HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1158
H O S EA 2
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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.
And I will not love her children,
for they were conceived in prostitution.
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.’
“For this reason I will fence her in with
thornbushes.
I will block her path with a wall
to make her lose her way.
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.’
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.
“But now I will take back the ripened grain
and new wine
I generously provided each harvest
season.
• Intimacy
H O SE A 2 :1 6 -2 0
Using images of marriage, the Lord
promised his people that he would build
a relationship with them that would never
end, one of deep and lasting intimacy.
Notice the words that make up an
intimate relationship—righteousness,
justice, love, compassion, faithfulness.
In human intimacy, these same words
apply. Have you incorporated these
commitments into your relationships?
Do you pursue what is right even when
you have been wronged? Do you love
even when love is not returned? Are
you compassionate even in anger? Are
you faithful even in those moments
when it seems that intimacy is beyond
your reach? When you lose sight of
what it means to be intimate, look
to the example of God’s committed
relationship to his people.
page 788
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I will take away the wool and linen clothing
I gave her to cover her nakedness.
I will strip her naked in public,
while all her lovers look on.
No one will be able
to rescue her from my hands.
I will put an end to her annual festivals,
her new moon celebrations, and her
Sabbath days—
all her appointed festivals.
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.
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.
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.
15 I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble* into
a gateway of hope.
She will give herself to me there,
as she did long ago when she was young,
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.’*
17 O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal
from your lips,
and you will never mention them again.
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.
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“In that day, I will answer,”
says the Lord.
“I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds.
2:15 Hebrew valley of Achor. 2:16 Hebrew ‘my baal.’