BIG IDEA:
GOD’S STEADFAST LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS WILL RESTORE AND RENEW HIS COVENANT RELATIONSHIP TO ISRAEL IN THE END TIMES
INTRODUCTION:
Robin Routledge: These verses emphasize Yahweh’s commitment to winning back and restoring his wayward bride. In the previous sections, Therefore focuses on judgment. However, this passage begins with a different emphasis. Those who are alienated from God because of sin are not able, by themselves, to bring about the changes needed to put things right. However, God is committed to restoring the relationship, and so we see another consequence of sin: God’s direct intervention to do what is necessary to make that restoration possible. We see the ultimate demonstration of that in the coming of Christ and in the cross.
Israel has lost sight of God and his provision and so has forfeited the blessings of being in relationship with him. That state, though, is not permanent. God’s desire is to give back what has been lost. That includes physical well-being, renewed understanding of God and a reaffirmation of their status as his people, in a renewed covenant bond that will last forever. To do that, Yahweh will bring them back to where the relationship began and will offer a new start, with all its initial promise. As part of that renewed relationship, he will provide everything necessary to ensure its permanence. That includes bestowing qualities that are crucial to the relationship but which have hitherto been lacking. This amounts to the spiritual renewal of the people (cf. Ezek. 36:26–28).
This new relationship is noted in the New Testament. On the eve of the crucifixion, Jesus announced a ‘new covenant in my blood’ (Luke 22:20). And, as noted on 1:10 – 2:1, the scope has been widened beyond Israel (cf. Rom. 9:25–26; 1 Pet. 2:10). As a result of divine grace, the hope of future restoration and of a new relationship with God is available to all people.
H. D. Beeby: The crescendo of accusation and of threatened punishment prepares us for the third “therefore,” but when it comes we are equally unprepared for what follows. Two previous “therefores” succeeded by two announcements of punishment have built up into an expectation of further promised punishments. The rhetorical device is effective. But as we proceed, expectations are shattered and in stunned silence we listen incredulously to what is said; for the “therefore” opens, not into diatribe and disaster, but into grace abounding. This grace is grace alone, wholly unconditional, so that whatever change takes place in Israel is the result of God’s grace and is not its prerequisite. The change is in fact in God, and it is indeed startling! It is true that the threats of punishment in previous verses have had overtones of re-education and hoped for reformation, and of course there is the same pattern of reversal in ch. 1. Nevertheless when we hear the words “I will allure …” in v. 14 we are expected to be wholly unprepared for what follows. We have been prepared to be unprepared, prepared by the “therefores,” prepared by the incessant “I will, I will” (vv. 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13), where each time the “I will” is followed by threats of disaster. Now in v. 14, after the third “therefore,” comes the expected future tense, only this time it is a future about life and not of death. But, as before, the punishment has been wholly of God’s deciding, since the reconciliation and restored covenant depend entirely upon the will and character of God.
Lloyd Ogilvie: The passage is book-ended by the reference to two valleys—Achor and Jezreel—both filled with anguishing memories of Israel’s past failures, moving metaphors of disobedience. God excavates the memories of both and expunges them with forgiveness and the promise of a new covenant and His betrothal of Israel as His bride forever. . .
The passage is filled with reversals of previous judgments, providential care, and covenant faithfulness—all parts of a new song of hope for our valley.
James Mays: The themes and metaphors formulated in ch. 1 and in 2.2–15 reappear: the allegory of Israel as wife and Yahweh as husband, the analogy of covenant and marriage, the problem of the Baals, the fertility of the land, and the symbolic names of the children. . . There is a successive transition from one subject and metaphor to another: the end of any relation to the Baals (vv. 16f.), peace with nature and safety from enemies (v. 18), the betrothal of God and his bride (vv. 19f.), revival of the land’s fertility (vv. 21f.), reversal of the symbolic names of judgment (v. 23). The material is punctuated three times by the eschatological formula ‘it will occur in that day’ (vv. 16, 18, 21), and twice with the oracle formula ‘a saying of Yahweh’ (vv. 16, 21). There is a rapid change in the personal pronouns referring to Israel: ‘you’ (second fem. sing.) in v. 16, ‘her’ in v. 17, ‘them’ in v. 18, ‘you’ again in vv. 19f., and ‘her’ in v. 23. . .
[Goal = ] to furnish a complete picture of the way in which Yahweh will lead Israel from her sin through judgment to a new beginning.
David Thompson: NO MATTER HOW UNFAITHFUL GOD’S PEOPLE HAVE BEEN, IN THE END THEY WILL BE IN A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND EXPERIENCE THE FULL BLESSINGS OF GOD BECAUSE GOD WILL SOVEREIGNLY CAUSE THIS TO HAPPEN BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE.
In view of the fact that God’s people were unfaithful, immoral and adulterous and not interested in obeying Him, God still promises that He will sovereignly bring her back to a right relationship with Him and bless her in the future. If ever there is a text that teaches the eternal security of the property of God, it is this one. There are eight future blessings described here:
FUTURE BLESSING #1 – God will allure His faithless harlot wife to the wilderness and speak kindly to her. 2:14
FUTURE BLESSING #2 – God will bless her and give her the land and Israel will sing. 2:15
FUTURE BLESSING #3 – God will be called by Israel Ishi not Baali. 2:16
FUTURE BLESSING #4 – God will remove the name of all false religions. 2:17
FUTURE BLESSING #5 – God will establish a peace covenant with animals and people. 2:18
FUTURE BLESSING #6 – God will betroth Himself to Israel forever. 2:19-20
FUTURE BLESSING #7 – God will use His heavens to bless Israel on earth. 2:21-22
FUTURE BLESSING #8 – God Himself will put Israel into her land . 2:23
Duane Garrett: The structure of this text is a parallel structure within an inclusio, as follows:
A: Reversal: Wooing in the wilderness (2:14–15)
B: A new marriage covenant (2:16–17)
C: Return to Eden (2:18)
B´: A new marriage covenant (2:19–20)
C´: Return to Eden (2:21–23a)
A´: Reversal: The names of the children are changed (2:23bc).
By such structuring, Hosea not only unifies this text but brings about redemption of both the mother and her children. The mother, Israel, experiences the tender love of Yahweh and is reunited to him in an eternal covenant, whereas the children experience the security of a new Eden and have their accursed names turned into names of blessing.
I. (:14-20) RENEWAL OF MARRIAGE COMMITMENT
A. (:14) Loving Allurement of the Wayward Bride
- Romantic Seduction
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,”
Gary Smith: The third “therefore” (2:14) describes a dramatic new step in God’s tactics to win back his wife, Israel. Using sexual terminology, God will “allure” (romantically entice) Israel back to himself, a jarring and unexpected divine method of persuasion. He will speak the tender love language that the people understand, for he deeply cares for this wife who rejected him. The picture Hosea presents involves an encounter between the couple out in the desert, where they will be alone; it will be a place where they can start over.
James Mays: ‘Entice’ means to persuade irresistibly, to overwhelm the resistance and will of another. The verb is used for the seduction of a virgin (Ex. 22.16) and for the divine constraint which holds a prophet powerless (Jer. 20.7). Like a lover who plots to be alone with his beloved, Yahweh will take the woman into the wilderness.
Jeremy Thomas: But, v 14, note, it can’t be a total destruction. This verse denies a total extermination. The discipline goes far but not to extinction. And so here’s the shift. V 13 fuming judgment, v 14 burning love. And so we shift from the historical defeat to future restoration and we’ve launched forward in time and we’re looking at prophecy or eschatology; everything here’s in the future from vv 14-23.
- Romantic Setting
“Bring her into the wilderness,”
James Mays: ‘Wilderness’ is more than a place; it is a time and situation in which the pristine relation between God and people was untarnished and Israel depended utterly on Yahweh (cf. 13.4f.). Hosea is not the advocate of a nomadic ideal with a simple nostalgia for life away from the agricultural civilization of Palestine. As a place, the wilderness is bare and threatening (v. 3) but as an epoch in the history of God and Israel it represents a point of new beginning (cf. Jer. 2.1–3). In the wilderness Yahweh will ‘make love’ to Israel; the expression is literally ‘speak to her heart’, and we can feel its proper context in the speech of courtship by looking at its use in the talk of a man to a woman whose love he seeks (Gen. 34.3; Ruth 2.13; Judg. 19.3). Measured against Yahwism’s studied aversion for speaking of God in any sexual terms, the picture is astonishing. Yet precisely at this point the allegory is not to be taken lightly. For it is in this daring kind of portrayal that the passion of God becomes visible – a passion that does not hesitate at any condescension or hold back from any act for the sake of the beloved elect.
David Allan Hubbard: Intertwined with the love language are the reminiscences of the exodus: the wilderness is the site of Yahweh’s wooing, as far removed from the tree-shaded shrines of the Baals (cf. 4:13) as it was from the brickworks of Egypt. Promises in the desert, of wedding gifts, will be repeated and transform the scenes of Joshua’s conquest of Canaan: new vineyards, blessed by Yahweh not Baal, will teem with grapes. And the Valley of Achor (‘trouble’), plagued for half a millennium by the memory of Achan’s disobedience to the command to put everything in Ai to the ban (Josh. 7:26), will be gifted to Israel with a new name, a new beginning: ‘a portal (spacious door opening) of hope’ (cf. Jer. 31:17; Lam. 3:29). For Hosea, God’s memories of the wilderness are poignant (9:10; 13:5). The exodus (literally ‘her coming up’; cf. ‘they shall go up’ in 1:11) is mentioned last because it embraces the other two historical references, the wilderness wandering and the possession of Canaan, and epitomizes the divine love for Israel that was celebrated in those events.
J. Andrew Dearman: It is the intimacy and ardor of the covenant initiation and the subsequent dependence upon God that are in the foreground of the wilderness simile.
- Romantic Speech
“And speak kindly to her.”
H. Ronald Vandermey: Credit for this change in the position of the harlot wife belongs to the corrective force of Israel’s punishment, which has stripped away all the tantalizing allurements of the world and placed Israel in a position of isolation where she can hear only God’s voice. It is fitting that the place for that change to occur is the wilderness, where God first spoke to Israel (cf. Ezek. 20:33-38).
Grace Emmerson: His is the initiative, Israel’s the response (cf. Jer 2:2). Her story with Yahweh will have a new beginning. Israel had reached a point of no return, hence the profound insight that only by divine grace, such as Israel experienced at the time of the exodus, can the relationship be restored.
Jeremy Thomas: Listen up guys. speak kindly to her in the Hebrew says this, “speak upon her heart,” in other words He’s going to engrave something upon her heart. Now obviously it has to do with her deepest needs which is what you need to answer to men with your wife. With the nation Israel what are her deepest needs? What’s God going to engrave upon her heart? Turn to Jer 31:31 for the answer.
B. (:15) Liberated Appreciation for Restored Blessings
- Reversal of Fortunes
“Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.”
H. Ronald Vandermey: Having the features of a “second honeymoon,” the scene in the fifteenth verse pictures a reenactment of that first entrance into the promised land. The Lord gives Israel “her vineyards [symbolic of renewed peace and prosperity] from there,” that is, from the east coming over the Jordan River. With Israel’s sin fully judged in advance, the Valley of Achor, the site of troubling for Israel when she first entered the land (Josh. 7), would now be a “door of hope” (see also Isa. 65:10). The joyousness of this return to the land will provoke Israel to sing the Song of Moses once again, as she did when the Lord brought her through the Red Sea (Exod. 15:1-21). It is interesting to note that the Song of Moses also will be sung in the Tribulation by those who overcome the Beast (Rev. 15:2-3).
Robin Routledge: Having brought Israel back into the desert, to where the relationship began, Yahweh will give back the vineyards that were among the blessings associated with the occupation of Canaan (cf. Deut. 6:11), but which had previously been laid waste (2:12; cf. Deut. 28:30, 39). The people have associated these signs of prosperity with the Baals, but Yahweh will sever that relationship (2:6–7; cf. v. 17), so that Israel will recognize the true source of blessings.
Lloyd Ogilvie: The Valley of Achor was seared into Israel’s national mind as a dark page in her history. And the people who heard Hosea’s prophecy knew exactly what the Valley of Achor meant. For them it meant a terrible failure. And it is in that context that they would have heard God’s analysis of their own period. They were responsible for their eighth-century Valley of Achor because of their corruption, idolatry, and rejection of God.
But in spite of all that she had done in forgetting God, He was now saying that He would transform Israel’s repetition of Achan’s sin into a door of hope.
Trent Butler: God will restore the vineyards he had originally turned into thickets (v. 12). The dark blot on Joshua’s conquest record was the Valley of Achor, which separated the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Josh. 15:7). There Joshua had to execute an Israelite family and bury them after they disobeyed God’s rules for warfare (Josh. 7:24–26). Hosea joins Isaiah (Isa. 65:10) in promising a future for sinful Israel. The valley called “trouble” (Josh. 7:25–26) would now be called hope. God had a new day and a new plan for God’s people.
- Response of a Liberated Heart
“And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.”
Jeremy Thomas: I don’t know why they translate this sing, I do understand why, but it’s not sing. It’s the same word used down in verse 21-22 one, two, three, four, five times, “respond,” see that word. It’s the same word here. The nation Israel is going to respond to God. That’s the role of the woman, the woman is the responder and she will respond, but this time to her right man, this time to the one who really loves her, the one who has seduced her victoriously. The love of God wins her to Himself.
C. (:16-17) Loyal Allegiance to the One True God
- (:16) Conversion to Loyal Intimacy Rather than Syncretistic Servanthood
“’And it will come about in that day,’ declares the LORD,
‘That you will call Me Ishi And will no longer call Me Baali.’”
H. Ronald Vandermey: Verse 16 is significant for its introduction of the words “in that day,” one of the Old Testament technical terms for the day of the Lord, in which Israel suffers the Tribulation, the Messiah returns to defeat the enemies of Jerusalem, and the Millennial Kingdom is established (see Zech. 14:4-21). Because all Israel will be saved at that time (Rom. 11:25-26), the Lord declares that Israel will call Him Ishi (“my husband”) rather than Baali (“my master, my owner, my lord”). This declaration by the Lord will mean an end to the deadly syncretism by which Israel had combined the biblical regulations for worship with the heathen Canaanite practices.
Gary Smith: The second half of this oracle is structured around three “in that day” promises, which refer to events at some unknown time in the future (2:16, 18, 21). One is immediately struck with the total transformation of the relationship between God and his covenant people. They will relate to one another and the world around them in a new way. Harmony, love, and the renewal of God’s covenant relationship will characterize this era.
Grace Emmerson: Israel had been guilty, not of blatantly substituting Baal for Yahweh, but of undiscerning syncretism which failed to recognize the incomparability of Yahweh who, out of sheer grace, rescued them from Egypt and brought them into covenant relationship with himself. A cosmic covenant embracing the natural world and humanity is envisaged (v. 18). Free from danger, Israel will indeed “lie down in safety.” At last they will know the LORD.
- (:17) Cancellation of All Idolatry
“For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will be mentioned by their names no more.”
H. Ronald Vandermey: With Baal no longer the master of Israel, the Lord vows in verse 17 that Israel will completely forget her fall into idolatry. As if they were undesirable words on a blackboard slate, the Lord will erase the names of the Baals from the minds and hearts of His chosen people.
Robin Routledge: In the coming era of salvation, though, all mention of Baal will be removed, and with it the possibility of worshipping anyone other than Yahweh. In the new, restored relationship, Yahweh will have no rival.
II. (:18) RENEWAL OF COVENANT RELATIONSHIP
A. Covenant of Peace and Security with the Animal Kingdom
“In that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
The birds of the sky,
And the creeping things of the ground.”
M. Daniel Carroll R.: What is announced is that the nation will be the beneficiary of a new reality, where they will not suffer attacks from wild animals or enemies. Each of these dimensions is comprised of three items, suggesting completeness. The language about creation follows the order of Genesis 1:30. A rehabilitated relationship with nature is part of the hope of the messianic age (Isa 11:6–9; Eze 34:25), as is the elimination of warfare (e.g., Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3–4). Thus, this promise represents a reversal of the threats of 2:12 and 1:4–5 (cf. v.7), respectively (cf. Lev 26:14–33; Dt 28:25–26, 49–57).
Trent Butler: God will restore the peace of original creation. Instruments and conduct of war will disappear, along with the names of Baal. Man and beast can lie down securely with no one to fear. The threat and punishment of Hosea 2:12 will no longer endure. This is God’s description of the life he plans for his people.
B. Covenant of Peace and Security with Surrounding Nations
“And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land,
And will make them lie down in safety.”
H. Ronald Vandermey: Until the Prince of Peace conquers a world in rebellion to His authority, even the most valiant human endeavors to bring a “just and lasting peace” to the Middle East will be foiled (cf. Jer. 6:4; 8:11, 15; Ezek. 13:10, 16; Dan. 8:25).
David Allen Hubbard: Two specific threats of judgment are reversed here, with all the certainty of a divine covenant. The result is complete security:
(1) no danger to person or crop is to be feared from wild animals, foraging birds, or poisonous reptiles (cf. 2:12, which promised such devastation to vineyards; cf. also Amos 5:19); and
(2) no military invasion will be tolerated, since the instruments of war – bow, sword and other weapons (so war, Heb. milḥāmâ, must mean here; cf. 1:7; Ps. 76:3; Isa. 3:25; 21:15) – will be broken and removed from Israel’s land.
C. (:19-20) Covenant of Marriage Permanency and Intimate Knowledge
H. Ronald Vandermey: Directing His attention once again to His bride, the Lord in verses 19-20 removes the separation that had been caused by Israel’s adultery. In an act of gracious forgiveness, the Lord betroths Himself to Israel once again. By employing the term betroth (Hebrew, aras; literally, “to woo a virgin”), God reveals to Israel that He has not only forgiven the past, but has forgotten it also. The indissolubility of this marriage bond is guaranteed by each of these divine characteristics: His eternality (“forever”); His imputed righteousness (“in righteousness and in justice”); His covenant-keeping love (chesed, “lovingkindness”); His tender mercy (ruhamah, “compassion”); and His unquestionable “faithfulness.” When the people of Israel have received the full impact of God’s dealings with them, they will “know the Lord.”
H. D. Beeby: This Groom knows he can expect nothing from the bride. Realistically and honestly she is not asked to make any vows; we have retreated from the conditional covenant of Sinai to something more like the covenants with Abraham and David. Only the Groom promises, but what promises they are! Not only are they unconditional and anchored firmly in the unchanging nature of God, but they are weighted with some of the greatest themes in Scripture, themes that belong to the very essence of God.
- (:19a) Marriage Should Be Forever
“And I will betroth you to Me forever;”
Robin Routledge: Betrothal indicates a legally binding commitment to marriage, and between the betrothal and consummation of the relationship the bride would belong to her intended husband (Deut. 22:23–24). This does not require that Yahweh had previously divorced Israel. Rather, it continues the idea of taking things back to where the relationship began and offering a new start. . .
Before and after the list of bridal gifts are statements of divine intent: I will betroth you to me for ever [lĕʿôlām] . . . and you will acknowledge [yādaʿ] the Lord. Yahweh is committed to his people and offers these gifts to ensure that the renewed relationship will not fail as it did before. It will, too, be marked by a renewed knowledge of God. The term yādaʿ (‘to know’) is significant for the prophecy.54 Here, it contrasts with Israel’s failure to acknowledge Yahweh as the source of blessings (2:8; cf. 11:3) and with the indictment that Israel has forgotten Yahweh (2:13). Elsewhere, yādaʿ refers to sexual intimacy (e.g. Gen. 4:1), and while that is not appropriate here, it indicates the depth of the relationship. This is not increased knowledge about Yahweh, necessary as that is, but knowledge of him.
Derek Kidner: Betrothal also goes further than the courtship of verse 14, speaking of a step that was even more decisive in Israelite custom than engagement is with us. It involved handing over the bride-price to the girl’s father, whose acceptance of it finalized the matter. David’s betrothal to Saul’s daughter, at the barbarous price demanded of him, is described in 2 Samuel 3:14 in terms which, in Hebrew, show that the five qualities listed here, ranging from ‘righteousness’ to ‘faithfulness’, are thought of as the bride-price which God, the suitor, brings with Him. The metaphor, of course, is imperfect, like the ransom metaphor of Mark 10:45, since there is no ‘father of the bride’ to receive the gift. But even in literal betrothals such a present could be passed to the bride herself to be her dowry, and certainly she is the beneficiary here.
So the promise overflows with generosity. It is all of grace, and it clothes the New Covenant in wedding garb. It makes three things very plain:
- the permanence of this union (19a),
- the intimacy of it (20b),
- and the fact that it owes everything to God.
- (:19b-20a) Marriage Should Be Based on God’s Enduring Attributes
Lloyd Ogilvie: The text provides a moving basis for an entire sermon or class on the theme of the nature of God as the basis of hope. The key words offer a natural progression: righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, mercy, and faithfulness. All these qualities of God are the basis of our hope.
a. (:19b) His Righteousness and Justice
“Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,”
Robin Routledge: Righteousness is associated with right action within a relationship. Here, it points to what is expected of both Israel and Yahweh as part of their mutual covenant commitment. It includes legal and ethical integrity and upholding the cause of the weak in society. In accordance with this, Yahweh acts in righteousness to vindicate Israel when they are oppressed by more powerful enemies, and so the term is also associated with salvation (e.g. Isa. 45:8; 51:5). Justice is closely linked with righteousness. Yahweh loves righteousness (ṣĕdāqâ) and justice (Ps. 33:5); they form the foundation of his throne (Pss 89:14; 97:2) and fill Zion (Isa. 33:5). Justice involves punishing the guilty, and where the term appears in Hosea it is frequently in the context of judgment (5:1, 11; 6:5). It also includes ensuring fairness and impartiality (e.g. Deut. 16:18–20) and, like righteousness, is associated with defending those who are too weak to defend themselves (e.g. Exod. 23:6; Deut. 10:18; Ps. 72:2; Isa. 1:17).
b. (:19c) His Lovingkindness and Compassion
“In lovingkindness and in compassion,”
Derek Kidner: The third facet, steadfast love (Heb. ḥeseḏ), might be less cumbersomely called ‘devotion’ or ‘true love’. The older versions called it either ‘mercy’ or, beautifully, ‘lovingkindness’; but an essential part of it is the tacit recognition of an existing bond between the parties it embraces. It implies the love and loyalty which partners in marriage or in covenant owe to one another; so it has a special relevance to what Hosea had been denied by Gomer. God names it in 6:6 as the thing He most desires to see in us. For God’s people it sets a standard of mutual kindness and concern among themselves; but it goes further, for in 6:4 it means the love and constancy they owe to God and have so far failed to give Him. As God’s bridal gift, then, while it is first and foremost His devoted love towards His partner, we may see it also as the very response He intends to create in her.
Lloyd Ogilvie: The Bible celebrates Yahweh’s lovingkindness. He acts kindly to maintain the relationship established by His covenants. He will remain steadfast and immovable to “hold fast My covenant” (Is. 56:4, 6). Yahweh keeps His covenant with His reliable love (Ex. 20:6; Deut. 5:10; 1 Kin. 8:23; Ps. 89:28; 106:45).
You will remember the deeper meaning of mercy from our discussion of the term in chapter 1 of Hosea. We noted there that the word derives from the word womb and thus denoted parental love or sympathy, particularly for one who is weaker or in need. As with “lovingkindness,” mercy is demonstrated in Yahweh’s actions. He forgives individuals or the nation (Deut. 13:17; Ps. 40:11; 51:1; 103:4), delivers from enemies (Ps. 25:6; 79:8; Is. 30:18), and gives provision in the wilderness (Is. 49:10).
David Allen Hubbard: Steadfast love and mercy form the second pair. Steadfast love rings with the tones of covenant loyalty, describing both the attitude and the behaviour of the Lord who made a pledge to his people in full free-dom. The Hebrew ḥesed may connote God’s guidance and protection (Exod. 15:13), and the motive for his rescue (Ps. 6:4), or forgiveness (Ps. 25:7) or covenant-keeping (Deut. 7:9, 12; Mic. 7:20). Mercy glows with tenderness and compassion, especially as it shows itself to the weak, the needy, the oppressed.
c. (:20a) His Faithfulness
“And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.”
John MacArthur: Repeated 3 times, the term emphasizes the intensity of God’s restoring love for the nation. In that day, Israel will no longer be thought of as a prostitute. Israel brings nothing to the marriage; God makes all the promises and provides all the dowry. These verses are recited by every orthodox Jew as he places the phylacteries on his hand and forehead.
Robin Routledge: Faithfulness has at its heart truthfulness and reliability (e.g. Deut. 32:4; 2 Kgs 12:15; Isa. 59:4). God and his promises are dependable, and he looks for the same faithfulness from his people (cf. 4:1). Faithfulness is also associated with righteousness (e.g. 1 Sam. 26:23; Pss 96:13; 143:1; Isa. 11:5) and justice (e.g. Isa. 1:21; Jer. 5:1).
Lloyd Ogilvie: The word “faithfulness” communicates Yahweh’s constancy in character and deed toward His beloved Israel. It is set in direct contrast to the unfaithfulness of the wife/Israel in Hosea’s prophecy.
Derek Kidner: Finally, faithfulness (Heb. ’emûnâ). Of all qualities, this is the one most clearly lacking in a partner who has quitted. Other faults may put a marriage under strain; this one is decisive. God, of course, had been faithful all along, under endless provocation; therefore once again the betrothal gift must be not only what He Himself displays but what He will implant and cultivate within His partner.
Allen Guenther: Faithfulness characterizes a person of integrity. It is observed by others as consistency, trustworthiness, and firmness. These qualities surpass material goods as the greatest gifts of God. When relationships of this type prevailed in Israel, the nation enjoyed an inner cohesion and strength and preserved the essence of the covenant.
- (:20b) Marriage Should Be Sustained by Intimate Knowledge
“Then you will know the LORD.”
Lloyd Ogilvie: Knowing Yahweh includes the recapitulation of His nature in our character. A sure sign we “know” the Lord is that we express righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, mercy, and faithfulness to Him and in our relationships with others. That begins with personal acknowledgment of Yahweh’s rule over all and devotion to Him without rival as He has revealed Himself to be (Hos. 2:8, 13; 13:4; Jer. 10:25). His sovereignty becomes profoundly personal in the “Thou-I” personal relationship He graciously initiates with us. . .
The Beatitudes give us a challenging inventory of the extent to which our personal experience of the attributes of God have been reproduced in our character and relationships. He describes the qualities of the blessed—the truly joyous—those who know that they have been cherished and called to know God.
III. (:21-23) RENEWAL OF CREATION DESIGN
M. Daniel Carroll R.: “Jezreel” no longer will carry the ominous overtones of the prophet’s firstborn son (1:3–5), but instead the hopeful connotations of the promises of 1:10 – 2:1 (2:1–3). The nation will be “planted” (zr ʿ, the root for “Jezreel”) back in the land. The agricultural and marital reversals are expressed by negating the impact of the meaning of the names of ch. 1. “No-Compassion” will experience divine care, and “Not-My-People” will be welcomed anew as the chosen ones of God. The nation, in turn, will call Yahweh “my God.”
A. (:21-22) Renewal of Design of Earth’s Fertility
“’And it will come about in that day that I will respond,’ declares the LORD.
‘I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil,
And they will respond to Jezreel.’”
James Mays: Yahweh will initiate the process by which the blessings of a fertile land come again to his people.
Duane Garrett: “Respond” conveys two ideas.
- It is first of all a positive answer to a call for help. The people are in a desolate land and call for help, the land calls to the heavens for rain, and the heavens look to God for direction. In short, “respond” conveys the idea that the prayers of the people will be answered.
- Second, “respond” emphasizes the power of the word of God, the same power that acted in creation (Gen 1). In contrast to Baal, Yahweh does not go through some elaborate conflict with death in order to secure a harvest for his people, nor does he need to be rescued by his consort. He simply speaks the word.
H. Ronald Vandermey: When Israel knows the Lord in the fullest sense of know, then the Lord will respond with all the blessings that had been promised so long ago to Abraham (see Gen. 12:1-3; 17:2-16). God’s response here means that the cycle of life is set into motion once again. The divine response to the heavens produces rain upon the earth; the response to the fertilized earth produces the staple products necessary for sustaining life (Deut. 11:14); and those staple products—the grain, the new wine, and the oil—in turn respond to Jezreel, the people whom God has sown into the land forever.
Gary Smith: The final “in that day” promises (2:21–23) describe the effects of this new relationship on life in this world. Once God’s people know and love him (2:15, 20), he can respond to their love by restoring the natural bounty and beauty of the created universe. Thus, God in his magnificent power, not Baal, will reinvigorate the heavens above so that the sky will function as it was originally designed and give rain to the ground (2:21). God will also empower the earth to be fertile (Baal will not do this) by responding to the rain in the way it was designed. As a result, grain, grapes, and olive oil will be produced in abundance.
Lloyd Ogilvie: Again, Yahweh clearly declares His supremacy as the source and sustainer of life. Jezreel, representing the nation, has obviously cried out for nourishment in the time of drought and agricultural privation predicted in Hosea 2:9. The valley of Jezreel, before an image of rebellion, will live up to the true meaning of the name, “God sows.” Verses 21‒22 are Yahweh’s reaffirmation that He is creator and the sovereign over the interdependent aspects of the natural world for the production of the material needs of His people. They all belong to Him: the heavens with the sun and nourishing rain, the earth with its nutrients to enable germination and growth of the seed, and the plentiful harvest of grain, grapes, and oil. “My Father is the husband-man,” Jesus had to remind Israel again in His day (John 15:1).
B. (:23) Renewal of Design of Covenant Commitment between the Lord and His People
- Return of God’s People to Possess the Promised Land
“And I will sow her for Myself in the land.”
Jeremy Thomas: That’s a pun on the word Jezreel, and this is another truth, one of those little truths that come from one little Hebrew word, but this is one of those truths that again, applies to the Christian life. Jezreel from Yzr which means “to sow, to scatter” and el which means “God.” So Jezreel means “God sows or scatters.” Now if I said I was going to scatter you that would be a cursing. I’d be sending you into exile and we’ve seen that meaning before in Hos 1:4. What was the name of that first son? Jezreel, meaning God scatters. And that’s a prophecy of the military defeat and scattering that occurred to the nation Israel in 721BC. But if I said I’m going to sow you that would be a blessing because it means I’m going to plant you in the field such that you’ll take root and flourish.
Gary Smith: God will even be the One who will plant the seeds (Jezreel meaning “God sows”), so there will be no doubt about the abundant results in the future (2:22). But the sowing of God will not be limited to just planting crops; he will also “plant” his people in their promised land (2:23). Like a good farmer, the Lord will lovingly care for his land and those who were once “unloved.” These will now be proudly identified as “my people” rather than “not my people.” Through his miraculous love his people will gladly say, “You are my God.” These confessions of commitment almost sound like the “I take you as my wife/husband” of the marriage covenant ceremony. They demonstrate that God’s beautiful plan for this world will be accomplished through his grace in spite of the present rebelliousness and unfaithfulness of his people.
- Response of the Husband = the Lord – the Changing of the Names of the Children
a. Compassion
“I will also have compassion on her
who had not obtained compassion,”
b. Belonging
“And I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’”
Allen Guenther: Both God’s naming and renaming of persons are important. They signal ownership, dominion, or the identification of the true nature of the one being named. Israel has become a new people; the Lord is their God.
- Reciprocal Response of the Bride = Israel
“And they will say, ‘Thou art my God!'”
J. Andrew Dearman: Thus what began as a charge of infidelity, with resulting separation and punishment, is brought around to the renewal of the relationship between Gomer/Israel and Hosea/YHWH, and extending from the marriage to the fertility and the security of the land. Whatever details we can take about Gomer, Hosea, and the children from this portrayal, all are in service to the larger theme of depicting the transformed relationship YHWH will have with his household Israel. A time of restoration, renewal, and transformation is predicted and depicted. Israel, YHWH’s human household, is set in a cosmic arena that also has responded to YHWH’s restorative word. And none of this is predicated initially on Israel coming to its collective senses, but on God’s resolve to overcome their failures and to transform them.