💍 Mifano ya Biblia — Sehemu ya 6: Mke Asiye Mwaminifu — Msamaha Usiosameheka💍 Parables of the Bible — Unit 6: The Unfaithful Wife — Unforgivable Forgiveness

UtanguliziOrientation

Mambo mengine yanaonekana kuwa hayasameheki. Jeffrey Dahmer aliwaua angalau vijana na wavulana kumi na saba nchini Marekani kati ya mwaka 1978 na 1991. Baada ya kutiwa hatiani na kuhukumiwa vifungo kumi na sita vya maisha, alidai kwamba ametubu na akabatizwa gerezani. Watu wengi bado wanaona karibu haiwezekani kufikiria kwamba mtu wa namna hiyo angeweza kusamehewa. Jina lake linabaki kuwa mojawapo ya majina yasiyosameheka zaidi katika historia ya Marekani.Some things seem unforgivable. Jeffrey Dahmer murdered at least seventeen young men and boys in the United States between 1978 and 1991. After he was convicted and sentenced to sixteen life terms, he claimed to have repented and was baptized in prison. Many people still find it almost impossible to imagine that such a man could be forgiven. His name remains one of the most unforgivable in American history.

Kitabu cha Hosea kinahusu tendo jingine linaloonekana kutosameheka: mwanamke aliyemwacha mumewe na watoto wake ili kurudi katika ukahaba. Ndoa ya Hosea ni mfano wa kutendwa, kama ziara ya Yeremia katika nyumba ya mfinyanzi katika Sehemu ya 3, isipokuwa Hosea hakuyatazama mahubiri haya; aliyaishi kwa miaka mingi. Na ni kielelezo kikuu cha Biblia cha kile tunachoweza kukiita msamaha usiosameheka: msamaha wa kile kinachoonekana kuwa haiwezekani kukisamehe. Hosea alimsamehe Gomeri. Mungu aliisamehe Israeli. Na Mungu bado husamehe yasiyosameheka ndani yetu.The book of Hosea is about another seemingly unforgivable act: a woman who left her husband and children to go back to prostitution. Hosea's marriage is an enacted parable, like Jeremiah's visit to the potter's house in Unit 3, except that Hosea did not watch this sermon; he lived it for years. And it is the Bible's great example of what we may call unforgivable forgiveness: the forgiveness of what seems impossible to forgive. Hosea forgave Gomer. God forgave Israel. And God still forgives the unforgivable in us.

I. MazingiraI. The Setting

Hosea alikuwa nabii wa karne ya nane katika ufalme wa kaskazini wa Israeli, mdogo kwa umri kuliko Amosi (Sehemu ya 4) lakini wa wakati mmoja naye. Alianza kuhubiri wakati wa miaka ya mwisho ya ustawi ya Yeroboamu II na akaendelea katika vurugu zilizofuata, wakati wafalme waliuawa mmoja baada ya mwingine na taifa likakimbilia kuangamizwa kwake na Ashuru mwaka 722 K.K. (Hosea 1:1).Hosea was an eighth-century prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel, a younger contemporary of Amos (Unit 4). He began to preach during the prosperous last years of Jeroboam II and continued through the chaos that followed, when kings were murdered one after another and the nation raced toward its destruction by Assyria in 722 BC (Hosea 1:1).

Dhambi kuu ya Israeli haikuwa kwamba walimwacha BWANA kabisa, bali kwamba walimtaka BWANA na Baali pia. Hilo linasikika kama kuwa na mawazo mapana sana; walitaka kuwa wazi kwa dini zote. Baali alikuwa mungu wa dhoruba wa Wakanaani, aliyeaminiwa kuleta mvua iliyoyaotesha mazao. Kwa hiyo Israeli walimwabudu BWANA wakati wa sikukuu na Baali mashambani, wakimpa Baali sifa kwa ajili ya mavuno. Lalamiko la Mungu linavunja moyo: "Kwa maana hakujua ya kuwa ni mimi niliyempa ngano, na divai, na mafuta, nikamwongezea fedha na dhahabu, walizozitumia kwa Baali" (Hosea 2:8). Israeli walimtendea Mungu kama mke asiye mwaminifu anavyomtendea mume mwaminifu.Israel's great sin was not that it abandoned the LORD completely, but that it wanted the LORD and Baal too. That sounds very open-minded; they wanted to be open to all religions. Baal was the Canaanite storm god, believed to send the rain that made crops grow. So Israel worshiped the LORD at the festivals and Baal in the fields, giving Baal credit for the harvest. God's complaint is heartbreaking: "She did not know that I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal" (Hosea 2:8). Israel treated God the way an unfaithful wife treats a faithful husband.

II. Ndoa Iliyogeuka kuwa Ujumbe (Hosea 1:2–9)II. A Marriage That Became a Message (Hosea 1:2–9)

Mungu alimpa Hosea agizo la kushangaza: "Enenda, ukajitwalie mke wa uzinzi, na watoto wa uzinzi; kwa maana nchi hii inafanya uzinzi mwingi, kwa kumwacha BWANA" (Hosea 1:2). Hosea alimwoa mwanamke aitwaye Gomeri.God gave Hosea an astonishing command: "Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the LORD" (Hosea 1:2). Hosea married a woman named Gomer.

Wafasiri waaminifu wanalielewa agizo hili kwa njia tofauti, na wanafunzi wanapaswa kujua machaguo hayo. Baadhi wanaamini kwamba Gomeri tayari alikuwa kahaba Hosea alipomwoa; labda alimpenda na kutumaini kwamba angebadilika, na imani yake ya juu juu ikarudia upesi tabia zake za zamani. Wengine wanaamini kwamba mwanzoni alikuwa mwaminifu na kwamba maneno "mke wa uzinzi" yanaeleza kile alichokuja kuwa, kwa kuwa Hosea aliandika kitabu akitazama nyuma. Wachache wameisoma hadithi hii kama maono au mfano wa kistiari, ingawa wafasiri wengi wa Kiinjili wanaichukua kuwa matukio halisi katika ndoa halisi. Kwa usomaji wowote, kiini cha mfano ni kile kile: upendo wa Hosea kwa mke asiye mwaminifu unaonyesha upendo wa Mungu kwa Israeli asiye mwaminifu.Faithful interpreters understand this command in different ways, and students should know the options. Some believe Gomer was already a prostitute when Hosea married her; perhaps he loved her and hoped she would change, and her superficial faith soon gave way to her old habits. Others believe she was faithful at first and the phrase "wife of harlotry" describes what she became, since Hosea wrote the book looking back. A few have read the story as a vision or an allegory, though most evangelical interpreters take it as real events in a real marriage. On every reading, the heart of the parable is the same: Hosea's love for an unfaithful wife pictures God's love for unfaithful Israel.

Wanandoa hao walipata watoto watatu, na majina yao yanasimulia msiba huo. Mwana wa kwanza aliitwa Yezreeli, "Mungu hupanda" au "Mungu hutawanya," akiitwa kwa jina la bonde ambamo Mfalme Yehu alimwaga damu, na akitangaza kwamba Mungu angelitawanya taifa (1:4–5). Wa pili, binti, aliitwa Lo-ruhama, "hakuna rehema" au "asiyehurumiwa" (1:6). Wa tatu, mwana, aliitwa Lo-ami, "si watu wangu" (1:9). Wasomaji wengi wanaona kwamba maandiko yanasema Gomeri "akamzalia yeye mwana" mara ya kwanza, lakini hayasemi "yeye" kwa mtoto wa pili na wa tatu. Huenda Hosea alitambua kwamba yeye hakuwa baba yao. Wakati huo alijua kwamba alikuwa akishiriki nyumba yake na mke aliyekuwa akilala na wanaume wengine.The couple had three children, and their names tell the tragedy. The first son was Jezreel, "God sows" or "God scatters," named for the valley where King Jehu had shed blood, and announcing that God would scatter the nation (1:4–5). The second, a daughter, was Lo-Ruhamah, "no mercy" or "not pitied" (1:6). The third, a son, was Lo-Ammi, "not My people" (1:9). Many readers notice that the text says Gomer "bore him a son" the first time, but does not say "him" for the second and third children. Hosea may have realized that he was not their father. By this time he knew he was sharing his home with a wife who was sleeping with other men.

III. Uchungu wa Upendo wa Upande MmojaIII. The Pain of a One-Way Love

Mwishowe Gomeri aliondoka. Siku moja Hosea alirudi nyumbani akawakuta watoto watatu wasio na mtu wa kuwaangalia. Alikuwa amerudi katika maisha yake ya ukahaba, inaonekana akifurahia fedha na kuangaliwa. Katika sura ya 2 watoto wanaitwa wamsihi mama yao arudi nyumbani, lakini hata hilo halikutosha. Hakuwa mwaminifu kwa mumewe, kwa Mungu, wala kwa watoto wake. Hakuwa na mpenzi mmoja bali wengi.Finally Gomer left. Hosea came home one day to three unsupervised children. She had gone back to her life as a prostitute, apparently enjoying the money and the attention. In chapter 2 the children are called to plead with their mother to come home, but even that was not enough. She was unfaithful to her husband, to God, and to her children. She did not have one lover but many.

Ni vigumu kuwa katika uhusiano wa upande mmoja. Wengi wetu hupitia hali hiyo wakati fulani tukiwa vijana. Nilipokuwa shule ya sekondari kulikuwa na msichana aitwaye Sharon katika kikundi cha vijana cha kanisa letu. Alikuwa mrembo na mwerevu, na tulifanya mambo mengi pamoja. Nilianza kumpenda, lakini kwa wazi upendo huo ulikuwa wa upande mmoja. Siku moja alinijia kwa furaha kuniambia kuhusu kijana aliyekuwa amempenda. Ilinibidi kukaa pale na kujifanya kwamba hiyo ni habari njema. Alitaka kuwa rafiki yangu, wakati jambo la mwisho nililohitaji lilikuwa rafiki mwingine. Hiyo ilikuwa ladha ndogo ya upendo usiorudishwa. Hosea alikinywa kikombe kizima, na ndivyo anavyofanya Mungu. Kila mara tunapotoa mioyo yetu kwa kitu kingine, tunamtendea Mungu anayetupenda kama Gomeri alivyomtendea Hosea.It is hard being in a one-way relationship. Most of us go through that at some point as teenagers. When I was in high school there was a girl named Sharon in our church youth group. She was cute and smart, and we did a lot of things together. I developed a crush on her, but it was evidently one-way. One day she came to me excitedly to tell me about a boy she had fallen for. I had to sit there and pretend it was great news. She wanted to be my friend, when the last thing I needed was another friend. That was a small taste of unrequited love. Hosea drank the whole cup, and so does God. Every time we give our hearts to something else, we treat the God who loves us the way Gomer treated Hosea.

Dhambi pia ina matokeo. "Kwa maana wanapanda upepo, nao watavuna tufani" (Hosea 8:7). Gomeri alipata alichokuwa akikitafuta, lakini uzuri wake ulififia, na maisha yake ya uzinzi mwishowe yalimpeleka utumwani.Sin also has consequences. "They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7). Gomer got what she was looking for, but her beauty faded, and her life of adultery led her at last into slavery.

IV. Mpango wa Mungu wa Kumrudisha (Hosea 2)IV. God's Plan to Win Her Back (Hosea 2)

Sura ya 2 inaanza kama mahakama ya talaka: "Yeye si mke wangu, wala mimi si mumewe" (2:2). Mungu anatishia kuondoa zawadi ambazo Israeli walimpa Baali sifa kwa ajili yake. Lakini katikati ya hukumu sauti inabadilika. "Basi, angalia, nitamshawishi, na kumleta jangwani, na kusema naye maneno ya kumtuliza moyo" (2:14). Bonde la Akori, "bonde la taabu" ambamo Akani aliiletea Israeli maafa (Yoshua 7), lingekuwa "mlango wa matumaini" (2:15).Chapter 2 begins like a divorce court: "She is not My wife, nor am I her husband!" (2:2). God threatens to strip away the gifts Israel credited to Baal. But in the middle of the judgment the tone changes. "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her" (2:14). The Valley of Achor, the "valley of trouble" where Achan had brought disaster on Israel (Joshua 7), would become "a door of hope" (2:15).

Kisha inakuja harusi mpya: "Nami nitakuposa uwe wangu milele; naam, nitakuposa uwe wangu katika haki, na katika hukumu, na katika fadhili, na katika rehema. Naam, nitakuposa uwe wangu katika uaminifu; nawe utamjua BWANA" (2:19–20). Na majina ya watoto yanageuzwa. "Nami nitamrehemu yeye asiyepata rehema; nami nitawaambia wao wasiokuwa watu wangu, Ninyi ni watu wangu; nao watasema, Wewe ndiwe Mungu wangu" (2:23). Paulo na Petro wote wawili wanainukuu ahadi hii kueleza jinsi Mungu alivyowaleta Mataifa ndani ya watu wake kupitia Kristo (Warumi 9:25–26; 1 Petro 2:10). "Si watu wangu" wanakuwa "watu wangu." Huo ndio msamaha usiosameheka.Then comes a new wedding: "I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD" (2:19–20). And the children's names are reversed. "I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!'" (2:23). Paul and Peter both quote this promise to describe how God brought the Gentiles into His people through Christ (Romans 9:25–26; 1 Peter 2:10). "Not My people" becomes "My people." That is unforgivable forgiveness.

V. "Enenda Tena, Mpende Mwanamke Huyu" (Hosea 3)V. "Go Again, Love This Woman" (Hosea 3)

Ungetarajia Mungu aseme, "Hosea, umefanya yote unayoweza. Mwache aende. Ametandika kitanda chake; sasa na alale juu yake." Badala yake Mungu anasema, "Enenda tena, mpende mwanamke apendwaye na rafiki yake, naye ni mzinzi, vile vile kama BWANA awapendavyo wana wa Israeli, ingawa wanaigeukia miungu mingine" (3:1).You might expect God to say, "Hosea, you have done all you can. Let her go. She made her bed; now let her lie in it." Instead God says, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel, who look to other gods" (3:1).

Jaribu kufikiria mshtuko ambao agizo hilo liliuleta moyoni mwa Hosea. Kwa upande wa binafsi, je, ajiweke tena mahali pa kuumizwa na kuaibishwa? Kwa upande wa kidini, akiwa msemaji wa Mungu, angewezaje kugeuza hukumu yake ya haki juu ya mwanamke aliyesimama kwa ajili ya dhambi ya Israeli? Lilipingana na kila kitu ambacho angeweza kutarajia Mungu kudai. Hata hivyo alitii.Try to imagine the shock that command sent through Hosea's heart. On a personal level, should he set himself up to be hurt and humiliated again? On a religious level, as God's spokesman, how could he reverse his just condemnation of a woman who stood for Israel's sin? It went against everything he might have expected God to require. Yet he obeyed.

Vyanzo vya kihistoria vinatuambia kwamba masoko ya watumwa katika ulimwengu wa kale yalikuwa mahali pa ukatili ambapo wanadamu walitendewa kama mifugo. Wakati Gomeri alipouzwa, hakuwa tena yule mwanamke mrembo ambaye Hosea alimwoa. Hosea aliingia katika mnada: "Basi nikamnunua kwa vipande kumi na vitano vya fedha, na homeri moja ya shayiri, na nusu ya homeri ya shayiri" (3:2). Kutoka 21:32 inaweka shekeli thelathini kuwa thamani ya mtumwa. Hosea alilipa nusu yake kwa fedha na kukamilisha iliyobaki kwa shayiri, bei duni inayoonyesha jinsi dhambi ilivyokuwa imemshusha chini. Kisha akasema, "Utakaa nami siku nyingi; hutafanya mambo ya kikahaba... nami nitakuwa vivyo hivyo kwako" (3:3). Alikuwa amekombolewa tena na mume wake mwenyewe.Historical sources tell us that slave markets in the ancient world were brutal places where human beings were treated like livestock. By the time Gomer was sold, she was no longer the beautiful woman Hosea had married. Hosea entered the bidding: "So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley" (3:2). Exodus 21:32 sets thirty shekels as the value of a slave. Hosea paid half of it in silver and made up the rest in barley, a humble price that shows how far sin had brought her down. And then he said, "You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot... so, too, will I be toward you" (3:3). She had been reclaimed by her own husband.

Hadithi ya Hosea ni kama mfano wa mwana mpotevu, lakini kwa tofauti moja ya kushangaza. Mwana mpotevu "alipozingatia moyoni" na akaanza safari ya kurudi nyumbani kabla baba yake hajakimbia kumlaki. Katika Hosea 3 hakuna kutajwa kwa Gomeri kutubu kwanza. Maandiko yanasema tu kwamba Hosea alimpenda tena akaenda akamnunua. Neema ilikwenda kumtafuta. "Bali Mungu aonyesha pendo lake kwetu sisi, kwa kuwa Kristo alikufa kwa ajili yetu, tulipokuwa tungali wenye dhambi" (Warumi 5:8).Hosea's story is like the parable of the prodigal son, but with one striking difference. The prodigal "came to himself" and started home before his father ran to meet him. In Hosea 3 there is no mention of Gomer repenting first. The text simply says Hosea loved her again and went and bought her. Grace went looking for her. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

VI. Aina Tatu za Msamaha UsiosamehekaVI. Three Kinds of Unforgivable Forgiveness

1. Msamaha usiosameheka wa Israeli. Kitabu cha Hosea ni hadithi ya upendo wa Mungu usiokoma kwa watu ambao mioyo yao ilikuwa imetangatanga mbali naye. Mungu analia, "Efraimu, nitakuachaje? Israeli, nitakutupaje?... Moyo wangu umegeuka ndani yangu" (11:8). Na sura ya mwisho inaahidi, "Nitaponya kurudi nyuma kwao, nitawapenda kwa ukarimu; kwa maana hasira yangu imemwacha" (14:4). Israeli walikuwa wamebarikiwa kwa mavuno mengi, lakini badala ya kuwavuta watu warudi kwenye agano lao, ustawi uliwafanya wamsahau Mtoaji. Hata hivyo Mungu hakukubali kuwaacha.1. The unforgivable forgiveness of Israel. Hosea's book is the story of God's undying love for a people whose hearts had wandered far from Him. God cries, "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?... My heart churns within Me" (11:8). And the last chapter promises, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him" (14:4). Israel had been blessed with rich harvests, but instead of drawing the people back to their covenant, prosperity made them forget the Giver. Yet God would not let them go.

2. Msamaha usiosameheka wetu sisi. Dhambi ni uzinzi wa kiroho. Kama Gomeri, kama Israeli, na kama sisi, chochote kinachochukua nafasi ya Mungu mioyoni mwetu ni kukosa uaminifu kwake. Neno "kurudi nyuma" lina maana ya kugeuka nyuma au kugeuka mbali, na mara chache hutokea ghafla. Kuoza kiroho ni mchakato wa polepole. Wakati fulani uliopita nilikuwa nikiendesha gari kurudi nyumbani kutoka Tylertown kwenye barabara niliyoijua vizuri. Siku zote mimi hugeuka kwenye nyumba yenye kinu kikubwa cha upepo. Siku hiyo nilikuwa nikifikiria jambo jingine, nikapita moja kwa moja mahali pa kugeuka. Baada ya muda kila kitu kilionekana kigeni. Nilipofika kwenye makutano ya barabara nne ambayo nilijua hayapaswi kuwa pale, nilitambua kwamba nilikuwa mbali sana kwenye Barabara ya Johnny Martin. Lakini hata baada ya kupotoka huko, niliweza kupata njia ya moja kwa moja kurudi nyumbani. Tunaanza katika mwelekeo sahihi na kwa namna fulani tunapotoshwa. Habari njema ni kwamba hatupaswi kubaki tukiwa tumepotoka. "Tukiziungama dhambi zetu, Yeye ni mwaminifu na wa haki hata atuondolee dhambi zetu, na kutusafisha na udhalimu wote" (1 Yohana 1:9). Kijana mmoja mtendaji aliwahi kumuuliza rais wa benki ambaye angechukua nafasi yake, "Mafanikio yako unayahusisha na nini?" "Maneno mawili," rais alisema: "maamuzi mazuri." "Lakini ulijifunzaje kufanya maamuzi mazuri?" "Maneno mawili: maamuzi mabaya." Kushindwa si mwisho tukimrudia Bwana. Mungu huadibisha, lakini lengo lake la mwisho ni kurejesha, kama kubadilishwa kwa majina ya watoto wa Hosea kunavyoonyesha.2. The unforgivable forgiveness of us. Sin is spiritual adultery. Like Gomer, like Israel, and like us, anything that takes God's place in our hearts is unfaithfulness to Him. The word "backslide" means to turn back or turn away, and it seldom happens suddenly. Spiritual decay is a gradual process. Some time ago I was driving home from Tylertown along a road I knew well. I always turn at the house with the big windmill. That day I was thinking about something else, and I drove right past my turn. After a while everything looked strange. When I came to a four-way intersection I knew should not be there, I realized I was far down the Johnny Martin Road. But even after that detour, I was able to find my way straight home. We start out in the right direction and somehow get sidetracked. The good news is that we do not have to stay sidetracked. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). A young executive once asked the bank president he was replacing, "To what do you attribute your success?" "Two words," the president said: "good decisions." "But how did you learn to make good decisions?" "Two words: bad decisions." Failure is not final if we return to the Lord. God disciplines, but His ultimate aim is restoration, as the renaming of Hosea's children shows.

3. Msamaha usiosameheka wa wengine. Petro alimuuliza Yesu kama angemsamehe ndugu mara saba, na Yesu akajibu, "hata saba mara sabini" (Mathayo 18:22). Vipi kuhusu mtu aliyekusaliti, aliyekusingizia uongo, au aliyekuibia? Je, hilo halisameheki? Tunaweza kusamehe tu kwa aina ile ile ya upendo ambao Mungu anatupenda nao. Yesu aliomba kutoka msalabani, "Baba, uwasamehe, kwa kuwa hawajui watendalo" (Luka 23:34), na Stefano, alipokuwa akipigwa mawe, alilia, "Bwana, usiwahesabie dhambi hii" (Matendo 7:60).3. The unforgivable forgiveness of others. Peter asked Jesus whether he should forgive a brother seven times, and Jesus answered, "up to seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22). What about the person who betrayed you, lied about you, or stole from you? Isn't that unforgivable? We can forgive only with the same kind of love by which God loves us. Jesus prayed from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34), and Stephen, as he was stoned, cried, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin" (Acts 7:60).

Kwa miaka ishirini na sita Margot Honecker, mke wa kiongozi wa Kikomunisti wa Ujerumani Mashariki Erich Honecker, aliiongoza Wizara ya Elimu ya taifa hilo. Uwe Holmer alikuwa mchungaji wa Kilutheri huko Lobetal, karibu na Berlin, na mara kwa mara watoto wake walinyimwa nafasi za chuo kikuu, adhabu ya kawaida kwa familia za Kikristo chini ya serikali ile. Ukuta wa Berlin ulipoanguka mwaka 1989, akina Honecker walipoteza mamlaka yao na nyumba yao ya kifahari. Walijikuta bila marafiki, bila pa kwenda, na hakuna hata mmoja wa wenzao wa zamani aliyekubali kuwapokea. Mchungaji Holmer, akikumbuka maneno ya Yesu kuhusu kugeuza shavu la pili, aliwakaribisha waishi na familia yake katika nyumba ya mchungaji. Akina Honecker hawakukiri imani katika Kristo, lakini wakati wa chakula waliikunja mikono yao na kuinamisha vichwa vyao huku familia ya Holmer ikiomba. Huo ndio msamaha usiosameheka.For twenty-six years Margot Honecker, wife of East Germany's Communist leader Erich Honecker, ran the nation's Ministry of Education. Uwe Holmer was a Lutheran pastor at Lobetal, near Berlin, and time after time his children were refused places at the university, a common penalty for Christian families under that government. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the Honeckers lost their power and their luxurious home. They found themselves friendless, with nowhere to go, and none of their old comrades would take them in. Pastor Holmer, remembering Jesus' words about turning the other cheek, invited them to live with his family in the parsonage. The Honeckers did not profess faith in Christ, but at meals they folded their hands and bowed their heads while the Holmer family prayed. That is unforgivable forgiveness.

VII. Rehema, Wala Si SadakaVII. Mercy, Not Sacrifice

Hosea pia anaifichua dini inayoonekana kuwa aminifu kwa nje. "Kwa maana nataka fadhili wala si sadaka; na kumjua Mungu kuliko sadaka za kuteketezwa" (Hosea 6:6). Yesu aliunukuu mstari huu mara mbili kwa viongozi wa dini waliomkosoa kwa kula pamoja na wenye dhambi na kwa kuonyesha rehema siku ya Sabato (Mathayo 9:13; 12:7). Mafarisayo wangemwacha Gomeri jukwaani pa mnada. Yesu alikwenda sokoni akalipa gharama. Kanisa linalomwelewa Hosea halitajulikana kwa jinsi linavyowaweka wenye dhambi mbali kwa uangalifu, bali kwa jinsi linavyowakaribisha nyumbani kwa furaha.Hosea also exposes religion that looks faithful on the outside. "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). Jesus quoted this verse twice to religious leaders who criticized Him for eating with sinners and for showing mercy on the Sabbath (Matthew 9:13; 12:7). The Pharisees would have kept Gomer on the auction block. Jesus went to the market and paid the price. A church that understands Hosea will be known not for how carefully it keeps sinners at a distance, but for how gladly it welcomes them home.

VIII. Kumhubiri HoseaVIII. Preaching Hosea

Mchungaji anaweza kuhubiri Hosea 1–3 chini ya kichwa "Msamaha Usiosameheka," akifuata hoja tatu: msamaha usiosameheka wa Israeli, wetu sisi, na wa wengine. Simulia hadithi ya Gomeri kwanza, pamoja na majina ya watoto na soko la watumwa, ili wasikilizaji wahisi kashfa ya agizo la Mungu la "enenda tena." Kisha geuza kioo: sisi ndio Gomeri. Funga kwa mwaliko wa 1 Yohana 1:9 na changamoto ya kuwasamehe wengine kama sisi tulivyosamehewa. Kuwa mwangalifu na mwenye moyo wa kichungaji ukilitumia andiko hili. Huenda kuna wasikilizaji katika kusanyiko lako waliosalitiwa na mwenzi wa ndoa, na Hosea si agizo kwamba kila mwenzi aliyesalitiwa lazima abaki katika hali ya hatari au ya unyanyasaji. Ni picha ya upendo wa Mungu usiokoma.A pastor can preach Hosea 1–3 under the title "Unforgivable Forgiveness," following three points: the unforgivable forgiveness of Israel, of us, and of others. Tell Gomer's story first, with the children's names and the slave market, so that listeners feel the scandal of God's command to "go again." Then turn the mirror: we are Gomer. Close with the invitation of 1 John 1:9 and the challenge to forgive others as we have been forgiven. Be careful and pastoral with this text. There may be listeners in your congregation who have been betrayed by a spouse, and Hosea is not a command that every betrayed spouse must stay in a dangerous or abusive situation. It is a picture of the relentless love of God.

HitimishoClosing

Mwinjilisti George Whitefield alikuwa na kaka aliyewahi kuwa Mkristo mwenye bidii lakini alikuwa ameanguka mbali na Mungu. Alasiri moja, baada ya kumsikia ndugu yake akihubiri, aliketi kunywa chai na Lady Huntingdon, akashindwa kula, akalalamika kwa uchungu, "Mimi ni mtu aliyepotea." "Nafurahi kusikia hivyo," alisema. Akiwa ameshangaa, alipinga kwamba ni ukatili kusema hivyo. "Narudia, bwana," alisema, "nafurahi kwa moyo wote, kwa sababu imeandikwa, 'Kwa kuwa Mwana wa Adamu alikuja kutafuta na kuokoa kilichopotea'" (Luka 19:10). Machozi yakimtiririka usoni alisema, "Ni andiko la thamani kama nini! Basi ataniokoa mimi. Naiweka roho yangu mikononi mwake." Charles Spurgeon, aliyesimulia hadithi hii, alisema kwamba alikufa muda mfupi baadaye, akiwa na amani na Mungu.The evangelist George Whitefield had a brother who had once been an earnest Christian but had fallen far from God. One afternoon, after hearing his brother preach, he sat at tea with Lady Huntingdon, unable to eat, and groaned, "I am a lost man." "I'm glad of it," she said. Astonished, he protested that it was cruel to say so. "I repeat it, sir," she said, "I am heartily glad of it, because it is written, 'The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost'" (Luke 19:10). With tears on his face he said, "What a precious Scripture! Then He will save me. I trust my soul in His hands." Charles Spurgeon, who told the story, said that he died shortly afterward, at peace with God.

Hakuna aliye nje ya kufikiwa na msamaha wa Mungu. Hosea alikwenda katika soko la watumwa akamnunua tena mke wake asiye mwaminifu. Mungu alikuja katika ulimwengu huu ndani ya Yesu Kristo akalipa gharama kwa ajili yetu, si kwa fedha na shayiri, bali kwa damu yake mwenyewe. Huo ndio msamaha usiosameheka, nao unatolewa kwako leo.No one is beyond the reach of God's forgiveness. Hosea went to the slave market and bought back his unfaithful wife. God came to this world in Jesus Christ and paid the price for us, not with silver and barley, but with His own blood. That is unforgivable forgiveness, and it is offered to you today.

— Dkt. Wayne Cook
Seminari ya Teolojia ya Chapala— Dr. Wayne Cook
Chapala Theological Seminary

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