Read
The Lord Promises
2Accuse! Accuse your mother!
She is no longer my wife,
and now I, the Lord,
am not her husband.
Beg her to give up prostitution
and stop being unfaithful,
3or I will strip her naked
like the day she was born.
I will make her barren
like a desert,
and she will die of thirst.
4You children are the result
of her unfaithfulness,
and I'll show you no pity.
5Your mother was unfaithful.
She was disgraceful and said,
“I'll run after my lovers.
Everything comes from them—
my food and drink,
my linen and wool,
my olive oil and wine.”
6I, the Lord, will build
a fence of thorns
to block her path.
7She will run after her lovers,
but not catch them;
she will search,
but not find them.
Then she will say, “I'll return
to my first husband.
Life was better then.”
8She didn't know that her grain,
wine, and olive oil
were gifts from me,
as were the gold and silver
she used in worshiping Baal.
9So I'll hold back the harvest
of grain and grapes.
I'll take back
my wool and my linen
that cover her body.
10Then I'll strip her naked
in the sight of her lovers.
No one can rescue her.
11I'll stop Israel's celebrations—
no more New Moon Festivals,
Sabbaths, or other feasts.
12She said, “My lovers gave me
vineyards and fig trees
as payment for sex.”
Now I, the Lord, will ruin
her vineyards and fig trees;
they will become clumps of weeds
eaten by wild animals.
13I'll punish her for the days
she worshiped Baal
and burned incense to him.
I'll punish her for the times
she forgot about me
and wore jewelry and rings
to attract her lovers.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
The Lord Will Help Israel
14Israel, I, the Lord,
will lure you into the desert
and speak gently to you.
15 I will return your vineyards,
and then Trouble Valley
will become Hopeful Valley.
You will say “Yes” to me
as you did in your youth,
when leaving Egypt.
16I promise from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master. 17I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called “Master.” 18And I will agree to let you live in peace—you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. 19I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, 20and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am.
21I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, 22and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. 23 I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah. I will say to Lo-Ammi, “You are my people,” and they will answer, “You are our God.”
Reflect
“I will … make the Valley of Trouble a door of hope” (v 15).
This promise of hope comes in the context of a season of trouble caused by the wayward infidelity of God’s people. In Hosea’s metaphor, the unfaithful wife has been severely disciplined for her promiscuity; the nation of Israel for allowing Baal worship to flourish.
The valley refers to the story of Achan (Joshua 7), who hoarded loot from Israel’s conquest of Jericho into a secret stash of his own. This act of unfaithfulness – disobeying a direct command – led to the unexpected defeat of Israel by a militarily inferior foe.
One message here is that God is not to be trifled with. Abandon God, and God’s power will disappear from you. Disobey God’s commands, and suffer dire consequences.
Shame is one of the bitter consequences of such betrayal (v 10). Shame surfaces strong feelings of unworthiness that overwhelm any person whose faithless acts are exposed. It is a sense of censure so deep and debilitating that the shamed ones seem to lose their very identities. Their sense of self seems based on their most dastardly deeds.
And yet, God does not want people to wallow in unworthiness, and offers a healthy way forward. “Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (v 14). Two things stand out here: First, there is a season in the wilderness, a place of utter dependency at a distance from all other allures. It’s a hard place to be.
And, second, it’s a place of tenderness. The vulnerability occasioned by open shame is a portal to the kind of full confession that draws out the tenderness of God. It is the place of repentance where restoration begins. God turns this valley of trouble into a door of hope.
Respond
God, in your mercy, receive me as I am and continue to build in me a greater capacity to conform to your will and to live in your ways. May hope flourish even in the midst of the troubles I bring on myself. Thank you for your faithfulness. Amen.
Doug Koop
Doug Koop is a writer currently serving as a Spiritual Health Practitioner at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. From 1987 to 2012 he worked as an editor with ChristianWeek newspaper, covering Christian faith and life in Canada. He and his wife, Margaret, are the parents of two adult sons and two daughters-in-law. http://www.christianweek.org http://www.promisekeepers.ca/seven/ http://digital.faithtoday.ca/faithtoday/20121112#pg1