Gomer

Gomer

About her:

Hosea means “salvation”

The theme of the book of Hosea is “return to the Lord”. It is a story of a broken home. The home is the building block of society. Marriage is institutionalized by God Himself in the Garden of Eden. It is a sacred and honorable union (Hebrews 13:4).

He was a prophet who wept over the sins of God’s people.

God called Hosea to take a wife who was a prostitute as a picture to the people of Israel in their unfaithfulness to God.

Isaiah 62:5 NIV “As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.”

Jeremiah 3:14 NIV “‘Return, faithless people,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I am your husband. I will choose you--one from a town and two from a clan--and bring you to Zion.’”

God called Hosea to be a living example of His marriage to Israel.

Gomer means “complete” and comes from the root word “gamar” which means “to end, come to an end, complete, cease.”

Gomer was a prostitute and an adulteress.

Gomer had three children with Hosea and each had a prophetic name. First son was Jezreel meaning “to be scattered.” Second child, a daughter, named Lo-ruha-mah meaning “no more mercy” and the third, a son, named Lo-ammi meaning “not my people.”

Her “issues”:

“As God tells Hosea to marry a harlot who was herself the child of a harlot, we see Him setting up this illustration of the relationship His people had with Him.” -Jon Courson

“ In taking a wife, and it does not indicate necessarily that she was a prostitute when he married her and had children, but God is speaking of her knowing her heart and the bent of her nature that she would be unfaithful to him and would leave him and become a prostitute. And thus, God, in speaking of that nature that was there, commanded him to marry her. This character later developed.” -Chuck Smith

About her Dad:

“(dihb lay' ihm) Personal or place name meaning, “two fig cakes.” Hosea 1:3 lists Diblaim as a parent of Gomer, Hosea's harlot wife. Some Bible students see Hosea's father-in-law so named; others, his mother-in-law. The latter case is combined with an understanding that she was also a harlot whose price was two fig cakes...The most direct explanation seems to be that Diblaim is Gomer's father, of whom nothing more is known.” -Holman Bible Dictionary

“‘Diblaim’” means “raisin cakes” and is tied up with idolatry. These were the cakes that were used in an offering of pagan worship....Gomer’s name comes from the primary Hebrew root, ‘Gamar’, which means ‘finished’ and can carry the connotation of ‘failure’. Could Diblaim have named his daughter ‘failure’? If so, why? Perhaps he had followed in the footsteps of his father and through involvement with the Canaanite fertility cult requested a son. Upon receiving a daughter, instead of a son, Diblaim’s efforts would have been seen as a failure.” -Leona England Karni

The words that are spoken over us in our upbringing is how we are going to live and is what is going to be the vision and direction of our lives unless there is an intervention.

Proverbs 10:11a NKJV “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life”

Proverbs 15:4 NKJV “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”

Proverbs 18:21 NKJV “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Philippians 2:14-16 ESV “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

All of our ACTIONS indicate what we BELIEVE. You can look at your actions in your life and they will reveal what you truly BELIEVE.

HALL OF FAITH in Hebrews 11 shows the actions of those who believed God.

James 2:14-26

Faith without works is dead. Shows you don’t really believe. You can “believe” wrong and have an incorrect spirit with which you do things. Actions and belief are intertwined and it is a complex thing...not always simple.

“We are not saved by faith plus works but by a faith that works.” -Warren W. Wiersbe

Man’s words are POTENT but God’s words are OMNIPOTENT.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Think about the insecurities she may have felt being married to a PROPHET of God! Very much unlike her upbringing. Maybe she felt like she never measured up or could never really please anyone. She may have been overwhelmed by responsibility and feelings of inadequacy.

There’s a sin nature directing and suggesting solutions and other possibilities. The “reasoning’ of the sinful nature is always self-destructive.

James 1:12-18

-In trials and difficulty we will be tempted (by our own nature!) to turn to sin for relief and satisfaction but it will only prove to bring death. Don’t be deceived! However, the Lord will give good gifts and we can be thankful with what He has given to us and we can delight in them.

What’s the difference between a lie and a deception? A deception means that the lie worked.

“Hurt people, hurt people. Loved people, love people.”

There was a major glitch in Gomer’s belief system.

We need God to heal our hurts and we need to spend MORE time in prayer. We need to continue to let His Words overpower those of our past until our minds are transformed and until we are truly secure in Him.

Psalm 107:20 ESV “He send out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.”

Our sinful nature will DEMAND to be obeyed if we have no yielding to the Spirit of God in our life. We will find ourselves in heaps of sin unless the Lord’s love transforms us.

Gomer left home.

Gomer had an ingrained and detrimental belief system which showed in her actions.

“Gomer was not only guilty of breaking the marriage vow, which was bad enough, but she sinned against the one who loved her.” -J. Vernon McGee

There is also the element of her choice. Proverbs 1:29-31 ESV “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.”

Hosea 2:8 “she did not know”...correlate with Hosea 4:6 and 14. God’s people are destroyed by a lack of knowledge. We ACT based on what we truly BELIEVE. Let your actions be your VISUAL of your belief system.

Read Hosea 3:6

She had the knowledge of the world and she had an opportunity to embrace the knowledge of the things of God. There is a big reality to our lives that we wake up in the morning and can choose who we are going to serve, and we can sit at the Lord’s feet and learn from Him, commune with Him and know Him.

Joshua 24:14-15 ESV “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

When it comes to lack of knowledge that destroys us it is not that we don’t have the provision, it is that we don’t choose the provision.

Psalm 90:12 ESV “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Here is what we can CHOOSE every day! Psalm 90:14 ESV “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

Hosea 2:7 reveals that Hosea was Gomer’s first husband.

“A tidal wave of temptation is as surely a test of our faith as a time of suffering. Both boil down to whether or not we are going to believe God.” -Beth Moore

Hosea’s pursuit:

Hosea had three main attempts to bring Gomer back:

1. Tried to keep her from the markets of the world.
2. Bought her out of the markets of the world.
3. Asked his son to reason try to reason with her.

Rahab

šRahab›

Scripture References:

Joshua 2; 6:17-25; Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25

Her  Location and Status:

Joshua was the leader now in place of Moses. The Lord promised to be with Joshua as He was with Moses. (Joshua 1:5-8).

The Canaanites in Jericho had protection from mountains, the Jordan River and Mediterranean sea. They also had well fortified cities and peaceful trade with other countries. They were cultured, idolatrous and had commercial achievements. These were the kind of people Rahab lived among.

Rahab lived in Jericho.

Jericho was known as the strongest of the fortified cities of Canaan.

“This ancient ‘City of Palms,’ as it was known, was surrounded and protected by two walls about fifteen feet apart. The walls, though not high, were wide and sturdy, and houses made of sun dried bricks, supported by timbers, were built over the gap. Rahab’s house occupied a place on the wall.”           –Frances Vander Velde

Joshua sent two men to spy out the city of Jericho.

The two spies found refuge in Rahab’s home.

Rahab was a prostitute.

“Before Rahab became a believer in the One True God, she was an idolatrous Amorite. Ra was the name of an Egyptian god, and Rahab’s full name meant ‘insolent and fierce.’ Besides her less-than-positive name, the Bible reports that Rahab was a harlot.” –Elizabeth George

  

Her Faith

Read Joshua 2:1-11

Rahab truly came to believe in the God of Israel. She was attentive to what He was doing and placed her faith in the One True and Living God.

By hiding the two spies, Rahab showed what she really believed in.

James 2:25 NKJV

Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

Rahab:

-knew God had given them the land

-heard about how God parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites out of Egypt

-claimed He was God in heaven above and on earth beneath

What are your personal statements of faith?

What is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

How is our faith increased?

Romans 10:17 NKJV

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith is needed to please God.

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Rahab is included in the “Hall of Faith” found in Hebrews 11…there are only 3 women mentioned (Sarah, Jochebed and Rahab).

Hebrews 11:31 NKJV

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

Rahab’s choices defined who she became.  Her choices defined who she was and enabled her to be a part of the “Hall of Faith”!

Sometimes we need to make choices that take courage and bravery. Our choices may be a risk in the beginning, but they are life in the end. In order for Rahab to preserve her and her family’s lives, she needed to risk her life! Then, she was spared later on. This is how true living works in God’s economy.

Luke 9:24 NKJV

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

Luke 17:33 NKJV

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

**Are you making these kinds of choices so that your destiny is one that glorifies God?

Rahab showed, by risking her own life, that she feared God more than man.

Jeremiah 17:5 NKJV

Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD.”

Psalm 40:4 NKJV

Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

Psalm 25:2 NKJV

O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.

Psalm 31:19 NKJV

Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!

Day-by-day make choices that lead to a life of faith and victory.

Rahab had an evident call of God on her life. Jesus came to save the sinners. We must always remember that and avoid having any form of a pharisaical mentality. Sometimes we think we are more spiritually mature defined by the way we act and what we do. When true spiritual maturity is allowing God to reveal true motives of our hearts and walking in humility, considering others better than ourselves.

Rahab is an Old Testament “woman at the well” and God had a powerful call on her life to use her for His glorious purposes. God loved her just as much as every other woman.

  

Her Deliverance

Read Joshua 2:12-24

“That red token at the window was likewise a signal to the outside world that Rahab believed in the ultimate triumph of Jehovah…As that scarlet line, because of its color and sign of safety, speaks of the sacrificial work of Christ (Hebrews 9:19, 22), the ground of our assurance of salvation is not experience of feelings within, but the token relatives might not have felt safe within the house, but the same promise prevailed, ‘When I see the blood, I will pass over you’ (Exodus 12:13).” –Herbert Lockyer

“Rahab would be saved by letting down a scarlet cord. In these days, prostitutes would paint their windowsills bright red. Therefore, by hanging a scarlet cord over her red windowsill, Rahab would be forming a cross. The same image that saved the people of Israel in the Passover when they applied the blood to the top, sides and bottom of their doors, would save the pagans in Jericho. Whether to a Jew or a Gentile, the message is the same. It is the Cross that saves from destruction.”   -Jon Courson

You are not born pure. We are only made pure by the blood of Jesus.

*Psalm 51 –David wrote after falling in sin with Bathsheba

Her Acceptance and Heritage:

The Lord accepted Rahab. He called her His own and rescued her out of her land and it’s evil ways.

The Lord allowed her to have a new heritage and fresh start after she placed her faith in Him.

Rahab married Salman, a prince of the house of Judah.

Rahab was the mother of Boaz.

Did you know that Boaz’s mother was Rahab! Think of the godly man the Boaz was and the character he had. What a beautiful story of God’s redemptive and transforming work. I have a feeling that these are God’s favorite kinds of miracles to perform!

Remember that Christ calls the sinners to repentance, not those who have it all together.

Boaz and Ruth were the grandparents of David.

David is in the lineage of Jesus Christ Himself.

Read Matthew 1:5

Life Lesson:

Let your faith work its way out in your actions. Don’t let the fear of man keep you for taking risks for God.

James 2:25 NKJV

Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

Discussion Questions:

1.     Tell what you can about Rahab’s background and life. How much did she know about God before the spies came?

2.     Show that Rahab had faith. What kind of faith did she have?

3.     Is there any symbolism in the scarlet thread that Rahab hung from the window?

4.     Does the story of Rahab shed any light on what our attitude should be toward converts? What is our present-day attitude toward them? What should it be?

He Remembers No More

Hello Hello!
I hope you have ordered your book for the book club if you are planning on joining up because we will be starting next week! Here's a little devo taken from today's reading in Charles Spurgeon's Chequebook of the Bank of Faith

He Remembers No More
For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34) 

When we know the Lord, we receive the forgiveness of sins. We know Him as the God of grace, passing by our transgressions. What a joyful discovery is this!
But how divinely is this promise worded: the Lord promises no more to remember our sins! Can God forget? He says He will, and He means what He says. He will regard us as though we had never sinned. The great atonement so effectually removed all sin that it is to the mind of God no more in existence. The believer is now in Christ Jesus, as accepted as Adam in his innocence; yea, more so, for he wears a divine righteousness, and that of Adam was but human.
The great Lord will not remember our sins so as to punish them, or so as to love us one atom the less because of them. As a debt when paid ceases to be a debt, even so doth the Lord make a complete obliteration of the iniquity of His people.
When we are mourning over our transgressions and shortcomings, and this is our duty as long as we live, let us at the same time rejoice that they will never be mentioned against us. This makes us hate sin. God's free pardon makes us anxious never again to grieve Him by disobedience.