(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Hosea 2:1-23) Say to your brothers, “Ammi,” and to your sisters, “Ruhamah.”
2 “Dispute with your mother, dispute,
Because she is not my wife, and I am not her husband;
But she must remove her infidelity from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts,
3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked
And expose her as on the day she was born.
I will also make her like a wilderness,
Make her like desert land,
And put her to death with thirst.
4 Also, I will take no pity on her children,
Because they are children of infidelity.
5 For their mother has committed prostitution;
She who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore, behold, I will obstruct her way with thorns,
And I will build a stone wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.
7 And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband,
Because it was better for me then than now!’
8 “Yet she does not know that it was I myself who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And lavished on her silver and gold,
Which they used for Baal.
9 Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time
And My new wine in its season.
I will also take away My wool and My flax
That I gave to cover her nakedness.
10 So now I will uncover her lewdness
Before the eyes of her lovers,
And no one will rescue her from My hand.
11 I will also put an end to all her joy,
Her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths,
And all her festivals.
12 And I will destroy her vines and fig trees,
Of which she said, ‘They are my wages for prostitution
Which my lovers have given me.’
And I will turn them into a forest,
And the animals of the field will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the days of the Baals
When she used to offer sacrifices to them
And adorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry,
And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the Lord.
14 “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her,
Bring her into the wilderness,
And speak kindly to her.
15 Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will respond there as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she went up from the land of Egypt.
16 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me my husband
And no longer call Me my Baal.
17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will no longer be mentioned by their names.
18 On that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the animals of the field,
The birds of the sky,
And the crawling things of the ground.
And I will eliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land,
And will let them lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,
In favor and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the Lord.
21 “And it will come about on that day that I will respond,” declares the Lord.
“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil,
And they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will sow her for Myself in the land.
I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion,
And I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
2 “Dispute with your mother, dispute,
Because she is not my wife, and I am not her husband;
But she must remove her infidelity from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts,
3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked
And expose her as on the day she was born.
I will also make her like a wilderness,
Make her like desert land,
And put her to death with thirst.
4 Also, I will take no pity on her children,
Because they are children of infidelity.
5 For their mother has committed prostitution;
She who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore, behold, I will obstruct her way with thorns,
And I will build a stone wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.
7 And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband,
Because it was better for me then than now!’
8 “Yet she does not know that it was I myself who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And lavished on her silver and gold,
Which they used for Baal.
9 Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time
And My new wine in its season.
I will also take away My wool and My flax
That I gave to cover her nakedness.
10 So now I will uncover her lewdness
Before the eyes of her lovers,
And no one will rescue her from My hand.
11 I will also put an end to all her joy,
Her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths,
And all her festivals.
12 And I will destroy her vines and fig trees,
Of which she said, ‘They are my wages for prostitution
Which my lovers have given me.’
And I will turn them into a forest,
And the animals of the field will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the days of the Baals
When she used to offer sacrifices to them
And adorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry,
And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the Lord.
14 “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her,
Bring her into the wilderness,
And speak kindly to her.
15 Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will respond there as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she went up from the land of Egypt.
16 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me my husband
And no longer call Me my Baal.
17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will no longer be mentioned by their names.
18 On that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the animals of the field,
The birds of the sky,
And the crawling things of the ground.
And I will eliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land,
And will let them lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,
In favor and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the Lord.
21 “And it will come about on that day that I will respond,” declares the Lord.
“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil,
And they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will sow her for Myself in the land.
I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion,
And I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
God desires to have a personal relationship with everyone, and in order to have that, one must realize their need for Jesus to save them and help them through life. How can we recognize that need if everything always goes our way? So in verse 6, it says that God will obstruct "her" way with thorns. And in verse 9, uncovering one's nakedness is to expose one's sin and the false path that they are on.
When anyone goes to Jesus for His salvation, they are clothed in His righteousness. And when we choose to walk in God's way, we will be blessed. God is faithful and protects and keeps us for all eternity.
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