←Hosea 2→BSB

In This Chapter 4 places 31 terms 1 theme

Places

    Key Terms

    Love 12 Play the Prostitute (Idiom) 4 Appointed Feast 3 Deal With 3 Kindness (Solidarity) 3 New Moon Festival 2 Sabbath 2 Hope 2 Covenant 2 Safety 2 Steadiness (Quality) 2 To Love Love (Appreciation) Sabbath (Day of Week) Sabbath Rest Appoint Hope (NT) Covenant (NT) Covenant of Salt Safety (State) Safety (Trust) Safe Safety (Security) Safety (Confidence) Be Kind Kindness (Benevolence) Kindness (Graciousness) Kindness (Affection) Faithfulness (Truth) Faithful Faithfulness (Trust)

    Themes

    God’s Faithfulness to His People

    Israel’s Adultery Rebuked

    1“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’†and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’†
    ⓘ bring charges against Israel: At first glance, the...

    bring charges against Israel: At first glance, the Lord, as the aggrieved husband, appears to be issuing a bill of divorce against his unfaithful spouse, Israel (see Deut 24:1). As the passage continues, however, it becomes clear that God’s purpose in this lawsuit is not divorce, but reconciliation (Hos 2:14–23). God’s case against Israel is intended to awaken Israel to her sin and offer her a chance to return to her true husband. The Lord’s desire for reconciliation with Israel is all the more surprising inasmuch as the law stipulated the death penalty for an adulterous spouse (Deut 22:22; see also Gen 38:24; Lev 21:9).
    2Rebuke your mother,rebuke her,for she is not My wife,and I am not her husband.Let her remove the adultery from her faceand the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.3Otherwise, I will strip her nakedand expose her like the day of her birth.I will make her like a desertand turn her into a parched land,and I will let her die of thirst.4I will have no compassion on her children,because they are the children of adultery.5For their mother has played the harlotand has conceived them in disgrace.For she thought,‘I will go after my lovers,who give me bread and water,wool and linen, oil and drink.’
    ⓘ For this reason (literally Therefore): The initial Hebrew...

    For this reason (literally Therefore): The initial Hebrew word of 2:6 (also of 2:9 and 2:14) introduces God’s judgment on Israel. Because of her idolatry, the Lord would restrict Israel’s access to the Canaanite fertility gods. Like an aggressive prostitute, she will pursue her lovers; but she will not find them. In the end, Israel will conclude that it is better to return to her rightful husband.
    6Therefore, behold,I will hedge up her path† with thorns;I will enclose her with a wall,so she cannot find her way.7She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;she will seek them but not find them.Then she will say,‘I will return to my first husband,for then I was better off than now.’8For she does not acknowledgethat it was I who gave her grain,new wine, and oil,who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.
    ⓘ God’s first judgment (2:6–7) was to restrict the...

    God’s first judgment (2:6–7) was to restrict the Israelites; this second judgment would be to remove and destroy what he alone had given them.
    9Therefore I will take back My grain in its timeand My new wine in its season;I will take away My wool and linen,which were given to cover her nakedness.10And then I will expose her lewdnessin the sight of her lovers,and no one will deliver herout of My hands.11I will put an end to all her exultation:her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts.12I will destroy her vines and fig trees,which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers.So I will make them into a thicket,and the beasts of the field will devour them.13I will punish her for the days of the Baalswhen she burned incense to them,when she adorned herself with rings and jewelry,and went after her lovers.
    But Me she forgot,”declares the LORD.

    God’s Mercy to Israel

    ⓘ The third judgment (see note on 2:6–7) is...
    • The third judgment (see note on 2:6–7) is completely unexpected. The Lord, who had innocently suffered Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness, announces that he will take the initiative in wooing Israel in order to win her back once again. He will lead her into the desert where he first entered into covenant with her, away from the seductive influences of Canaanite religion.
    • The Valley of Trouble was the scene of Israel’s first act of disobedience after they entered the Promised Land (Josh 7:24–26). The Lord had both the will and the power to grant Israel a new beginning after their sin and trouble (Josh 8:1–22), so Israel would again be offered a gateway of hope.
    14“Therefore, behold, I will allure herand lead her to the wilderness,and speak to her tenderly.15There I will give back her vineyardsand make the Valley of Achor†into a gateway of hope.There she will respond as she didin the days of her youth,as in the day she came up out of Egypt.16In that day,”declares the LORD,“you will call Me ‘my Husband,’†and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’†17For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals;no longer will their names be invoked.
    18On that day I will make a covenant for themwith the beasts of the field and the birds of the airand the creatures that crawl on the ground.And I will abolish bow and swordand battle in the land,and will make them lie down in safety.
    ⓘ I will make you my wife: This Hebrew...

    I will make you my wife: This Hebrew verb, used three times in these verses, can be translated with our seldom-used word betroth. In the ancient world, betrothal entailed all the legal steps of a marriage, including the payment of a bride price by the groom. The only thing missing was the marriage ceremony and sexual consummation. The Lord vowed to betroth Israel to himself forever. To ensure the eternal nature of this new marriage, God provided a bride price that included five priceless qualities: righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion, and faithfulness. As a result, the Lord said, Israel will finally know me (cp. 2:13).
    19So I will betroth you to Me forever;I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,in loving devotion† and compassion.20And I will betroth you in faithfulness,and you will know the LORD.”
    ⓘ Unfaithful Israel thought her food and clothing were...

    Unfaithful Israel thought her food and clothing were gifts from her lovers, the baals (2:5), but in that day they will know that the Lord alone is the source of all fertility and blessing. He will answer the sky, the clouds, and the earth, initiating the true cycle of fertility for the land. When the Lord is recognized as the only source of life, then the name Jezreel will regain its true meaning: God plants!
    21“On that day I will respond—”declares the LORD—“I will respond to the heavens,and they will respond to the earth.22And the earth will respond to the grain,to the new wine and oil,and they will respond to Jezreel.†23And I will sow her as My own in the land,and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’†I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’†‘You are My people,’†and they will say,‘You are my God.’”