seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Hosea 2:1 [a]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’
2 “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,
because they are the children of adultery.
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband as at first,
for then I was better off than now.’
8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold—
which they used for Baal.
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,
because they are the children of adultery.
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband as at first,
for then I was better off than now.’
8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold—
which they used for Baal.
9 “Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
and my new wine when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
intended to cover her naked body.
10 So now I will expose her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;
no one will take her out of my hands.
11 I will stop all her celebrations:
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.
12 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
which she said were her pay from her lovers;
I will make them a thicket,
and wild animals will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot,”
declares the Lord.
and my new wine when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
intended to cover her naked body.
10 So now I will expose her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;
no one will take her out of my hands.
11 I will stop all her celebrations:
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.
12 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
which she said were her pay from her lovers;
I will make them a thicket,
and wild animals will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot,”
declares the Lord.
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor[b] a door of hope.
There she will respond[c] as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor[b] a door of hope.
There she will respond[c] as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.[d]’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in[e] righteousness and justice,
in[f] love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in[g] faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the Lord.
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.[d]’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in[e] righteousness and justice,
in[f] love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in[g] faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the Lord.
21 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the Lord—
“I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.[h]
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[i]’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[j]’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
declares the Lord—
“I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.[h]
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[i]’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[j]’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
a. Hosea 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-23 is numbered 2:3-25.
b. Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
c. Hosea 2:15 Or sing
d. Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
e. Hosea 2:19 Or with
f. Hosea 2:19 Or with
g. Hosea 2:20 Or with
h. Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
i. Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
j. Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9
Until now.... I had a hard time with the verses talking about the marriage of the lamb to the church.... but now it's starting to make a little sense.
This is from Bible-studys.org.
“Plead with your mother:” The Hebrew text begins chapter 2 . The prophet uses his personal domestic tragedy as a means of addressing not only his own children (and through them their physical mother), but also the believing remnant, who in turn are to plead with their mother (the nation Israel), to return to God.
The Canaanites attributed Baal with providing gifts such as “bread, linen,” and oil. They also believed that Baal controlled the weather and fertility. Sadly, many Israelites adopted these beliefs (Isa. 54:5-8; Jer. 3:1).
Israel had not only forgotten God but abandoned Him by choosing to worship idols. A vivid picture of this abandonment can be seen (2 Kings 17:7-18). Hosea used the word “return” to describe what Gomer did, what God wanted His people to do, and what God would do when His people truly turned from their sin.
God withheld rain and productivity to show Israel that the Canaanite god Baal was not the god of rain and fertility.
“The valley of Achor:” In this valley, located near Jericho, Achan’s sin was discovered, judged, punished and put away. In like manner, if Israel and Gomer will deal with their sin and put it away, that very act will result in God’s blessing and bring restoration and hope. The names “Ishi (“My Husband”), and “Baali” (“My Master”), are significant. The former is a term of affection and represents the closest loving relationship. The latter indicates servitude and inferiority.
In the future, Israel would be married to the Lord under the terms of “righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, mercy,” and “faithfulness” (Jer. 31:33-34).
“I will betroth thee”: Repeated three times, the term emphasizes the intensity of God’s restoring love for the nation. In that day, Israel will no longer be thought of as a prostitute. Israel brings nothing to the marriage; God makes all the promises and provides all the dowry. These verses are recited by every orthodox Jew as he places the phylacteries on his hand and forehead (Deut. 11:18). The regeneration/conversion of the nation is much like that of an individual (2 Cor. 5:16-19).
“Jezreel” (“God scatters”), speaks to the way God would transform His people: they would not be scattered in judgment but scattered as seed for God, in their land, where they would enjoy a renewed covenantal relationship with Him (Zech. 13:9; Rom. 9:25-26).
This is from the easy English site.Again, Hosea says what the judge is going to do. But this time it is a message of love. The desert was the place where God and Israel ‘married’. This was where Israel needed God. God will use kind words. These are the words that a husband uses before he marries a wife. Perhaps Hosea is thinking of a time far in the future. It will be after the time that God has punished Israel. Trouble Valley (the Valley of Achor) was a place where Israel did not obey God (Joshua 7:24). It was a place where a man broke God’s covenant. But, in the future, Israel will not need Baal any more. Israel will not worship Baal because Israel will not know anything about him. Nobody will hear about Baal. Nobody will remember him. People will only remember the name of God. In this future time, Israel will have two blessings:
Animals will not be able to hurt the people of Israel.
There will be no more war.
There will be a covenant between God and Israel. Animals will not eat crops. There will be no more exiles. God will make Israel a good place to live in again. This is not because God will change his mind. Nor will it be because Israel will deserve this. It is because God is being true to his covenant.
The word ‘love’ does not explain this idea completely. Hosea uses the special Hebrew word ‘hesed’. This word means being true to a covenant. Sometimes a Bible will translate this word as ‘covenant of love’ or ‘great love’. It does not mean ‘*mercy’. This is how some other translations have it. Hosea is perhaps thinking of a time when Israel will be very different. Perhaps there will be many more people in this new Israel. God will finish the old marriage but he will bring back a new marriage. The new marriage will be fair and true. God will have mercy on Israel. It will be for all time. In Israel, a man paid money to the father of his future wife (see 2 Samuel 3:14). In the future, God himself will pay the money for his wife (Israel). He will be the husband and father. God himself will bring the rain. Baal will not bring it. The rain will give Israel everything that the people of Israel need. Jezreel means ‘God plants’. Hosea’s children are part of this future. In the past, they did not belong to Hosea. In the future, they will belong to him.
Hosea married a prostitute so God could use Hosea as an example. God says, through Hosea, that Israel is like a whore running after any man but her husband. Israel.... [not Judah.... Israel... the idol worshiping orgy loving descendants of Jacob] is portrayed as Gomer in this story. Even though Hosea chose Gomer to be his wife..... and he loved her as a wife..... Gomer would flirt with any shiny object she came across.... and that, I am sure, would break a man's heart..... meaning...... the way the descendants of Jacob [Israel] ran after any shiny idol or fake god that flitted in the sun or by candlelight.Through Hosea, God says.... it's not always going to be that way..... Israel and God are going to have a renewal of their vows.... God says there will be no more fighting or stress...
It occurred to me that animals didn't attack Adam or Eve in the Garden. It wasn't until they realized they were naked and God had to give them an animal skin to cover their nakedness, that animals started fighting humans. I'd bite too if someone wanted me for my skin.... So in the future.... when God and Israel have renewed their vows..... I wonder if people will be wearing hemp or anything at all.....
I am less confused about all the marriage of the Lamb stuff.... Hosea and Gomer are making it much clearer.
