I Will Espouse You In Faithfulness; And You Will Come To Know YAHWEH

"So I AM going to allure her,

lead her once more into the desert,

where I can speak to her tenderly.

Then I will give back her vineyards,

make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There, she will answer ME, as in her youth,

as when she came out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, YAHWEH says,

you will call ME my husband,

and never again: my Baal.

I will take the names of Baals from her lips

and no longer will they be invoked.

That day, on her behalf, I will make a Covenant

with beasts of the field and birds of the air,

with creatures creeping upon the ground.

I will wipe out the sword and war in the land;

I will make people rest safe and secure.

You will be MY spouse forever,

betrothed in justice and integrity;

we will be united in love and tenderness.

I will espouse you in faithfulness; 

and you will come to know YAHWEH."

- Hosea 2:16-22

(So I AM going to allure her, lead her once more into the desert, where I can speak to her tenderly.  YAHWEH is going to deprive Israel of everything so they will again be poor as they were in the desert in the days of Moses.  Thus they will know that everything comes from GOD and will put their trust in HIM.  I was better off then than now.  This is what the prodigal son will also say in Luke 15:17.

She will no longer call ME my LORD.  Here Hosea uses the word my Baal.  In Hebrew, Baal means Lord.  This was the name given to the Canaanite gods, but the Israelites also honored YAHWEH with this title.  However, YAHWEH does not want to be a "Baal" among many, but "The" only husband.

That day on her behalf I will make a Covenant with beasts of the field.  After the trials, Hosea foresees a happy period when YAHWEH would give the land back to HIS renewed people.  There will be no more hostile forces from nature, no more wars.  I will make people rest safe and secure.

You will be MY spouse forever.  GOD is offering HIS people a new Covenant, a new alliance with HIM: Not a new religion with different commandments, but rather a personal relationship born of a purified and renewed heart [Jeremiah 31:31].

John refers to this union "in enduring love" in John 1:17: JESUS is the one who brought it to humankind.)

On-Site