But not overtake them;
Yes, she will seek them, but not find them.
Then she will say,
a‘I will go and return to my bfirst husband,
For then it was better for me than now.’
That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil,
And multiplied her silver and gold—
Which they prepared for Baal.
My grain in its time
And My new wine in its season,
And will take back My wool and My linen,
Given to cover her nakedness.
And no one shall deliver her from My hand.
Her feast days,
Her New Moons,
Her Sabbaths—
All her appointed feasts.
Of which she has said,
‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me.’
So I will make them a forest,
And the beasts of the field shall eat them.
For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense.
She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry,
And went after her lovers;
But Me she forgot,” says the Lord.
God’s Mercy on His People
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak1 comfort to her.
And athe Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in bthe days of her youth,
cAs in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
| << Hosea 2:8 | Hosea 2:10 >> |
Hosea 2:9
Therefore I will return - God is, as it were, absent from men, when He lets them go on in their abuse of His gifts. "His judgments are far above out of their sight." He returns to them, and His presence is felt in chastisements, as it might have been in mercies. He is not out of sight or out of mind, then. Others render it, "I will turn, i. e. I will do other than before; I will turn" from love to displeasure, from pouring out benefits to the infliction of chastisements, from giving abundance of all things to punishing them with the want of all things.
I will take away My corn in the time thereof - God shows us that His gifts come from Him, either by giving them when we almost despair of them, or taking them away, when they are all but our' s. It can seem no chance, when He so doeth. The chastisement is severer also, when the good things, long looked-for, are, at the last, taken out of our very hands, and that, when there is no remedy. If in harvest-time there be dearth, what afterward! "God taketh away all, that they who knew not the Giver through abundance, might know Him through want."
And will recover My wool - God "recovers," and, as it were, "delivers" the works of His Hands from serving the ungodly. While He leaves His creatures in the possession of the wicked, they are holden, as it were, in captivity, being kept back from their proper uses, and made the handmaidens and instruments and tempters to sin. God made His creatures on earth to serve man, that man, on occasion of them, might glorify Him. It is against the order of nature, to use God' s gifts to any other end, short of God' s glory much more, to turn God' s gifts against Himself, and make them serve to pride or luxury or sensual sin. It is a bondage, as it were, to them. Whence of them also Paul saith, "The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly; and, all creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" Romans 8:20, Romans 8:22. Penitents have felt this. They have felt that they deserve no more that the sun should shine on them, or the earth sustain them, or the air support them, or wine refresh them, or food nourish them, since all these are the creatures and servants of the God whom themselves have offended, and they themselves deserve no more to be served by God' s servants, since they have rebelled against their common Master, or to use even rightly what they have abused against the will of their Creator.
My flax - Given "to cover her nakedness, i. e. which God had given to that end. Shame was it, that, covered with the raiment which God had given her to hide her shame, she did deeds of shame. The white linen garments of her priests also were symbols of that purity, which the Great high priest should have and give. Now, withdrawing those gifts, He gave them up to the greatest visible shame, such as insolent conquerors, in leading a people into captivity, often inflicted upon them. Thereby, in act, was figured that loss of the robe of righteousness, heavenly grace, wherewith God beautifies the soul, whereof when it is stripped, it is indeed foul.
| << Hosea 2:8 | Hosea 2:10 >> |
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
Join 137,263+ readers
A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning
Consistent Bible study is hard to start.
The Berean gives you the starting point: one scripture and a focused commentary in your inbox each morning — read it in minutes, or go as deep as you like.
Free, daily, and spam-free. We never share your address. Unsubscribe anytime.