Hosea 2:5

3 Lest ^aI strip her naked
And expose her, as in the day she was ^bborn,
And make her like a wilderness,
And set her like a dry land,
And slay her with ^cthirst.

4 “I will not have mercy on her children,
For they are the ^achildren of harlotry.

5 For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
^aWho give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.’

6 “Therefore, behold,
^aI will hedge up your way with thorns,
And¹ wall her in,
So that she cannot find her paths.

7 She will¹ chase her lovers,
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.’

8 For she did not ^aknow
That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil,
And multiplied her silver and gold—
Which they prepared for Baal.

9 “Therefore I will return and take away
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.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Hosea 2:5 Mean?

Hosea 2:5

Israel is so faithless to her duties, she openly invites adulteries and aggressively chases after her lovers. Her aggressiveness does not merely perpetuate a condition but creates a climate that increases its effects. Paul reveals this principle in Galatians 6:7: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." It is a law of nature that unless something intervenes to interrupt the growing cycle, more is reaped than is sowed.

The Bible uses a saying to describe this latter principle, "Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind" (see Hosea 8:7). It is like saying, "Fan a breeze and produce a hurricane!" Sowing faithlessness is no different: Unless real repentance interrupts it, it will produce more faithlessness until the spirit of harlotry, an attitude that causes many serious ramifications, permeates the entire nation.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Seventh Commandment (1997)

Hosea 2:2-7

Israel is seen as faithless wife and irresponsible mother—so faithless that she chases after her lovers! A spirit of harlotry, an attitude of faithlessness, was created in the whole nation, causing many detrimental ramifications and results. In other words, the deceit and its resulting infidelity are not confined to the God/Israel covenant marriage but affects personal relationships within families and the community. It even has a negative effect on the keeping of contracts in business and upholding promises of quality workmanship.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Seventh Commandment

**Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Hosea 2:5:**

Amos 5:1-3

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