THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
HOSEA
CHAPTER
2
1. Say to your brother, Ammi, and to your sister, Ruhamah. 2. Plead with your mother, plead for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband that she put away her whoring from her face and her adultery from between her breasts, 3. or I will strip her naked and expose her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and turn her into a parched land, and kill her with thirst.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verses 1 to 3)
Even though the prophet Hosea had obeyed You oh God and had taken Gomer as his wife, he is considering himself as not being married for his wife as in the case of Israel Your chosen people were still living a life of unfaithfulness. She was exposing herself to a life of sin. As in the case of Israel as a consequence a long period of trials and testing was promised.
4. Upon her children also I will have no pity, because they are children of whoredom
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 4)
According to this prophecy there was no mercy remaining for Your chosen people. They had sinned so much that even their generations would carry the stain of the sins of their forefathers. In real life scenarios this oh God is also the case. When a person is a whore or a person who has just come out of prison or a person who has been unfaithful in the act with another woman, the offspring of such people will be referred to and labelled according to the act of the offender. As in my case I was known as those 'who came from England, whose father had an affair with another woman for nine years while in England, and are now separated! The label and the connotation sticks forever in the eyes of humanity, however You oh God always shows love and mercy even to Your people, whom You permitted to pass this great test of tribulations.
5. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, "I will go after my lovers; they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink."
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 5)
As in the case of the whore at times oh God we make the wrong decisions and decide to follow the ways of the world instead of the noble way of the cross that although is not easy it is the only way that leads to our salvation.
6. Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns; and I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 6)
In order to protect us from our sinful self and ways oh God my father you make the course difficult so that we may not achieve that desired goal by which we may be harmed even though we may not be aware of the pending danger, both physical and even spiritual or psychological.
7. She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then she shall say, "I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better with me then than now."
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 7)
Although oh God we may attempt to seek our aims and goals in that which is of the world, however in time we will realise that these achievements will never give us the full satisfaction that we are aiming for, because they will never be enough to fill Your place. We will always have part of us empty, because this part of us can be filled only by You, my God and my Father.
8. She did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine and the oil, and who lavished upon her silver and gold that they used for Baal.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 8)
As human beings we are not always aware that You oh Father are are our primary source of providence. We are not aware that we depend only on You and that without You and Your support we can do nothing. This is why we often refer to our own self and devices instead of to You and often end up making a mess of the situation.
9. Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season; and I will take away my wool and my flax which were to cover her nakedness.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 9)
Oh Jesus I understand that due to our disobedience we merit such a harsh consequence. When I turn my back on You I will not be worthy to benefit from Your blessings and bounty. In such cases I will be left to my own devices and reap the fruit of my sin, for without You we are able to do nothing but one sin after another because all forms of good have their primary source and origin in You my God.
10. Now I will uncover her shame in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 10)
Oh God You are so just. You stick to the truth in all circumstances. Although we might try to cover the truth by being corrupt in our ways, You will raise up the issues by means of others or by circumstances in order to bring us back on track. You have the authority to bring to daylight that which we thought we did in secret.
11. I will put an end to all her mirth, her festivals, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 11)
Oh Jesus if only You would terminate such festivals both in Malta and even in many other countries such as Rio where carnival has become a feast that is totally abhorrent. How nice it would be if You eliminated all that leads us away from You instead of towards You my Jesus.
12. I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, "These are my pay, which my lovers have given me."I will make them a forest and the wild animals shall devour them.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 12)
At times oh God we may put aside the fact that You are our only source of support, whether we like it or not. You are the one who help our figs to grow, our success in our careers, Masters or relationships. However as humans we tend to attribute our successes to ourselves instead of to You my God and this is not fair at all. I consider it as being fair that You take away all such means of support for in truth they are rightfully Yours and not ours.
13. I will punish her for the festival days of the Baals, when she offered incense to them and decked herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, says the LORD.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 13)
Oh God it is just enough for taking action against us when we turn to worldly sources and give worship to them as if to You. All praise and worship is to be given only to You and not to any material or physical being or object.
14. Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 14)
In the same way that the world attracts our attention into committing sin, God also calls us to come to him. God may make us experience moments of dryness and crisis so that You oh Father may chose to speak to us during such moments when we are more down to earth than when we are alienated by the routines of our lives.
15. From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 15)
Oh God even though we sin again and again you love us so much that You give us the opportunity to change our ways and welcome us back in Your arms. You are ready to clean the slate and give us the chance of starting fresh as long as we show a sincere repentance from our sins.
16. On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, "My husband", and no longer will you call me, "My Baal."
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 16)
On the day of judgement I wish that we are able to address You oh God as our loving "Father" and not simply "God". I pray oh God that our relationship will have grown so strong that we truly acknowledge You as our Father as You wish us to accept You as. In fact in the prayer that You taught us before You physically left the earth You wanted us to address You as being our Father.
17. For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 17 )
Oh Father even though a situation appears to be chronic or non reversible You are able to change the circumstances and renew our faith in You.
18. I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verse 18)
Although we go against You oh God You keep on loving us. As a loving Father You are aware that we are prone to sin, even though we do our best to live life according to Your holy will. You know that one day we will put our foot in it and go against Your will. You are always merciful and kind and ready to forgive us. Oh what a kind and loving father I have. However on the other hand in order to help me to grow on all levels, You permit me to experience the consequences of my negative acts. Amen.
19. And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. 20. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.
(Hosea Chapter 2 verses 19 to 20)
Oh God even though we sin against You, You are still ready to refresh our relationship together and continue Your relationship with us, in love intimacy and care forever. This is so encouraging it gives me, the courage to wake up and move on in life.
21. On that day I will answer, says the LORD, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth; 22. and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel; 23. and I will sow him him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah, and I will say to Lo-ammi, You are my people" and he shall say, "You are my God."
(Hosea Chapter 2 verses 21 to 23)
On the day that we turn back to You oh God You will change our lives completely. You love us so much that You take us under Your protective wing and bring new life to us. Although we turn our backs on You You always acknowledge us as Your sons and daughters.
I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:
Oh God I thank You for loving me and for accepting me the way I am and not as You wish me to be. I thank You for having an attitude of forgiveness and not a judgmental one. I pray for Your forgiveness especially during those moments when I have disobeyed Your will and did things my way instead of waiting on You. I thank You for making me aware of my weakness that of rushing into things instead of waiting for You to act in my life. I pray for the gift of perseverance and for inner peace and tranquility Amen.
