]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’

~Hosea 1:10-2:1

Put these beautiful words of God for his people in your own words.

• My people will be very numerous. You may have been told that I no longer call you mine, but now you shall be called mine once again.  Both nations will congregate and create a ruler for themselves.  You are my people and loved ones.

What do these words mean for you today?  How has God been faithful to you even when you have been unfaithful to him?

• God loves us no matter what we do
• He forgives me for my sins

The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

  So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley.  Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

  For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.  Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.

~Hosea 3:1-5

In this chapter, Hosea's relationship with his adulterous wife is again compared to Gods relationship with the unfaithful Isrealites.  Did Gomer return of her own accord or did Hosea go out and seek her?

• It's not really clear, but I suppose we could assume that Gomer came back herself

Note especially the word "bought" in verse 2.  Hosea paid fifteen shekels (about six ounces) of silver, plus about ten bushels of barley for Gomer.  Just as Hosea will go to extreme lengths to get his wife back - not so much what he paid for her, but the very fact taht he paid - God will go to extreme lengths to get his people back.  What ultimate price did god pay for his people?

• He has his son, Jesus, die for our sins on the cross