Hosea 2:13-18

Hosea 2:13 (KJB)

And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.

 

The name “Baalim” is in the plural because Israel had taken up the worship of quite a number of the Baals.  There was Baal-Berith.  Judges 8:33 (KJV) And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.  Then there was Baal-zebub.  2 Kings 1:2 (KJV) And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.  Then there was Baal-peor.  Numbers 25:3 (KJV) And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.  Through all these false gods Israel had turned its back on the true LORD and his patience with them has finally run out as they were about to pay the price for worshipping false gods.

 

They would burn incense unto the false gods as Solomon did.  1 Kings 11:8 (KJV) And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.  The women would deck themselves out in worship to the false gods.  Isaiah 3:20 (KJV) The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,  Basically what the LORD is saying here is that Israel had done a complete neglect of the true God and went fully after the false gods withholding nothing from their worship.

 

Hosea 2:14 (KJB)

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

 

Beginning here the rest of the chapter begins to show the mercy of God and how he will deal with the nation of Israel.  After they have suffered for their idolatrous lifestyles against the LORD they will be shown kindness.  Romans 2:4 (KJV) Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?  The goodness of God will lead them to repentance of their ways.  God planned to allure them or draw them and bring them out into the wilderness where they will have a dedicated time with the LORD and nothing will distract or divert them.  Speaking comfortably to her carries with it the meaning of peaking to their “heart, will or mind.”  God is going to speak to their heart in bringing them back as a parent has a heart to heart talk with a wayward child.

 

Hosea 2:15 (KJB)

And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

 

God had decided to make their vineyards prey for the animals which would mean they would be eaten and eventually destroyed since no one will be there to care for them.  Now God states that he is going to give her vineyards thus reversing his sentence.  The Valley of Achor was very fruitful and large valley which was close to Jericho plus it was on the entrance to the land of Canaan which was symbolically a door of hope for the future of Israel.  When Israel was freed from Egyptian bondage, they saw the land of Canaan and saw that as a bright hope for their future.  This was the days of youth when Israel was still a young nation when they came out of Egypt.  They had looked upon their freedom with joy and expectations and once again God is going to restore that milieu once again.  This can also be a great spiritual lesson for the Christian.  When we are first saved we have a great zeal for the Lord and we have a very joyous outlook on life.  Sometimes as we get older in the faith we may stray or lose that joy and the Lord brings us back to a place where we can regain that joy.  Genesis 35:1 (KJV) And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.  Just as God sent Jacob back to Bethel, we each need to go back to our own Bethel to be recharged and refit with our original joy that we had as “youths in the Lord.”

 

Hosea 2:16 (KJB)

And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

 

The title “Baal” sometimes was given to a man as a husband, lord, or master.  God states that Israel will no longer call him Baali which is a title that the LORD hates because it is a title of a false god.  Now the new name will be “Ishi” which means “husband.”  No longer will Baal be the master or lord of Israel but now God will be married to them as a husband claiming what he has always done in hopes the name change will bring about a new attitude.  Jeremiah 3:14 (KJV) Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:  God stated through Jeremiah that he was married to Israel and for them to be under another master was nothing but adultery and that will now be turned around.  

 

Hosea 2:17 (KJB)

For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

 

God will now remove from them all the different names of Baal which they had served in the past and as a result Israel will be no more identified with false gods and religions which also means they will not be remembered by that name or association.  When a person becomes saved they are now known as Christians where before they did not have any particular name which they identified with.  When a Christian goes to glory, they are remembered by the fact that they were Christians.

 

Hosea 2:18 (KJB)

And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

 

“In that day” has a dual meaning here.  It is pointing to the time when they come out of Babylon and go back to the land where they will build the temple of the Lord under Haggai.  As God told them that the beasts of the field will eat all their vineyards, in this verse he is telling them that he is going to withhold all the power of the enemies which could have a negative effect upon the children of Israel.  God will also make sure that no enemy like Assyria will ever rise to take them captive and remove them from the land.  When Rome was in power during the time of Christ, they were not removed from the land but were allowed to remain.  This way with no large enemies, they would be allowed to live in safety not worried about an invasion.  The second inference of “in that day” has to do with the covenant of grace which will be given to all the Elect of God in Christ.   To lie down safely means nothing will harm us to the point that a Christian can be concerned about losing their salvation.  The covenant of grace is permanent in the believer’s life, not temporary.  Psalm 23:2 (KJV) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  The scene in psalm 23:2 shows a place of relative safety for the one who is saved.  The waters are still which carries with it the meaning of quiet or resting.  The green pastures mean that the place is pristine, spiritually speaking it is like the Valley of Achor with its plush vegetation.

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