Hosea 2:14-23

Hope Shines Through From The Future Because One Day YHWH Will Once Again Draw His People Back To Himself And Will Restore Her Situation. Israel Will Dwell Securely, Having Become Betrothed To YHWH For Ever, And The Day Of Jezreel (God Sows) Will Come. They Will Once More Be His People And He Will Be Their God (Hosea 2:14).

But just as He had done in the deliverance from Egypt, YHWH will one day woo His people and bring them into the wilderness, and from the wilderness He will provide them with vineyards, and with a door of hope in the very place of their previous failure. There is an indication here that the treachery of the people at this time was to be seen as comparable with the treachery of Achan, suggesting also that similarly to there, there would be a price to pay before forgiveness would be possible.

But once that price was seen as paid YHWH would restore their loving relationship with Him, and Baal would be forgotten. Baal would no more be connected in any way with Yahwism but be totally set aside so that his name was no longer invoked in any way. YHWH would no more be addressed as Baali (my lord, husband), but as Ishi (my man, husband) in order to remove even the remotest possibility of connection with Baal. In that day Paradise would be restored by a covenant with all living creatures and His people would be betrothed to Him for ever. YHWH would respond to His people and it would be as though the names of Hosea's children had been reversed. Jezreel would become ‘God sows' instead of a symbol of vengeance; ‘no compassion' would be replaced by ‘compassion'; and ‘not my people' would become ‘you are My people'. Total harmony would be restored.

Analysis of Hosea 2:14.

a “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak reassuringly (comfortably, lovingly) to her” (Hosea 2:14).

b “And I will give to her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope, and she will make answer there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt” (Hosea 2:15).

c “And it will be at that day,” says YHWH, “that you will call me Ishi, and will call me no more Baali” (Hosea 2:16).

d “For I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, and they will no more be mentioned by their name” (Hosea 2:17).

e “And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground, and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the land, and will make them to lie down safely” (Hosea 2:18).

d “And I will betroth you to me for ever; yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies” (Hosea 2:19).

c “I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness, and you will know YHWH” (Hosea 2:20).

b “And it will come about in that day, I will answer,” says YHWH, “I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth, and the earth will answer the grain, and the new wine, and the oil, and they will answer Jezreel (God sows)” (Hosea 2:21).

a “And I will sow her to me in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy, and I will say to those who were not my people, ‘You are my people,' and they will say, ‘You are my God' ” (Hosea 2:23).

Note that in ‘a' God will speak reassuringly to Israel, and in the parallel He will tell them ‘You are my people'. In ‘b' Israel will ‘make answer' and will be given her vineyards, and in the parallel there is a multiplicity of ‘answering' and this will result in fruitfulness and ‘new wine', the product of vineyards. In ‘c' Israel will call YHWH Ishi (my husband) and in the parallel she will be betrothed to YHWH in faithfulness. In ‘d' she will no more speak of Baal, and in the parallel she will be betrothed to YHWH. Centrally in ‘e' she will enjoy YHWH's total protection from all who would harm her.