The Proverbs 31 Woman

Oh, the Proverbs 31 woman. She is who we are talking about today, and I'll have to admit, when I first started my study of this woman, I got instantly discouraged. How in the world could I measure up to this seemingly perfect woman? I realized very quickly that I do not need to compare myself to this woman, but look at her characteristics and strive for them in my life. I do not need to try to accomplish every single thing that she can accomplish all at once. My life would be a hot mess if I even attempted that! The most important thing to remember about the Proverbs 31 woman is that she lives her life based on wisdom. Wisdom comes from God. Bottom line: we need to live our lives in fear of God!

Let's begin by looking at the Scripture, Proverbs 31:10-31:

10 An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13 She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
14 She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
15 She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
18 She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
26 She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
29 “Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

For this study, I am going to go through each verse one at a time. Remember, these are characteristic of a seemingly perfect woman. We don't need to think about accomplishing all of this at once, as I think that would be impossible. Instead, we need to live our lives in fear of the Lord, knowing that these characteristics come from living our lives for God.

Verse 10 - This passage is talking about a wife, but we see in verse 28 that it is also talking about a mother.

Verse 11 - her husband trusts her.

Verse 12 - She does her husband good "all the days of her life." Every single day she is doing something for the good of her husband.

Verse 13 - She "works with her hands in delight." She is willingly doing the work that she has to do.

Verse 14 - She does the grocery shopping! (This one cracked me up because it is such a practical thought laid out for us in Scripture.)

Verse 15 - She gets up early in the morning to prepare food for those in her house and those who work for her.

Verse 16 - She takes three steps, in a certain order, to accomplish things: 1. She "considers" - she thinks it through; 2. She "buys" - she takes action; 3. She "plants" - she works for prophet.

Verse 17 - She works out (again, a little chuckle). She is strong and not lazy.

Verse 18 - She knows she is doing good. She doesn't doubt herself. She doesn't compare herself to others. She is confident. Also, she works into the night to get everything done that she needs to get done.

Verse 19 - She works.

Verse 20 - She is generous. She helps those in need.

Verse 21 - She is prepared for whatever may come. She makes sure her family is cared for and protected.

Verse 22 - She makes her own clothes. She looks nice, and wears "fine linen and purple." She doesn't wear the leftovers and rags. She takes care of herself. How often do I neglect myself in order to care for everyone else? That is not the Biblical way to live and act. I have to take care of myself in order to take care of those around me.

Verse 23 - Her husband is known. Is he known because of her? It isn't made clear, but these are a well known couple.

Verse 24 - She is always working and always making a prophet.

Verse 25 - Strength and dignity surround her, and she is not afraid of the future.

Take a moment to read through 1 Timothy 2:9-10 and 1 Timothy 3:11:

9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, 10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.
11 Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

These verses support what we read in Proverbs 31. Modest, discreet clothing does not contradict fine linens and purple. Instead, it supports what a woman should look like in her outward appearance. We also learn more details as to what a woman should be like in her inward appearance. If we are to be filled with dignity, we do not need to be out gossiping to those around us.

Back to Proverbs 31.

Verse 26 - She has wisdom and kindness in her words. According to Proverbs 9:10:

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

The opposite of wisdom is folly. Look at Proverbs 9:13:

13 The woman of folly is boisterous,
She is naive and knows nothing.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

We need to be women of wisdom, and that wisdom comes from the Lord.

Verse 27 - She keeps up with her house. She isn't lazy.

Verse 28 - Her children and her husband bless her because of who she is and what she does.

Verse 30 - Above all else, she fears the Lord.

Verse 31 - She continues to work and prophet from her work.

As I said at the beginning, trying to live up to all of the characteristics of this woman is next to impossible. But if we fear the Lord and keep Him at the center of our lives, we will be able to accomplish great and wonderful things in our lives.  Go out, fear the Lord, and live to glorify Him!

Huldah

Today's study of Women of the Bible takes us to 2 Kings 22:14-20 and 2 Chronicles 34:22-33. The woman we are going to talk about is Huldah. Huldah was a prophetess, and here is the Scripture from 2 Kings:

14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. 15 She said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 thus says the Lord, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ 18 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord thus shall you say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, 19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord. 20 “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king. 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Here is the story of Huldah from 2 Chronicles:

22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this. 23 She said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 24 thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place and it shall not be quenched.”’26 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus you will say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel regarding the words which you have heard, 27 Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord. 28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.”’” And they brought back word to the king.
29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.
31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book. 32 Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers. 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

I love when the Scripture repeats itself. It gives us so much more clarity on the things that we are reading and studying. I love to read the cross references that my Bible lists, and I typically do this every time I study Scripture. I encourage you to look at the cross references when you study. Sometimes (a lot of times) the Scripture is not clear to us when we read it the first time. If we take the time to re-read what was unclear, read the text that comes before and after the unclear portion, and read the cross references, we can begin to make sense of the Word of God. We have to study the Word of God. Just reading the text without absorbing the meaning will not help us develop our faith in Jesus Christ. We have to know what the Scripture says so we can live out its meaning.

Huldah was a prophetess doing the work of the Lord. She is prominent in this story, and it is justifiable that we classify this as a study of the women in Scripture. But the real key player in this story is Josiah the King. He was a King who wanted to do what the Lord would have him to do. He wanted to serve the Lord, and he wanted to lead his kingdom to do the same thing.

When the people who were restoring the temple found the Word of God, Josiah was humbled and frightened by the things that he read. When was the last time that you were humbled and frightened by God's Word? When was the last time that true conviction came over you for the way that you were living? We love to think about God as the God who loves us, but we have to remember that He is God! He will not stand by and let us live our lives the way we want, with no regards for Him. We must humble ourselves before God, and live the way that He has set out for us.

Josiah said that the wrath of the Lord was great against the people of Israel for the way that they had been living. Josiah recognized God's anger and judgement of sin. He feared for himself and the people of Israel because of the way his ancestors and forefathers disobeyed the Word of the Lord.

In the 2 Chronicles account of this, it mentions the curses. These curses are most likely the ones laid out in Deuteronomy 28:15-68:

15 “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it. 22 The Lord will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish. 23 The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 “The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
27 “The Lord will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart; 29 and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them continually; but there will be nothing you can do. 33 A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually.34 You shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.36 The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone. 37 You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord drives you.
38 “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. 39 You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. 41 You shall have sons and daughters but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground. 43 The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.
45 “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever.
47 “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
49 “The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. 51 Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish. 52 It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you. 53 Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you. 54 The man who is refined and very delicate among you shall be hostile toward his brother and toward the wife he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain, 55 so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else left, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns. 56 The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and refinement, shall be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter, 57 and toward her afterbirth which issues from between her legs and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in your towns.
58 “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. 60 He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you.61 Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the Lord will bring on you until you are destroyed. 62 Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 It shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. 64 Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. 65 Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66 So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. 67 In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68 The Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.” 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

These curses aren't referred to very often, and yes, we are now under grace instead of under the law. (Thanks be to Jesus Christ!) But we cannot neglect what the whole Bible says. We cannot just pick out the portions that we want to read, and forget everything else. God listed out these curses to the Israelites as consequences to their sin. These were things that could and would happen to the people if they chose to disobey God. Josiah heard these curses and feared for himself and the people of Israel. Josiah knew that the people had been unfaithful and disobedient to God. As soon as Josiah heard these things, he immediately humbled himself before God.

Just as God is a God who judges, God is also a God who shows mercy. Through the words of Huldah, Josiah learned that God would have mercy on him and the people of Israel. Josiah would not have to witness the destruction and consequences that God would give to the nation for disobeying Him.

Look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14. This is what would happen if the people chose to obey God.

28 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.10 So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

God commands our obedience and blesses us for obeying Him. However, if we choose to disobey God, we have to accept the consequences. But 1 John 1:9 tells us

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

God will forgive us for our sins, if we humble ourselves before Him and ask for forgiveness. God is a God of mercy and love. Humble yourselves, dear sisters. Serve the Lord with all of your heart!

Gomer

Today's Bible study was all about Gomer.  Gomer was a harlot who the Lord commanded His prophet Hosea to marry.  The story of Hosea and Gomer is a direct picture of God's relationship with His nation of Israel.  Read through Hosea chapter 1.

1 The word of the Lord which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.” 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

6 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. 7 But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the Lord their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses or horsemen.”

8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. 9 And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God.”

10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel

Will be like the sand of the sea,Which cannot be measured or numbered;

And in the place

Where it is said to them,

“You are not My people,”

It will be said to them,

“You are the sons of the living God.”

11 And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together,

And they will appoint for themselves one leader,

And they will go up from the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel.

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." 

The Lord had appointed Hosea to be His prophet to the nation of Israel.  Hosea was one of the last prophets of the time.  The people had been through the Babylonian captivities, they had seen the words of Isaiah and Jeremiah come true.  They still had not repented of their sins and turned back to God.  They were still living their lives in sin, wrapped up in their false gods and pagan worship.

The Lord commanded Hosea to marry Gomer, a harlot.  His nation of Israel had committed acts of harlotry against God by forsaking the Lord and worshiping false gods. God was using Hosea and Gomer as a picture of Him and Israel.  Hosea obeyed the Lord, married Gomer, and had three children with her.

His first child was named Jezreel.  This child is a representation of the punishment that will happen to the people of Israel.  1 and 2 Kings is full of the stories of sin and falling away from God.  There are specific stories related to Jezreel and how terrible that time was.  This son is representative of that time, and how God will get His vengeance on His people.

Hosea and Gomer's second child was a girl named Lo-ruhamah, which means, "she has not obtained compassion."  God was so fed up with the nation of Israel that He was no longer going to have compassion on them.  He goes on to say that He will have compassion on the nation of Judah (the southern kingdom), but He will not on the nation of Israel (the northern kingdom).

Hosea and Gomer's third child was a son named Lo-ammi, meaning, "not my people". For all of the years of history, it had always been that, "you will be my people, and I will be your God."  Now, God is cutting off His people.  He is saying that He is not their God anymore.  Is it because He stopped loving them?  No.  It was because they had strayed so far and had been gone for so long that God needed to show them punishment in order for them to come back to Him.

Hosea 1:10-11 show a contrast, using the word, "yet".  Right now, at that present moment in time, the people of Israel are forsaking the Lord (playing the harlot).  But, there will come a time when they will go from "not my people" to "sons of the living God".  Right now, Israel and Judah are divided.  But there will come a day when they will unite.  Look at Jeremiah 30:18-22.

18 ‘Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of JacobAnd have compassion on his dwelling places;And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin,And the palace will stand on its rightful place.19 ‘From them will proceed thanksgivingAnd the voice of those who celebrate;And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished;I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.20 ‘Their children also will be as formerly,And their congregation shall be established before Me;And I will punish all their oppressors.21 ‘Their leader shall be one of them,And their ruler shall come forth from their midst;And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me;For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the Lord.22  ‘You shall be My people,And I will be your God.’”

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." 

Our God is a God of judgement.  He will hold us accountable for our sins.  But, He is also a God of love, mercy, and compassion.  He will unite His people as they were originally intended to be, and He will be their God.  Praise Him!

Now read Hosea chapter 2.

2 Say to your brothers, “Ammi,” and to your sisters, “Ruhamah.” 2 “Contend with your mother, contend, For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; And let her put away her harlotry from her face and her adultery from between her breasts, 3 Or I will strip her naked and expose her as on the day when she was born. I will also make her like a wilderness,Make her like desert land and slay her with thirst.4 “Also, I will have no compassion on her children, because they are children of harlotry. 5 “For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted shamefully.For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,Who give me my bread and my water,My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’6 “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.7 “She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; and she will seek them, but will not find them.Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband,For it was better for me then than now!’8 “For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, and lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. 9 “Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time and My new wine in its season.I will also take away My wool and My flax given to cover her nakedness. 10 “And then I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers,And no one will rescue her out of My hand. 11 “I will also put an end to all her gaiety, her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths and all her festal assemblies. 12 “I will destroy her vines and fig trees, of which she said, ‘These are my wages which my lovers have given me.’And I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field will devour them. 13 “I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she used to offer sacrifices to them and adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry,And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the Lord.

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness and speak kindly to her. 15 “Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. 16 “It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me Ishi and will no longer call Me Baali. 17 “For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, so that they will be mentioned by their names no more. 18 “In that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, and will make them lie down in safety. 19 “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, 20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord. 21 “It will come about in that day that I will respond,” declares the Lord. “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth, 22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil,
And they will respond to Jezreel. 23 “I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people,‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

Hosea begins this chapter by speaking with his children.  He is telling them to give a message to their mother Gomer, who had gone off to harlotry.  The message to Gomer from Hosea is also the message from God to Israel.  The message is to stop what they are doing, turn back and repent.  If they did not stop, there would be consequences for their actions.

Gomer thinks that her life is better without her husband Hosea.  The nation of Israel thought their lives were better without their God.  Gomer thought that her lovers were supplying all of her needs, as the nation of Israel thought that their false gods were supplying their needs.  Both Gomer and the nation of Israel had strayed so far from the truth that they were believing lies.  Eventually, Gomer will realize that she is better off with her husband Hosea, as eventually the nation of Israel will realize that they are better off serving God.

In verse 8 it becomes evident that Gomer's lovers were not the ones supplying her needs. It was her husband Hosea.  Even though Gomer had strayed from him, he still loved her and wanted to take care of her.  Even though the nation of Israel had strayed so far from God, God continued to supply their needs and take care of them.  What a wonderful God we serve!  However, because the resources that Hosea gave Gomer and God gave Israel were used for sin and not for God's glory, they were going to be taken away.  The punishment for the sin of Gomer and Israel is described up to verse 13.

Verse 14 begins to describe the redemption of Gomer and the redemption of Israel.  Even though there was so much sin involved, God was still going to redeem His people.

In verse 16, the phrase "that day" is talking about the final battle in the last days - the great and terrible day of the Lord.  The people of Israel are going to call God "Ishi", meaning "my husband", and no longer call Him "Baali", meaning "my master".  Right now, the people of Israel think of God as a slave driver, someone they have to obey because they have to.  That is how Gomer thought of Hosea, too.  But, there will come a day, in that great and terrible day of the Lord, when they people will think of God as a husband, someone they want to obey because they love Him.  What a contrast that is!

Look at Isaiah 54:4-8.

4 “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;But you will forget the shame of your youth,And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.5 “For your husband is your Maker,Whose name is the Lord of hosts;And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,Who is called the God of all the earth.6 “For the Lord has called you,Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”Says your God.7 “For a brief moment I forsook you,But with great compassion I will gather you.8 “In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment,But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”Says the Lord your Redeemer.

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

Once again, God is showing us that there will come a day when He will redeem His people.  Praise Him!  Yes, people will have consequences for their sins.  Yes, God will turn His back on His people for a brief period of time.  But, He will redeem His people in the end!

At the end of Hosea chapter 2, God revisits Hosea's three children and they symbolism behind their names.  Jezreel once meant destruction and devastation to the nation, but now it means fertility and growth.  Lo-ruhamah once meant that God would no longer have compassion on His children, but now it means that God will have compassion on His children.  Lo-ammi once meant that God was no longer their God, and they were no longer His children, but now it means that He is their God, and they are His children.  The redemption to the people has come full circle.

Now we are going to look at Hosea chapter 3.

3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley. 3 Then I said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.” 4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. 5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

The Lord told Hosea to go get Gomer from her harlot life, even though she left him for other men.  The Lord loves Israel, even when they turn away from Him.  He still wants them back.  Hosea had to buy back his wife.  God had to buy us - the payment for our sins was the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.  The gospel is played out in this Old Testament book of Hosea.

Hosea told Gomer that she had to stay with him for a period of time with no intimate relationship with him, or with any other man.  This is representative of a time when Israel will have no relationship with God or any false gods.    Once this period of time is over, in the last days, the people of Israel will return to God, trembling.  Why trembling?  From fear, respect, sorrow, shame, the list could go on and on.  

The Lord's mercy and compassion is amazing to me.  He will always love His people, no matter what they do.  He will always have a plan of redemption for His people, no matter what happens.  God's plan for redeeming a fallen world was set in place at the very beginning of the book of Genesis.  And, He is still fulfilling that plan in the world now.

God wants us to turn to Him.  We have to confess our sins to Him.  That is a part of the plan of redemption.  God wants us to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but we have to confess that we are sinful people.  Oh sisters, confess to Him!  Confess your sins, turn your lives, and live in the love and redemption that God has given us!