Men of the Word Sermon Podcast · Grace Community Church

The Pillars of Marriage, Pillar Five

·58 min·3 clips

Hosea buys Gomer back for 15 shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.

1. Men of the Word Sermon Podcast’s “The Pillars of Marriage, Pillar Five” focuses on marriage as “connotative,” a biblical sign that points beyond the couple. 2. The speaker, from Grace Church, presents the sermon as part of a months-long series on marriage and says Brad organized the “C” pillars. 3. The core question is what marriage signifies in Scripture and how those meanings change a husband’s obligations. 4. He says the Bible uses marriage to picture fruitfulness, blessing, prosperity, satisfaction, family, children, and fertility. 5. He explains that the term “connotative” means a secondary meaning in addition to the primary one. 6. He argues that the larger meanings of marriage do not shrink the personal relationship but put it into context. 7. He says those meanings help worship God better and help men become better husbands. 8. The first major passage he highlights is Hosea 1 through Hosea 3, the story of Hosea and Gomer. 9. He describes Gomer as unfaithful, promiscuous, and eventually a slave who chases lovers for bread, water, wool, flax, oil, and drink. 10. He says Hosea 3 records God’s command to “go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress.” 11. He says Hosea buys Gomer back for “15 shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley,” which he totals at about 30 shekels and roughly three years’ wages. 12. He says the barley portion matches an Old Testament offering for a woman accused of adultery. 13. He uses Hosea’s conduct to show covenant love that persists even when a wife is openly unfaithful. 14. He says Hosea’s marriage points to the “unfailing, unwavering, steadfast” love of Jesus Christ for covenant people. 15. The second major passage is Ephesians 5, where he quotes repeated comparisons between husbands and Christ, and wives and the church. 16. He says Ephesians 1:3-14 answers how Christ loves the church and counts 17 descriptions of that love. 17. Those descriptions include speaking well of believers, choosing them before the foundation of the world, adopting them as sons, forgiving trespasses, and lavishing grace. 18. He also says Christ’s love delivers, comforts, provides, and helps through the Holy Spirit promised in John 14:26. 19. The sermon’s tone is instructional and heavily Scripture-based, with repeated direct questions to married men and occasional humor about “all those Cs.” 20. Men in church marriages and small groups would benefit most; listeners wanting a brief topical overview may skip it.

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