The Loyal Love of the Lord #2

 

Read Hosea 2

Background:  As we saw yesterday, God called on Hosea to do the unthinkable: take an immoral woman as his wife, representing the relationship of God to His people Israel.  This union resulted in three children named Jezreel (for punishment), No Mercy, and Not My People.  The wife is unfaithful to her husband. In this chapter, the husband appeals through the children for the wife to return.  She has wrongly turned to trust in "the other man" (Baal) to provide for and protect her, when in fact he only uses and abuses her.  Her true Husband holds out hope that she will "come to her senses" and return home.

Key Verses: 7 She shall pursue her lovers
    but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
    but shall not find them.
Then she shall say,
    ‘I will go and return to my first husband,
    for it was better for me then than now.’
8 And she did not know
    that it was I who gave her
    the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and who lavished on her silver and gold,
    which they used for Baal.

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

    and bring her into the wilderness,

    and speak tenderly to her.

15 And there I will give her her vineyards

    and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,

    as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

Thoughts: In between these two sets of verses is a description of the punishment and trials the wife, Israel, will go through on her downhill slide - all the way to exile.  But once again there is this hope of reunion, as if she were once again that young bride who loved the sound of her Husband's voice.  She would realize that He is the only One who truly cares about her and provides for and protects her.