Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and wall her in, so that she cannot find her paths.
To bring Israel to repentance, God promised to set a hedge of thorns on the sides of her path, so that it would hurt whenever Israel went off the correct path, and so the wrong paths would be hard to find. (Hosea 2:6)
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. (Hosea 2:8)
Many of us don't we even realize that all that we have today is because of the Lord’s blessing. Instead of using the same blessing to worship God, we use it to worship the god’s of this world.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak comfort to her.
I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness.
Notice God alluring his people into the wilderness. It is in the quiet of the wilderness that God will speak to his people. Wilderness is the place where you are all alone; a place where you are away from civilization; away from man. This is the place that God has brought you into so that He can speak comfort to you and you will listen.
How many of you are going through a wilderness experience?
If you are, then this message is certainly for you.
The Valley of Achor as a door of hope
Achor means “trouble,” so the Valley of Achor is the “Valley of Trouble.” It was a place of trouble, where Achan’s sin was discovered and judged (Joshua 7:26). God’s restoration is so great that He will transform the “Valley of Trouble” into a door of hope.
“It shall come to pass in that day
That I will answer,” says the Lord;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
The earth shall answer with grain,
With new wine, and with oil;
They shall answer Jezreel.
Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;
Then I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’” (Hosea 2:21-23)
They shall answer Jezreel
The name “Jezreel” means “Scattered,” and could be used in a negative sense (as in Hosea 1:4-5). But it was also the word used to describe the good scattering of seed, “Sowing.” Here, the LORD promises glorious redemption of the name Jezreel, which was first given as a sober reminder of scattering in judgment. Now it becomes a prophecy of the promise, “I will sow her for Myself in the earth.” God will restore His people to abundance and blessing. Scattering will be transformed into sowing.
I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy
Hosea’s second child, a daughter, was named Lo-Ruhamah, meaning “No Mercy” (Hosea 1:6). That name, originally given as a marker of judgment is now transformed into a mark of restoration.
I will say to those who were not My people
Hosea’s third child, a son, was named Lo-Ammi, meaning “Not My People” (Hosea 1:9). That name, originally given as a marker of judgment, is now transformed into a mark of restoration.
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