In the book of Hosea, Hosea shared how Jehovah God said of the nation of Israel, “now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my 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 has said, these are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beast of the field shall eat them”, and in chapter two and verse thirteen of Hosea, Hosea said, “I will visit upon her the days of Baalim” where we read,
And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she has burned incense to them,
and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels,
and she went after her lovers and forgot me, says the LORD.
The verse begins, “And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she has burned incense to them, ...” Hosea began with the words, “and I will visit upon her” or “and I, Jehovah God, shall attend to, reckon, appoint, look after and punish the nation of Israel” “the days of Baalim” which means “the time period or division of time belonging to Baal whose name means lord and was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites”, “wherein she has burned incense” or “in which she, the nation of Israel, has kindled smoking offerings and sacrifices” “to them” which means “to the idols of Baal”. Hosea shared how Jehovah God said He would punish the nation of Israel for offering smoking sacrifices to the gods of “Baal”.
The verse continues, “... and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, ...” Hosea added the words, “and she decked herself” or “and she, the nation of Israel (and Hosea's wife Gomer) put on and adorned her own self” “with her earrings” which means “by the use of her, the nation of Israel's and Gomer's rings for her ears” “and her jewels” or “and her, the nation of Israel and Gomer's, jewelry”. Hosea shared how his wife Gomer and the nation of Israel adorned themselves with rings and jewelry.
Finally the verse says, “... and she went after her lovers and forgot me, says the LORD.” Hosea concluded this verse with the words, “and she went after her lovers” or “and she, the nation of Israel and Gomer, pursued and followed her, Gomer and the nation of Israel's, sexual companions and idols” “and forgot me” which means “and did not remember me and ceased to care for, Gomer and Jehovah God”, “says the LORD” or “utters, declares and proclaims Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”. Hosea shared how his wife Gomer and the nation of Israel followed after their intimate companions and idols and ceased to care for and abandoned him and Jehovah God.
When we consider the words in this verse, we see how Hosea and Jehovah God were aware of the infidelity of their “spouses”, and Jehovah God vowed to address them for this. Hosea was the illustration before Israel concerning God's relationship with them, and God would not allow Israel to continue to adorn themselves with “jewelry”, burn sacrifices to false gods and pursue those gods while not remembering their relationship with Him. God loves the people of Israel, and He loves us. He proved His love when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we yield our lives to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and keep us by the power of His Holy Spirit in a close relationship with Him which will never allow us to “forget” Him while pursuing other things and gods in this world.
Next time Hosea says, “therefore, behold, I will allure her”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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