- So let your brothers be called "My People" and your sisters be called "Shown Mercy."
- Accuse! Accuse your mother! She is no longer my wife, and now I, the LORD, am not her husband. Beg her to give up prostitution and stop being unfaithful,
- or I will strip her naked like the day she was born. I will make her barren like a desert, and she will die of thirst.
- You children are the result of her unfaithfulness, and I'll show you no pity.
- Your mother was unfaithful. She was disgraceful and said, "I'll run after my lovers. Everything comes from them-- my food and drink, my linen and wool, my olive oil and wine."
- I, the LORD, will build a fence of thorns to block her path.
- She will run after her lovers, but not catch them; she will search, but not find them. Then she will say, "I'll return to my first husband. Life was better then."
- She didn't know that her grain, wine, and olive oil were gifts from me, as were the gold and silver she used in worshiping Baal.
- So I'll hold back the harvest of grain and grapes. I'll take back my wool and my linen that cover her body.
- Then I'll strip her naked in the sight of her lovers. No one can rescue her.
- I'll stop Israel's celebrations-- no more New Moon Festivals, Sabbaths, or other feasts.
- She said, "My lovers gave me vineyards and fig trees as payment for sex." Now I, the LORD, will ruin her vineyards and fig trees; they will become clumps of weeds eaten by wild animals.
- I'll punish her for the days she worshiped Baal and burned incense to him. I'll punish her for the times she forgot about me and wore jewelry and rings to attract her lovers. I, the LORD, have spoken!
- Israel, I, the LORD, will lure you into the desert and speak gently to you.
- I will return your vineyards, and then Trouble Valley will become Hopeful Valley. You will say "Yes" to me as you did in your youth, when leaving Egypt.
- I promise that from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master.
- I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called "Master."
- And I will agree to let you live in peace--you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war.
- I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness,
- and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am.
- I will command the sky to send rain on the earth,
- and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley.
- I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah. I will say to Lo-Ammi, "You are my people," and they will answer, "You are our God."
Though God was accusing Israel of unfaithfulness and saying that she was no longer His people, or as with Gomer, "She is no longer my wife," He was not divorcing His people. Verse 2 ends with a plea for Gomer (Israel) to return and stop being unfaithful. Gomer (Israel) was no longer acting as a wife. The relationship was broken. But she and Hosea were still married, and the covenant between God and Israel was still in effect though the relationship between them was broken.
Following the accusation of unfaithfulness Israel was then threatened with what would happen if she did not repent and turn back to the Lord. First she would be stripped naked and exposed for what she was. Next, she would become barren and desolate like a desert. Whereas God had made Israel prosperous and a land flowing with milk and honey when the nation was faithful, in her unfaithful state she would become the opposite.
The third threat was to disown the children of promiscuity. Israel's unfaithfulness would naturally be passed down through the children who would also be unfaithful, and God would show them no more compassion than He was now showing the nation. God describes further what He will do if Israel does not repent. She will be blocked from practicing her idolatry and she will find that life was better when she was faithful to God and will want to return to Him. These threats are only conditioned on Israel not repenting. If she does, the relationship with God is restored and the threats go away.
We miss the point if we do not recognize throughout Hosea, and all the other prophets, that repentance is the goal. If we read them and think, "What a hateful and vindictive God," we have not understood. It was God's love for Israel that was driving all of this. His desire for a relationship with her and the opportunity to bless her and prosper her. But He could not do this as long as she was following other gods.
The most damaging piece of Israel's attitude was to attribute her prosperity to Baal rather than to God who provided it. It was bad enough that she turned to worshiping idols after God had blessed her. But to attribute God's blessings to idols was too much. Then to take the things with which God had prospered her (grain, oil, gold, & silver) and offer them to the idol was over the top. If this was how she chose to use what God had given her, God would take it all away. She would have nothing and no one.
As God describes Israel's furture, it turns from desolation and desperation due to her unfaithfulness to God's restoration of her. Once she is desperate and ready to listen, God will speak tenderly to her and win her back. He will draw her away into the desert, away from all her distractions and speak encouraging words to her. Then Israel's relationship with God will be restored to the way it was when He first delivered her from Egypt. And God will once again prosper her.
At that time Israel will speak of God as her husband and not as Baal. There will no longer be any reference to idols on her lips. At that time God will give Israel peace, both with man and beast. Neither will anymore be hostile to the nation. God will receive her again as His bride, and in place of a bride price He will give her righteousness, justice, love, and compassion. The land will again flow with milk and honey.
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