Hosea 2

This section describes a small part of the prophet's life, focusing on his troubled marriage. It highlights God's difficult relationship with Israel, his chosen people.

• My people: God will restore the third child's name to its original meaning.

• My loved one: Israel will again receive God's love and compassion.

Rebuke your mother, rebuke her: At first glance, the Lord, like an upset husband, seems to be giving a divorce to his unfaithful wife, Israel (see Deuteronomy 24:1). However, as the passage continues, it becomes clear that God’s goal in this lawsuit is not divorce, but reconciliation (Hosea 2:14–23).

God’s case against Israel aims to make Israel aware of her sin and offer her a chance to return to her true husband. The Lord’s desire for reconciliation with Israel is surprising because the law required the death penalty for an unfaithful spouse (Deuteronomy 22:22; see also Genesis 38:24; Leviticus 21:9).

The Lord warns unfaithful Israel that unless she repents and returns to her covenant partner, he will expose her nakedness (see also Hosea 2:10). Ezekiel also uses this image of judgment and shame (Ezekiel 16:36–37).

The only evidence needed to prove Israel’s unfaithfulness comes from her own words: I will go after my lovers. Israel’s lovers were the Canaanite fertility deities, especially the baals (local representations of the god Baal). The Israelites worshiped them because they believed these gods controlled nature's reproductive forces. The Israelites attributed to them the basic necessities of life: food, water, clothing of wool and linen, and oil used for both sacred and everyday purposes.

Therefore: The initial Hebrew word of Hosea 2:6 (also of 2:9 and 2:14) introduces God’s judgment on Israel. Because of her idolatry, the Lord would limit Israel’s access to the Canaanite fertility gods. Like an aggressive prostitute, she will chase her lovers, but she will not find them. In the end, Israel will realize it is better to return to her rightful husband.

she does not acknowledge (literally she does not know): Israel needs to know God personally and through experience. If the Israelites had known the Lord this way, they would have understood that every good thing in their lives came from him, not from the baals (false gods).

God's first judgment (Hosea 2:6–7) was to limit the Israelites. This second judgment would take away and destroy what he had given them.

From the context (Hosea 2:13, 16–17), and similar passages in Isaiah 1:12–17 and Amos 5:21–24, it is clear that the Israelites had corrupted their festivals, new moon celebrations, and Sabbath days. They mixed worship of the Lord with worship of the Canaanite fertility god, Baal. God rejects this syncretism (mixing of different faiths) and declared he would remove these unholy days from Israel’s calendar.

While the Israelites worshiped Canaanite gods, they forgot the Lord. For Hosea, to forget means not knowing the Lord (see Hosea 8:14; 13:6; Job 8:12–13). If Israel had truly known the Lord, they would not have worshiped Baal.

• The third judgment (see note on Hosea 2:6–7) is a surprise. The Lord, who had innocently suffered from Israel's repeated unfaithfulness, announces he will try to win Israel back. He will lead her into the desert, where he first made a covenant with her, away from the tempting Canaanite religion.

• The Valley of Achor was where Israel first disobeyed after entering the promised land (Joshua 7:24–26). The Lord had the will and power to give Israel a new start after their sin and trouble (Joshua 8:1–22), so Israel would again have a gateway of hope.

• that day: This phrase is important in the prophets. It refers to the coming day of the Lord (see Joel 1:15; 2:1; Amos 5:18), when the Lord will act decisively in human history for his people.

• you will call Me ‘my Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘my Master: On this day, Israel will have a new relationship with God. Israel will no longer call God “master” (Hebrew ba‘al), which suggests subservience and was also the name of the main Canaanite fertility god. Instead, she will call the Lord “husband,” implying partnership and companionship (Genesis 2:23–24).

To prevent confusion between the Lord and Baal, God would remove Baal's names from the speech of the Israelites.

On that day, the Lord will make a covenant (special agreement) with his creation and people. It will be an agreement of peace and safety.

I will betroth you: This Hebrew verb, used three times in these verses, can be translated with the word betroth. In ancient times, betrothal included all the legal steps of marriage, like the groom paying a bride price. The only things missing were the marriage ceremony and sexual consummation. The Lord promised to betroth Israel to himself forever.

To ensure this eternal marriage, God provided a bride price with five priceless qualities:

1. Righteousness

2. Justice

3. Unfailing love

4. Compassion

5. Faithfulness

As a result, the Lord said, Israel will finally know me (compare Hosea 2:13).

Unfaithful Israel believed her food and clothing came from her lovers, the Baals (Hosea 2:5). However, they will learn that the Lord alone provides all fertility and blessings. He will respond to the sky, the clouds, and the earth, starting the true cycle of fertility for the land. When people recognize the Lord as the only source of life, the name Jezreel will regain its true meaning: God plants!

As God promised (Hosea 2:1), on the coming day of the Lord, he will change the names of Gomer’s children. He will show compassion to No Compassion. To Not My People, he will say, You are My people. God's people should respond, You are my God.