Reconciliation and Restoration (2:14–23)

Introduction:

As we continue in our study of Hosea, you will remember that last week we were left with some very sobering rhetoric from Yahweh with regard to his unfaithful bride Israel. We learned that Yahweh was calling his bride to repentance, and letting her know of the severe consequences if she refuses. We also learned that Yahweh would destroy the syncretism that existed between the the worship of Baal and the worship of Yahweh. But is there no hope? Is this the end? Hallelujah, I am glad to report that this morning’s message will expose to use the future hope of reconciliation and restoration of the bride of Yahweh!

Text: Hosea 2:14-23

Hosea 2:14–23 ESV

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15 And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. 16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. 21 “And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, 22 and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, 23 and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ ”

Main Idea: Since God’s covenants are irrevocable, we can be assured that they will be fulfilled even when his righteous judgment is invoked against sin.

It should be noted here that the covenant that Yahweh breaks with his bride Israel because of her infidelity is the covenant made with her at Mt Sinai found in Exodus 20, when he gave his law and commanded them to worship no other gods, thus claiming the exclusivity of a betrothed bride to her husband. This covenant required that Israel keep those terms or the covenant or the covenant would be broken. It was evident very quickly that neither Israel not anyone else could do this perfectly.

However, the Abrahamic covenant found in Genesis 12:1-3, was unlike the covenant of Mt Sinai, in the it was unilateral (as shown in Gen 15) , as part of the unbreakable decree made in the God-head in eternity past. It is this covenant with which Yahweh responds to the sinful actions of Israel.

We begin with a therefore in verse 14, which points back to the end of verse 13, where Yahweh says, And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord.

What is amazing is the therefore of Yahweh’s action is as a result of Israel’s actions of infidelity. What is emphasized in this chapter is the proactive work of Yahweh, with the repeated phrase, I Will, used 14x in these 10 verses.

Instead of washing his hands of the situation and starting over, which he has every right to do, we find him engaged in the...

I. Allurement of His Bride (14-15)

A. Away from Temptation (14)

I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

into the wilderness - there Israel is to love God alone, only in the wilderness is this possible

speak tenderly to her - Lit. “speak to the heart,” an idiom used elsewhere for wooing, speaking kindly, and coaxing (Gen. 34:3; Judg. 19:3; Ruth 2:13).

B. Return to Hope (15)

And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

Valley of Achor a door of hope - Lit. “Valley of Trouble,” this area was located near Jericho (Josh 6 -fall of Jericho) and was the site of the stoning of Achan (Josh. 7:24–26). Though associated with sin and death, this valley was to be transformed into a “door of hope.”

It is through God’s righteous judgment upon his erring bride that hope and restoration will emerge.

II. Recovery of His Bride (16-20)

A. A Redirected Affection (16-17)

(16) “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’

And in that day. This is not a reference to a particular time but a description of what the day will be like when God lures Israel back.

The act of changing names continues: you will call me “My Husband,” and no longer will you call me “My Baal.” The Israelites had fused the name of the Lord with Baal as though doing so made no difference (syncretism).

(17) For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. - In earlier times the Hebrew for “my husband” sounded like “my Baal” (cf. Ex. 21:22; 24:4; 2 Sam. 11:26; Prov. 12:4; 30:23; 31:11, 23, 28), but now Israel must use a different word in order to make clear her exclusive devotion to the Lord, and not to Baal. In the future, Israel will be so zealous to stamp out anything associated with Baal worship that the word ba‘al itself, in all its senses, will be avoided

B. A Revived Covenant (18)

(18) And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.

I will make for them a covenant. Taking up the same theme in a later time, Jeremiah explains the covenant as entailing a new heart (Jer. 31:31–34)

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ESV

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

with the beasts. The future kingdom is secure and peaceful, free from the threat of wild animals (Is. 11:6–9) and invasions (Ps. 46:9; Is. 2:4; Mic. 4:3). Wild animals were a threat, particularly after invading armies ravaged the land. The language may be figurative for a transformed humanity, with the resulting peace and security attending the renewal inaugurated by Christ at His First Advent and completed at His Second Coming.

C. A Renewed Betrothal (19-20)

(19) And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. - Betrothal was the final step in the courtship process and involved paying a bride-price to the bride’s father. Here the qualities of righteousness, justice, love, mercy, and faithfulness are a sort of bride-price that guarantees the permanence of the relationship.

righteousness. God’s righteousness is expressed both in His fairness and in the salvation He bestows on His people (10:12; Amos 5:7).

justice. This term can denote the legal decisions and relationships by which justice and fairness are established and restored (5:11; 6:5; 10:4; Amos 5:15, 24; Mic. 6:8).

steadfast love. This translates the Hebrew word ḥesed, the precise sense of which is difficult to render in English. Here it refers to God’s loyalty and devotion to His people, a loyalty created by the bond of God’s covenant with His people. Though we might expect it to be used for the devotion of God’s people to Him, its overwhelming use is as a description of God’s devotion to His people. Since God reveals Himself in devotion to His own, there is no stronger term to express the free and faithful grace of His love (Ps. 136, “his steadfast love endures forever” used 26x, describing as he goes the covenantal work of God for his people Israel).

Exodus 15:13 ESV

13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

mercy. The term can refer to compassion, heartfelt sensitivity, and love (1:6; Gen. 43:14; Deut. 13:17; 2 Sam. 24:14).

(20) I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord (Yahweh).

faithfulness. This quality includes dependability, truthfulness, and steadfastness in relationships (Ps. 88:11; 89:1, 2, 5, 8, 24; 92:2; 98:3). Christ, by His active obedience, provided these covenant virtues for His people. By the Holy Spirit He inscribes His own nature on their hearts (2 Cor. 3:3).

know. The essence of the new covenant relationship involves knowing the Lord intimately Jer 31:34 “34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”” Today Christ mediates this new covenant and renders the old covenant relationship obsolete (Heb. 8:7–13).

III. Restoration of His Bride (21-23)

A. Restoration Through Answers (21-22)

(21) And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth,

This communication between heaven and earth is symbolic of how Yahweh will graciously answer Israel’s cry, as she learns again to answer His appeals

the heavens. The Lord will show that He, not the storm-god Baal, commands the cycles of nature whereby the land becomes fertile and produces the crops that were earlier withheld (v. 9)

(22) and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel,

Former adversities suffered by Israel will be reversed; grain, wine, and oil will be replenished, as Israel finally recognizes her husband Yahweh and yields to his calls.

answer Jezreel - again, you will remember from our first sermon, that Jezreel was a beautiful and fertile valley between the mountain ranges of Samaria and Galilee (the site of Gideon’s victory over the Midianites), which had been known up to now as a valley of judgment, but will now become a sign of blessing and fertility.

B. Restoration Through Reversal (23)

(23) and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God. -

The promises of restoration come to a climax as Jezreel is redeemed (v. 22; cf. 1:4, 5), No Mercy (Lo-ruhama) is shown God’s love (1:6), and Not My People (Lo-ammi) becomes God’s people (1:9).

You are my God. See Rom. 9:23–26 and 1 Pet. 2:9, 10 regarding the fulfillment of these promises. The ultimate reality of Yahweh’s persistent hesed love, His bride will declare her exclusive relationship with her husband!

So What?

How would gauge your relationship with God? Is your focus on Him? Are you in the “wilderness” right now with everything you hold dear stripped away?

If so, take courage, God is taking this time to communicate with you as he has your undivided attention.

As God brings you into those quiet focused moments in your life where it’s just God and you, are you able to yield to his hand of discipline or are you angry and frustrated?

Always remember that it is through God’s hand of judgment or discipline that his mercy and steadfast love is revealed.

Are you able to have confidence in God’s covenant relationship, his hesed love, with you even though all is not well with your circumstances?

Remember, you did not choose God, he chose you, and as a result, his loyal love for you is permanent and unshakable.

On the other hand, if you are here this morning and do not know the love of God through his son Jesus Christ, then I beg of you to repent of your sins and place you total trust for this life and the next in the finished work of Christ on the cross for you.. Remember, 1 Cor 15:3-4 “3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”