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God's Ornaments |
 There
are so many beautiful precious gems and rocks. It has become a hobby of
our family to look for and collect rocks.Amethyst |
 Smithsonite
crystals were seen in the gold mine we toured in Idaho. |
 This
mica specimen has thousands of layers of thin clear "rock". It
is fun to peel up layers and imagine what it used to be like when people
used it for windows. |
 The
best part about rock hounding is finding special rocks. Hauling them home
is a big job and when they are in the collection, no one hardly ever looks
at them again. |
 Some
people like to wear the rocks they find or buy some already prepared to
wear. This way they can appreciate the beauty all day.
The Bible has something to say about adorning ourselves with rocks, fixing our hair really fancy, decorating ourselves with gold and wearing real expensive clothes. These things all draw attention to ourselves instead of the Creator. |
 Let
not your be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of
gold, wearing of fine clothing, but let it be the hidden person of the
heart, with the jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit.
MUSIC |
 God asked
Jacob to take his family to Bethel where he had seen the angels on the
ladder twenty years before. Jacob told his family stories of the angels he
had seen on the ladder. A soft look came over the faces of each one in the
family. when Jacob requested that they bring their idols and jewelry to
him, they brought them. After the family had cleaned their clothes and
discarded their ornaments and idols, they had a special dedication at
Bethel. Genesis 35:1-4 |
 Find
the idols in the tree.
Idols are things that you would rather play with or do than study the Bible. They might be computer games, LEGOS, or some other toy that just takes up all your time from helping around the house or from Bible study. Some TV programs and books make it so you do not want to study the Bible. Money can become an idol. Money can become an idol, if that is all you think about. |
 In
Exodus 33 the Bible tells us that when the people of God were about to
enter the promised land, they turned to idolatry and worldly ways. They
began to dress and adorn themselves in the same way. God was upset with
them. God asked them to take off their ornaments. They took them off by
Mt. Horeb.
We are about to enter the promised land. The end of the world is here. It won't be long till Jesus comes. He wants us to take off jewelry and live simply. He wants us to be humble and teachable. The jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit is special to Him. Those who have it will be looking for ways to help others. They won't be worried about their own gain. |
 When
Hosea's wife turned away she decked herself with earrings and her jewels,
and went after her lovers. Her poor husband was hurt. I felt awful to see
his wife being unfaithful to him. She forgot about God. (Hosea 2:13) In
Jeremiah 4:30, God said that when His people were spoiled, they would wear
their ornaments and paint their faces trying to make themselves beautiful. |
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God's Messenger is asked to love and marry a lady of poor reputation |
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Hosea is commanded to live out a parable in his personal family life |
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Actors: Hosea dramatizes God's love Gomer plays the part of God's chosen people |
| Hosea was a prophet of God in the
Old Testament times. He lived during the time of King Hezekiah who had
been sick and prayed for a sign that he would get well. The sun dial
turned backwards 10 degrees in answer to his prayer. (2 Kings 20) The
prophet Isaiah also lived during the time of Hezekiah and Hosea.
The prophet Hosea also lived during the time of king Jeroboam son of Joash. Jeroboam was the king of Israel for 41 years. He did evil just like the other Jeroboam son of Nebat. They both had made Israel to sin for many years. God's people were worshipping other gods and ignoring heaven. They were offering their own children up as sacrifices. There was terrible wickedness going on among God's people. In desperation to win back their love, God asked Hosea to live out a parable. God sent His dear prophet out to get a wife from among the women who have many lovers. |
 The
concerns in God's heart had to be great. He had tried warnings,
disasters, and other things to get the attention of His people. He
wanted their love and fellowship.
Now His plan was to make a family that acted like the whole nation. The father was to represent God, the mother would be acting like the people of Israel. The children would copy their mother. This is not what God normally asks His people to do. In other places of the Bible, we are cautioned to be so careful who we choose to live and work with. Realizing this, as a teenager, I spent many hours praying about who the Lord wanted me to marry. I read all I could find in the Bible and in the writings of Ellen White as to what to look for and how to behave myself. I asked God to help me for I did not know the future and what could happen. I wanted my companion to love me for life. I listened to the counsel of my parents and grandparents. The Bible says we need to be careful our partner believes like we do: 1 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? |
 The
wife, if she is worldly, will train all the children to do the same. The
whole family can be ruined if the wife does not have a deep love for
Jesus. So much depends on her. She molds the minds of the children with
her influence up to age 12 . The character trends of the child are formed
by age two and three. If she is
against God, the children will all copy this. They will join each other
and bring their friends in a tug of war pulling down anyone who pulls for
Jesus.
Jesus can cause a miracle to happen. He is greater and stronger on His side of the rope. Yet it is so much more difficult if the child has absolutely no desire for God. They will never be quiet during family worship. They will always act out causing trouble during church meetings. Their hearts are hardened to the work of the Holy Spirit. They keep pulling away from God. |
 Hosea
went out as God directed, found and and married Gomer. She bore him a son.
God named the boy Jezreel. Names had meaning. This child was named in such
a way it was a prophecy that the house of Israel would be scattered. Other
people in the Bible had names that prophesied an event. Methuselah meant
that when he died the flood would come. |
 To
attract the attention of other men, Gomer painted up her face and wore
jewels. Where did she get the money to buy all these jewels? Did the
prophet Hosea give her an allowance? I wonder where the money came from.
She did get a lot of attention and loved it. She thought she was having a great life. She did not know it was all empty and would not bring her inner peace and happiness. |
  Gomer
was dressed for success in attracting men. |
 She
wore ear rings and jewelry and totally forgot about God. (Hosea
2:13) In Jeremiah 4:30, God said that when His people were spoiled,
they would wear their ornaments and paint their faces trying to make
themselves beautiful on the outside.
|
 Some
pay thousands of dollars for a rock or a string of pearls It becomes a
source of pride while it hangs on the outside. |
 
Many wear rings on their
fingers and like all to notice it. Real beauty is not outward decorations
of gold or pretty clothes or painting of the face. Real joy and beauty
comes from helping others. It comes from a meek and quiet unselfish
spirit. This beauty gives the face a glow. There is a bubbly joy and love
that is ready to help and share. Such ornaments of character are
priceless. (1 Peter 3:3 and 1 Timothy 2:9-12)
I have seen many wearing wedding rings that are unfaithful to their marriage promise. I do not believe that the ring shows a determination to be faithful. |
| While
she was doing these things, Hosea's wife
Gomer had another baby. This baby girl was named by
God also. The name God chose was Lo-ruhamah
which meant He would no longer have forgiveness and compassion for all the
people of Israel. Can you imagine a name that meant there was no
longer forgiveness or compassion? Would you want a name like that? |
| When the third child was born, God named that one too. He was to be called "not my people" Lo-ammi. |
| Imagine Hosea telling people the
names of his wife's children:
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 Kind loving Hosea was heart broken. He had given his
wife all she needed. She spent her money on things to attract other men.
She gave her love to others and not him. He had loved her dearly but she
kept looking for other lovers. |
| Hosea asked the children to plead with their mother to
be faithful. He told the children he was not really their father. He said
their mother had many other lovers. Again and again the prophet Hosea
tried to get his wife to love only him. However in spite of all his love,
she kept going out to other men.
There was such sadness in the home. The poor prophet Hosea was showing the
whole nation a parable of how God felt about the nation praying to idols.
They were doing the same thing to God that Gomer did to her husband. They
were breaking God's loving heart. Today people are selfishly going after
idols of toys, computer games, fancy cars, houses, wealth, fame, pictures
of naked people, gang activities, drugs, and they need God's love.
God is pleading. God uses His prophets, His missionaries, His preachers, His friends to plead with the sinners. |
   Kind
loving Hosea tried taking his wife to a special setting. He spoke sweet
kind and loving words to her. He did everything to woo her heart to loving
only him. She again left for other men.
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  Many
people who want to express love, choose to send a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. The fragrance
and the color and how they look is an expression of love from the depths
of the heart. Perhaps the prophet Hosea gave Gomer flowers, the Bible does not give us a clue. Yet he did all he could think of to win her love. He probably was very helpful making the home a special place for her, helping with the care of the children and home cleaning. I am sure he lifted her load of care in any way he could. He probably even offered to help cooking meals. Another way to express love is to tell the lady how special she looks and buy her the fragrance to wear that she likes best. That is the way God is. He does everything He can think of to win your heart. |
She left the comforts of her home
and stayed with other men.  Finally
one day she hit the end of her resources. She had probably sold all her
jewels just to survive. She must have been sick or not
as attractive anymore. The only value she had was to be sold as a slave.
Perhaps the beauty of her youth was gone and she could not attract any
more lovers. She was up for sale. She was not worth 30 shekels that a male
slave would bring. It seems no one wanted to buy her. |
 The
price on her was 15 shekels. In her mind, maybe she worried. What if
no one bought her? How could she have money to eat? The Bible does not say
who was selling her. |
She must have felt worthless
standing there for sale.
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| The
Bible says she wished to go back to her first husband because things were
so much better there. (Hosea 1:7) She had tasted the bitterness and
ugliness and emptiness of sin. Now that she was at the bottom, she started
to wish for her husband because things were better at his home. |
| In her desperate need, God sent
her husband, the Godly prophet Hosea, to the market to buy his wife back.
There she was standing alone in her shame, for sale like a slave. She did
not look elegant or dignified. She was being sold as though there really
was no value to her. He felt sorry that she was so ashamed. He loved her
and did not want her to be thrown away as worthless. Now, I can assure
you, most men would have hated her by now. That
is forgiving love. That kind of love only comes out of heaven. You won't
find that kind very easy on this earth. It is only in the hearts of those
who want to be like Jesus. Hosea was acting out what God does for every
sinner. This whole story was a real life drama for what happens every day
as God forgives and tries to win people to love Him. It breaks His gentle
heart of love when we turn from Him and stubbornly keep on loving sin. |
| Hosea paid 15 shekels and some barley for her. Jesus paid with His life by dying on the cross. Hosea could have offered less for her and probably no one else would have bought her but that would have told her she was worth nothing now to him. Because he bought her, he showed he still saw value in her. Like God he was not willing to see her discarded as garbage. Because God does not force Himself on others, He waits till sinners see that they need Him. |
With the miracle of perfect love
from God this dear Godly man Hosea again showered this undeserving lady
Gomer with his
tender love. This was not ever done in his culture. He was going
against all customs. A woman doing as Gomer had done would have been stoned.
Today she would have been divorced and denounced in the society of the
prophet as a wicked woman and banished from the church. You can imagine
his actions shocked the whole nation.
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  From
God, the love flows freely as if the
sin had never happened. God never forgets anything. But He says He chooses
to remember our sins no more. He puts them in the bottom of the sea when
we ask for forgiveness and for help to change. That is amazing. He
surrounds us with good things. He makes gorgeous flowers, trees, bird
songs, children smiling and laughing, good flavors in foods.
Oh, what a special loving heart He has!
His promises are leaves from the tree of life that can now begin the healing process. |
  Some
pay thousands of dollars for a rock or a string of pearls. It becomes a
source of pride while it hangs on the outside for all to see. It is
designed to draw attention to self instead of Jesus. |
 Drawing
attention to self is not God's way. Satan became proud and lifted up.
Remember how the Bible mentions this in Ezekiel 28?
WE covered this in lesson 2. Our example is Jesus |
 Real
beauty is not outward decorations of gold or pretty clothes or painting
the face. The real beauty comes from the meek and quiet spirit. It comes
from the joy of knowing God. Real beauty leads people to see Jesus in us,
not the world. Such ornamentation is priceless. (I Peter 3:3 & 1
Timothy 2:9-10) |
This
boy is "Israel will be destroyed"; 
and
this one is "no longer any forgiveness"; 
and
this boy is "not my people".
Gomer
had cost him a lot and showed no gratitude. She had harmed the prophet's
reputation. She had hurt him over and over and still he loved her.
Only Godly people can love like that. It is not easy to forgive the sin of
adultery. It hurts so deeply because the faithful partner feels rejected
and abandoned. Abandonment brings deeper sorrow and agony than English words
can describe. The grief feels like the partner died yet the pain
continues because they continue rejecting. It is hard to keep hoping. I do
not know how many years this story drug on for poor prophet Hosea. It had
to be more than 10-15 years because he tried to get the children to plead
with their mother to return. After 25 years of repeated injuries,
the scars increase the difficulty of a normal sweet trusting relationship. Sin though forgiven, has consequences.
The children may be totally lost. Their anger and frustration can build
and affect all their own relationships. In addition, there is always
that fear that the partner is pretending and will soon cause pain again.
It is not natural in this old world of
sin to pour out love on one so undeserving and unthankful for so many
years. WE cannot in
our own hearts forgive and love like the Godly prophet Hosea.
Forgiving seventy times seven is not easy. It is God's miracle to those
who want to live like Jesus. Some of the scars will last forever until the
healing happens at the tree of life in heaven. God loves
even when He's been hurt. THAT IS THE WAY GOD IS. THAT IS MERCY AND GRACE.