In our study of Hosea chapter two, we will look at how God used the example of Hosea and his wife to tell of His promised restoration of the relationship with His people.
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Say to your brothers, 'Ammi [My People]!' and to your sisters, 'Ruchamah [Pitied]!'
In chapter 1, God used the prophet to call His people to repentance and to set an example of forgiveness. Now, God is sending him to tell his people that their relationship will be restored.
Rebuke your mother, rebuke her; for she isn't my wife, and I'm not her husband. She must remove her whoring from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts.
Gomer had left to return to prostitution and God tells Hosea to repeat the call to repentance. This is a call to stop doing the detestable things that they were doing and to turn back to God. That same call for repentance goes out to the whole world today.
Otherwise, I will strip her naked and place her as she was the day she was born, make her like a desert, place her like a dry land and kill her with thirst.
Without repentance God says that he will remove His blessings from the people.
I will have no pity on her children, for they are children of whoring their mother prostituted herself, she who conceived them behaved shamelessly; she said, 'I will pursue my lovers, who give me my food and water, wool, flax, olive oil and wine.'
Now, we get to the heart of what is being talked about here. The example of an unfaithful wife is used to describe how Israel had forgotten that God was their provider. Israel was giving credit to idols for providing for their needs and grumbling against God's provision. The same type of thing happens all the time today as even Christians trust in the work of their hands and forget that God is the one that takes care of them. Chasing after the things of this world is the same as prostitution in God's eyes.
Therefore, I will block her way with thorns and put up a hedge so she can't find her paths.
As Israel turns to look for another provider, God says that He will block these efforts. God can place tough times in front of us for our own good. We can then stop, examine ourselves, and turn back to Him or we can continue to struggle.
She will pursue her lovers but not catch them. She will seek them but won't find them. Then she will say, 'I will go and return to my first husband; because things were better for me then than they are now.'
This verse describes how the physical beauty of the prostitute will fail and she will be unable to attract a man to provide for her. It reminds us that we can look to the temporary things of this world or we can set our sights on things above that will last.
For she doesn't know it was I who gave her the grain, the wine and the oil; I who increased her silver and gold, which they used for Ba'al.
Gomer did not remember who had provided for her needs just as Israel had forgotten that it was God. God had not only provided for their needs but had also made them rich (silver and gold). Instead of acknowledging that it was from God, they turned and used the riches to worship Baal. Baal means "master" in Hebrew and Baal worship was simply making something else master over you. We may say that we don't have Baal worship among us today but there are those that have become slaves to their fancy homes, cars, or other possessions and it is the same principle.
So I will take back my grain at harvest-time and my wine in its season; I will snatch away my wool and flax, given to cover her naked body.
God tells His people that, since they do not want to acknowledge Him as the provider, He will remove His blessing from them.
Now I will uncover her shame, while her lovers watch; and no one will save her from me.
God is light and light exposes the evil things that are done. God is proclaiming that the woman (Israel) will be publicly judged for their adultery. Many try to hide their sins from God in hopes that He will not see them but when the Light is applied all will be exposed. At that point, our only hope is in Jesus Christ and his payment for our sins through the blood that He shed.
I will end her happiness, her festivals, Rosh-Hodesh, and shabbats, and all her designated times.
All of the woman's (Israel's) religious events will be stopped. God is a jealous God and does not want them (or us) to follow Him only with religious acts. God's desire is for our hearts to be like that of Jesus.
I will ravage her vines and fig trees, of which she says, 'These are my wages that my lovers have given me.' But I will turn them into a forest, and wild animals will eat them.
Because of the adultery of the woman ( & Israel), God will remove his provision of food. They did not acknowledge that it was from God so He will no longer provide it.
I will punish her for offering incense on the feast days of the ba'alim, when she decked herself with her earrings and jewels, pursuing her lovers and forgetting me," says ADONAI.
Now, we see how God compares the physical adultery of a woman with the spiritual adultery of turning to Baals. Baal means "my lord" and in Hebrew it means master and we see that the woman (Israel) turned to call someone else master rather than the God of the universe who created her.
"But now I am going to woo her - I will bring her out to the desert and I will speak to her heart. I will give her her vineyards from there and the Akhor Valley as a gateway to hope. She will respond there as she did when young, as she did when she came up from Egypt.
Even after turning their backs on God, He says that He will draw them back to Himself. Achor means trouble and He says that He will turn their troubles into hope. That is what He does for us through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
"On that day," says ADONAI "you will call me Ishi [My Husband]; you will no longer call me Ba'ali [My Master].
God tells the woman (Israel) that, when she turns back to Him, it is no longer as a slave. A husband loves and gives all he has for his wife where a master only uses a slave for their own purposes. In the world today, the idea of being married does not mean as much as it should. But, here, God is assuring them and us that it is forever.
For I will remove the names of the ba'alim from her mouth; they will never again be mentioned by name.
In the Day of the Lord, all of the false gods and idolatry will be removed. This has not happened yet as we know that, today more than ever before, people have made so many things their master (Baal).
When that day comes, I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds in the air and the creeping things of the earth. I will break bow and sword, sweep battle from the land, and make them lie down securely.
Peace is going to come to the earth but not without the Prince of Peace which is Jesus. This verse has not been fulfilled yet as there has never been a time when there was absolute peace on the earth since sin came into the world. This peace is going to include the animals as well as all peoples on the earth.
I will betroth you to me forever; yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in grace and in compassion; I will betroth you to me in faithfulness, and you will know ADONAI.
We will be married to God and it will be for eternity because God doesn't do divorce. It is interesting to note here that God kind of gives us a marriage contract where he does most of the work and we simply "acknowledge the Lord". As we see, in 1 John 4, this means that we accept that Jesus is the Son of God and not just a good man or prophet.
When that day comes, I will answer," says ADONAI "I will answer the sky, and it will answer the earth; the earth will answer the corn, wine and oil, and they will answer Yizre'el [God will sow].
On the Day of the Lord, everything will be made new as there will no longer be sin and its effects on the earth. God will once again supply the needs of His people just as He did with Adam and Eve in Eden. This is also described in Revelation 21.
I will sow her for me in the land. I will have pity on Lo-Ruchamah [Unpitied]; I will say to Lo-'Ammi [Not-My-People], 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'"
When the people repent, God is faithful and just to restore them to fellowship. God called them to repentance (back to the land) and when they did, He demonstrated His love by forgiving them. The same is true for us today.
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