The people of Israel have been unfaithful to the Lord and are living among the nations as one of them. The Lord has spoken by the prophets and now gives them an object lesson, not just words, but examples through Hosea’s wife, a prostitute, his daughter who the Lord said in Hosea 1:6 he said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them”, and his son who the Lord said in Hosea 1:9 And he said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God”. And even though the Lord says of his unfaithful wife, meaning Israel as a nation, in Hosea 2:6 “Therefore, Look! I am going to hedge her path with thorns” he also remembers his promise to them and says in Hosea 2:16 ‘And on that day—a declaration of Yahweh—you will call me, “My husband;”’, there will be a day of restoration where Israel will know the Lord as in Isaiah 62:4 ‘you will be called “My Delight Is In Her,” and your land, “Married,” for Yahweh delights in you, and your land shall be married’.
The Land Commits Great Whoredom
I Will Save Them by Yahweh Their God
Hosea 1:6–11
Because the “house of Israel” has turned from God and are living as the world lives, the Lord is declaring his judgement against them. Their covenant made at the time of Moses was for blessing or cursing. Blessing if they followed the ways of the Lord. And if they did, forgiveness could be found to cover their transgressions. Now, the Lord says, and gives them a sign of his intent, by the birth of a child in
Hosea 1:6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and he said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them.
and the Lord gives them a further sign by a second child as he disowns them as his people in
Hosea 1:9 And he said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.
but the Lord is not unjust, and does not visit the sin of one on another so he also says, as this separation has come to “the house of Israel”, “the house of Judah” will be saved in
Hosea 1:7 But I will have pity on the house of Judah and I will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.
and there is a future promise, based on God’s promise to Abraham, and as Moses prayed in
Exodus 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself, and you told them, ‘I will multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I promised I will give to your offspring, and they will inherit it forever.’ ”
so the Lord has still promised, even after this transgression, even after these generations that rebelled, he will restore in
Hosea 1:10 will be like the sand of the sea that cannot be measured or counted; and in the place where it is said to them, “You are not my people,”
it will be said to them, “Children of the living God.”
I Am Going to Hedge Her Path
Hosea 2:1–12
There is a right way to live and the Lord tells us to
Matthew 11:28–30 Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to carry and my burden is light.”
Yet we often go after our own way, seeking approval, seeking attention, seeking affection, seeking gifts from others but these all come from the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh and the pride of life and these are never satisfied. So, the Lord says in
Hosea 2:6 Therefore, Look! I am going to hedge her path with thorns, and I will build a stone wall, stone wall against her, and she will not find her paths.
being driven by these things will never bring satisfaction or fulfilment. The things gained will waste away in Hosea 2:12. What are times of laughter and happiness for others, “her festivals, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals” in Hosea 2:11 will have no joy.
But this is not simply an account of a woman in “prostitution” in Hosea 2:12, this is also a type of the children of Israel as a nation and their behaviour toward their husband the Lord. The Lord is going to “hedge her path” as a nation.
On That Day I Will Answer Declares Yahweh
Hosea 2:13–23
There will be a shift in the relationship from being one of obligation to one of equal love. It seems though, that God must first deliver or separate us from the bondage of our old life, not bondage to the Lord, but bondage to the Baal’s, the snares of the devil that we have served as in
2 Timothy 2:25–26 correcting those who are opposed with gentleness, seeing whether perhaps God may grant them repentance to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they will come to their senses again and escape from the trap of the devil, being held captive by him to do his will.
and separating us from those bondage’s happens as the Lord brings draws us as in
Hosea 2:14 Therefore, Look! I am going to allure her and bring her into the desert, and I will speak tenderly to her.
We may think this desert place, this place that an alcoholic might cal drying out or a drug addicted person might cal getting clean, is a place of God’s deliverance and the place where God can begin to restore his grace to them. It is from this desert place that they can put down the things that were “My Baal”, that were owner, master, ruler, possessor of their life and come into a right relationship with the Lord as husband in
Hosea 2:16 And on that day—a declaration of Yahweh—you will call me, “My husband;” you will no longer call me, “My Baal.”
Here, “There are wordplays on the terms אִישׁ (’ish) and בַּעַל (ba’al) here. The term אִישִׁי (’ishi, “my man, husband”) is a title of affection (Gen 2:23; 3:6, 16) as the counterpart to אִשָּׁה (’ishah, “woman, wife”). The term בַּעְלִי (ba’li, “my lord”) emphasizes the husband’s legal position (Exod 21:3; Deut 22:22; 24:4). The relationship will no longer be conditioned on the outward legal commitment but on a new inward bond of mutual affection and love.”1 The Lord describes the new relationship this way in
Hosea 2:19–20 And I will take you as my wife forever; I will take you as a wife for myself in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will take you as my wife in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh.
But I think this English translation “I will take you as my wife” doesn’t convey the meaning intended. the sense of “My delight” seems more what is intended in
Isaiah 62:4 It shall no longer be said of you, “Forsaken,” and it shall no longer be said of your land, “Desolation!” but you will be called “My Delight Is In Her,” and your land, “Married,” for Yahweh delights in you, and your land shall be married.
or as this commentary suggests, “Betroth” is thrice repeated, implying the intense love of God to His people; and perhaps, also, the three Persons of the Triune God, severally engaging to make good the betrothal. The marriage covenant will be as it were renewed from the beginning, on a different footing; not for a time only, as before, through the apostasy of the people, but “forever” through the grace of God writing the law on their hearts by the Spirit of Messiah (Je 31:31–37).2
They Will Come to His Goodness
Hosea 3:1–5
There Is No Knowledge of God
Hosea 4:1–9
Study Verses
- Hosea 1:6–11 I Will Save Them by Yahweh Their God
- Hosea 2:1–12 I Am Going to Hedge Her Path
- Hosea 2:13–23 On That Day I Will Answer Declares Yahweh
Today’s Reading
- Hosea 1:1-11
- Hosea 2:1-23
- Hosea 3:1-5
- Hosea 4:1-9
References
- 1. Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Ho 2:16). Biblical Studies Press.
- 2. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 651). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.