Door of Hope - A Devotional Study of the Minor Prophets

By Warren A Henderson

The twelve Minor Prophets chiefly addressed God’s covenant people between the ninth and fifth centuries B.C. One striking feature of their prophecies is how often expressions of God’s grace and affection are embedded within scathing denunciations of Jewish stubborn waywardness. Joel’s prophetic indictment concisely summarizes G

• Language: English
• Publisher: Warren A Henderson
• Release date: May 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781939770462

Book preview

All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, unless otherwise noted. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville, TN

Door of Hope – A Devotional Study of the Minor Prophets

By Warren Henderson

Copyright © 2018

Cover Design by Benjamin Bredeweg

Published by Warren A. Henderson

3769 Indiana Road

Pomona, KS 66076

Editing/Proofreading:

Marilyn MacMullen, Dan Macy,

Gary McBride, and David Lindstrom

Perfect Bound ISBN 978-1-939770-45-5

eBook ISBN 978-1-939770-46-2

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Other Books by the Author

Afterlife – What Will It Be Like?

Answer the Call – Finding Life’s Purpose

Be Holy and Come Near– A Devotional Study of Leviticus

Behold the Saviour

Be Angry and Sin Not

Conquest and the Life of Rest – A Devotional Study of Joshua

Exploring the Pauline Epistles

Forsaken, Forgotten, and Forgiven – A Devotional Study of Jeremiah

Glories Seen & Unseen

Hallowed Be Thy Name – Revering Christ in a Casual World

Hiding God – The Ambition of World Religion

In Search of God – A Quest for Truth

Infidelity and Loyalty – A Devotional Study of Ezekiel and Daniel

Knowing the All-Knowing

Managing Anger God’s Way

Mind Frames – Where Life’s Battle Is Won or Lost

Out of Egypt – A Devotional Study of Exodus

Overcoming Your Bully

Passing the Torch – Mentoring the Next Generation For Christ

Relativity and Redemption – A Devotional Study of Judges and Ruth

Revive Us Again – A Devotional Study of Ezra and Nehemiah

Seeds of Destiny – A Devotional Study of Genesis

Sorrow and Comfort – A Devotional Study of Isaiah

The Beginning of Wisdom – A Devotional Study of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon

The Bible: Myth or Divine Truth?

The Evil Nexus – Are You Aiding the Enemy?

The Fruitful Bough – Affirming Biblical Manhood

The Fruitful Vine – Celebrating Biblical Womanhood

The Hope of Glory – A Preview of Things to Come

The Olive Plants – Raising Spiritual Children

Your Home the Birthing Place of Heaven

Table of Contents

Title Page

Other Books by the Author

Preface

Hosea

Overview of Hosea

Devotions in Hosea

Joel

Overview of Joel

Devotions in Joel

Amos

Overview of Amos

Devotions in Amos

Obadiah

Overview of Obadiah

Devotions in Obadiah

Jonah

Overview of Jonah

Devotions in Jonah

Micah

Overview of Micah

Devotions in Micah

Nahum

Overview of Nahum

Devotions in Nahum

Habakkuk

Overview of Habakkuk

Devotions in Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Overview of Zephaniah

Devotions in Zephaniah

Haggai

Overview of Haggai

Devotions in Haggai

Zechariah

Overview of Zechariah

Devotions in Zechariah

Malachi

Overview of Malachi

Devotions in Malachi

Endnotes

Preface

Priests represent man to God, and prophets speak for God to man. God chose ordinary men of consecration, compassion, and conviction to deliver His messages. They received revelation from Him through dreams, visions, and audible words. Some prophets spoke to kings, but most were sent to plead with common people. Their ministries were often accompanied by personal hardship, suffering, and loss.

The twelve Minor Prophets beginning with Joel and Obadiah in the ninth century B.C. and ending with Malachi in the fifth century B.C. spoke to various people groups. Three prophets delivered oracles to foreign audiences: Obadiah addressed Edom; Jonah and Nahum preached to Israel’s enemy Nineveh. The remaining prophets spoke to their Jewish countrymen – Amos and Hosea were sent to warn Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and Micah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah sounded the alarm in Judah (the Southern Kingdom). Joel issued a general indictment against Israel and then revealed God’s prophetic plan to restore the Jewish nation, to judge the wicked, and to establish Messiah’s kingdom in the future.

The post-exile prophets Haggai and Zechariah were commissioned to motivate a disheartened Jewish remnant to rebuild the temple; however, both prophets also spoke of the coming Kingdom Age. Malachi, in about 420 B.C., closes out the ministry of the Minor Prophets with a final rebuke against Jewish defiance. His messages were followed by four centuries of divine silence until God spoke to Israel again through the incarnate Word – His own Son (John 1:1, 14; Heb. 1:1-3).

One of the striking features of the prophecies for Israel is how expressions of divine grace and affection are frequently embedded within scathing denunciations of the people’s stubborn waywardness. The prophets are severe in rebuking Jewish unfaithfulness and warning them of stern consequences for their sin, yet their appeals for repentance also convey God’s enduring love for His people. The tenderness of God for them and His desire to restore and to bless them is often expressed in the sermons of the Minor Prophets. Consequently, the Jewish nation has had, and always will have, a door of hope before them.

I will give her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt (Hos. 2:15).

Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you (Zech. 9:12).

In a future day a refined remnant of the Jewish nation will pass through that door of repentance and will enter the stronghold of God. There they will bask in God’s love, being lavished with all His goodness. God has not abandoned His covenant people of old.

Through the literal interpretation of Scripture we understand that God’s future plan for glorifying the Church is quite different than His agenda for restoring the nation of Israel to a position of honor and blessing. Hosea refers to this latter event as a door of hope for Israel. Not only do such prophetic promises bestow hope on the Jewish nation, but these should also excite every Christian to love the blessed hope, the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 4:8)! Consequently, both the nation of Israel and the Church have all their hopes in Christ!

Door of Hope is a commentary style devotional which upholds the glories of Christ while exploring the twelve books of the Minor Prophets within the context of the whole of Scripture. I have endeavored to include in this book some principal gleanings from other writers. The short devotional format allows the reader to use the book either as a daily devotional or as a reference for deeper study.

— Warren Henderson

Hosea

Overview of Hosea

The Author

Hosea was the son of Beeri (1:1). The meaning of Hosea’s name, salvation or deliverance, amplifies his main message to Israel: Only Jehovah can deliver you – turn to Him! Nothing else is known about Hosea or his family.

Date

Hosea’s prophetic ministry to the Northern Kingdom occurred in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel (1:1). At the same time Isaiah was addressing the Southern Kingdom (i.e., the mid-eighth century B.C.). Hosea was also a contemporary of Amos. Both prophets were sent to the Northern Kingdom and began their ministries a few years before Isaiah. Since King Jeroboam II ruled over Israel from 793-753 B.C. and Hezekiah sat on Judah’s throne from 715-686 B.C., Hosea’s ministry would have lasted a minimum of 39 years and more likely in the sixty-year range. Some commentators, like E. B. Pusey, believe Hosea prophesied for roughly eighty years.¹

Theme

Hosea, and then later Jeremiah and Ezekiel, liken Israel’s departure from their covenant with Jehovah into moral filthiness and idolatry to a virgin bride who, after marriage, became lascivious – a harlot. The Lord, foreknowing that Hosea’s wife would also be unfaithful to him, incorporates Hosea’s painful marital experience into the narrative to dramatically express His own heartache over the spiritual infidelity of His people. To this end, Hosea 13:4 vividly expresses the theme of the entire book: Yet I am the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me; for there is no savior besides Me.

The book of Hosea exemplifies the longsuffering nature of God and His unfailing love. Gomer, Hosea’s adulterous wife, was abused, abandoned, and then redeemed and restored by Hosea to her proper marital relationship. Likewise, in a future day, God will cleanse the long-chastened Jewish nation of their infidelity, redeem them, and restore them to their proper covenant relationship with Himself. Afterwards, the Jewish nation will remain pure and faithfully devoted to Jehovah forever.

Outline

Hosea’s Tragic Personal Experience (1:1-3:5)

Israel Indicted for Unfaithfulness (4:1-8:14)

God’s Retribution on Israel (9:1-10:15)

God’s Unfailing Love for Israel (11:1-13:8)

Israel Restored Forever (13:9-14:9)

Devotions in Hosea

The Blood and the Day of Jezreel

Hosea 1

Hosea’s messages were delivered in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel (1:1). Although other kings of Israel ruled during this era, Hosea does not name them, for they were wicked and God took no pleasure in them. Jeroboam, though wicked, did accomplish much good for the Northern Kingdom during his reign, such as recovering much of Israel’s land that had been previously lost.

Hosea’s prophetic ministry to the Northern Kingdom roughly parallels Isaiah’s ministry to the Southern Kingdom, although Hosea likely preceded Isaiah’s service by about twenty years. Since Jeroboam II ruled Israel from 782 to 753 B.C. and Hezekiah began his reign over Judah in 716 B.C., Hosea’s prophetic ministry likely centered between 760 B.C. and 710 B.C.

Hosea’s marital crisis and restoration, recorded in the first three chapters, forms the thematic framework for the entire book. The unfaithfulness of Gomer, Hosea’s wife, projects into the text the Lord’s own heartache over Israel’s idolatry. Such blatant infidelity resulted in harsh consequences for Israel and also, as we will see, for Gomer. But eventually redeeming love triumphs to restore Gomer to Hosea, just as it will in a future time to reestablish the Jewish nation with the Lord. Throughout the book, this theme is reinforced with two intertwining ideas: judgment for rebellion is inescapable and abounding mercy is available for deliverance.

From a human perspective, the Lord’s opening command is troublesome: Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord (v. 2). Did the Lord really command Hosea to marry a prostitute or a lascivious woman? Commentators do not agree on this point. Unfortunately, some interpret the narrative as a parable, which undermines the literal aspects of the question altogether. Others, like William Kelly, believe that the Lord did ask Hosea to marry a woman of ill repute:  

The prophet is commanded to do that which was necessarily most painful in itself, and suggestive of what he as a man of God must have felt to be humbled as well as repulsed. But such was the attitude of Israel to their God, and Jehovah would make the prophet and those who heeded the prophecy to understand in measure what He must feel as to His people. … At the very least we can say that the expression intimated to the prophet what Gomer was going to be. But it must be allowed that the phrase naturally conveys the impression that she had already been guilty of an impure life too common where idolatry reigned.²

Likewise, E. B. Pusey suggests that Gomer must then, amid the manifold corruption of Israel, have been repeatedly guilty of that sin [whoredom], perhaps as an idolatress, thinking of it to be in honor of their foul gods.³ H. A. Ironside also believes Hosea married a whore:

As in the case of Isaiah, he and his were to be for signs in Israel; so he is told to unite himself in marriage to a woman devoid of character – a harlot; thus signifying the wretched condition of unfaithful Israel, who nevertheless remained the object of Jehovah’s love, despite their iniquity, and the filthiness that was in them.⁴

While this certainly may have been the situation, there is also good reason to believe that the Lord’s statements were either predictive concerning the character of Hosea’s wife or that He was referring to the land of harlotry from which Gomer had come. Some argue that since the Lord ties the wife of harlotry with her offspring, He is anticipating what she will prove to be in time – a disloyal wife; He is not speaking of her sexual impurity at the time of marriage. R. B. Chisholm Jr. suggests that this interpretation of the Hebrew language is in keeping with numerous other examples in the Old Testament:

Both the language of Hosea 1:2 and the following context support this interpretation. The expression is similar to others in Hebrew that describes a married woman’s character (e.g., wife of one’s youth, a quarrelsome wife, a wife of noble character). … The Hebrew word zanuwn translated adulterous [or harlotry in v. 2, NKJV] refers elsewhere in Hosea to the activity of Israel under the figure of a married woman (e.g., 2:2, 4, 4:12, 5:5).⁵

This conclusion also aligns with the allegory posed in Ezekiel 16 where Israel is presented as the pure virgin bride of Jehovah, who later became adulterous (i.e., idolatrous) and was rejected and chastened by the Lord. The expression for the land has committed great harlotry emphasizes the widespread nature of Israel’s idolatry, which would have adversely influenced Gomer’s thinking.

Given this understanding, it seems preferable to view verse 2 as not speaking of Gomer’s premarital sexual purity, but rather prophetically what she would become. This conclusion is confirmed when Hosea takes abandoned Gomer back to himself after previously rejecting her for her adulterous behavior (3:1-3). It seems doubtful therefore that he would have married her initially (i.e., that the Lord would have commanded him to) if she were actively fornicating with other married men, an offense punished by death under the Law.

In summary, Gomer may have been a lascivious woman before marriage, or she may have only participated in pagan sexual rites before marriage, or she may have been a virgin who being adversely influenced by a pagan society became adulterous after marriage. Regardless, Hosea did not question God’s will, nor did he delay in doing what the Lord commanded; so he went reflects the faithful attitude servants of God should have in fulfilling their callings. Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, even though he foreknew that she would be unfaithful to him and would bear children of unfaithfulness (v. 3). J. M. Flanigan notes that there is a consensus among commentators as to implications of Gomer and Diblaim’s names: "The name Gomer means ‘completeness’ or ‘ripeness,’ and Diblaim means ‘cakes’ or ‘layers of figs.’ It is thought that these names signify that in the land from which Gomer came there was a fullness of sensuality and corrupt pleasures."⁶

However, commentators do not agree as to whether some of the children born to Hosea were fathered by other men (vv. 3-9), or whether they were born to Hosea by his promiscuous wife. Verse 4 seems to indicate that their first child was Hosea’s son; however, there is no masculine pronoun in the text to confirm that he fathered the next two children. If he did father his daughter and second son, then perhaps the children are not associated with Hosea, because the adulterous character of their mother had been stamped upon them. That is, as children of harlotry, the Lord would have no regard for them, other than to appropriately name them to convey His stern message to Israel (2:4).

This is a good reminder that God is not seeking just children from the union of a husband and wife; Malachi reminds us that God desires a godly seed that will live for Him (Mal. 2:15). In principle, God is more interested in quality than quantity of children. In other words, parents should not be having babies for the sake of obtaining a large family, but rather for the added capacity of serving the Lord and bringing honor to His name. To have more children than what parents can spiritually, emotionally, educationally, and economically care for is not wise. As the prophet Ezekiel informed the parents of his day, children are born unto the Lord – they are for Him (Ezek. 16:20). The psalmist declares that children are a heritage from the Lord (Ps. 127:3), and then explains:

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate (Ps. 127:4-5).

The psalmist reminds us that parents are mere stewards, and not owners, of the children God graciously entrusts to our care. If reared in the ways of the Lord, these skillfully sharpened and straight arrows become a rich blessing to all. Children must be trained up for the Lord. Untrained children, not surprisingly, remain foolish (Prov. 22:15) and predictably absorb outside influences that fill their void of understanding. Children are natural sponges – they are compelled to learn and to develop an understanding of the world in which they live. Unfortunately for Hosea’s family, the lascivious and perhaps pagan lifestyle of Gomer ruined the children – they were not being nurtured for the Lord.

The Lord, through Hosea, will name all of Gomer’s children as each one reveals different aspects of the broken relationship between Himself and His covenant people and the judgment that they will suffer. What name did the Lord choose for their first child? Call his name Jezreel, for in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel (v. 4). The significance of Jezreel here is not in the meaning of the name, but rather it relates to a previous incident where blood was wrongly shed. Righteous Naboth, the Jezreelite, was murdered by Ahab through the wicked plotting of his evil wife Jezebel to obtain a vineyard that Ahab wanted to own (1 Kgs. 21). Ironically, a century later, the bloody massacres of the house of Ahab and of the house of David commenced by Jehu on this very property of Naboth (2 Kgs. 9-10).

Joram, the king of Israel, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, along with many others were slain by Jehu. While the judgment against the house of wicked Ahab had been predicted by Elijah (1 Kgs. 21:21-24), commanded by Elisha (2 Kgs. 9:1-10), and approved by the Lord (2 Kgs. 10:30), Jehu’s massacre of Ahaziah and his relatives was not. Jehu’s slaughter of Baal worshippers in Israel was appropriate (2 Kgs. 10:18-28), but his brutal slaughter of David’s wayward descendants was not sanctioned by God and would be punished. Jehu was not motivated for the glory of God, but rather by pride and selfish ambition. Because Jehu acted on his own behalf, God would judge his house for the unsanctioned bloodshed at Jezreel.

This prophecy was fulfilled in 752 B.C. when Shallum killed Zechariah and ended Jehu’s dynasty in the fourth generation (2 Kgs. 15:10). The Lord informed Hosea that the fulfillment of this prophecy would signal the complete collapse of the Northern Kingdom, as symbolized by Israel’s defeat in the valley of Jezreel (v. 5). This occurred in 733 B.C. when Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria overtook the Jezreel plain, which led to the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. Israel then became a province of Assyria and many of her surviving inhabitants were exiled.

The second child born to Gomer was a daughter, whom the Lord named Lo-Ruhamah, which means she is not loved or she has not obtained mercy (v. 6). This would be a difficult name for a child, especially a daughter, to bear, but it was necessary to convey both the Lord’s heartache over Israel’s apostasy and that He would be withdrawing His goodness towards them. The Lord never stopped loving Israel, but He could not commune with her in covenantal bliss while she was entrenched in idolatry and under His chastening hand. Similarly, Hosea could not engage in marital intimacy with his wife while she was in the arms of other men.

In contrast, the Southern Kingdom, which was not yet in full rebellion, would continue to experience God’s grace for a season. Judah would not be conquered by the powerful Assyrians; God would supernaturally defend them (v. 7). This is one of the main messages repeated throughout the book of Isaiah. Indeed, the Lord did intervene in response to King Hezekiah’s faith. In one night He wiped out 185,000 Assyrian soldiers that were threatening Jerusalem (Isa. 37:36).

Notice the language of verse 8: Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Jewish women commonly nursed their children for two to three years (2 Macc. 7:27). As there was no reference to the weaning of the previous children, the time between the second and third child is distinct and likely refers to the specific time of Israel’s chastening before restoration.

Lo-Ammi was the name given to Gomer’s third child, a son (v. 8). His name means not my people and signified that God was no longer among His covenant-breaking people (speaking of the Northern Kingdom). Israel did not want Jehovah as their God and He therefore ceased to identify with them from a covenantal standpoint. In summary, the names of Gomer’s three children prophetically indicate that Jehovah would: scatter Israel, have no pity for Israel, and disown Israel.

Unfortunately, this estranged relationship would also extend to Judah in the next century. The Lord withdrew from unrepentant Judah and permitted the Babylonians to conquer them shortly afterwards. Ezekiel vividly describes the Lord’s glory leaving the temple and Jerusalem, and then explains that God’s glory would not return from heaven for a very long time (Ezek. 10).

During Old Testament times, Jehovah dwelt in a tabernacle or temple among His covenant people. Hence, His visible glory is identified with His favor and blessing towards His people. Because of national idolatry, God’s glory and blessing departed from Judah just prior to the Babylonian invasion. His people were immoral, idolatrous, and wicked; He could no longer reside among them. Hence, in the post-exile books Jehovah is often referred to as the God of heaven. This estrangement continues to this day, but as W. J. Hocking explains, this is a temporary reality:

Now the ancient people of God are in the Lo-Ammi condition (1:9), and for their sins are regarded as a Gentile people, but eventually they will no longer be outcasts, for, in accordance with prophecy, Jehovah will say to Israel, Thou art My people (2:23).⁷

It is with this shift toward hope that the chapter concludes. In the Hebrew Bible, chapter 1 closes with verse 9, which better punctuates the thematic transition. In a future day, God will extend mercy to His people, both restoring and blessing them again. In the meanwhile, they will not be affirmed as God’s people until the time that Hosea says they will be sons of the living God (v. 10). The Jews will then greatly multiply under God’s care and become as the sand of the sea. Additionally, Hosea prophesied:

Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint for themselves one head; and they shall come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel! (v. 11).

Hosea informs us that when the Jews are restored to Jehovah, they will be one nation again with one king, not two separate kingdoms. Their king will be Messiah, a descendant of David, a fulfillment of God’s vow to David centuries earlier (2 Kgs. 7:11-16). Ezekiel also prophesied that Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and Israel (the Northern Kingdom) would no longer be two nations when they come into their inheritance in Christ’s Kingdom (Ezek. 36:16-21). Ezekiel symbolized this truth by taking two sticks and making them one, the result of which he called Israel (Ezek. 36:28). This was the name God gave to Jacob, the father of the nation (Gen. 32:28). Jeremiah foretold the same event (Jer. 3:18), but only Ezekiel foretells what this united nation would be called – Israel.

Ezekiel also foretold that by the end of the Tribulation Period, every Jew remaining among the nations will be physically brought back to dwell in the land of Israel (Ezek. 39:28-29). Jezreel means God sows. So the great day of Jezreel will occur when God draws His people up out of the land (speaking of their various hiding places in the world) and plant them again in Israel, their promised inheritance (v. 11).

At Christ’s second advent, He will end Gentile oppression and restore the Jewish nation to Himself. Israel will then receive the full benefits of the New Covenant. Until then, the Lord Jesus Christ is building His Church, which, although including both Jews and Gentiles, is chiefly composed of Gentiles. For this reason, Paul reapplies the phrase "you are not My people" in verse 10 to affirm that Gentiles could also become sons of the living God (Rom. 9:24-26). Paul then reveals that God is blessing Gentile believers to provoke the Jews to jealousy; this will ultimately result in their return to Him (Rom. 11:11-15).

The Jews stumbled over Christ at His First Advent, and the blessing He offered them instead fell into the laps of the Gentiles, who were not expecting it (Luke 20:9-16; Rom. 9:32). This permitted God to righteously call a people that were not His covenant people to be His children also. Through Christ, God brings Gentiles into the good of the New Covenant and all the rich blessings associated with it. Praise the Lord!

Having overviewed Israel’s sorrowful spiritual state through willful neglect, we close this chapter with a sobering challenge for the Church from C. A. Coates:

In Israel there was such unfaithfulness that Jehovah had to completely disown them. Such a state will soon be found in the Christian profession that it will be spued out of Christ’s mouth as nauseous to Him. But there is still a remnant marked by faithfulness in the affections, those who keep Christ’s word and do not deny His name. That there should be such a remnant is the fruit of sovereign love that has wrought from the divine side for the satisfaction of divine Persons. After all Israel’s unfaithfulness, and their being disowned by Jehovah, He will yet bring about that it shall be said unto them, Sons of the living God (v. 11). They will be secured in family relation, with a nature capable of response to God in holy affections. There will not then be any breakdown in the marriage relation. At the present time there are those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption. The privilege is open to us of being found amongst them.⁸

Meditation

O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, sweet well of love:

The streams on earth I’ve tasted more deep I’ll drink above.

And to an ocean fullness, His mercy doth expand;

And glory – glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

O I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved’s mine;

He brings a poor, vile sinner into His house of wine!

I stand upon His merit; I know no other stand,

Not even where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

— Anne Ross Cousin

The Door of Hope

Hosea 2

Verse 1 concludes the thought of Israel’s restoration raised in the final two verses of the last chapter and confirms that an opposite meaning of the children’s names will exist: "Say to your brethren, ‘My people,’ [Ammi] and to your sisters, ‘Mercy is shown’ [Ruhamah]." When Israel is reestablished to God in the Kingdom Age, the Lo [not] will be removed. Then, the Jews will express to each other in child-like terms their delight in being God’s children again – Ammi and Ruhamah.

The tenor and focus of the narrative again abruptly changes in verse 2 from future bliss with God to the present dismal reality of not having Him. In hopes that a future generation will be led to self-judgment and repudiation of sin, the prophet carefully outlines Israel’s grievous covenant-breaking behavior which led her away from the Lord. After indicting Israel, Hosea will call her to repentance, threaten her with chastening, and then ultimately pronounce judgment on her for infidelity.

Ezekiel explicitly describes Israel’s treachery against Jehovah, as allegorically displayed in this narrative by Gomer’s marital betrayal. Ezekiel likens Israel to a newborn girl who had been abandoned and left to die in an open field. But Jehovah, being moved by pity, labored sacrificially on her behalf; He washed her, anointed her with oil, clothed her in fine linen, adorned her with ornaments and jewels and cared for her (Ezek. 16:1-13). As a result of His special care and gifts, Israel became a spectacle of beauty among the nations, a declaration of God’s own splendor (Ezek. 16:14).

Unfortunately, Israel developed an ever-deepening lust for secular thrills and sensual pleasures and the gods associated with such things. In time, she forsook the Lord and embraced these false gods, even giving to them in worship the abundance that God in His love had provided her (Ezek. 16:15-19). This wicked behavior caused God to summon Israel to appear before witnesses to publicly accuse her: Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; for she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband (v. 2)! The children (individuals of Israel) need not be identified, as the expression is for rhetorical effect to add realism into the unfolding official drama. The point was that Israel, as the children’s mother, was no longer united to Jehovah by faith and love, nor did He any longer identify with her in a marital relationship. Hence, her orphaned children who had lost the protection of their Father were to earnestly plead with their mother in respect to her sinful disposition.

This public decree is followed by a passionate call to repentance: Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts (v. 2). Between her breasts is not a sexual statement, but rather an expression associated with profound marital communion, which Gomer had perverted through disorderly passion. For example, when the bride in Song of Solomon speaks of her beloved resting all night between her breasts (or upon her bosom), she is speaking poetically of her longing for sweet, uninterrupted communion with her husband (Song 1:13).

Unfortunately, Israel’s yearning for false gods and the wickedness they promoted demonstrated that she no longer valued her purity – a requirement if unhindered companionship with Jehovah is to be enjoyed. Israel is charged with pervasive idolatrous infidelity by Jeremiah: Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: Where have you not lain with men? (Jer. 3:2). What faithful husband would not weep when speaking of such lascivious conduct by the one he loves? The prophets labor to convey to us both God’s profound pain over His people’s abandonment and His yearning heart to have them back.

The Lord’s plea in verse 2 for Israel to repent of her harlotries affirms that He has not yet taken Israel to divorce court, but is trying to repair the relationship. This is a good reminder that adultery does not demand divorce, which God hates, but divorce is permissible for continued marital infidelity (Mal. 2:16; Matt. 19:8-9). God is most honored when the marital relation can be repaired and His design for marriage is submitted to (1 Cor. 7:10-11).                                                                   Jehovah’s fervent appeal is immediately followed with the threat of punitive measures if Israel did not repent and return to Him: Lest I strip her naked and expose her, as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst (v. 3). Ezekiel refers to the judicial custom of stripping an adulteress naked before her public execution to add to her shame and to reinforce the necessity of faithfulness among the populace (Ezek. 16:38-40). Because an adulteress secretly exposed her nakedness to her lovers, she would be publicly stripped naked for all to see; this was a punishment suitable for such criminal disloyalty. This meant that God would utterly humiliate Israel among the nations, if she continued embracing false gods. He also promised to smite Israel with drought, meaning there would be no agricultural reproduction in the land, again a fitting punishment for illicit sexual behavior – no procreation (v. 3).

Continuing the allegory of the public execution of a guilty adulteress, the Lord additionally promised to show no mercy to her illegitimate children after her death (v. 4). As witnessed throughout the Old Testament, God visits the sins of the parents upon the children, until the decreed curse is removed in mercy through repentance (Num. 14:18). As stated previously, there is no need to identify the children. The statement is meant to add distress to the guilty party – mothers are naturally concerned for the wellbeing of their children. So God promised to disown Israel’s children born of harlotry (idolatry); they would become destitute orphans. This harsh language was for shock effect, so to speak. Hosea was trying to awaken Israel to the severe punishment ahead if they did not repent of their idolatry, yet God was not threatening to permanently sever His covenant relationship with them.

To heighten Israel’s awareness of God’s own heartache over her betrayal, the prophet Hosea is permitted to suffer an additional hurt by his lascivious wife Gomer:

For their mother has played the harlot; she who conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink (v. 5).

Hosea watched Gomer bless her lovers for the very provisions (bread, wool, linen, oil, etc.) that he had sent to her to sustain her. Everything that Gomer (picturing Israel) could make shameful, she did – her behavior, her children, and herself. Not only had Israel failed to acknowledge the Lord as the source of her wealth and provisions, she even used the gold and silver that He provided to manufacture images of Baal, which Israel then praised for her abundance (v. 8). E. B. Pusey describes the magnitude of Israel’s elicit passion:

The Hebrew word Meahabim denotes intense passionate love; the plural form implies that they were sinful loves. Every word aggravates the shamelessness. Amid God’s chastisements, she encourages herself, Come, let me go, as people harden and embolden, and, as it were, lash themselves into further sin, lest they should shrink back, or stop short in it. Let me go after. She waits not, as it were, to be enticed, allured, seduced. She herself, uninvited, unbidden, unsought, contrary to the accustomed and natural feeling of woman, follows after those by whom she is not drawn, and refuses to follow God who would draw her (Ezek. 16:31-34). The lovers are whatever a man loves and courts out of God.⁹

Israel’s treachery at this time was so profound that she built high places and shrines to honor pagan deities, and even offered the children, which the Lord had given her, as burnt sacrifices to them (Ezek. 16:20-21, 24-26). To be abandoned was hurtful to God, but then for Israel to praise false gods for what He had provided them in mercy was an even worse insult. God’s goodness had been used to fuel their rebellion; therefore He was withdrawing His blessing from them. Israel would learn the hard way who really controlled all goodness and wanted the best for her.

But even with this injury, the Lord still vowed not to give up on His people. He would even block Israel’s way with thorns and stone walls when she sought to find her lovers (i.e., to venture to pagan shrines; vv. 6-7). This intervention would cause her to lose the path so that she could not find her way. Without the influence of her lovers and without provisions hopefully commonsense would cause Israel to examine the consequences of leaving Jehovah and return to Him: I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now (v. 7). Given the retribution Moses promised his countrymen for idolatry, and what we know of Israel’s history, these divine hedging efforts to redirect Israel would be pestilence, famine, invasion, and exile (Lev. 26:14-22). True, better for me then, than now is not the same as better to follow the Lord now, but their loss of blessing would be the impetus that would cause Israel to reconsider her sorrowful position without Jehovah. Seeing her shift in perspective, the Lord will then woo her with tender words of love back into His arms (v. 14).

In a practical sense, Paul says something quite similar to believers in Galatia who were leaving their simplicity and joy in Christ for the cold, humanized legalism:

But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? (Gal. 4:9).

What then was the blessing you enjoyed? (Gal. 4:15).

Were they happier now that they were pursuing the mutable tenets of human tradition than they had been in intimately knowing and following Christ? The answer is obvious. If in our Christian experience we are less content, less fruitful, or less joyful, it is not God’s fault. We have moved away from Him, that is, from His Word, and His mind. God is most honored and glorified when we are satisfied with Him alone. Hence, the words of Hosea to wayward Israel sound true for all generations of believers: Come, and let us return to the Lord (6:1) and may we do so at once! C. A. Coates summarizes this important realization for us:

All that constitutes true happiness for the intelligent creature is to be found in God Himself. But the result of sin having come in is that the natural heart prefers anything to God. Any foolish propensity, or momentary gratification, any form of self-confidence or self- righteousness, or self- pleasing in a religious way, may be a Baal to seduce us from faithfulness to the only true God and Jesus Christ His sent One.¹⁰

Since Israel had strayed from Him and now praised Baal for the benefits He had provided to sustain her in the land, God’s solution was straightforward: Therefore I will return and take away (v. 9). The Lord would cause the loss of wool, linen, wine, grain, etc. in Israel. He would not be privy to His people’s idolatry, so He would take back what He had freely bestowed in grace.

When Israel was thus deprived, her lovers would mock and desert her; she would be left destitute and naked (v. 10). Because Baal worship had corrupted Israel’s feasts, annual celebrations, New Moon sacrifices, and Sabbath observances, the Lord was going to remove them all (v. 11) This outcome further suggests that invasion and exile would be involved in Israel’s chastening. Verse 12 reiterates God’s plan to limit the fruitfulness of Israel’s vines and fruit trees, which she viewed as rewards from the pagan fertility deities she worshiped. As an unfaithful wife, Israel had forgotten her God; she burned incense and adorned herself with rings and jewelry as seductive ploys to attract her lovers (v. 13).

Hosea has been conveying God’s jealous anger over Israel’s idolatry and His righteous judgments to purify her spiritual harlotries; however, for a second time in the book, the prophet transitions (v. 14) to a message of assurance. As previously mentioned, the Lord will speak tender words and with wooing gestures will allure His wife back to Him: Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her (v. 14). Jehovah will bring Israel into a place of isolation to ensure no one else can compete for her affection and devotion. There, the Lord will cause Israel to taste His love and provide her a glimpse into the joy and blessing that will thrill her soul and cause her to follow after Him forever.

Once restored to Him, God will lead Israel through the Valley of Achor, and into the land of Israel which will flourish with agricultural prosperity (v. 15). In the days of Joshua, the Valley of Achor (which means trouble) was where Achan, his family, all his belongings, his animals and what he had stolen in Jericho were burnt and buried under a pile of stones (Josh. 7:24-26). This event represented the first departure from walking with God after crossing into the Promised Land, and therefore was immediately and severely judged. The ramifications of not having God’s presence with them in battle would be devastating (as shown by the defeat at Ai).

The huge heap covering the bodies of the defectors remained for generations as a public testimony to the consequence of sin in the camp. In the future, however, Israel’s journey through Achor with the Lord would not be troublesome, but rather it would be a door of hope into better things to come. Once back in the land, the Lord will supply all Israel’s needs forever and she will joyfully sing of her Beloved. This event is reminiscent of Israel’s beginning days when Jehovah drew the Jewish nation out of bondage in Egypt to be alone with Himself in the Sinai wilderness and then forty years later He led them into the Promised Land (v. 15).

After Israel’s restoration in the Kingdom Age, she will call Jehovah her Husband (‘iysh) and the expression of Master (Ba` ali) will be purged from their vocabulary (v. 16). Although these two Hebrew words referring to husband are similar in meaning and were sometimes used synonymously (2 Sam. 11:26), the use of the latter term Ba` ali would be a reminder of Israel’s former worship of Baal; therefore, its use will be prohibited (v. 17). Hosea confirms that during the Kingdom Age there will be complete peace between Israel and the beasts of the field and all Gentile nations (v. 18). Isaiah describes in much more detail what the earth will be like when the original curses for sin are removed from nature and Christ rules the nations with justice and righteousness (Isa. 11, 65, 66). Hosea says that God will ensure that the Promised Land will burst forth with oil, wine and grain (vv. 21-22). Then, Israel will be restored to her proper covenant relationship with God and the Lord will also assure her of His enduring love:

I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in loving kindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord (vv. 19-20).

The Lord conveys a similar expression of devotion and complete restoration through the prophet Jeremiah:

For I am with you, says the Lord, to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished (Jer. 30:11).

You shall be My people, and I will be your God (Jer. 30:22).

Ezekiel, likewise, concludes his marital allegory previously discussed with the same assurance:

Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed … I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done, says the Lord God (Ezek. 16:60-63).

Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness to Jehovah, the Lord will be moved with compassion and mercy to restore her to a place of special intimacy. God has not abandoned His adulterous wife, His covenant people of old; He has an agenda for restoring the nation of Israel to a position of honor and blessing. Isaiah records the feats that God’s Servant-Messiah would accomplish: First, He would bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel is gathered to Him (Isa. 49:5). Second, He would also be a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth (Isa. 49:6). Hosea confirms that same twofold plan in verse 23:

Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, You are My people! And they shall say, You are my God! (v. 23).

Paul explains in the Epistle to the Romans how God would accomplish restoring Israel to Himself and also show mercy to the Gentiles, who were not His people by covenant:

That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea: I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there they shall be called sons of the living God (Rom. 9:23-26).

Paul quotes Isaiah once and Hosea twice in this passage to further explain that it was always God’s intention to offer salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. In fact, God would use believing and blessed Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy and draw them back to Himself (Rom. 11:11). So, Jehovah would call a people His children that were not His people (v. 23), and then He would rebuild the Jewish nation to become a beacon of divine truth among the nations (Amos 9:11-12). This is why Paul was so zealous to share the gospel with his fellow countrymen: Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved (Rom. 10:1). He knew Israel’s future, but it was not to be in his lifetime.

Presently, God is calling to Himself a people (Gentiles) that had no hope and no God (Eph. 2:11). When the Church is complete, the Lord Jesus shall descend to the clouds and with a trump and a shout He will gather all who are His from the earth. This will happen in the twinkling of an eye (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-52). Then He shall begin to spiritually refine and awaken the Jewish nation and, after their conversion, establish the throne of David forever (Rom. 11:25). While the Church is vertically raptured to meet Christ in the clouds prior to the Tribulation (1 Thess. 4:13-18), all Jews worldwide will be gathered horizontally back to the land of Israel to worship Him there at the end of the Tribulation Period (Ezek. 39:28-29).

Jehovah is not finished with the Jewish nation, for He decreed an everlasting covenant with Abraham’s descendants through Jacob. Jehovah is a covenant-keeping God and He has established irrevocable promises that He must fulfill.

Meditation

Christ is coming! Let creation from its groans and labor cease;

Let the glorious proclamation hope restore and faith increase:

Christ is coming! Christ is coming! Come, O blessed Prince of peace.

With that blessed hope before us, flutes are tuned and harps are strung;

Let the mighty advent chorus onward roll from tongue to tongue:

Christ is coming! Christ is coming! Let each heart repeat the song.

Long your exiles have been pining for your promised rest and home,

But in heavenly glory shining, soon the risen Christ shall come.

Christ is coming! Christ is coming! Joyful, shout the victory psalm.

— John R. MacDuff

The Unworthy Is Redeemed

Hosea 3

The prophet continues to overview Israel’s past, present, and future relationship to God, in respect of His care to her and her wavering devotion for Him. This chapter opens with one of the most astounding commands in all of Scripture – God instructing a righteous man to again love his wife who had deserted him to be in arms of other men: 

Then the Lord said to me, Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans (v. 1).

Israel was baking raisin cakes to honor false gods. Jeremiah condemns the same practice a century later in Judah: Jewish families throughout Judah were uniting for a festive celebration in honor of the goddess Ishtar, the so-called Queen of Heaven. The event included preparing special cakes that bore her image and were offered to her in a sacrificial rite (Jer. 7:18). The Jews did not seem to care who they honored through these casual social traditions; apparently they did not consider these celebrations idolatrous, but just an opportunity for families to enjoy doing something together (i.e. children gathered the wood, fathers kindled the fires, and women kneaded the bread). Sadly, much of Christendom today also robs devotion from the Lord by honoring fictitious entities through various cultural practices and traditions.

Israel’s false gods were not a threat to Jehovah; human imaginations cannot hurt Him or diminish His glory. However, God’s anger was provoked by the confusion of truth among His people. They no longer had clear distinctions between what was right and what was wrong, between what