Hosea Chapter 2
A. Israel’s sin.
1. (Hosea 2:2–3) Charges against Israel.
“Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms 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.” (Hosea 2:2–3, KJV)
a. For she is not my wife.
The LORD speaks in covenantal language and declares that Israel, portrayed as an adulterous wife, is no longer worthy to be called His wife in any meaningful relational sense. This does not mean that the covenant is legally annulled, but that the relationship itself has been profoundly violated. Israel’s spiritual adultery through idolatry has ruptured fellowship with the LORD. The marriage imagery emphasizes the personal and relational nature of Israel’s sin. This was not merely disobedience to rules, but betrayal of an intimate covenant relationship.
i. Her adulteries from between her breasts.
The language is intentionally graphic to convey the shamelessness of Israel’s idolatry. Israel openly displayed her spiritual unfaithfulness, offering herself to false gods in a manner comparable to a woman exposing herself to entice lovers. This imagery communicates both moral corruption and spiritual rebellion. The LORD demands that Israel remove these signs of harlotry, meaning she must decisively abandon idolatry, not merely conceal it. The threat of being stripped naked reflects public shame and exposure. As Israel willingly uncovered herself in sin, God would uncover her in judgment.
b. Lest I strip her naked and make her like a wilderness.
God warns that continued unrepentant harlotry will result in judgment. Though the relational bond was already broken, the material blessings of the covenant were still being enjoyed. These blessings were not unconditional. If Israel refused to repent, the LORD would remove His provision, exposing her vulnerability and helplessness. The imagery of wilderness and dry land points to agricultural devastation and covenant curses. Spiritual adultery would lead to physical deprivation. The God who once provided abundance would withdraw His sustaining hand, leaving Israel barren and exposed.
2. (Hosea 2:4–5) Israel tries to justify her harlotry.
“And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.
For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath 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.” (Hosea 2:4–5, KJV)
a. I will not have mercy upon her children.
The children represent the individual people of Israel. Corporate guilt does not remove individual responsibility. Each generation had personally embraced idolatry and benefited from it. Because they shared in their mother’s unfaithfulness, they would also share in her judgment. Mercy would not be extended to those who persisted in rebellion. This underscores a key biblical principle, covenant privilege does not exempt individuals from accountability when they personally participate in sin.
b. I will go after my lovers.
Israel rationalized her spiritual adultery by focusing on the material benefits she believed she received from her false gods. She attributed her bread, water, clothing, oil, and drink to her idols rather than to the LORD. This reveals the self deception at the heart of idolatry. Israel credited created things and false deities for blessings that only God could provide. The pleasure and provision of sin appeared attractive, but it was temporary and deceptive.
Scripture elsewhere exposes this mindset as folly. “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” (Hebrews 11:25, KJV). Israel chose short term satisfaction over covenant faithfulness, failing to understand that sin’s rewards are fleeting and ultimately destructive.
B. God’s judgment.
1. (Hosea 2:6–8) How God will draw Israel back.
“Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but 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 that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.” (Hosea 2:6–8, KJV)
a. I will hedge up thy way with thorns.
The LORD declares that He will actively intervene in Israel’s pursuit of sin by placing obstacles in her path. The hedge of thorns represents painful providence, divinely appointed frustration, and blocked opportunities. God does not merely warn Israel, He restrains her. By walling her in, He limits her freedom to pursue idolatry, ensuring that the wrong paths become difficult to access and costly to follow. This is not cruelty, but corrective discipline. God uses hardship as a tool to redirect His people toward repentance.
i. The mercy within the thorns.
When God hedges His people in with thorns, it often feels like opposition or abandonment. Yet this is one of the clearest evidences of His love. Left unchecked, Israel would destroy herself through idolatry. By frustrating her sinful pursuits, God prevents deeper ruin. What appears to be restriction is actually protection. The pain of discipline is preferable to the destruction of unchecked rebellion.
b. I will go and return to my first husband.
Once Israel’s pursuit of her lovers fails, clarity returns. Sin always promises satisfaction, but it cannot deliver. When the pleasure fades and the consequences remain, Israel finally recognizes the goodness of her original covenant relationship with the LORD. The language reflects a familiar human pattern. Even in faithful marriages, temptation can falsely suggest that something better exists elsewhere. In the same way, idols appear attractive until God exposes their emptiness. Only then does repentance become desirable, and Israel longs to return to her rightful Husband.
c. For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil.
Israel’s fundamental error was ignorance of the true source of her blessings. Even while she pursued other gods, the LORD continued to provide for her. Her grain, wine, oil, silver, and gold all came from Him. This highlights God’s patient and unselfish love. Israel not only received blessings from the LORD, but she redirected those very blessings toward Baal worship. Yet God continued to give, demonstrating a love that endured rejection and betrayal.
i. The living illustration through Hosea and Gomer.
Hosea’s personal experience mirrored God’s relationship with Israel. Hosea provided for Gomer even while she lived in adultery. She used her husband’s provision to sustain relationships with her lovers. From a human perspective, this seemed foolish. Yet this is precisely how the LORD loves His people. He lavishes provision even when His gifts are misused, illustrating a grace that precedes repentance. God’s kindness is intended to lead to repentance, not to affirm rebellion.
d. Which they prepared for Baal.
This phrase reveals the depth of idolatry’s offense. Everything offered to Baal originated with the LORD. God gave the raw materials, the abilities, the opportunity, and the strength to produce wealth, and Israel turned around and dedicated those gifts to a false god. Idolatry is not merely false worship, it is theft of God’s glory.
i. The broader theological principle.
All that man uses to create idols ultimately comes from God. He provides the resources, intellect, and skill. Humanity then uses those gifts in rebellion against Him. This truth reaches its climax at the cross, where God allowed His own creation to use His gifts to crucify His Son. Yet even there, God willingly stretched out His arms in order to redeem sinners and restore a broken relationship. This reveals the unmatched depth of divine love and grace.
2. (Hosea 2:9–13) How God will punish Israel.
“Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given 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 Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.” (Hosea 2:9–13, KJV)
a. I will return, and take away my corn.
Since Israel misused God’s provision for idolatry, God would reclaim what was always His. The removal of grain, wine, wool, and flax signifies economic and agricultural judgment. These blessings were given to sustain and protect Israel, yet she used them to glorify Baal. God’s judgment is measured and purposeful. By removing provision, He exposes Israel’s dependence and strips away her false sense of security. Deprivation is meant to awaken repentance.
b. I will discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers.
Israel sought validation and security through her idols, but God would expose her shame publicly. Her lovers would not rescue her. False gods always abandon their worshipers in the moment of judgment. When God withdraws His protection, Israel stands exposed, helpless, and without deliverance.
c. I will cause all her mirth to cease.
God would also end Israel’s religious celebrations. Feast days, new moons, and sabbaths had become hollow rituals, divorced from true worship. Religious activity without faithfulness is offensive to God. These observances, meant to honor the LORD, had become corrupted by idolatry. Therefore, God removes them entirely, showing that outward religion cannot substitute for covenant obedience.
d. These are my rewards that my lovers have given me.
Israel falsely attributed her prosperity to Baal. As judgment, God would destroy the vines and fig trees she trusted in. What she believed to be rewards would become evidence of her deception. Blessings misunderstood become instruments of judgment when removed.
e. But me she forgot.
This is the core indictment. Israel did not merely break laws, she forgot the LORD. During the reign of Jeroboam II, Israel experienced great prosperity. Instead of gratitude and faithfulness, prosperity produced spiritual amnesia. God therefore resolved to remove her wealth so that she might remember Him. Prosperity misused leads to judgment, while deprivation can become a path to restoration.
C. The restoration of Israel.
1. (Hosea 2:14–15) Abundance and joy restored.
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
And 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 day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.” (Hosea 2:14–15, KJV)
a. I will allure her, and speak comfortably unto her.
After Israel has been disciplined and brought low through deprivation, the LORD changes His tone from judgment to tenderness. He does not coerce Israel back into obedience, nor does He force repentance through fear. Instead, He allures her. The language conveys gentle persuasion, patient love, and relational restoration. God draws Israel back to Himself by speaking comfort, reminding her that His desire has always been reconciliation rather than destruction. Discipline prepared her heart, but love secures her return.
i. The power of divine allurement.
God’s method of restoration stands in contrast to forceful domination. The LORD chooses to win His people through love rather than compulsion. Sin entices through deceptive pleasure, and God, in perfect truth, overcomes sin by offering something better. His love outbids every false promise. This highlights that genuine repentance is born not merely from fear of judgment, but from rediscovering the goodness of God.
b. The Valley of Achor for a door of hope.
The Valley of Achor, meaning the Valley of Trouble, was historically associated with judgment and shame, where Achan’s sin brought defeat upon Israel and was decisively judged. “And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones… And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.” (Joshua 7:25–26, KJV). God promises to transform what once symbolized judgment into a doorway of hope. Restoration is so complete that past places of failure become future places of blessing.
c. She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth.
True restoration produces joy. When Israel is brought back into right relationship with the LORD, the sorrow and emptiness of sin are replaced with rejoicing. The song of deliverance echoes the joy of the Exodus, when Israel first experienced redemption from bondage. The fleeting pleasures of idolatry are forgotten, and the deeper, lasting joy of fellowship with God is restored.
2. (Hosea 2:16–20) Relationship restored.
“And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
And in that day will I 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 and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.” (Hosea 2:16–20, KJV)
a. Thou shalt call me Ishi.
The word Ishi means husband. God looks forward to a restored relationship marked by intimacy, affection, and covenant love. This language reflects God’s desire for a deep, personal bond with His people, not a distant or purely legal association. The marriage imagery underscores permanence, faithfulness, and mutual commitment. God does not merely reclaim Israel as subjects, but receives her again as a beloved bride.
b. And shalt call me no more Baali.
Baali means master. God explicitly rejects a relationship defined primarily by fear, control, or servitude. While obedience remains essential, God desires that obedience flow from love rather than compulsion. A master slave relationship may enforce compliance, but it cannot produce genuine devotion. The LORD seeks hearts, not mere submission.
c. I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth.
The name Baal is linguistically related to the word for master. False gods demanded servitude without love and obedience without intimacy. God promises to remove even the memory of these idols. Restoration involves not only external reform, but internal cleansing. When relationship with the LORD is renewed, competing loyalties are erased, and idolatry loses its appeal.
d. I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth.
Restored relationship brings comprehensive peace. God promises transformation that affects both creation and human society. The harmony described extends to animals, the environment, and the end of warfare. This finds its ultimate fulfillment in the millennial reign, when the Messiah establishes peace and righteousness across the earth. Yet even now, restored relationship with God brings inward peace and security to those who know Him.
e. I will betroth thee unto me for ever.
This restoration is permanent. God binds Himself to Israel in an unbreakable covenant marked by righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, mercy, and faithfulness. These attributes form the foundation of the renewed relationship. Unlike Israel’s previous unfaithfulness, this betrothal will never be broken. The result is deep, experiential knowledge of the LORD, not merely intellectual awareness, but relational intimacy grounded in faithfulness.
3. (Hosea 2:21–23) Blessing restored.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, 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 that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.” (Hosea 2:21–23, KJV)
a. I will hear, saith the LORD.
This passage describes the restoration of true communion between God and His people. The repeated emphasis on God hearing and answering highlights a living, responsive relationship. When Israel is restored, her desires align with the will of God. Prayer is no longer self centered or idolatrous, but harmonious with God’s purposes. Because the relationship is restored, the requests of God’s people are in step with what God already intends to do, and therefore He answers.
i. The principle of abiding relationship.
This reflects the same spiritual reality taught by Christ. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7, KJV). When fellowship with God is genuine, prayer becomes an extension of obedience and love, not a tool to satisfy selfish desires.
b. The earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil.
Restored relationship produces restored provision. Creation itself responds to the harmony between God and His people. Agricultural blessing flows naturally from covenant faithfulness. When Israel seeks the LORD rightly, God ensures that material needs are met. This does not mean prosperity replaces obedience, but that provision follows proper priorities.
This aligns with the teaching of Jesus. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33, KJV). God’s blessing is never the goal, but it is the fruit of restored fellowship.
c. They shall hear Jezreel.
The name Jezreel originally signified scattering in judgment. “Yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu.” (Hosea 1:4, KJV). However, Jezreel also carries the meaning of sowing seed. Here, God redeems the name entirely. What once symbolized dispersion now symbolizes planting and fruitfulness. God transforms judgment into promise and loss into abundance.
d. I will sow her unto me in the earth.
God Himself becomes the sower. Israel is not scattered aimlessly, but deliberately planted for God’s purposes. This indicates permanence, ownership, and intentional blessing. God restores His people not merely to survive, but to flourish under His care.
e. I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy.
This directly reverses the meaning of Hosea’s daughter’s name. “Then said God, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel.” (Hosea 1:6, KJV). What was once a declaration of judgment becomes a proclamation of grace. Mercy withheld is now mercy abundantly given.
f. I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people.
This restores the name of Hosea’s son. “Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.” (Hosea 1:9, KJV). God reverses the sentence of separation and restores covenant identity. Those once rejected are now claimed.
g. And they shall say, Thou art my God.
This is the climactic response of restored relationship. God declares His people, and they respond with allegiance and love. This is the covenant formula fully restored. The relationship is no longer fractured or forced, but mutual and joyful. God is not merely obeyed, He is loved and confessed.
i. The heart of true worship.
False gods never sought love, only fear, control, and appeasement. The true and living God desires affectionate loyalty and voluntary devotion. He seeks a people who respond to Him not as slaves trembling before a master, but as a bride delighting in her husband. To miss this is to miss the heart of God’s redemptive work.
ii. Complete restoration.
All three of Hosea’s children were originally named as living signs of judgment. Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, and Lo-ammi are now fully redeemed in meaning. Judgment gives way to mercy, rejection to acceptance, and scattering to fruitful sowing. This reveals the depth of God’s grace and His commitment to restore what sin has broken.
