My first installment through the book of Hosea, Spiritual Adultery, is online. At the beginning of the sermon, I quote from Ray Ortlund Jr.’s book, God’s Unfaithful Wife:
The harlotry of Israel and the jealousy of Yahweh exploded in crisis in the 8th century BC. During the northern kingdom’s autumn of prosperity and then their final spams of self-destruction, the prophet Hosea was called to alert the people to the true reason for their national decline. It was not ultimately a failure of political manoeuvering, military power or financial resources. The explanation lay deep within the covenanted people themselves. Israel was an unfaithful wife, sharing her love with both Yahweh and the Baals, and her lawful husband could no longer support her affairs with other lovers through further manifestations of his mercies. (p.47)
Sounds like the American church, doesn’t it?