Could you please turn with me to the prophet Hosea once again today. Hosea chapter 2 we are going to study today. And we are going to talk a little bit today about the judgment that God had to pour upon his beloved nation, Israel, because of Israel's disobedience. And what we have seen, if you remember, in our last meeting together, in chapter 1, we have seen that Hosea, the prophet, was called by the Lord to do something that was very unusual. He was called by the Lord in chapter 1 of Hosea to take a woman by the name of Gomer to marry this woman. She was already a prostitute and that this woman will be unfaithful to Hosea the prophet.

And that she ultimately will leave him and will go and will seek after other men. Just the same like Israel the nation have left the Lord and have gone astray and later on she was restored by the Lord. And so if you remember in chapter 1 of the book of Hosea we have learned about this woman by the name of Gomer that she gave Hosea three children. One of them was called Israel, the second one was called Lo Ruchama, and the third one was called Lo Ami. Those three children became a picture lesson for Israel to see how Israel had misbehaved, had violated the relationship that she had Israel with the husband Jehovah, and she, Gomer, had gone astray, and God had to punish the nation of Israel.

So now we're going into chapter 2, and I would like to read a few verses at a time. I'm not going to read the whole chapter immediately, so we can follow this one verse at a time. Well, Hosea chapter 2, and I'm reading first of all from verse 2 to 5. Verse 1 really belonged to the chapter before that. So Hosea chapter 2 verse 2, I'm reading, Plead with your mother. Plead, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband. Let her therefore put away her hoodums out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts. Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

And I will have no mercy upon her children, for they be the children of whoredoms, and their mother have played the harlot. She that conceived them has done shamefully, for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread, and my water, my wool, and my flax, mine oil and my drink. Can I pause here for a moment just to make the connection with chapter 1 here. When Hosea was asked by God to take a woman that was already a prostitute and to marry her, did she have already children of her own? We call, he said, Eshed Znunim, a woman which is a prostitute.

He was called to take this woman, to marry this woman with the knowledge that ultimately she will leave him and she will go after other men. Now, can you imagine what it meant for Isaiah? Can you imagine what a change had brought upon his life that he was willing to submit to the Word of God, to take this woman by the name of Gomer, to embrace her children, to have more children with her together, and then later on those children, those three children, will describe the judgment that God will pour upon his nation. You can just imagine what Hosea felt in his life. This woman by the name of Gomer completely changed his life.

He and anyone who is getting married today wishes that his relationship with his wife will be a happy relationship. And a wife, of course, with the husband. The relationship should be a happy and a blessed relationship. But to know ahead of time that she's going to leave him and to follow after other men it must be a devastating thing to know by Hosea but he did so he submitted to the word of God and so we find out that now in chapter 2 and verse 2 we see that all would have happened before by by the obedience of Hosea to the word of God to Mary Gomer, now in chapter 2, we see that Israel is going to face the judgment of Jehovah, who loved this nation so much, but he has to deal in discipline with his people.

So in verses 2 to 5, which he just read, sinful Israel is warned by God of chastening there will be chastening you see when we have been brought to the Lord and when the Lord have brought us to be his children the people of God and when we go astray just like Israel have gone astray God will have to deal with his people he loved them but he has to chasten them and so. In verse 2 beloved brothers and sisters God is really so grieved as a husband Jehovah is the husband of the nation of Israel and he asked someone to plead with his wife he's pleading with her and so notice that twice we have the word plead it's the Hebrew word revu the Hebrew word revu is really speaking to make a strong protest speak to this woman speak to the nation of Israel he's saying here plead with your mother i beseech you stop your ways stop your manners stop your behavior he's pleading with her twice it says here in verse 2 plead with your mother plead and now notice that he says in verse 2b for she is not my wife neither am I her husband let her therefore put away her hudans out of her sight and her adulteries from between her breasts now God is saying to the nation says to the nation of Israel just the same like Hosea is speaking to his wife Gomer and he's saying to her please stop your behavior.

Stop your ways stop your lifestyle you are no longer considered to be my wife now Israel is always known in the Bible as the wife of Jehovah but when Israel does not obey the Lord Israel is now in a practical way is not enjoying that relationship with the Lord and therefore the Lord is telling to her you are not my wife and I am not your husband practically we cannot continue like that when you live this kind of lifestyle and so he is giving them a warning and this is interesting because from this verse too we learn really that Jehovah is the husband of Israel and Israel is the wife of Jehovah Isaiah said it very nicely in chapter 50 Isaiah 50 and verse 1 i want to read that verse here Isaiah 50 and verse 1 we read this like this we read this like that thus says the Lord and the Lord is speaking to Israel where is the bill of See, that's what God is saying about Israel.

He says, where is the bill of your divorcement? The reason that I put you away is because of your iniquities and your sins. And brothers and sisters, when a believer, when a nation of Israel has sinned in worshipping other idols, it is spiritual fornication. When Israel as a nation worshipped other idols, Baal, and all the other nations, gods that existed in Canaan, Israel really committed a spiritual fornication. Just the same like a regular relationship between a man and a woman. Just the same like Gomer, the wife of Hosea, who left him and went to other men, ending up committing fornication and ultimately caused Hosea so much grief.

The man who loved her and was willing to marry her and to bring her into his life. Jeremiah also mentioned that concerning Israel relationship with the Lord as the wife of Jehovah. Notice in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 6, the Lord saith unto me in the days of Josiah the king, hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? She's gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree and there has played the harlot see what God is saying about the nation of Israel our nation Israel departed from the Lord they have gone away from him worshiping all kind of idols she became like a harlot like a prostitute he said in verse 7 and i said after she had done all these thing turn thou unto me but she returned not and her treacherous sister Judah saw it verse 8 and i saw when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery i had put her away and I given her a bill of divorce yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not but went and played the harlot also you see Jeremiah mentioned again just the same like Isaiah mentioned the condition when Israel have gone after other gods she was like a woman who is a prostitute going after other men and so Israel was warned so God in verse 2 of Hosea chapter 2 is pleading with the nation.

He's beseeching the nation and he's saying to them you know you turn away turn back stop to do what you are doing and so in verse 3 now God will strip Israel of all that she had you see it says in verse 3 of Hosea chapter 2, lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the days that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. You know the five things we hear here in verse 3? Five punishments that God is going to lay upon the nation of Israel because of this number one I will strip her naked number two I will set her as in the day that she was born number three I will make her as a wilderness number four I will set her like a dry land and number five I will slay her with thirst you know what God was going to do to the nation of Israel he was going to strip Israel of all that he had provided for her.

And why does he do it? He doesn't do it because he found pleasure in doing this and stripping Israel from all the blessings that he had for the nation, but he does it out of love for his own nation because he doesn't want Israel to turn away from him. He doesn't want Israel to be giving their devotion to other gods. He wanted Israel totally for himself. And so this discipline and chastening is necessary to bring Israel ultimately back to himself and that's what he's intending to do. And so verses 4 and 5 of this chapter, Oseah chapter 2, we read that God will not have mercy upon the nation.

You know that from the history of Israel, how many times Israel have experienced suffering and persecutions by the nations around, how many times there have been Israel as a nation being disciplined by God, and God have allowed this to happen and it seemed to be that he doesn't have any mercy upon them as we say it in Hebrew one of the children of oshea no mercy and so it's in verse 4 and 5 i will not have mercy upon her children they shall be as the children of hudom for their mother has played harlot she that conceived them has done shamefully For she said, I will go after my lovers, and I will give my bread and my water, my wool and my flax and mine oil and my drink.

Can you imagine this, beloved brothers and sisters? Here is this woman, Gomer, which has been representing the nation of Israel. She is going after her lovers and giving them everything that she has. It says here in verse 5, she said, I will go after my lovers. That is a so sad description of a woman that her life is so messed up that she's not happy to be at home with her husband and she goes all the way trying to find satisfaction all over and finding out at the end that she's really selling herself for nothing. That's exactly what Israel did as a nation there was no nation like Israel chosen by God an asian brought into favor with Jehovah a nation that had been called by the Lord to be his own and yet at the same time not realizing that he provided everything for the nation and instead of giving the Lord the worship they end up giving other idols the worship giving the worship and honor to the ones that they were false God they were idols and so she said i will go after my lovers and then she said and you notice by the way it says here the one that gives me my bread and my water and my wool and my flax and my oil and my drink all what she says that was mine was actually not given to her by those idols it was given to her by the Lord himself the Lord gave her and she thought that those idols bealim the false idols have given.

This to her do you know today that everything that you and i have was given to us by the Lord you look at the book of James for example James says every good and perfect thing came from above from the father of light with whom there is no shadow no turning in other words God had given to us everything that we do have today it says here in verse 5 my bread it says here my water do you know that the food that we enjoy today the water that we drink had been given to us by God my wool and my flax the clothes that we wear have been given to us by the Lord so graciously and then he continues with my oil and my drink in other words everything that she received she thought that those idols have given this to her but actually she did not even realize or did not acknowledge that everything that she had actually came from the Lord himself.

And so Israel as a sinful nation is warned by God through the prophet Hosea that there will be consequences, there will be chastening, there will be discipline. By way of application for us today, very similar. When we as children of God, as believers, who got saved gloriously saved and God forgave our sins gave us forgiveness gave us eternal life and for us as believers not to give him back the worship and the honor and to be occupied with everything else and not to give him the time that he deserved and not to acknowledge that everything we have is for him is doing exactly the same thing what Israel have done and so there will be chastening and God will remove from her he will strip the nation in this fivefold punishment he will set her naked he will make her as wilderness he will make her like a dry land and he will cause her and he will slay her to stay in thirst that's what God did and by the way he did so you look at the history of our nation Israel you will see the spiritual starvation there's so much lack of spiritual desire for the things of the Lord this blindness that is existing.

Among the nation of Israel in general as a nation though there are many praise the Lord individual Jewish people who came to faith in Yeshua the Messiah who enjoy what God had given to us through the Messiah so now in the next verses in verses 6 to 13 and i'm going to read those verses we learn what is the purpose of the chastening of Israel why does God chasten his own people it says in verse 6 therefore behold i will hedge up thy way with thorns and i will make wall that she shall not find her path and she shall follow after her lovers but she shall not overtake them and she shall seek them but she shall not find them then shall she say I will go and return to my first husband for then was it better with me than now for she did not know listen to this verse 8 she did not know that I gave her corn and wine and oil and multiplied her with silver and gold which they prepared for Baal.

Therefore I will return and I will take away my corn in the time thereof and my wine in the season thereof and I will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness and now I will discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers. And none shall deliver her out of mine hand and I will also cause all her mirth to seize and her feast days and her new moons and her Shabbat and all her solemn feasts and I will destroy her vines and her fig trees whereof she has said these are my rewards and that my lovers have given unto me and I will make them a forest and the beasts of the field shall eat them and I will visit upon her the days of Bealim wherein she burned incense to them and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels and she went after her lovers and forgot me sayeth the Lord.

You know when you think of Hosea as a man that had married this woman by the name of Gomer and brought her into his home, took her children that were born in prostitution, then gave her three children, and then his wife Gomer going back to her lovers into prostitution. It must have grieved the heart of Hosea just like it grieves the heart of the Lord. And so like Hosea was reaching after his wife seeking to restore her back to himself Jehovah seeking after Israel seeking to restore Israel back to himself and so the reason of the chastening is that Israel will ultimately be restored to the Lord and so in those verses that i just read we see that the Lord said i'm going to put a hedge around here that word here in verse six of Hosea chapter two the hedge and the wall speaks of God's protection oftentimes the word hedge is mentioned in the Bible you remember in the book of Job when Satan was accusing Job before God and when God said to his look at my servant Job and you remember what Satan said And he says, you put a hedge around him of protection.

That's why he's worshipping you and he's honoring you. Well, you know, God sometimes put hedges around his own people to protect them from going astray. You know, naturally speaking, we do not like walls around us. We don't like hedges around us because we feel restrained. You see, we got to be loosened up. We want to be free. We want to do our own thing. Well God said listen Israel i'm going to put a hedge with thorns around you and i will make wall why that she will not find her own path do you know brothers and sisters how many times God without your knowledge in mind put hedges around us to protect us from our own self will he protecting us i don't know how many times we may have fallen into sin if we would have not have this hedge of protection that the Lord had placed in our lives and so what we learn here that God says that he's going to put a wall around Israel that Israel even though they will seek to find their lovers or her lovers that she will not succeed in finding what she's seeking after by nature and so he says i will hedge you up around i will make a wall around you that you will not find your self-will path that you will not get there and so in verses 7 and 8 here is the reasons you see in verse 7 it says she shall follow after her.

Lovers but she shall not overtake them. She will seek them but she will not find them. See, Gomer a picture of Israel seeking after her lovers to worship other gods but because of God's hedge of protection in certain period of the life of the nation of Israel, it protected the nation to not allow them to fulfill their own desire that's what he does thank God for many times that he does this in our own life you know if you and i are going to get our own way our own selfish sinful way we will end up messing up our lives in many ways it is of the Lord's goodness it is of the Lord mercy that he put some hedge of protection and walls around us to protect us and so she sought for her lovers but she will not overtake them she will seek them but she will not find them then shall she say notice God won't everything is in view of returning to him she will say i will return to my first husband for then was it better with me than it is right now ultimately the desire of God is for.

Israel restoration God put the walls to prevent her to continue in her hudam and in verse 8 in order that she will return unto her husband who was the true provider for the nation of Israel it says in verse 8 for she did not know that I gave her her corn her wine and oil and I multiplied her with silver and gold which they prepared for Baal. God is grieving here. He says she didn't know that everything that she has I was the one who gave her. And what does she do? She takes the thing that I have given to her and she is offering it up for Baal.

Instead of recognizing that I did give this to her and turn to me in worship and adoration she's turning and she's giving that in worship to a false God to bear the God of those nations around and so God is grieved God is like a husband of the nation that is grieved over his own beloved nation because Israel as a nation had failed to recognize that everything she has was given to her by God you know what Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter 1 verse 3 he says the ox knows his owner and the ass his master's crib but Israel does not know my people do not consider the heart of God had been grieved the people whom he loved the nation his wife have departed from him to worship Baal instead of turning to him in worship she did not know that I gave her what she has everything she has was given to her by the Lord and so now beloved brothers and sisters here's the description of the punishment and I'm going.

To go over that very quickly in those verses 9 10 11 12 13 look at this in verse 9 God will take back all that belong to him you notice everything belong to him in verse 9 therefore will I return and I will take away my corn in the time thereof and my wine in the season thereof and I will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness God's saying about Israel he says listen i'm going to take everything that i really gave you it is mine i gave it to you i'm going to take it back in discipline in punishment for the nation then in verse 10 notice what he says in verse 10 God will expose Israel Israel emptiness in verse 10 it says this and now i will discover her lewdness in the side of her lovers and none shall deliver her out of my hand you see God is going to expose her emptiness before her lovers that's what he's going to do the Hebrew word.

For lewdness is nevela or nevulat nevula it's almost like her deadness her emptiness sometimes we think that we got something on our own and when pride comes in and when exaltation come in God is removing himself because he resists pride and sin and he shows us that really we are empty on our own and that's why God says i'm going to expose her her lewdness in the sight of her lovers in verse 11 he says that he will remove God will remove the feasts that he gave to the nation of Israel all these wonderful feasts that he gave to the nation look at this verse 11 i will also cause all her mirth to seize her feast day her new moons her shabbats and all her solemn feasts i will remove them you know that the Bible says that the feasts that God had given to Israel are the feasts of the Lord it belonged to him and he had given it to his wife the nation of Israel and so it becomes theirs but when they take these feasts and celebrations and worship time.

That they should be totally devoted to the Lord and they take it and they worship baal or Be'alim or the gods of the nation it's become spiritual prostitution God said I will not share my glory with another he want to receive that which belonged to him from his own people and so God said I'm going to remove now can you see Israel as a nation without her mirth without her feasts without her new moons without her Shabbats without her solemn feasts as a nation what is it there left? All these feasts that God had given our own nation the nation of Israel the feasts of the Lord and the celebration are connected and associated with Jehovah with redemption that he had provided with his love and grace and his provision if God is going to remove theirs it will show how empty the nation on its own again i would like to make an application for us anything that we have had been given to us by the Lord if we in pride rejecting the Lord Jesus the Messiah and not acknowledging that everything we have is from him and giving him in a measure with all our failure to give him the worship that he deserved, what we're doing, we're doing the very same thing that Israel have done.

In fact, we live in the day of the Laodicean age. And the Lord's saying through John, I will spew you out of my mouth. Because you say I'm rich and I need of nothing, God says to the church of Laodicea, I will spew you out of my mouth, he said. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. And he's knocking outside knocking on the door of the church desiring that men and women from the body of Messiah will be restored to him in a practical relationship and look what happened here in the time of Israel so he will take back all that belonged to him verse 9 he will expose Israel emptiness verse 10 he will remove Israel's feasts from them verse 11 now notice verse 12 God will destroy what he provided for Israel's need in verse 12 I will destroy her vines and her fig trees whereof she hath said these are my rewards that my lovers have given unto me and I will make them a forest and the beast of the field will eat them you see he's going to remove from Israel all what he had given to the nation and you notice that she said in this verse 12 she said my lovers have given this to me instead of saying the Lord Jehovah the God of my fathers have given.

This to me but they say my lovers have given this to me and the Lord is saying to them i will make them a forest and the beasts of the field will come and eat them no more fig trees there will be no more vine this speaks of sustenance it speaks of also protection when you have assurance that has been provided for you plenty of food plenty of the needs that you have been provided for you when you are not acknowledging it from the Lord the Lord says i will destroy that i will remove this from the nation and finally in verse 13 he says God will punish Israel for worshiping Baalim instead of worshiping the Lord.

And I will visit her, I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgot me, sayeth the Lord. Can you feel the heartbeat of. God here, when his own wife, that he purchased with a great price, took her from prostitution, brought her in, took her children in, gave her descendants and multiplied her and blessed her, and she forgot him. He says here, she forgot me, says the Lord. How many times the Bible teaches us to remember? You read Deuteronomy chapter 8 where God says to Israel, remember where you came from.

Remember how I provide for you in the wilderness 40 years and I took care of you. Remember Israel, remember, remember. And the Lord Jesus also teaching us in New Testament setting, in this Brit HaChadasha, in this present day, not to forget what God had given to us. But we are such a forgetful people. And here we have Israel as a nation. They have forgot me, God is saying. They forgot me. It is said, you know, those of us that are, let's say, parents and the children forget you. Forget how you have provided for them and took care of them. That is the human nature. It's so sinful, desperately wicked.

And we intend to remember only the bad things, and not to remember the good things of God's provision. And so the punishment is in verses 9 to 13. Now let's move on, because we don't want to be occupied only with the sad thing, there is something good at the end of the story here, because in the next verses, the rest of the chapter, in verses 14 to 23, we see that there is a result of God's chastening of Israel there will be a result God promised that that there will be a result when God chasten his people is always in view of restoration out of love he discipline them out of love he gives the nation chastening because the love of God for his own people desiring them to be restored unto himself and so i'm reading from verses 14 to 23 i'm reading one verse at a time therefore behold i will allure and bring her into the wilderness and i will speak comfortably unto Israel i will give her her vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a door of hope.

And she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the days when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be that at that day saith the Lord that you, namely Israel, shall call me Ishi, and shall call me no more Ba'ali. I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth and they shall no more be remembered by their names. And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven and with the creeping things of the ground and I will break the bow of the sword and a battle out of the earth and I will make them lay down safely.

I will betroth thee unto me forever. In righteousness, and in justice, and in love, and in mercies, I will betroth you unto me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord. And it shall come to pass that in that day saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy upon her. And I will say to them which were not my people, You are my people, and they shall say, Thou art my God.

And so in verses 14, there will be results. First of all, in verse 14, The Lord will allure Israel into the wilderness. By the way, that takes us to the tribulation period right now. Notice that. Therefore, behold, I will allure and bring her into the wilderness. And I will speak comfortably unto Israel. I love this verse. You know why I love this verse? Because this verse goes very well in connection with Revelation chapter 12 and Matthew chapter 24. In Matthew chapter 24, Yeshua the Messiah is speaking about the future. And he's speaking about, he says, Ye which are in Judea, when you shall see the abomination of desolation, which is spoken by Daniel the prophet, Ye which are in Judea, flee into the mountains.

Again, the mountains in the biblical map is always the area of what is known today as Jordan, what is known today as Bozrah, Petra, that's the area. The north, of course, is Syria, the south is Egypt, the west is the Mediterranean Sea, and the east is the mountains, the wilderness, where is present-day Jordan today. I love this connection. In Revelation chapter 12, we have this verse, also in connection with the tribulation period. And there we read about after Satan had been cast down from heaven. In Revelation chapter 12, it says in verse 5, And she brought forth a man's child, speaking about the woman, Israel, who was to rule the nation with the rod of iron, and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne.

And the woman fled into the wilderness. Here's the name wilderness again in the Bible. The wilderness where the woman, Israel, is fleeing during the tribulation period always takes us into what is known today is present-day Jordan, Edom. Present-day Jordan, Petra Bozra. And if you continue, you will find out in verse 13 and 14 of Revelation chapter 12, And when the dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he persecuted the woman, namely Israel, which brought forth the man-child, namely the Messiah, Yeshua. And the woman was given unto her wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place where she is nourished for a time and a time and a half a time from the face of the serpent.

Here, beloved brothers and sisters, again, Israel being protected by God for the three and a half years in the present-day dorm area, where it is known today as present-day Jordan. What Hosea is saying in chapter 2 and verse 14 is exactly what Yeshua is saying in Matthew 24, and it is exactly what through John, Yeshua says, the glorified Messiah, that Israel as a nation the woman will be preserved for three and a half years by the Lord in the wilderness the second half of the tribulation period that put the Bible so much together Hosea the prophet Yeshua the Messiah in the gospel and in the book of the Revelation it put the Bible together God said I'm going to allure her Israel into the wilderness and I will speak comfortably to her God will give her comfort you see in the middle of the tribulation Israel is going to be persecuted by Satan and the Antichrist and the false Messiah when the Jewish people will flee into the wilderness God will preserve them and he will speak to them comfortably he will encourage them you know in a time of the holocaust about 60 something years ago when Jewish people suffered in europe they long for some comfort and assurance there will be another type.

Of a holocaust even greater in the tribulation period when because of Israel departure from the Lord they will be persecuted and rejected by men they will be persecuted by Satan who will be cast down the Antichrist or the counterfeit Messiah will claim to be the Messiah and will seek to be worshipped in the temple in Jerusalem the false prophet will force people to worship him and ultimately they will give men the Mark of the beast in their hand on the forehand then the remnant of Israel will be preserved by the Lord in the second half of the tribulation in the wilderness and the Lord will give them a word of comfort in spite of her failure in spite of her spiritual prostitution God is going to restore the nation and so in verse 15 now Israel will respond to the Lord it says in verse 15 i will give her her vineyards from thence And notice he said, in the valley of Achor, for a door of hope.

And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the days when she came up out of the land of Egypt. You see, verse 15 is also a very precious word. By the way, in this verse 15, we read, of the door of hope. The Hebrew word here is Petach Tikva. You know, we sing the Tikva, Israel sing today, Hatikva, the hope. And Petach Tikva is a city that exists today in the land of Israel called Petach Tikva. The opening of hope. That's a name that they have given to the city. That's a name that they have given to the national anthem today.

Hatikva, the hope. And what happened here is that God, during the tribulation period, after a long period of time when Israel were in disobedience, after a long period of time when Israel had disobeyed the Lord, had gone astray and played a whoring, God is going to restore them, but he is going to do it after he will punish the nation and allure them into the wilderness. And then it said that I will give her back everything that I have taken away from her. In verse 15 again, he says that Israel will respond after the Lord will give Israel. And notice it mentioned here, I will give her her vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for the door of hope.

Now, the Valley of Achor is being taken from a passage that you and I are going to get to it in Joshua chapter 7. In Joshua chapter 7, when Israel have defeated by the strength of the Lord the city of Jericho, the walls of Jericho fell down and God said, do not take from the city of Jericho anything of the accursed thing because everything that belonged in Jericho belonged to the Lord. But there was one man by the name of Achan who didn't obey the Lord. He secretly went and he took some of the things that belonged to the Lord, he took it for himself. And what happened at that time is because of this, Israel were defeated in other worlds that Israel had against the Ai, the Ai's.

So God had to reveal who had done so. So finally a man by the name of Achan was revealed that he and he confessed it that he was the one who have taken from the accursed thing you can read it in Joshua chapter 7 and what happened in verses 24 25 26 when Achan confess his sin God turned away from his anger and wrath against the nation. This is exactly what's going to happen here. When Israel is turning away from their sins and confessing her sin, there will be a door of hope for the restoration of the nation. There will be Petach Tikva for the nation. There will be a hope of restoration of the nation.

She shall sing there as in the days of her youth she will sing as in the days when she came out of the land of by the way when Israel came out of Egypt the first time in the Bible that we read of a song is found in Exodus chapter 15 there is only a true song when there is a redemption for mankind a person that is not redeemed is not forgiven. His sins haven't been dealt with can never sing even though he make noise and he sing many good music that we hear today in the world but a true song from a biblical point of view is the song of a redeemed nation a redeemed individual here we find out that Israel will sing as it was in the day when Israel came out of the land of Egypt.

In Egypt, there were slaves. Outside of Egypt, they were redeemed. In Egypt, they were in bondage. Outside of Egypt, they were free. In Egypt, there was sorrow and sadness and ultimately death. Outside of Egypt, because of the blood of the Lamb, there was rejoicing in life and hope and that's what happened that's what will happen in a future day for the nation of Israel like it was in a valley of akor when a true confession and repentance happen there will be petach tikvah there will be a door for hope for the nation of Israel so now in verse 16 Israel will call God my men notice it says in verse 16 and it shall be that at that day sayeth the Lord that you namely Israel shall call me Ishi and shall call me no more Ba'ali now why see the Hebrew word for when a woman let's say when my wife will tell somebody in Hebrew who i am she will say he is habal sheli hu baali he is my husband which is actually mean also my Lord but you can also say he is ishi meaning he's my man now the word baali also derived from these idols that they were worshiping baal Lord so what happened in the future day.

Because of the fact that the word baali speaks also of the worship of baal the word baali will be removed and Israel will no longer call God you are my baali they will call God you are my ishi you are my men because the word baali resemble what they have been doing in worshiping baal but they are no longer going to say that God is their baal they will say God is my man he is my ish he is my ishi in verse 17 the name of baalim will not be remembered i will take away the names of he says out of her mouth and they shall no more be remembered by their names no more God is going to bring Israel to a period of time in which it takes us all the way to the millennial age when Israel as a nation will enjoy the Lord in such a way in the relationship will be such a blessed relationship notice in verse 18 the Lord's through his covenant will preserve the crop.

And he will cause war to stop it will be through his covenant in verse 18 and in that day i will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven and with the creeping things of the ground and i will break the bow of the sword and a battle out of the earth and i will make them lay down safely by the way in fact it was in our Bible study or i don't know where it was just recently we were talking about that some of us have some trees in a backyard with some nice fruit but we don't get to enjoy them because the birds already have taken them they have bit on it and you see God will stop that to happen in a millennial age there will be no longer a time in which the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven will be able to take away the crop from the tree no more he says and he will take away all he will remove anything that has to.

Do with war so Israel can dwell in safety look today just look back just open the newspaper just open the television just open the internet and you will see that there is no safety in the land of Israel because who knows when is the next missile is going to be shot into the land all around Israel, Israel is surrounded by those who are ready to consume the nation. They cannot dwell in safety now, even today with all the military power that Israel has. Fear of what's going to happen next is still upon the nation. Whether Iran, or whether Iraq, or whether Syria, or whether lebanon or whether jordan or whether Egypt or whether hamas or whether hezbollah or whether russia who is the next one that is going to attack this small nation no safety today but God promise he says i will break the bow and the sword of the battle out of the whole earth and i will make them to lay down safely what a precious truth it is to lay down safely not to.

Have the fear of what's going to happen next as a little boy i remember how many times we are sitting in bunkers worrying what's going to happen next in 1967 i was a young boy i was laying there in a lower part of our apartment building with my mom and my sister and my family and we were there listening to the bombs listening to the noise and fearing not knowing what would happen next later on as i grown up a little bit always worrying and the war against Syria and the Yom Kippur War, 1973, the feel of when is going to be the next bomb going to fall, and on and on and on, all the small bombs and the terrorist activity that is going on in the land, all the homicide in the buses, in the restaurants, in the grocery stores, on the streets, wherever it will be, the public places, constantly feel of what's going to happen next.

It's going to stop beloved brothers and sisters but Israel has to come to a point of repentance and turning back to the Lord in verses 19 and 20 of Hosea chapter 2 the Lord will renew his marriage with Israel and he will be on the basis of righteousness you know it's so nice when a husband and wife that for a while have been separating because of all kind of friction it's so nice to see restoration to see their love is being renewed to each other this is like almost like unusual today because today we have been taught if you don't like it just go somewhere else but God is going to restore the nation it says here in verse 19 he says i will betroth thee unto me forever.

Now how long time is forever? It's forever. It's not going to stop. And he said, I will betroth thee unto me. And then he says, in righteousness and in justice and in love and in mercy. Verse 20, I will betroth thee unto me in faithfulness and you shall. Know the Lord. See, Israel and people in general have to know that if there will be a restoration to a holy God, it must be on a basis of righteousness, not merely on a basis of love, but on a basis of truth. And the truth is that all have sinned, that Israel have sinned, that the whole world they've gone away from the Lord so how can God restore them it must be on a basis of righteousness and somebody that was just namely Yeshua took the just punishment you and i deserve that Israel deserve and he bore the penalty of our sin in his body on the tree the Messiah the goel the Redeemer of the nation of Israel he bore the nation's sin and now God can be just and he can be a justifier of the nation who will be restored so it's on a basis of righteousness on a basis of justice on a basis of love on a basis of mercy and on a basis of faithfulness he is faithful.

To his own people and you should know the Lord Israel will know the Lord and to conclude chapter two we must say that in the last three verses 21 22 and 23 of this chapter Hosea 2 verses 21 22 and 23 the Lord will totally restore Israel to himself in blessing and here it is look at this you have three words mentioned and you notice those three words are exactly the reversal of the three names of the children that Gomer gave Hosea. Jezreel, verse 22 at the end, Ruchama or Lo-Ruchama in verse 23, and Ami or Lo-Ami. Notice here we have the reversal of what have happened before before God says Jezreel, God was scattered the people of Israel he will take them away now he will sow them back in the land Jezreel God will sow Israel back in the land look, verse 21 and it shall come to pass that in that day look into the future saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens and they shall hear the earth and the earth shall hear the corn.

And the wine and the oil and they shall hear Jezreel in other words there will be growth in the land God will sow these people back in the land Yisrael God will sow then verse 23 the other two names of the children of the children of Hosea and I will sow her unto me in the earth and i will have mercy upon her see the word ruchama in chapter 1 and verse 6 he called them no mercy now we read that here he's ruchama there will be mercy and finally the word ami here is in verse 23 at the end and i will say to them which were not my people you are my people and they shall say thou art my God what we have here is a reversal of the punishment that he gave to the nation and now he's going to restore them he will sow them in the land he will have mercy of them in the land in the relationship with him and ultimately he will say you are my people.

And Israel as a nation will say, you are our God, my God. What a wonderful future, beloved brothers and sisters, Israel have. So Hosea, a man that was raised by God, a prophet, to have his life and the things that God told him to do to characterize the relationship of Jehovah with the nation of Israel. Hosea and Gomer are a picture of Jehovah and the nation of Israel may the Lord bless these thoughts to your heart and mine and may you and I would appreciate our blessed Lord Jesus Yeshua that loved us so much and gave himself for us so we will be a people that belong unto him can we say Amen to that Amen