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Hosea 2:14-15; 19-20
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead
her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.
There I will give her back her vineyards, and will
make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
Then she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in
the day she came up out of Egypt.
(19) I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth
you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will
acknowledge the Lord.
On several occasions I have been asked by
married couples to lead them through a ceremony to “restate” their wedding
vows. Sometimes this request is made in honor of a significant milestone – like
a 25th wedding anniversary. Other times a couple is seeking to
affirm their commitment to each other following a significant threat to their
marriage – an experience of intense conflict or perhaps even a time of
infidelity.
Three times in Hosea chapter two we see the word
“betroth.”
(19) I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth
you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will
acknowledge the Lord.
We don’t use the word “betroth” much in our
culture, but it’s a great word. To “betroth” is to make a holy promise; to bind
oneself to another in a promise of absolute faithfulness and love. In a sense
this is what a man does when he says to a woman, “Will you marry me?” For when
he asks that question he is stating that he has already invested his love fully
in her; he is already committed lock, stock and barrel – all that remains is
her response.
The Bible is saying that God has offered himself
to us in “betrothal”; that is, he has utterly committed himself in love to us –
and this is most clearly seen through Jesus Christ. All that remains is our
response!
Notice there are two promises that come with
this betrothal.
There I will give her back her vineyards, and will
make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
Then she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in
the day she came up out of Egypt.
The first promise is redemption and blessing.
Throughout the Old Testament vineyards are a symbol of God’s blessing.
Furthermore, the literal translation of “Valley of Achor” is “valley of
trouble.” So God is promising to redeem the rebellion and sin of his people
into blessing and prosperity.
The second promise is joy.
“Then she will sing as in the days of her youth,” Hosea says.
Despite her unfaithfulness; despite her sin;
despite her failure to return his faithfulness and love, God loves his people
and promises to restore them – not only to relationship with himself – but to
the joy for which he created them.
Do you know you were created for joy? Do you
know that sin, no matter how enticing and attractive, always diminishes and
kills your joy? Do you know that God pursues you, confronts your sin, and
forgives you – so that your joy might be restored in him?
In this way the prophet Hosea also points us
toward Christ; for Jesus said:
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete.” John
15:11
Thank God for his redeeming love and ask him to
make his joy complete in you!
Pastor Brian Coffey
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