Lesson 4 - Hosea 2:14-23 - RESTORATION PROMISED
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Hos. 1:1-10, we were introduced to the book of Hosea's when God commanded the prophet to marry Gomer, an unfaithful woman, who would thereafter bear him three children under questionable circumstances. We learned that Hosea's family was in truth a metaphor (or word picture) that portrayed the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which had prostituted itself in the whoredom of idolatry. The metaphor pictured Hosea as a faithful husband (a God-type) and Gomer as an adulterous wife (a nation-type) who cheats on her husband. The names of their children, Jezreel (God will sow or scatter), Lo-Ruhamah (she is not loved), and Lo-Ammi (not my people) were all intended to show how the Israelites' continued spiritual adultery impacted their relationship with a holy and caring God. It also showed that there were definite limits to which God would tolerate the peoples' adultery and as a consequence of it, judge them. We saw that the Northern Kingdom did in fact experience God's judgment in 721 B.C. when it ceased to exist as a recognizable nation and people. It left us to wonder whether the U.S.A. is headed down the same road. Even so, Hosea's final message extended a ray of hope: God promises to redeem Israel at a future time that we know as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
This week, in Hosea 2:14-23, we'll skip to first half of Chapter 2, describing the LORD's judgment on the Northern kingdom of Israel, worded first as a judgment on Gomer's unfaithfulness as a wife, then second on Israel itself because of its worship of "Baals" (pagan gods), which, in effect, wiped them off the Near Eastern map as a recognizable nation and people, leaving only Judah in the south. The section we study today, Chap. 2, vv. 14-23, will focus on God's future promise of the restoration of Israel in the End-Times, which will be pictured in terms of a loving courtship and a restored 'marriage.'
Read Hosea 2:14-15 - I WILL ALLURE HER
14 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Bring her into the wilderness And speak kindly to her. 15 "Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
v. 14a: "Therefore, behold, I will allure her," - The conjunction, "Therefore," refers back to the judgment that effectively wiped-out Israel as a national entity. The expression, "allure her" (i.e., her = Israel) is language of courtship: God intends to woo Israel back to Him like an estranged lover.
v. 14b: "Bring her into the wilderness And speak kindly to her." - The "wilderness" refers to a time in Israel's past when God initially forged them into recognizable nation and people. It recalls that God provided for them so that they lacked nothing, and He spoke kindly by teaching them to "live by everything that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD" (Deut. 8:3).
v. 15a: "Then I will give her vineyards from there" - The cultivation of grapes and winemaking was a vital element of Israel's agriculture, and is used here to picture a time of prosperity in Israel's future.
v. 15b: "And the valley of Achor as a door of hope" - The word "Achor" means 'trouble' and the "valley of Achor" recalls the time when Israel was punished for Achan's sin (Joshua 7:1ff). As He did in the Israel's past, the LORD would turn that judgment into a "door of hope," from which He would give Israel a fresh start as a nation like the time when he led them to victory in the Promised Land.
v. 15c: "And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, - Israel spent her youth in the wilderness. Even though it was a time of hardship, it was still a time when the nation's people enjoyed God's visible leadership (pillars of cloud and fire) and provision day-by-day (manna).
v. 15d: "As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt." - Hosea mentions Egypt 13 times. He connects Egypt to Assyria, both of which symbolize Israel's captivity and servitude. Yet, here, the LORD refers back to the happy time when He led Israel "up from Egypt," and gave her freedom.
Read Hosea 2:16-17 - YOU WILL CALL ME ISHI (MY HUSBAND)
16 "It will come about in that day," declares the LORD, "That you will call Me Ishi And will no longer call Me Baali. 17 "For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they will be mentioned by their names no more.
v. 16a: ""It will come about in that day," declares the LORD," - "that day" refers back to slavery in Egypt. In their present context, it points them forward to a future time when the people of Israel will once again come out of captivity as a free people and free nation.
v. 16b: "That you will call Me Ishi And will no longer call Me Baali." - The word "ishi" means 'my husband' and the world "Ballii" means 'my master.' This is a difficult verse that gives us a divine grammar lesson. Over time the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom had used the name of the LORD (YHWH) and Baal (the pagan Canaanite god) interchangeably, as if they were co-equals. Here, God disabuses that falsehood, declaring that in the future that Israel will use only acknowledge the name of the LORD GOD of Israel as their one true God-that there are no other gods, period!
v. 17: "For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they will be mentioned by their names no more." - The Baals-all of the false gods-will be forgotten as if they never existed.
Read Hosea 2:18 - I WILL ALSO MAKE A COVENANT FOR THEM
18 "In that day I will also make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky And the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, And will make them lie down in safety.
v. 18a1: "In that day I will also make a covenant for them" - "That day" (v. 1 refers to a future time when Israel is again free and becomes a nation as the people of the LORD God (YHWH). We need to understand that the establishment of the secular state of Israel in 1948 did not in any way fulfill this prophecy. It won't happen until Jesus Christ returns at His Second Coming (Zech. 12:10; Rev. 20:4-6).
v. 18a2: With the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky And the creeping things of the ground. - Because of God's covenant, the nation will dwell in safety and peace where man has dominion over all the animals (as in the Garden), according to the creational ideal (Gen. 1:26).
v. 18b: "And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, And will make them lie down in safety. - All warfare and conflict between humankind will likewise end.
Hosea 2:19-20 - THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE LORD
19 "I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, 20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.
v. 19: ""I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion," In Israel, betrothal meant far more than what we think of as an engagement. It was a binding agreement on both parties in which the groom paid the bride-price, and it could only be dissolved by a obtaining a certificate of divorce. In this instance, God presents it as though YHWH and Israel are beginning a new life as a betrothed couple. They would return to their courtship days and start all over again as husband and wife. God's promise of "justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion" represents a complete reversal of His withdrawal of compassion for Israel announced last week at the birth of Hosea's daughter Lo-ruhamah last week (1:6). What Hosea is describing here is a life lived in accord with God's law and God's will.
v. 20a: "And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness." - Here, "faithfulness" (Heb. emuna) is seen as the end-product of the LORD God's righteousness, justice, steadfast love, and mercy and here, is offered as the bride-price that He's willing to pay for Israel as His bride. God promises to be faithful to Israel, even though Israel, like Gomer, had gone after other lovers in her past and forgot Him.
v. 20b: "Then you will know the LORD." - This is the end-product of the Lord's wooing enticement of Israel. The meaning of the word "know" (Heb. yada (yaw-dah')] combines acquaintance with the sense of understanding and personal experience. The Israelites will personally and individually experience God's righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, steadfast love, mercy, and compassion and abide with Him in a faithful relationship.
Read Hosea 2:21-23 - YOU ARE MY GOD!
21 "It will come about in that day that I will respond," declares the LORD. "I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth, 22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil, And they will respond to Jezreel. 23 "I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'You are my God!'"
v. 21-22: "It will come about in that day that I will respond," declares the LORD. "I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth, 22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil, And they will respond to Jezreel. - On that coming day of blessing, the LORD would restore the agricultural productivity of the land. He would respond to the heavens and they would respond to Him by sending rain to nourish the earth. The earth would ask for rain because the grain, the new wine, and the oil had all told the earth that they needed rain. These crops would appeal to the earth because Jezreel (Heb. Yizreel (yiz-reh-ale') lit. means God sows) had requested it. In this perspective, "Jezreel" personifies the nation of Israel as a whole.
v. 23: "I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'You are my God!'" - Thus, the LORD would also 'sow' (Jezreel, Hos. 1:4) his bride Israel into the Promised Land. He would plant her there securely, where she would thereafter grow and prosper. He would now show compassion to the same people whom he formerly said were 'not loved' (Lo-ruhamah. Hos. 1:6) and He would reclaim his people whom he formerly said were 'not my people' (Lo-ammi. Hos. 1:9). Then they would acknowledge the LORD (YHWH) as their God. Notice that the names of all of Hosea's children come together in this verse.
Note: Paul later quoted those Hosea passages to say that both Jews and Gentiles will be converted to the Christian faith in the Church Age. (Rom. 9:24). However, this does not mean that he equated the Gentiles with Israel and regarded the conversion of Gentiles as a direct fulfillment of Hosea's prophecy. Paul clearly taught that national Israel would be saved through a preserved remnant by which God will fulfill the promises made to His people (Rom. 11 generally). This will happen-Israel will be redeemed-In the eschatological End-Times.
APPLICATION-In the prophecy of Hosea we covered today, God promises to do three things for Israel: He will (1) Allure her back to Him, (2) Renew His marriage to her as her husband, and (3) Restore all of His blessings to her.
1. Hosea's prophecy clearly reveals that God is not finished with his people Israel. The foregoing verses indicate that God intends to allure (entice) Israel back to Him and He will speak kindly to her. While doing this, God will bring Israel out of captivity into the 'wilderness,' which is a metaphor for starting over. In Biblical terms, this means God will fulfill the promises that He made in His unconditional Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This will be an eschatological fulfillment when every Jew will be a believer in the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
2. The story of Hosea and Gomer is an Old Testament illustration of a New Testament truth. That truth is grace-God's unmerited favor. As believing Christians, we are fellow heirs to the same promises God made to Israel in vv. 19-20: God will be righteous toward us even though we were unrighteous toward Him. God will be just toward us although we were unjust toward Him. God will show us steadfast love even though we have shown inconsistent love in return. God will show us mercy while we've done nothing to deserve His mercy. God will be faithful to us even when we've been unfaithful to Him. And God says He will take death and reverse into life everlasting.
