Hosea 2:16–20

God will take what Satan meant to destroy us and our testimony and use it for our good and the good of the Body of Christ.

We are beloved children. We will be disciplined so that we can learn and grow in His ways.

Hosea 2:16–20

16 “And it shall be, in that day,”

Says the Lord,

“That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’

And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’

17 For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,

And they shall be remembered by their name no more.

18 In that day I will make a covenant for them

With the beasts of the field,

With the birds of the air,

And with the creeping things of the ground.

Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth,

To make them lie down safely.

19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

In righteousness and justice,

In lovingkindness and mercy;

20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,

And you shall know the Lord.

The Hebrew text here for My husband can literally be rendered “my man.” In Hebrew, a woman’s husband can be described as her man.

The renewal of the covenant restores the relationship between Yahweh and Israel. Jeremiah takes this idea further, emphasizing the need for a completely new covenant. 

The restoration is accompanied by total peace in the human and natural world. The four virtues listed in this verse, combined with the faithfulness mentioned in Hosea 2:20, form the essence of Yahweh’s character. Biblical writers frequently mention these virtues together. Faithlife Bible.

Israel would call the Lord her Husband, not her Master, because the latter title might have reminded the people of their former devotion to Baal. The word Baal can mean “Master. ”Betrothal was a binding commitment, the last step before the wedding and consummation. 

The Lord emphasized that the new marriage between Himself and Israel would be permanent. 

Lovingkindness means “devotion, commitment.” Israel would respond positively to the Lord’s love and acknowledge that He is her husband and benefactor. NKJ Bible.

From that time Israel would be more truly attached to the Lord; no longer calling him Baali, or “My lord and master,” alluding to authority, rather than love, but Ishi, an address of affection. This may foretell the restoration from the Babylonish captivity; and also be applied to the conversion of the Jews to Christ, in the days of the apostles, and the future general conversion of that nation; and believers are enabled to expect infinitely more tenderness and kindness from their holy God, than a beloved wife can expect from the kindest husband. When the people were weaned from idols, and loved the Lord, no creature should do them any harm. This may be understood of the blessings and privileges of the spiritual Israel, of every true believer, and their partaking of Christ’s righteousness; also, of the conversion of the Jews to Christ. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Leviticus 26:5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

Job 5:23 For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

Isaiah 11:6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Ezekiel 34:25 “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.