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I Will Betroth You in Faithfulness

Hosea 2:1-23

“I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.” (20)

First, rebuke your mother, rebuke her for her unfaithfulness (1-13). In these verses God’s judgment is predicted. God rebukes Israel for her unfaithfulness. She has been like a wife that has had many lovers. She committed adultery with the gods of Canaan. She forgot God who is the real source of her abundance. Israel is compared to a mother who gave birth to children of adultery. God warns her that she will become like a parched desert. Those who forget God and turn to idols become like a dry desert with unquenchable thirst. The only hope is to turn back to God. God’s punishment here is redemptive. It is meant to lead Israel back to her covenant with God. “Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.’”

Second, I will betroth you in^[g] faithfulness (14-23). In this second part, God’s love is promised. God will eventually lead Israel back to himself. He will speak tenderly to her and renew his covenant with her as before. He will betroth her in faithfulness and she will acknowledge him as the Lord of her life.

God is the source of all my blessings and all abundance. Jesus is Lord of my life. He has promised me a full and abundant life (Jn 10:10b). I cannot return to my past, for it was life in a dry and parched desert. The Lord quenches my thirst with his living water. 

Thank you Jesus for quenching my spiritual thirst with your living water. I cannot return to my empty way of life. Help me to remain faithful to you to the end. Amen.

One Word: God is faithful to me so I must be faithful to Him