Lectionary Calendar

Thursday, November 21st, 2024
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33

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Bible Commentaries
Hosea 2

HoseaHos 1 HoseaHos HoseaHos 3

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Verses 1-23

HARLOTRY! (2:2-13)
1. (7) As Luke presents the prodigal son, so Hosea portrays the prodigal wife!
  1. Lk.15:17,18 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,”
2. (8,9) Israel accepted God’s gifts but used them to worship idols.
  1. Q: Do you ever use your God-given resources for things that grieve Him?
3. Q: What are the 2 deepest pangs, of this sin? [1] It violates God’s exclusive claim on our love & reverence! [2] It contaminates our loving response to God.
  1. 1^st steps to fix an adulterous situation: Repent to whom you’ve sinned against(God & spouse/marital covenant); 100% cutting off of old relationship(no loose ends/often times a letter that the spouse reads before sending).
4. (13) “It’s easy for the church today to prostitute itself to the world & still claim to be faithful to the Lord.” (Warren Wiersbe; pg. 571) (see James 4:4-10)
A DOOR OF HOPE! (2:14-23)
1. (14,15) Valley of Achor –
  1. Only God can give new meaning to old names, & wipe out painful associations w/old places.
  2. Here the Valley of Achor(valley of trouble), where Achan was stoned(Joshua 7:24-26) will became a door of hope!(a valley of hope)
2. A door of hope - Some years ago, Donna Rice's name hit the tabloids in a highly publicized sexual scandal with former Colorado senator Gary Hart. In the aftermath,Hart's bid for the 1988 Democratic nomination was trashed and so was Rice's reputation.Rice disappeared from the public eye, but she's back--passionately committed to God and to "Enough is Enough," a Christian organization fighting to keep pornography out of the hands of minors. - Thankful for the support of her family, friends, and her Christian husband, Jack Hughes, Rice is most thankful for God's work in her life: "God loves us, but he doesn't grant us immunity from the consequences of our choices. However, when we mess up, if we ask his forgiveness, he'll redeem those choices, using our mistakes as a 'door of hope' for other people (Hosea 2:14-15). I have great empathy for victims ofsexual abuse and pornography. God has brought purpose to my pain." -- from Today'sChristian Woman. Christian Reader, Vol. 35, no. 2.
3. (16) Play on words here.
  1. Call me “ishi”(husband) no longer “baali”(master)
  2. They were used as synonymous terms. Like in 2 Sam.11:26 “When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband(ish) was dead, she mourned for her husband(baal).”
  3. Were not going to use that term anymore in Israel!
    1. Baal, the chief god of the Canaanites, was considered to be the god of the crops & fertility.
    2. These “Baal’s had become Israel’s “lovers”!
  4. (19) Martin Luther called this verse a wedding ring w/6 precious stones! (he also said…)
    1. “It is the highest grace of God when love continues to flourish in married life. The first love is ardent, is an intoxicating love, so that we are blinded and are drawn to marriage. After we have slept off our intoxication, sincere love remains in the married life of the godly; but the godless are sorry they ever married.” (Martin Luther. "William and Catherine Booth," Christian History, no. 26.)
4. Q: What do these 2 chapters reveal to you about how your own sin affects the Lord?
5. Q: How can this glimpse into God’s heart affect your thoughts & behavior this week?

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Verses 1-23

HARLOTRY! (2:2-13)
1. (7) As Luke presents the prodigal son, so Hosea portrays the prodigal wife!
  1. Lk.15:17,18 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,”
2. (8,9) Israel accepted God’s gifts but used them to worship idols.
  1. Q: Do you ever use your God-given resources for things that grieve Him?
3. Q: What are the 2 deepest pangs, of this sin? [1] It violates God’s exclusive claim on our love & reverence! [2] It contaminates our loving response to God.
  1. 1^st steps to fix an adulterous situation: Repent to whom you’ve sinned against(God & spouse/marital covenant); 100% cutting off of old relationship(no loose ends/often times a letter that the spouse reads before sending).
4. (13) “It’s easy for the church today to prostitute itself to the world & still claim to be faithful to the Lord.” (Warren Wiersbe; pg. 571) (see James 4:4-10)
A DOOR OF HOPE! (2:14-23)
1. (14,15) Valley of Achor –
  1. Only God can give new meaning to old names, & wipe out painful associations w/old places.
  2. Here the Valley of Achor(valley of trouble), where Achan was stoned(Joshua 7:24-26) will became a door of hope!(a valley of hope)
2. A door of hope - Some years ago, Donna Rice's name hit the tabloids in a highly publicized sexual scandal with former Colorado senator Gary Hart. In the aftermath,Hart's bid for the 1988 Democratic nomination was trashed and so was Rice's reputation.Rice disappeared from the public eye, but she's back--passionately committed to God and to "Enough is Enough," a Christian organization fighting to keep pornography out of the hands of minors. - Thankful for the support of her family, friends, and her Christian husband, Jack Hughes, Rice is most thankful for God's work in her life: "God loves us, but he doesn't grant us immunity from the consequences of our choices. However, when we mess up, if we ask his forgiveness, he'll redeem those choices, using our mistakes as a 'door of hope' for other people (Hosea 2:14-15). I have great empathy for victims ofsexual abuse and pornography. God has brought purpose to my pain." -- from Today'sChristian Woman. Christian Reader, Vol. 35, no. 2.
3. (16) Play on words here.
  1. Call me “ishi”(husband) no longer “baali”(master)
  2. They were used as synonymous terms. Like in 2 Sam.11:26 “When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband(ish) was dead, she mourned for her husband(baal).”
  3. Were not going to use that term anymore in Israel!
    1. Baal, the chief god of the Canaanites, was considered to be the god of the crops & fertility.
    2. These “Baal’s had become Israel’s “lovers”!
  4. (19) Martin Luther called this verse a wedding ring w/6 precious stones! (he also said…)
    1. “It is the highest grace of God when love continues to flourish in married life. The first love is ardent, is an intoxicating love, so that we are blinded and are drawn to marriage. After we have slept off our intoxication, sincere love remains in the married life of the godly; but the godless are sorry they ever married.” (Martin Luther. "William and Catherine Booth," Christian History, no. 26.)
4. Q: What do these 2 chapters reveal to you about how your own sin affects the Lord?
5. Q: How can this glimpse into God’s heart affect your thoughts & behavior this week?

return to 'Top of Page'

HoseaHos 1 HoseaHos HoseaHos 3

Copyright Statement
These files are the property of Brian Bell.
Text Courtesy of Calvary Chapel of Murrieta. Used by Permission.

Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Hosea 2". "Bell's Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/hosea-2.html. 2017.

Bible CommentariesHosea 2

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-23

Verses 1-23

Bible Commentaries
Hosea 2