Cheer UP! Podcast
Cheer UP! Podcast
Hosea & Gomer
Discover timeless lessons from the Old Testament in our latest episode! Join us as we explore Hosea's story and how it mirrors our modern struggles with commitment and discipline.
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Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. I am your host, kara R Hunt, and with me is Sherry sweet, sweet, sweet human Swalwell. How are you doing today, sherry?
Speaker 2:Like I've told you before, Kara, I need to start doing the introductions so that I can start coming up with ones like super cool. Kara, my coffee loving friend who's absolutely beautiful inside and out.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Oh my gosh, I just, I just. It's just a wonderful day. God is so good and we're both just blessed to be alive, right, amen, amen, yeah, amen and amen. God is so good and we're both just blessed to be alive, right? Amen, yeah, amen and amen. And today we are going to continue our Bible topics on biblical figures, biblical stories, stories of biblical figures from the Old Testament. Actually, this will be the last one this year that we will be doing on the Old Testament and it is the prophet Hosea, h-o-s-e-a. But you know, I was just thinking the other day.
Speaker 1:So many people spend lots of time like on social media, talking about their stories, right, their Instagram stories, their Facebook stories, their reels, their stories of get ready this morning with me or here's what's going on in my life and everything.
Speaker 1:Well, back in the Old Testament, they didn't have those type of things. They just I mean, of course, there was no social media, right, there were no cameras there was none of that who were so important to God's kingdom that their stories were written down for us, for every human being, to be able to go back to and read and delve into and learn and get knowledge from. For, like eternity, the Bible has been here. For I don't know how long, right, Maybe hundreds of years, sherry, I don't think quite a thousand, but maybe hundreds of years. The Bible has been around, and so those stories were documented because that's how important God really wants us to pay attention to them. So, you know, we scroll through social media and everything else and we listen to everybody else's stories, but God is so good he's like okay, well, there are some other stories that need. Have you paid attention to this person's story, right?
Speaker 1:Well, unfortunately they're no longer with us, so they can't, you know, put a camera in front of their face and do zoom meetings and you know and and things like that or take selfies, but the stories are just so much more important than the ones that we just get entertained by every day. These are life-changing stories and Hosea is one of those stories. Now, by some theologians, they label him as minor prophet, because there's the major prophets of the Old Testament and there's those that consider the minor prophets. But in my mind, in Kara's quote-unquote theology, he was not a minor prophet at all because his message was just so so, so important message was just so, so, so important and relative. His story, his hashtag story, is very important and relevant to us today. But before we get started, I just want to say hi and welcome to all of our loyal listeners. I just want to give a shout out to Germany, nepal, netherlands, chile, canada, singapore you guys have been so faithful and thank you guys for always tuning in as well as Nevada, florida, michigan, pennsylvania, indiana and so many other states and cities in between. But Texas, thank you. Last week you were at the top of our list, so we just want to say thank you for being there and for listening, and for all of our listeners that are in the Texas, dallas, texas area. There's also New York and Alabama is new. So welcome Alabama. And there's California and Maine and New York and Alabama is new. So welcome Alabama. And there's California and Maine and New York. So good morning, good morning, good morning and thank you all for tuning in and listening, thank you to all of our new listeners, thank you to all of our loyal listeners that have been with us for the past couple of seasons, and we just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you with God. Just share it with them and that would do. That will be such a blessing to us as a podcast because it helps us in the algorithms of wherever you're on a podcast listening platform. It helps us in the algorithm. So when someone types in those keywords like I need inspiration or joy or encouragement or something like that, the Nututrilo podcast gets moved up the list. With you know, the more shares, the more likes, the more downloads, the more subscribes. So if you guys continue to keep doing that, we will be so thankful. And again, we just thank you again for joining us this week. Wow.
Speaker 1:Well, let's get into the prophet Hosea, his story, his book, written by him according to some theologians, but no one's really sure In the book of Hosea in the Old Testament. I think it's about 14 chapters, but the chapters aren't that long, am I right, sherry? I think so, yeah, yeah, they're fairly. As far as Old Testament chapters go, they're pretty short, they're not that long. But he was a prophet and he was a prophet under King Jeroboam. I hope I am pronouncing that right, excuse me, j-e-r-o-b-o-a-m. I believe it was Jeroboam II, if I'm not mistaken, but don't quote me on that. But he was a prophet during the time of King Jeroboam and he pretty much was now.
Speaker 1:See, during this time, israel had just lost her way. She had just the nation of Israel had just lost her way regarding their relationship with God. That's what I mean by lost their way. And Hosea was there just kind of reminding them like, hey, you guys, not only have you like forgotten or walked away from your relationship with God, but you guys have been doing some pretty bad things. You know, and I'm just warning you guys and letting you know that there's a pretty much a fearful day of retribution coming if you don't turn from your ways. And when he said they were doing some crazy things, they were. But here's one thing I just want to point out really quick. Was that the most interesting thing I found out was that Hosea, the name Hosea, the name Hosea means salvation, right, and I just love that. I had no idea that that is what his name meant, that it meant salvation. And as you go through the story of Hosea as is, you know, possibly written by him you can see why his name is Hosea, because it's pretty much him telling you know them to repent, go back to God and just stop this evil that you're doing.
Speaker 1:And in Hosea 4, chapter 1, I just kind of want to read this a little bit and it kind of talks about why he was saying that you guys need to repent, because not only have you walked away from God, but, oh, my goodness, and it's Hosea 4, verses 1 and 2. And it says Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break out and blood touches blood. These are that's the scriptures of Hosea 4, 1 and 2. But it talks about the sins, the terrible sins that they were committing and that they were taking part in, you know, in all directions pretty much. I mean, they were swearing and lying and killing and stealing and adultery, and they're just breaking out all over the place and blood touches blood.
Speaker 1:It's like so and there was no truth. You know, it's like there's no truth, like, oh my goodness, I just I can't imagine living in that type of world. So you know where there's just no truth. Everybody is lying, everybody is sus, so to speak, because you don't know if they're telling the truth or not. Because everybody's lying, you know, and no one is showing anyone any type of mercy, nor and the knowledge of God in the we complain about our nation today. But, oh my gosh, when we read some of the things that were going on in the Old Testament, you know, it's just, it's just very hard to see how, comparing, like, oh my goodness, the country is just falling apart when you see what was going on in the Old Testament days and those type of biblical days. And so it's like, at least now, at least now I know right, and this day and time there are people who I can 100%, without a doubt, at least get the truth from that. They are not going to lie to me and they're not going to try to kill me and, if needed, they will show mercy, right, but this is a time where they've done away with all of that, but they're woke with the Lord and they've done away with all of that.
Speaker 1:And God and Hosea God is talking to Hosea and he's prophesying like hey guys, we, you, we got it. We need to, we need to get ourselves together, we need to find our way back to the Lord, like cause. There is a day of retribution coming if we don't. And but during all of this, god tells Hosea I want you to go get a wife, um, but I'm going to tell you who, who I want you to marry. And he, pretty much in the King James version Version, uses the words pick a wife of whoredom, you know, and things like that. And so he has to, you know, get this wife. But that whole entire relationship for those of you who are familiar with Hosea, and the wife he chose was Gomer G-O-M-E-R is that everyone knows that that represents God's relationship with Israel. So I still find it very interesting that his name means salvation and because she was a wife of Hordom again, I'm just using the King James Version of that word, the word that they use.
Speaker 1:She kept going back back. You know, at this time Israel was being controlled by the Assyrians and she just kept going back to them and their idols and their men. And no matter how much Hosea loved her or tried her to get away from that and everything else, she just kept going back. She just kept going back. No matter how good he was to her, she kept going back after her other loves. Okay, and it just doesn't mean man, it meant to that way of life. And yet God's like you know what, I'm going to love you regardless. And God was like you know what, israel, I am going to love you regardless. And this is why I'm sending Hosea, the prophet, to let you guys know. But there's going to be consequences if you guys keep down this road.
Speaker 1:But God kept pursuing them, and pursuing them because that is who we serve. We serve a God of mercy and love and kindness and faithfulness. And how does that relate to us today? Oh, how could it not? How does that relate to us today? Oh, how could me? Has God hardened my heart? Has God just written me off and he's given me up to all of my sins that I keep going back to? And the answer is no, because, just like in a book of Hosea, how he just kept going back, now he warned them what would happen if they kept on that road, but he pursued them regardless because of His love and His faithfulness and His kindness to them. He's always ready, ready to forgive, and I believe it was in Hosea 14.4.
Speaker 1:And I just want to pull that up right quick because I don't want to misquote it, where he talks about restoration and he says so despite everything that they've been doing, they've been lying through their teeth. No one's telling the truth to each other. There's killing. There's blood upon blood. There's stealing, there's robbery. No one is showing anybody any mercy. That's if you know they offended someone Like you were gone, you were dead. You know you were killed. It could have been such a slight Like you looked at them the wrong way, right, there was just no mercy.
Speaker 1:And despite all of that and Hosea 14, he says I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely. For my anger is turned away from him and it talks about when you come back to me, all of this I'll restore you, I'll restore everything. And why? Why? Because I love you and I want you to come back. I know you did all those horrible things, but it's not too late. My arms are open and I want you to come back.
Speaker 1:And so if you are struggling with anything right now and the enemy is just telling you, oh, you've done it. Now Maybe God would have forgiven you if you would have, you know, turned away six months ago. But now, oh my gosh, now you got this person involved in that person and you're just living such a life of degradation there is no way why even pray, because you're living in such a pit of sin right now God's not even going to hear you. You're living in such a pit of sin right now God's not even going to hear you. Call out to God anyway, because he has open arms and, just like the book of Hosea in the Old Testament, tell us he is willing, willing, hoping that you will come back, that you will repent and that you will come back. What?
Speaker 2:would you like to add to all of that, Sherry? Well, first off, when I think about the prophets of the Old Testament, I think you know, even today there's prophets today, and people always are like oh, I'm a prophet, oh, he's a prophet, and I 100% agree that they need to be held in high esteem because they are people that God has called. But man, what a calling Like. I thought being a pastor was hard. Not that I am one. I, my dad was a pastor, so sorry there's my point of reference.
Speaker 2:Um, but my dad was one, and and I think being a pastor is incredibly difficult, but I can't think of very many prophets in the old Testament that had good news for people, that. But in the same token, having said that, you had to be a very strong person with a very strong personality, that had courage, that could speak the truth and love and not be swayed by other people. So to be a prophet not only was a high calling, but it was I think it was a calling that well I know it was a calling that was not taken lightly, but it was also a calling that God you know, really valued.
Speaker 2:He only gave it to people who he knew could do the job, but what love God has for his people that he would be willing and that he would relentlessly give the message of warning to his people to turn back. I know that the Israelite people like what, what a picture we we are them.
Speaker 2:We are so fickle as that, we can't stay. We can't. Okay, there there are. There are exceptions to this. There are people who leave a bit, live a very disciplined life, who are very good at, you know, crossing their T's and dotting their I's and making sure that they do everything that they need to, but the majority of people have a really hard time sticking with something and seeing it through to the end.
Speaker 2:And when temptation comes, or when you know just life itself comes and you throw up your hands and you say forget it and wow, like I can't wait until the new earth and the new heaven and we don't have to deal with sin anymore, and going back and forth, and back and forth. I think I mentioned this before, maybe I didn't, but I want to. I make my prayer every day, creating me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. If there's anything that is not of you, that's in, you get it out, because I don't want to do that. I think about David and I think about how he started off strong and then he had some issues throughout his life, some really big mistakes, but yet, god, still, he came back to God with a repentant heart and God forgave him there were consequences, but God forgave him.
Speaker 2:And then I look at the story of Gomer and Hosea, at the story of Gomer and Hosea and, um, I mean, I know that that I think we can't talk about them today without talking about the elephant in the room and that is um. Francis Rivers wrote an amazing book called redeeming love. That was um fictionally based off of, um, the book of Hosea. Beautiful, beautiful beautiful story.
Speaker 2:There was a movie that came out last year 2023 um, depending on when you're listening to this podcast, it came out in 2023. Amazing movie also. Um, so like. It gives you that picture of just how much god loves us, and just how much God loves us and just how far he's willing to go to to keep calling us back, and it's so beautiful. And then, um, hosea I would want to make sure I have the name right. Hosea is um, depicts Christ's love, and he kept going back and going back and going back, until he finally came to the point where he was like you need to come of your own volition, because me pursuing you and dragging you back isn't, isn't real love.
Speaker 2:And then that reminds me of the story in the New Testament of the prodigal son that we'll be talking about later this year. I mean, first off, all of these historical events. I hate calling them stories, even though they are, but they're true life, they're historical events and all of them interconnect. All of them. Of them interconnect all of them. Like, if you sit, maybe maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm absolutely loving this year, kara and the podcast that we're doing, because it's showing the big picture of the bible. And the big picture is is that god loves us so much and it's a love story from genesis to revelation. It shows his love in the various different forms time and time again and it's just absolutely beautiful. And Hosea is a book that just screams God's love.
Speaker 1:It does and it just screams God's love. And also that you haven't went too far, right, you haven't went too far, right. You know that you don't have to believe the lies of the enemy, that you haven't gone too far, that you can, if you truly, truly just want out of the situation and you're done and you can call out to God for help. You know, and you could just be like God help me, god help me. I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I started down this road. I thought I could control it, I thought I had it, I thought I could manage it. Well, I thought that I could do it and it wouldn't take over my life. But it has the situation I've found myself in, or the lying that I've been doing. And because we all know like with lying, it gets to a point to where you just have to create another lie to cover the lie you just told, right, because it becomes a big, huge web of lies and deceit. And when people question you, and if you don't keep your lies straight, then that makes it even worse. So, and who wants to live like that? And there are so many different psychological reasons why they say people are just they just continue to lie, and even sometimes, when they don't have to, they just have a lying tongue and they say there's so many reasons behind it, psychologically. I believe there are so many terms for it. One of them is pathological liar. It's like you just lie, you just lie, you have no reason for lying, but it's just become your way of dealing with things. And there are those who lie for a very good reason right, but it doesn't even matter. If the reason is a good reason, like you don't want to hurt someone's feelings or you're trying to spur them pain, it's still a lie and our culture likes to say well, that was a white lie, it wasn't like a real lie. A lie is a lie is a lie. And it's so easy to just find yourself and I'm just using this as one of the examples that Hosea was talking about with them in chapter four. But it gets to that point, to where you find yourself doing it and then you have to keep doing it and it's just one of those things that the Lord can. Definitely you can just cry out to the Lord and be like Lord. I have no idea why, or I do know why I lied and I know why I keep lying, when this person keeps asking me this. But, lord, that's not right. That's not what you want for me as a child of God. Help me fix this situation. Help me get rid of my lying tongue, the lying spirit. That is like taking over, you know, and he will. So don't ever think that if it's something, as you know, like lying, or and it talks about blood upon blood, or you've spilled blood, there's always hope. God loves you so much that he is always saying that there is hope, and that's what I love about the book of Hosea is that.
Speaker 1:And also in the book of Hosea it talks about how they have backslidden. You know, and that is a term that was used much and my growing up in the faith as a child it was. You know, oh, my goodness, that person backslided or you know, have you backslided Like? You know? What have you done? Have you walked away from Christ Pretty much, and things like that, and it was just very much a well-known term when I was growing up. And it talks about that in the book of Hosea, how they have quote, unquote backslided. They have walked backwards from God. You know well, not even walked like it was faster than that. They slid backwards, right so, and then find themselves in all sorts of heaps of trouble. But you just cannot read the book of Hosea without feeling hope for your life, for your future, because it's like, wow, god loved him. Through all of that, there is hope for me. And the truth is, there is hope. There is hope with God, with Christ, there is always hope. Is there anything else you'd like to add, sherry?
Speaker 2:Well, I just want to go or piggyback on that. And just, there are so many people nowadays like Kara was saying. She started out about the book of Hosea, talking about social media and talking about people's stories and so forth, and then she just said that there is hope, and she's so right. There are so many stories of so many people and I know I keep bringing up Paul all the time simply because Paul Paul was a, he was from the Bible, but he was someone who was a murderer and he, I mean, he did despicable things, despicable things. And there are people nowadays, in our culture and in our time, that have done things that are really, really bad and yet God has rescued them and they have such a testimony and such a story to tell, and people always say that you know you can speak as much as you want to, but actions speak louder than words.
Speaker 2:And if you sit and watch these people who have these incredible testimonies and you look at their lives, you'll see that God really has changed them, Um, and that that he is using them for good Um. Does it mean that their life is absolutely perfect? No, not necessarily. Look at Hosea's life His life wasn't perfect. He had to keep chasing after a woman who, pretty much, was telling him, in every way, shape or form she could, that she didn't want to be with him.
Speaker 2:Um and God's like but wait a minute. God said I had to marry you, so so what's up with this? This is not very fun, but he did it anyway. He was faithful, and so so I, like Kara said, I just want to offer that hope that that there's nothing that you have done.
Speaker 2:We like to have a saying in our house and this is just humans. So think about 10 times as much what it is as God is saying to us, to you, because God is perfect. But we always love to say it to our kids, and it's true there's nothing you can ever do that will make us love you more, and there's nothing you can ever do that will make us love you less. We just love you for who you are, and God says that so much more, and he says that so much deeper.
Speaker 2:There is nothing that we can do that will stop him from loving us, and there's nothing we can do that will make us love him, that will make us be his favorite, because we're already his favorite. Every single person that he created is his favorite, and that will never, ever change. Whether we accept him or reject him. That won't change. God's love for us is constant, but we are the ones that have to choose, that we are the ones that have to make the decision to live as his children and to accept that love that he's giving us, just like Gomer had to accept the love from Hosea, that he did love her and that he loved her more than the imitation love that she kept for him, because God doesn't want any of us to perish, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:And he? There's no. Well, I mean there's no expiration date when we're on on the earth, but, to be honest with you, none of us know when our last day is, in fact, just yesterday on social media I noticed that one of my children's doctors died on Thursday and I was devastated, to be honest with you, because I had no idea.
Speaker 2:I don't even think that she was sick and she was young. So we just never know, we honestly never know. So, making the decision to be his child number one, when you do it, we're not saying again John 16, 33, in this life you will have trouble and tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. We're not saying it's going to be a life of roses when you accept Jesus into your heart and it may look harder, but honestly I can't imagine doing life without him.
Speaker 2:I can't imagine and I'm so glad I don't have to do life without God, because to me that would be so much harder.
Speaker 2:So I say all that to say today is a great day to. If you are on the fence or if you have thought about becoming a child of God, if you've thought about having a relationship with him and you didn't know where to start or you didn't know how to do it, I'm going to pray a prayer, and all you have to do is pray it after me or with me, and believe it in your heart, pray it with a sincere heart, and the Bible tells us that we will be saved. So if this is something that you want to do, if you want to become a child of God today and you don't want to wait, then pray this prayer with us. Oh Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus' name. I believe you died on the cross and that you rose again and you're seated on the throne. Jesus, forgive me for all that I have done wrong and I choose to forgive all others. Come into my life today and forever. I am yours In Jesus' name amen.
Speaker 2:If that's something that you did. Right now we want to say welcome to the family. Also, we would love it if you would email us at cheeruppodcastgmailcom and let us know about your decision. Or if you'd rather go to on the Facebook page to cheer up podcast, write it in there and we can all celebrate together with you as a community. We are so grateful Facebook page to Cheer Up Podcast. Write it in there and we can all celebrate together with you as a community. We are so grateful and so happy for you to be able to start your life with God today.
Speaker 2:If you have any other questions or anything that you want to talk about again, feel free to email us at cheeruppodcast at gmailcom. You can also head over to our website, carrahuntcom and sherryswalwellcom, and you can see the different things that we have over there. In addition, we talked about the Facebook Cheer Up podcast, where we have a community of people that get together and interact and other than that, I can't believe that we're done with the New Testament or the Old Testament, kara, and that next week we'll be starting the New Testament as we jump into July. I also cannot believe that next week is the 4th of July already. I am ready for summer to slow down just a little bit. Just a little bit. Other than that, we hope that you have a great rest of your day today and a great week, and we will talk to you next week.
Speaker 1:Hi, cheerers and all of Cheer Nation, we just want to thank you so much for listening for the past couple of months as we discussed biblical figures in the Old Testament, and we're just so glad that you joined us and, oh my gosh, you guys. Support has been awesome and we are going to do the New Testament, but we're not going to start until the New Testament. Until this fall, we have a treat for you guys for the next couple of weeks and it's going to be the Screwtape Letters based on the book by CS Lewis. We are going to do encore episodes of those for the next couple of weeks and then we're going to rejoin this fall and we're going to pick back up with the New Testament. Isn't that exciting, sherri.
Speaker 2:It is super exciting, and you know what, tara, and you know what all of Cheer Nation you might be sitting here thinking, but I've already listened to that. You know what. That's okay. How many times do we read the Bible and God speaks to us differently? Now I'm not saying CS Lewis is the Bible, but I am saying that God can speak to us in a multitude of different ways. The world has changed. We have changed. We're in a different season as we're listening to it this time. So I want to encourage you all to listen to it again and to ask the Holy Spirit what is it that you want to teach me from the screw tape this time? Because I know for me, I have to reread things more than once in order to fully grasp it, whether it's the Bible or whether it's a novel. So we're encouraging you to listen to the screw tape letters again through the encore presentation and see what God wants to speak to you about it this time.
Speaker 1:Yes, and especially with the current times that we are in, sometimes we're like Lord, what is going on? None of this seems to make any sense. But then we realize that there's a spiritual realm that we are dealing with and sometimes we just need to be a little bit more knowledgeable about the enemy and the assignment that he has tried to put against us. And the screw tape letters and the book and the letters as we discussed them in episodes shines a lot of light on there. So it's very, very exciting.
Speaker 1:It was one of our highest rated podcast episodes ever and we're just going to do those for the next couple of weeks, simply because of the times we're in and the way things just seem so chaotic, and if they're chaotic in a world, chances are they may be overflowing that into our lives, and so just getting back into that and then just getting grounded back spiritually and realizing what's really going on in the spiritual realm will be able to help us a lot.
Speaker 1:So we just thank you, guys, we're so excited will be able to help us a lot. So we just thank you, guys, we're so excited and we can't wait to pick back up in the fall with the New Testament and we will keep you updated. Thank you all so much and thank you for continuing to tune in. And, by the way, if you have any questions about any of the biblical figures we did in the Old Testament or any questions about the screw tape letters, if you're like, wow, you guys mentioned this and like, are demons real and all this other stuff, email us cheeruppodcasts at gmailcom and we are active on that and we will get back to you. So, thank you so much and we hope you guys enjoy Anything else, sherry.
Speaker 2:Nope, I just wanted to say I'm super excited and, yeah, I can't wait. Consider this a cleansing of our palate between the Old Testament and the New Testament, giving us a chance to really absorb the Old Testament and the lessons that we learned before we dive into the New Testament Absolutely before we dive into the New Testament.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and also because the screw tape letters fall right into the mission statement of the Trail Podcast. In this world we will have trial and tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world and wow. The screw tape letters and the fight between good and evil and the things that are going on in the spiritual world compared to what's going on in our world now, whether it be nationally, globally or even in our own homes, is just a perfect example that God has indeed overcome the world. Thank you.
