A Door of Hope
“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. 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. 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 2:9-20)
Today’s Morsel: Sometimes, when we read the word of God such as in the book of Hosea, things may appear evil and negative. But, when we read things in scripture that appear evil and negative, it is God’s way of revealing and showing to us what happens when we do not keep Him in His rightful place in our lives. We are told at the onset of scriptures that we must not have any other god before the one true God, Jesus Christ, in our lives. Israel had violated that principle, and God wanted them to see who they had now become by sending Hosea to marry a woman of whoredom. But God tells him that he will bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably to her. When God desires to show us our sin, he doesn’t bash us, He speaks comfortably with us through His word and His ministers to us. We see and hear words such as I have loved thee with an everlasting love, thou art mine, I will hold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. He tells Hosea that He will make the valley of Achor as a door of hope. The valley of Achor was where Achan and his family were killed for taking the forbidden things from Jericho. Achor means trouble. So what God was saying, I believe, is that even in our troubles, He will speak comfortably with us and set a door of hope right before us that will lead us out of our troubles and back to Him all because He still loves us.
Sing: I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore. Very deeply stained within sinking to rise no more. But the Master of the sea, heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.
Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help, love lifted me. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help, love lifted me.
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