HOSEA CHAPTER 2 - THE ENTIRE CHAPTER

Hosea 2:1-

This chapter is one of the most painful, yet beautiful, passages in Scripture. Let’s look at it first from Hosea’s standpoint. As one who has walked in Hosea’s shoes, I think this is how it happened.

Hosea married Gomer and fathered a son. At that time, women nursed their babies until they were at least two years of age. As soon as the boy was weaned, she conceived again. That time, Hosea probably was not the father. 

When the second child was weaned, she conceived yet again. Hosea wasn’t that child’s father, either. He knew Gomer was unfaithful and everyone around them knew it, too. 

By the time of Chapter two, Hosea had been married to Gomer for years. She had gone away again, this time leaving him with three young children.

Hosea’s children were like any other children who missed their mother. They loved their mama, regardless of what she’d done, and they wanted her to come back home. They knew people talked about their mother. Their own names proclaimed her sin. It didn’t matter. They loved Gomer, and they longed for her. 

People can be cruel, and I suspect some of the people in their town discussed the question of the children’s parentage, like people will do. Their children probably heard those discussions, and they repeated them to Gomer’s children, just like children will do. “That prophet’s not your daddy. Get him to prophesy and tell you who is.” I don’t know that those words were used, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.

There’s a tendency to overlook the children as living characters in Hosea’s story, but those three little ones were as real as you or I. 

1) For a moment, consider the feelings of Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, and Lo-ammi. How do you think they felt? 

Gomer’s three little children asked Hosea the same questions our children would ask. “Where’s our mother? When is she coming home? What’s gonna happen to us?” Whether they said it or not, they must have wondered if Hosea would continue to provide for them now that their mother was gone.

With that in mind, read this beautiful passage in Hosea 2:1 again. 

Can you see Hosea gathering those children into his lap? Can you hear him saying, “I’m changing your name from Lo-ammi to Ammi and your name from Lo-ruhamah to Ruhamah. That’s because I choose to love you. You are mine and nothing will change that. I’ll take care of you.”

Let’s talk for a moment about the impact of Gomer’s sin on their children.  

2) How would the abandonment of their mother affect them?

Scripture tells us that the sins of the fathers are visited on the children. (Exodus 34:7) This does not mean that the children are punished for what their parents do. This means that parents who sin (people just like you and me) do not get away unscathed. Our sins have consequences that are far-reaching, and always impact our children. More so than most of us would like.

This “visiting” happens in more than one way.  

First, parents are instructed to train their children by their lifestyle. 
3) Read Deuteronomy 6:6-7 and Proverbs 22:6. 

When we live a lifestyle of godly obedience, we teach our children by our example. When we live a life of idolatry, worshipping the things of this world more than Almighty God, we also teach our children by our example.

I shudder to think what some of my choices over the years have taught my son. 

Let’s spend a few moments evaluating our own lifestyle and choices. 

4) How have we taught our children the importance of careful obedience to God?

5) How have we taught our children to embrace the things of the world?

6) How have those lessons borne fruit in our children’s lives?

Prayer Pause:

If our choices have not borne the fruit of faithfulness to God, now is the time to stop and ask God for forgiveness. Let’s ask Him to completely cleanse us of the world and bind our hearts to His heart, our minds to His mind, our choices to His will. Let’s pray, too, that He will redeem our mistakes and draw our children to Himself.
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Hosea 2:2 - is a continuation of Hosea’s conversation with the children. He tells them, “I can’t change your mother. I can’t make her come back home. She doesn’t want to be my wife. She doesn’t want me to be her husband. Maybe you can convince her to come back home.” 

Hosea knew that adultery is primarily a sin of the heart manifested by outward actions. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 5:28. Lust is nothing more than adultery not yet consummated. Gomer would have to put away the adultery between her breasts (in her heart) before she could put away the harlotry of her face (actions).

Was Hosea fed up? You know he was. The next few verses reveal his inner struggle (and maybe his struggle with God). Hosea would have been justified in proceeding with a divorce, but the consequences to Gomer would be extreme. She would be left with nothing. She would be like a wilderness. Like a desert land. A place of nothingness. She might even have been stoned to death.

A part of Hosea didn’t care what happened to Gomer. She had betrayed him. She had conceived children by her lovers. She had given her lovers credit for the things Hosea had provided. It is possible that, when Gomer was away from home, Hosea had carried provisions of food and clothing to her, but Gomer refused to acknowledge him as the source supplying her needs.

According to Bible Background Commentary, both Hammurabi's Code and the Middle Assyrian Law Code addressed the provision of a husband for his wife's "daily maintenance". Those items mandated by the code included the items mentioned in Hosea 2:8, including grain, oil, wool, and clothing. Hosea had provided these things for Gomer, but she clearly wanted more. Verse 13 mentions "earrings and jewelry" obtained through the wages of her harlotry.

Gomer wanted the “good life” and she did not think Hosea could, or would, provide it. She wanted more than she had, and she went after it. It was her justification for chasing after her lovers. They gave her things. Pretty things. 

Gomer treated Hosea shamefully.

Hosea was a wounded man, but he was, at heart, a very good man. If he divorced Gomer, the children would be caught up in her consequences, and that likely stopped him in his tracks. 

Prayer Pause:

Hosea's response to Gomer's betrayal focused on the will of God rather than on his need for revenge or his "rights" under the law. His actions considered the children and, even though he was not  their biological father, he chose to care for and love all Gomer's children. 

When we face betrayal and hurt, what is our focus? How do we respond? Let's pray that we will honor God with our actions, our words, and our decisions, no matter how severe our hurt or betrayal. We may not all be called to respond as Hosea did, but we are all called to mercy and grace. (Micah 6:8, Luke 6:29, 31)
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Hosea was within his rights to choose justice and judgment and give Gomer a writ of divorce, but he chose a thorny kind of mercy and grace, instead.

7) How did Hosea choose to treat Gomer? (Hosea 2:6)

8) What did he anticipate would happen? (Hosea 2:7)

9) What did happen? (vs 8)

The hedge of thorns didn’t do what he’d hoped, so Hosea decided to try another method. 

10) What did he do this time? (vss. 9-13)

Tough love didn’t work either. Finally, Hosea decided to do something totally unexpected. Totally undeserved. 

11) What did he decide to do? (vss 14-17)

Hosea demonstrated the prevenient, ever-seeking, every-pursuing grace of God to Gomer. She didn’t deserve anything he did for her, and yet he gave. He loved. He forgave. 

After a while, the loving, giving, and forgiving changed Hosea. Because that’s what forgiving those who have hurt you will do. 

Prayer Pause:

I know about forgiving when it’s hard. I’ve had to do my share of it, and it changed me in ways I never imagined. I’m a better person because of the pain. Not one minute of the suffering was wasted. 

Forgiveness was worth it.

Let’s talk about forgiving and forgetting for just a minute. “I can forgive, but I can’t forget.” I hear this all the time and you probably do, too. We might have said it before ourselves. I'm pretty sure I've said it. I certainly thought it, but I was wrong. 

God say He removes our sins and remembers them no more. (Jeremiah 31:34) If we are to forgive as God forgives, we must relinquish our rights to recall the wounds of others and to use their sin against them. 

We let it go in the way we want God to let our sin go. Completely.

Is it hard? No doubt about it.

Is it worth it? Infinitely so.

I’m not pretending this degree of forgiveness is easy. It’s not possible in the flesh. It is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us. Will we still recall the wound after this degree of forgiveness? Yes.

Forgiveness doesn’t give us amnesia. It gives us a kind of spiritual anesthesia. It removes the power of the wound in our lives.

We're not just studying Hosea together. We're pursuing freedom, so let's do what it takes to have it. Forgive.

12) Is there anyone you need to forgive? Now’s the time to stop and deal with it before we move on. 

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When tough love didn’t work, Hosea had all the grace he needed to love again. To try again. He hoped it would make a difference, but we will soon learn that nothing he could do would change Gomer’s actions. 

What Gomer needed was a change of heart.

Gomer had betrayed Hosea. She had violated the marriage covenant in such a way that Hosea was justified in giving her a writ of divorce and ending the marriage. “She is not my wife and I am not her husband.” For them to be reconciled, Gomer would have to put away her adultery “from between her breasts.”

13) What lies between our breasts? 

Our hearts. Adultery may progress to a physical act, but that is not where it starts. It begins “between the breasts” in our heart. 

14) What did Jesus say about adultery and lust? (Matthew 5:28)

If Hosea put Gomer away, he would no longer provide for her. He would no longer give her food, clothing, shelter. She would be on her own. Naked. Hungry. Thirsty. Homeless. She had a choice. 

To make matters worse, Hosea would reject her children of harlotry, those  children thrust on him because of their marriage though fathered by her adulterous partners. No more compassion. They are not my own.

Gomer had gone after lovers as if the lovers were the ones providing for her needs. She wanted more than bread and water, the basics of life. She wanted wool and flax, oil and drink. She wanted a better life than she had, a different life. She wanted it, and she went after it.

15) How were God’s people like Gomer?

16) How did God respond?

17) What discipline had the people experienced?

18) What effect did their discipline accomplish?

Just as Hosea must have been fed up with Gomer’s adultery, God was fed up with the idolatry (spiritual harlotry) of His people. The children of Israel had been discontented with manna and water in the wilderness, and begged for meat. 

In that same way, God’s people had continued to crave the “good life”. They wanted what the nations around them had, and they went after it with their idolatry. The history of Israel (Northern Kingdom) was one of almost unrelenting immorality and idolatry. They broke covenant with God over and over again. At last, He calls them to account.

Matt Barber wrote an article in 2008 about Baal worship that aptly describes the kind of activities in which God’s people indulged. Be forewarned. It’s worth reading, but heartbreaking. 

You can read that article here: What Baal Worship Looked Like

(http://www.wnd.com/2008/12/83960/ )

We’ve looked at Hosea 2 from Hosea’s viewpoint. Now, let’s look at it in a little more depth from God’s viewpoint.

Hosea 2:1 makes reference to the children. Since the children were not the ones who were idolaters, this verse points to a future generation of believers with whom God will reconcile. He will preserve a remnant. See Isaiah 10:20-22

19) What does God say about His remnant? 

Paul also wrote about this remnant in Romans 9:6-8 and 30-31.

20) How can righteousness be obtained? 

My eye drifted down to Romans 10 just now. There are such good words there that I’m taking a moment to read through it. Why don’t you do that, too? 21) Romans 10:1-3. 

Paul speaks of those who have a “zeal for God” that does not correspond to the knowledge of Christ, but, instead, seeks to establish righteousness on their own. It’s easy to think that Paul is speaking about the Jews, and he is, but I’ve been guilty of that same thing. Maybe you have, too. When we choose to do things, even good things, our own way instead of God’s way, we can exhibit a kind of zeal that doesn’t correspond to the knowledge of God.

22) How has this zeal been demonstrated in the world around us? 






23) How has it been demonstrated in our own lives? 

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

Nothing we can devise and nothing this world can devise will ever save us or give us the righteousness of Christ Jesus. The problem described in Hosea is that both Israel and Judah wanted to substitute a form of religion for a heart of relationship, and that will never do.

Okay, I’m done with the segue. Back to Hosea.

In Hosea 2:2, God offered a choice to Israel. 

24) What is the choice and what does it mean for Israel in terms of actions that must be taken?

25) What will be the consequences of refusal to repent?

One of the complaints God had against Israel was that they had taken His generosity lightly. They had not given Him credit for their blessings. 

Prayer Pause:

We are comfortable with going to God with our needs, but He wants to be more than a divine vending machine. He desires a relationship with us. We honor Him when we approach Him with thanks and praise. Take a moment to praise God for Who He is and thank Him for all the blessings He has given you.
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26) How had Israel used the resources He had given? (Hosea 2:8)

27) To what has our nation credited our blessings?

Like Israel, our nation has not given God credit for the rich resources He has given us, nor have we served Him with them. 

28) How have we betrayed God with the things He has given us?

God had put up with enough, and He called a halt to their spiritual adultery. If His people wanted the false gods, then He would let them experience what the false gods had to offer. They would soon find that He was the source of all their blessings. Not gods made from wood and stone.

29) How might these verses relate to the church of America today?

30) How do these verse relate to us personally? How have we gone after the “good things” of this world?

31) How have you experienced the paucity of life outside fellowship with God?

It’s easy to read these verses in Hosea and assume that God had broken covenant with His people, but He had not. When He gave the law, He offered the people a choice. They could choose blessings or curses. The choice was not made by mere words alone. They chose blessings with a lifestyle of obedience. They chose curses with a lifestyle of rebellion. 

Deuteronomy 28:15-68 outlines the consequences of choosing the curse. 

32) How does this passage compare with that of Hosea 2?

To summarize, the passage in Deuteronomy made it clear. Disobedience would cause every area of their lives to be cursed. Home. Children. Business. Battles. Weather. Pestilence. Health. Mind. Relationships. 

His Word is clear on another point that we do well to consider. He was not talking merely to the Israelites standing before Him. This choice, and the associated consequences, applied to subsequent generations. 

33) Read Deuteronomy 29:14-15.

If the kings had studied the law as God commanded (Deuteronomy 17:18-20), they would have anticipated the consequences of their actions. The king was to do more than listen to a sermon. 

34) What did God command the king to do regarding the law?

35) Why?

Paul wrote to Timothy about the importance of knowing the Word of God. 
36) What did he say in 2 Timothy 2:15? 

37) Putting both passages together, what benefits do we obtain by studying the Word of God?

Prayer Pause:

Pray for faithfulness in studying God's Word, understanding of the lessons He has for you, and the perseverance to put His Word into action in your life.
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Hosea 2:6-13 - 

In these verses, God told His people what He would do. If Israel wanted her idols, she could have them, but she couldn't have it both ways. God would no longer tolerate a mingling of Baal worship with the worship due to Him alone.

In Hosea 2:6, God described a discipline He planned to apply. 
38) What will He use to limit Israel?

Let’s take a look at the word translated as “hedge”. Go to http://blueletterbible.org, search for Hosea 2:6, and click on Strong’s H7753, to the right of the term “I will hedge.” Scroll down to the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon. Midway down, you see something interesting about how this word is used. 

39) What does it say about it’s use in Hosea?

The same word is used in Job 38:8. 

40) What does God place around the sea?

When God places a “hedge of thorns” around His people, He places a surrounding limit that is uncomfortable. “Thorns” implies that the limit “sticks us” like a barb, wounding no matter which way we turn. Just as for the ocean, God places a limit that can only be breached with His permission. 

For the one trapped in one of God’s thorny hedges, it’s a miserable situation, but it is a thorny grace designed to help us see our hopeless estate and bring us back to Himself.

41) Have you ever experienced a time of thorny grace? How did it hem you in? How did it help you change? 

Let’s look at one more truth tucked into Hosea 2:6.

“Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.” 

Not only did God say what He would do, He said what He hoped to achieve by this hedge of thorns. The word translated as “behold” literally means “look at Me.” The point of discipline, including the thorny hedge, is to draw our attention away from the source of our idolatry and focus our attention on God. He wants us to look to Him.

The principle here is that God will hem His people about in such a way that they cannot pursue the sin that had enslaved them (cannot find her paths) and they will look to Him.

(I won’t ask you to look it up, but here’s the link if you want to follow it. 

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2009&t=NASB)

J. Vernon McGee was a 20th century pastor with an interesting commentary on this passage and the ingratitude of Christians today. It’s worth the listen. If time is short, at least begin at 2:42.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/popPlayer.cfm?id=6703&rel=mcgee_j_vernon/Hsa  

We've already talked about Hammurabi's Code for a husband's provision of a wife's daily maintenance. God had given the legally-required provision for daily maintenance and much more to His people, His Spiritual Bride. Scripture mentions silver, gold, flax, and wine. His people, however, had lavished His generous provision on the objects of their idolatry and claimed a source other than Him for all He had done. 

I would like to think I’ve never done this, but, when I survey my material possessions and think that I have provided them for myself by my own hard work, I am no better than the foolish Israelites. I have given myself (the object of my idolatry) credit for what only God could achieve.

Pride in our own accomplishments is not the only form of idolatry today.

42) How have we lavished the generous provision of God on the objects of our idolatry? 

43) In what ways have we denied God as the source of our blessings?

God called Israel to account for their idolatry, just as He calls us to account today.

44) Make a list of the “I wills” in Hosea 2:9-13 and consider how they might be manifested today?

Bible Background Commentary suggests the scenario described is one of utter chaos and collapse of civilization. Even this punishment is tempered with mercy.

The Abrahamic covenant is not negated by famine, poverty, or civil unrest. Instead, God uses these disasters as an opportunity to draw us back to Himself.

45) How have hard times been used in your life to bring you closer to God?

46) How might hard times be used in this country to draw us back to God?

There’s an important point that we don’t want to miss. The famine, poverty, and civil unrest God threatened were not for the Assyrians or any of the other pagan nations. Those disasters were God-designed to bring His own people back to the One who loved them most. God will deal with the Assyrians of this world, the pagans of this world, eventually. If not in this lifetime, then in the next. 

Prayer Pause:

Stop for a moment and review 2 Chronicles 7:14, then pray that prayer for our nation. Begin by praying for yourself and those closest to you, but pray, too, for the body of Christ in this nation and around the world. 
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Hosea 2:14-17

Now begins a beautiful word picture of God’s ever-pursuing, prevenient grace. God had already hemmed in His people and forced them to look to Him. The looking did not restore their love. 

He sent famine, poverty, civil unrest. He left them broken and alone. In this passage, they had, at last, come to the end of themselves. They were bereft. Broken. Alone.

But… There is good news they couldn’t yet see. 

God had not lost sight of His people. He had not stopped loving them. His covenant had not been broken. He had simply done exactly what He promised them He would do if they did not obey.

When God declares judgment and discipline, He follows with an offer of mercy. That’s what we see in Hosea 2:14-23. 

God’s goal in judgment is not annihilation. It is restoration. His desire is for His bride to be spotless and pure, and He tempers his judgment with mercy. The promises in Hosea 2:14-23 speak of a time after judgment when healing and restoration have come, but they come at a price.

At no point will God allow Gomer or Israel (or those of us in the body of Christ today) to continue in sin without discipline. His goal is purity and, to achieve it, the unfaithfulness and chasing after false gods of our own creation must end. 

Only a faithful bride can enjoy the intimacy describe in this passage. Only faithful followers can experience the intimacy with Christ that our Lord intended.

In verse 14, God used that same wording He used in verse 6. “Therefore, behold.” He was literally saying, “Now, you will look at Me. Watch what I do.”

I want to gasp when I read these next words because they are so radically romantic. 

Here’s the Leanna Paraphrase. 

“Watch this, My love. I will romance you back to Me. 

Whisper sweet words of love in your ear. 

Take you to the most beautiful, romantic place I know. 

I will lavish My best on you. 

And when I do, you will sing again. 

Love Me again. 

Rejoice again.”

Normally, when I think of Promised Land wilderness, I think of a barren desert, as in Hosea 2:5. (The photo of the Dead Sea at the beginning of this lesson is what I generally think of as wilderness.) “Wilderness” can also mean “uninhabited land”. (See https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H4057&t=NASB) In this instance, I believe God will take His beloved into a place apart, an uninhabited land.

The pictures below are of En Gedi, the wilderness in which King David hid when he ran from Saul. The cave where David cut off the hem of Saul's robe was in this wilderness. (2 Samuel 24:1-7) En Gedi does have bare rock, but there is quite a bit of green, multiple caves, and more than one waterfall. It's barren in some ways, but also quite beautiful.

In the wilderness, God would give her vineyards. This indicated a renewed opportunity for fruitfulness and hope and corresponded to the “door of hope”. 

There’s another point about the vineyards God gives, though, that we don’t want to miss. Vineyards require a significant amount of labor. 

In a way, God was saying, “Here’s your work. Settle in. You’re going to be here a while.” 

In fact, sometimes we’re in the wilderness for far longer than we’d like, but the time is never wasted. At the end of my own wilderness experience, I found that a work of grace had been accomplished that could never have been achieved in a shorter time period. 

47) How have you seen this in your own life? 






38) What has God accomplished through your wilderness time?

Prayer Pause:

Take a moment to thank God for the thorns, the wilderness experiences, He's allowed into your life. Thank Him for the lessons you've learned and the desire for obedience you gained.
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Hosea 2:15 - 

Let’s refresh ourselves about the Valley of Achor so that we can understand the importance of the site. 

This was the place of reckoning. When Joshua led the children of Israel to take Jericho, they spared Rahab the harlot and everyone in her household. 

49) What did Joshua tell the people about the spoils of the city? 




50) To whom did they belong? (Joshua 6:17-19) 

The people celebrated a great victory and expected continued military success. At Ai, however, they experienced defeat. God told Joshua it was because of their sin and because something under the ban had been taken from Jericho. Read about it in Joshua 7:11 - 26.

51) What had Achan taken? 




52) What was his punishment? 





53) Where was his punishment?

Achor was, for Achan and the people of Israel, the Valley of Consequences. God said in Hosea 2:15 that the Valley of Consequences, where the price of sin was extracted, would become a door of hope. 

Just before the Israelites left Egypt, they experienced a “door of hope”. 

54) What was their “door of hope” and what did it symbolize? See Exodus 12:7, 12-13, 23. 

My pastor said recently that Jesus is concealed in the Old Testament but revealed in the New Testament. 

55) How is Jesus concealed in these verses? See John 10:7,9 and Revelation 4:1

God says His bride will “sing there as in the days of her youth.” Go to Blue Letter Bible (you’re becoming proficient in this, right?) and look at the word translated as “sing”. 

56) It can certainly indicate a musical rendition of song, but what else can this word mean?

When God’s people are drawn back to Him and they enter through the door of Hope (Jesus), that relationship is so profound that they cannot help but “anah” or testify to His goodness. 

Now, let’s look at Revelation 12:11. 
57) How do we overcome the accuser of the brethren?

Let’s put it all together. God uses the darkest times in our life to force our eyes toward Him. When He has our attention, He takes those terrible circumstances (often of our own making) and uses them to bring us to Jesus and to accomplish a work in our lives. 

When we walk through that “door of hope” to become a disciple of Christ, we willingly speak the testimony of what God has done for us. That testimony, the rehearsing of the goodness of God, serves as a protection to us. It’s a reminder of the generosity of God - in forgiveness, healing, and transformation, but also in every material gift we have received. Every good and perfect gift has come from Him. (James 1:7)

In the telling of our “song” of love for our Lord, our testimony, something wonderful will happen. We cannot rehearse the testimony of our former life, our former idols, at the same time that we praise God. We move away from the old life and closer to our Lord.

Prayer Pause:

Pray for opportunities to share your own "song of love" for our Lord and the boldness to speak of all that God has done.
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58) Read Hosea 2:16-17. What will happen in His people?

59) Compare this with Isaiah 54:5

Hosea 2: 18-23

“In that day”

“In that day” is a prophetic term. It may refer to the time of the return after the Babylonian captivity, but I tend to believe it refers to the end time when Israel is restored and will recognize their Messiah. 

Hosea 2:18 speaks of two “I will’s”. The first is a covenant. 

60) Compare this covenant with Isaiah 11:6-9. 

Also, look at the phrase “in that day” in Isaiah 11:10. 

61) To what does this passage refer?

62) What is the second “I will” in verse 18? 


63) How does it compare with Isaiah 2:1-4

Isaiah 2:4 is inscribed on a wall in United Nations Plaza. You can see it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Bunche_Park

The passages in Isaiah and in Hosea both speak of a time of peace, also foretold by Jeremiah. 
64) Read Jeremiah 23:5-6 

Hosea 2:19, 20 -

Both these verses speak of the betrothal of God and His bride. The repetition is a kind of symbolic confirmation. God is saying, “I will betroth you. I really will do it.”

The word betrothal is used three times in these two verses. In Biblical language, the number three is highly symbolic of both the Triune God and, for the Jewish people of Hosea’s time, is also symbolic of “perfect completion.” 

65) What, then, might the three-fold use of “I will betroth you” indicate in this passage? 

The language of God’s betrothal to Israel is also used in Isaiah 62:4-5 and in the passage we’ve seen before, Isaiah 54:5-8 (This is a precious passage to me and sustained me during my Hosea years, so you can expect to see it again.)

66) Using the passages in Isaiah, as well as the passage in Hosea 2:19-20, what do we know about God’s betrothal to His bride?

Hosea 2:21-23

We’ve made it through the sin, the judgment, the discipline, and the wooing. We come now to a passage that shows us how sweet and kind our God is to us. 

v. 21 - We see the prophetic phrase “in that day” again. When all the discipline is done and His people return to Him with their whole heart, God will respond. I believe this is a present promise and a future promise. When we return with an humbled, surrendered heart to God, He responds to that return in wonderful ways. This is also a promise for the time when Israel is restored and recognizes their Messiah.

67) How many times does God use the phrase “I will respond” in this verse?

68) What does the repetition indicate?

This response is a kind of magnificent unfolding. 

God responds to the heavens.

The Heavens respond to the earth.

The earth responds to the grain, new wine, and oil.

The grain, new wine, and oil respond to Jezreel. 

This unfolding of response indicates the generous provision of God toward His people. Read Jeremiah 21:12. 

69) What does this verse say life will be like for God’s people “in that day”?

“They will respond to Jezreel” is a reference to verse 23. 

70) What does the name Jezreel mean? (We looked at this in Hosea 1:4)

Verse 23 is the one I’ve been waiting to reach. I think you’ll love this verse, too. 

It is related to a passage in Jeremiah 31:27-34 and speaks of the restoration of Israel and more. 

71) What is this New Covenant about which Jeremiah writes?

Now, look at the last part of verse 23. (It's the part I love.)

When God speaks of “My people” he is speaking of Israel. (literally and figuratively)

72) When He speaks of "those who were not My people”, to whom does He refer?

73) What kind of relationship will He have with those who were formerly “not”?

74) What kind of relationship do you have with Him?

75) Is it all you want it to be?

Prayer Pause:

Now is the time to stop and consider your relationship with our Lord. If it's not all you want it to be, or, more importantly, all it should be, ask Him to change your heart. Ask Him to bind your heart to His heart, your mind to His mind, your will to His will. 
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If you’re here, you’ve made it all the way through the second week and the second chapter. That means you’ve been working hard. You’ve probably prayed, and done some repenting, and shed some tears. God has changed you already. 

I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of you. The enemy of your soul would love to see you quit, but you are not a quitter. I’m grinning because of your hard work. Well done, Child of God!

I’ve prayed this verse for you and I’m not even going to ask you to look it up. This is what God says, and I’m counting on it for your life.

“So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 nasb

Our God has brought you to this place on purpose, and He’s using this study to accomplish something wonderful in your life. I’m praying you don’t miss a thing He has for you.

Don't stop now, friends. Here's the link to Chapter 3: Hosea Chapter 3

#Biblestudy #Hosea #indepthBiblestudy