Hosea 2

Hosea 2 ¹ 2:¹ ^[^a^{^]}“In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’

Charges against an Unfaithful Wife

² “But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—
      for she is no longer my wife,
      and I am no longer her husband.
   Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face
      and the clothing that exposes her breasts.
³ Otherwise, I will strip her as naked
      as she was on the day she was born.
   I will leave her to die of thirst,
      as in a dry and barren wilderness.
⁴ And I will not love her children,
      for they were conceived in prostitution.
⁵ Their mother is a shameless prostitute
      and became pregnant in a shameful way.
   She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers
      and sell myself to them for food and water,
   for clothing of wool and linen,
      and for olive oil and drinks.’

Jesus, I begin to see the pain my sins cause You. I imagine my wife, whom I love, chasing other lovers…being a prostitute. I would be so outraged. I don’t think I could ever take her back. I hear Your pain in these angry (justifiably angry) words. I am sorry that I have done this. I can’t believe I would ever do this again, and yet I know I will. I need a miracle Jesus. Change me so I never sin again.

⁶ “For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes.
      I will block her path with a wall
      to make her lose her way.
⁷ When she runs after her lovers,
      she won’t be able to catch them.
   She will search for them
      but not find them.
   Then she will think,
   ‘I might as well return to my husband,
      for I was better off with him than I am now.’

Jesus, frustration can be from You sometimes. I have my plans and my ways and they all fall apart sometimes and I get so frustrated. But how often isn’t my way going the wrong way, and You frustrate it out of love? Thank-you Lord for the frustrations in my life. Keep me near You.

⁸ She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—
      the grain, the new wine, the olive oil;
   I even gave her silver and gold.
      But she gave all my gifts to Baal.

Holy Spirit, open my eyes to all I have received from You. Help me to know Your love and appreciated it from the depths of my heart and soul. Help me to live a life of gratitude and charity. Help me to give Your gifts back to You and not to false gods of greed and immorality and money.

⁹ “But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine
      I generously provided each harvest season.
   I will take away the wool and linen clothing
      I gave her to cover her nakedness.
¹⁰ I will strip her naked in public,
      while all her lovers look on.
   No one will be able
      to rescue her from my hands.
¹¹ I will put an end to her annual festivals,
      her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days—
      all her appointed festivals.
¹² I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees,
      things she claims her lovers gave her.
   I will let them grow into tangled thickets,
      where only wild animals will eat the fruit.
¹³ I will punish her for all those times
      when she burned incense to her images of Baal,
   when she put on her earrings and jewels
      and went out to look for her lovers
   but forgot all about me,”
      says the Lord.

Father, I know what You did, and what You will do, out of love. You left Israel “go to ruin”. You will let us ruin our own lives if that is what it will take for us to repent. I am afraid Lord. I can see this happening to me. You know I do love You, but I also sin. Please Father, don’t let me go to ruin. But then, if that is the only way I can learn to live a life close to You, let it be. Let Your will be done Lord, to ruin if You will.

The Lord’s Love for Unfaithful Israel

¹⁴ “But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.

Father, lead me into the desert. Help me see the barrenness of this world, its emptiness. Help me see that in You is true love, and life and that this world is truly lifeless without You. Help me to have a soft heart that hears and heeds You tender words. Help me to change and act on Your gentleness so there is no need for discipline. Only You Lord, only You.

¹⁵ I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble^[^b^{^]} into a gateway of hope.

Father, You are awesome! How often have You done this for me? You take my trials and problems and failings, and change everything into something good. So many times I have looked back at something in my past that at the time was so tough, and now I see it was so important in bringing me closer to You or in making something wonderful in my life actually work out. Thank-you Father that You are the God of transformation. Thank-You that You change our troubles into triumphs. Help me remember this now, and forever.

She will give herself to me there,
as she did long ago when she was young,

Father, help me to love You as I did when I was a child. I remember the faith I had. I remember the Spirit within me. Help me to live for You now as I did then – only more. Change me Lord.

     when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
¹⁶ When that day comes,” says the Lord,
      “you will call me ‘my husband’
      instead of ‘my master.’^[^c^{^]}
¹⁷ O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,
      and you will never mention them again.

Father, wife away my idolatrous sins. All sins really are idolatry. All come from not loving You or others as I should. I am tired of the fight. You can wipe them away Lord. Wipe away every desire I have that does not bring You glory. Purge them all from me Jesus.

¹⁸ On that day I will make a covenant
      with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky
   and the animals that scurry along the ground
      so they will not harm you.
   I will remove all weapons of war from the land,
      all swords and bows,
   so you can live unafraid
      in peace and safety.
¹⁹ I will make you my wife forever,
      showing you righteousness and justice,
      unfailing love and compassion.
²⁰ I will be faithful to you and make you mine,
      and you will finally know me as the Lord. ²¹ “In that day, I will answer,”
      says the Lord.
   “I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds.
      And the sky will answer the earth with rain.
²² Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries
      of the grain, the grapevines, and the olive trees.
   And they in turn will answer,
      ‘Jezreel’—‘God plants!’
²³ At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites
      and raise them for myself.
   I will show love
      to those I called ‘Not loved.’^[^d^{^]}
   And to those I called ‘Not my people,’^[^e^{^]}

I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’
And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’”

Father, bring this day about in my life. It sounds so good. Is it here and available now, but I am too foolish to enter into Your Kingdom? Or is it some future day, after death, or when Jesus returns? I want You to be my God. Help me make that choice over and over whenever temptation is there. Help me choose You.

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