Hosea 2

1After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. 2And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people’—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. 10*” Yet the time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people, it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’ Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. 1:2 Or a promiscuous woman. 1:10 Verses 1:10-11 are numbered 2:1-2 in Hebrew text. them return to God. Unfortunately, the people had broken their covenant with God, and they would receive the punishments God had promised (Deuteronomy 27-28). 1:2,

3Did God really order his prophet to marry a woman whowas a prostitute? Some who find it difficult to believe God couldmake such a request view this story as an iliustration, not ahistorical event. Many, however, think the story is historical andgive one of these explanations: (1) According to God's law, apriest could not marry a prostitute or a divorced woman (Leviti-cus 21:7). However, Hosea was not a priest. (2) It is possiblethat Gomer was not a prostitute when Hosea married her andthat God was fetting Hosea know that Gomer would later turn toadultery and prostitution. in any case, Hosea knew ahead of timethat his wife would be unfaithful and that their married life wouldbecome a living object lesson to the adulterous northern king-dom. Hosea’s marriage to an unfaithful woman would illustrateGod's relationship to the unfaithful nation of Israel.1:2, 3. Itis difficult to imagine Hosea’s feelings when God told him{0 marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him. He may nothave wanted to do it, but he obeyed. God often required extraordi-nary obedience from his prophets who were facing extraordinarytimes. God may ask you to do something difficult and extraordi-nary, too. If he does, how will you respond? Will you obey him,trusting that he who knows everything has a special purpose for hisrequest? Will you be able to accept the fact that the pain involved inobedience may benefit those you serve and not you personally?1:4,

5Elijah had predicted that the family of Israel’s King Ahabwould be destroyed because of their wickedness (

7Kings 21:20-22), but Jehu went too far in carrying out God’s command (2 Kings10:1-11). Therefore, Jehu’s dynasty would also be punished—inthe Jezreei Valley, the very place where he carried out the massacreof Ahab’s family. God’s promise to put an end to Israel as an inde-pendent kingdom came true 25 years later when the Assyrians con-quered the northern kingdom and carried the people into captivity.1:6,

8In 1:3, we read that Gomer gave Hosea a son. In 1:6,Gomer gave birth to a daughter, and God called the child “yourdaughter” (referring to Isaiah). However, in 1:8, we learn thatGomer gave birth to a second son, but there is no indication thatHosea was his natural father. The key to this part of the story isfound in the names God chose for the children, showing his reac-tion to Israel’s unfaithfulness. God’s reaction to unfaithfulness isno different today. He wants our complete devotion.4:7 Israel and Judah had been a united kingdom under Davidand Solomon. After Solomon's death a civil dispute had arisen,

They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel*+—when God will again plant his people in his land. 2:1*"Tn that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—The ones I love.’

Charges against an Unfaithful Wife

2 2“But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—for she is no longer my wife,and I am no longer her husband.Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her faceand the clothing that exposes her breasts.3 Otherwise, I will strip her as nakedas she was on the day she was born.Iwill leave her to die of thirst,as ina dry and barren wilderness.4 And I will not love her children,for they were conceived in prostitution.5 Their mother is a shameless prostituteand became pregnant in a shameful way.She said,

10T’'ll run after other loversand sell myself to them for food and water,for clothing of woo! and linen,and for olive oil and drinks.’6 “For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes.I will block her path with a wallto make her lose her way.7 When she runs after her lovers,she won't be able to catch them.She will search for thembut not find them.

Then she will think,‘I might as well return to my husband,for I was better off with him than I am now.’8 She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—the grain, the new wine, the olive oil;Teven gave her silver and gold.But she gave all my gifts to Baal.3 “But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wineI generously provided each harvest season.I will take away the wool and linen clothingI gave her to cover her nakedness.10 J will strip her naked in public,while all her lovers look on.No one will be ableto rescue her from my hands.

11T will put an end to her annual festivals,her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.

12I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees,things she claims her lovers gave her.I will let them grow into tangled thickets,where only wild animals will eat the fruit.

13J will punish her for all those timeswhen she burned incense to her images of Baal,when she put on her earrings and jewelsand went out to look for her loversbut forgot all about me,”says the LORD.

The LORD’s Love for Unfaithful Israel

1414 “But then I will win her back once again.Iwill lead her into the desertand speak tenderly to her there.

15I will return her vineyards to herand transform the Valley of Trouble* into a gateway of hope.She will give herself to me there,as she did long ago when she was young,when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.

16When that day comes,” says the LORD,“you will call me ‘my husband’instead of ‘my master.’*

17Q Israel, 1 will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,and you will never mention them again.

18On that day I will make a covenantwith all the wild animals and the birds of the skyand the animals that scurry along the groundso they will not harm you.I will remove all weapons of war from the land,all swords and bows,so you can live unafraidin peace and safety.

19T will make you my wife forever,showing you righteousness and justice,unfailing love and compassion.

20I will be faithful to you and make you mine,and you will finally know me as the LORD.

21“In that day, I will answer,”says the LORD.“I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds.And the sky will answer the earth with rain.

22Then the earth will answer the thirsty criesof the grain, the grapevines, and the olive trees.And they in turn will answer,‘Jezreel’—‘God plants!’

23At that time I will plant a crop of Israelitesand raise them for myself.I will show loveto those I called ‘Not loved.’*And to those I called ‘Not my people,*I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’And they will reply, ‘You are our God!”