Paul’s showing how important it is for us to understand how Israel and the Body of Christ are connected yet separate in God’s plan for the ages. With this understanding, we’re able to comprehend how and why the majority of God’s Word is about His chosen nation, Israel, and His plan and purpose for them. At the same time, Paul teaches how we, as Gentiles and the church today, came to have this dispensation of grace, this freely given salvation without Israel, slotted into this incredible plan. The background understanding of Israel, what happened to her in her past, present and future, solidifies our knowledge of our own position today, and that’s why Paul uses Hosea and the other prophets to bring us this knowledge.

Hosea’s context is unmistakably Israel.

Hosea 1 shows God commanding Hosea to marry Gomer, a woman of whoredoms, and to name their children Jezreel, Lo‑ruhamah, and Lo‑ammi. They’re symbolic names describing Israel’s departure from God and their rejection of His Word. Hosea 2 continues the picture: “your mother… is not my wife,” “she shall follow her lovers,” “I will uncover her nakedness,” “I will allure her,” “I will give her vineyards,” “I will take Baalim out of her mouth,” “I will make a covenant for them,” “I will betroth thee unto me.” Every “her” in the chapter refers to Israel. God has chosen Hosea’s unfaithful wife, Gomer, and their children to paint a picture of His own relationship with Israel and His plan to restore her.

So when Hosea 2:23 says, “I will sow her unto me,” the “her” is Israel. The chapter never shifts to Gentiles or the church. It’s the same woman from verse 2 onward — picturing the nation that departed from the Lord and will be restored.

Jeremiah 31 confirms this. In Jeremiah 31:10, God speaks to the nations, the Gentiles, saying,

Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.

Jeremiah says the Lord will redeem Jacob (remember Jacob’s name? Israel!), ransoming him from the stronger enemy. Israel will return singing, rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord — wheat, wine, oil, flocks, and herds — exactly the blessings Hosea 2 describes. Their soul will be “as a watered garden,” sorrow will end, and mourning will turn to joy. The priests will be satisfied with God’s goodness, and “my people shall be satisfied with my goodness.” Jeremiah’s redeemed flock is the same restored Israel Hosea portrays.

Some people might ask why Hosea depicts Israel as a woman, “her” in his prophecy, while Jeremiah depicts Israel as a “Him” in the passage we just read.

Hosea calls Israel her because he is portraying Israel as an unfaithful wife, using the marriage as an illustration of God’s relationship with Israel, while Jeremiah calls Israel him because he’s portraying Israel as Jacob, the son, the firstborn, the flock, and the heir.

Both prophets use gender as metaphors, images and symbols, not literal gender.

These metaphors shift depending on the picture the prophet is trying to paint.

So Hosea 2:23 is about Israel’s regathering, Israel’s mercy, Israel’s restoration, and Israel becoming God’s people again. Paul quotes Hosea in Romans 9 to illustrate how God can show mercy to Israel even during her unbelief, but Hosea’s prophecy itself concerns the future salvation of the nation.

Taken in its proper context, Hosea 2 is a prophecy of Israel’s return, not the church, the Body of Christ today. Not us, but important for us to know!

Believers today have mercy through the dispensation of grace, but Hosea is speaking of Israel’s mercy, given in a specific place and time — their future restoration. The name Lo‑ruhamah means “no mercy,” and God promises to remove the “no” and give mercy again. Likewise, Lo‑ammi (“not my people”) becomes “my people.” These names represent departed Israel, not Gentiles. Gentiles were never God’s people to begin with; Israel was, then they became “not my people,” but will be restored. Hosea deals with Israel’s fall and return, not Gentile inclusion.

Romans 9:25–26 quotes Hosea to show that God can give mercy where it was withdrawn. Paul is not inserting the church into Hosea; he’s illustrating Israel’s pattern — fall, judgment, remnant, restoration. Romans 11 explains this fully: Israel has fallen, but not forever. God will graft them in again. Hosea provides the backbone of prophecy for Paul’s argument.

Hosea chapter 2’s “her” is consistently Israel:

– Hosea 2:2 — “your mother… is not my wife.”

– Verse 5 (Hosea 2:5) — “their mother hath played the harlot.”

– Verse 7 (Hosea 2:7) — “she shall follow her lovers.”

– Verse 14 (Hosea 2:14) — “I will allure her.”

– Verse 15 (Hosea 2:15) — “I will give her vineyards.”

– Verse 17 (Hosea 2:17) — “I will take Baalim out of her mouth.”

– and verse 19 to 20 (Hosea 2:19–20) — “I will betroth thee unto me.”

The entire chapter illustrates Israel as the unfaithful wife whom God will restore.

Jeremiah 31 confirms this. God will redeem Jacob, ransom him, and bring him back singing. Wheat, wine, oil, flocks, and joy appear again — the same blessings Hosea 2 promises. Their soul will be “as a watered garden,” sorrow will end, and priests will rejoice in God’s goodness. Jeremiah’s redeemed flock is the same restored Israel that Hosea describes.

Hosea 2:23 ends with Israel saying, “Thou art my God.” In John 20:28, Thomas — part of believing Israel, not the church — says to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” This anticipates Israel’s future confession when they return to the Lord.

By the way, in defence of Thomas, he wasn’t the only one who doubted who Jesus was; all the disciples doubted at first!

Romans 9 identifies true Israel.

Not all the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob receive the promises. God gives mercy to those who believe. Hosea shows Israel becoming “not my people,” then returning through faith when God allures them, but only the believing flock will be restored. The unbelieving portion will be judged and receive God’s wrath. This is the purpose of the coming tribulation, to separate the believers from the unbelievers of Israel.

Romans 9 concludes that Israel without faith does not receive mercy, but the remnant will and Romans 11 promises Israel’s future restoration.

Hosea 2 is a prophecy of Israel’s fall, mercy, and return, not the church. Paul quotes Hosea to show that God’s dealings with Israel include both judgment and hope — and that Israel will be God’s people again.

Hosea 3:1 begins a new instruction, and we read,

THEN said the LORD unto me [Hosea], Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

This is not the command of chapter 1; it’s a fresh directive to Hosea. God uses Hosea again as a living picture of His love toward Israel, who “look to other gods and love flagons of wine.” This verse raises a lot of debate: is this woman Gomer, or a different woman? Who is the “friend”? Scholars argue endlessly, very often missing the main point entirely — the passage does not tell us, and God did not require us to know; otherwise He would have expanded it.

If it’s the same woman, then we need to examine Hosea 2 carefully. God said she would chase her lovers but not find them (Hosea 2:7), her lewdness would be exposed (Hosea 2:10), and He would allure her back (Hosea 2:14).

If Hosea 3 is simply Hosea retrieving her, interpreters must explain how these earlier statements fit. If it’s a different woman, new problems arise: what happened to Gomer?

Then we have the next verse in Hosea 3, Hosea 3:2, which says,

So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

Why is Hosea buying this woman in verse 2? Deuteronomy 21:14 forbids buying back a divorced wife, so speculation becomes dangerous. Multiple wives existed in the Old Testament, but Scripture doesn’t say Hosea had more than one. Any solution requires adding details that the text does not provide; in other words, man-made speculation. Could be right, could be wrong.

This is why the safest reading is to accept the uncertainty and vagueness. Hosea 3:1 simply does not specify whether the woman is Gomer or someone else. God focuses on the symbol, not the physical life story. Israel is the adulterous wife; Hosea’s actions illustrate God’s faithful love toward His unfaithful people.

The phrase “beloved of her friend” is also debated.

Some bible translations even change “friend” to “husband,” or “lover,” or even add “another woman,” forcing an interpretation into the text. The King James preserves this vagueness, which is better than changing the bible and inserting a human assumption based on personal ideas of what’s meant. Changing “friend” to “lover” or “husband” alters the meaning and pushes readers toward an outcome that Scripture just does not state.

Romans 9:25–26 helps to clarify the context.

Romans 9:25 adds a phrase that’s not found in Hosea when it says,

As he saith also in Osee [that’s Hosea], I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

Many people try to explain this as Paul simply restating Hosea’s language, but “beloved” is not the same as “my people.”

Hosea 3:1 introduces that word: “love a woman, beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress.”

Hosea 2:23 speaks of mercy restored; Hosea 3:1 immediately speaks of a “beloved” woman. Paul may be drawing from both Hosea 2:23 and Hosea 3:1 — showing Israel once “not beloved,” now restored to beloved status.

Paul also quotes both Hosea 2:23 and Hosea 1:10— “I will call them my people, which were not my people”. He uses Hosea to illustrate Israel’s fall and future restoration, not to place the church inside Hosea as we’ve said repeatedly.

In Hosea 2, Israel is disciplined, judged, and alienated. When God betroths her again in faithfulness (Hosea 2:19–20), she becomes beloved. Hosea 3:1 pictures this: a woman once unfaithful, now loved according to the Lord’s love toward Israel. The “friend” may simply represent God Himself — the One who loves Israel even in her departure. The point is not the identity of the woman but the nation she represents.

Romans 9 is about identifying true Israel, the believing remnant. Hosea shows Israel becoming “not my people” through unbelief, then returning when God allures them. Paul’s point is that God gives mercy to whom He wills — and He gives it only to those who believe.

Hosea 3:1 teaches the central truth: God loves Israel even in her adultery, and He’ll restore her according to His covenant faithfulness, “according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love flagons of wine.”

The “flagons of wine” refer to containers used in idolatrous rituals, and there are oh so many speculations about this as well. Trying to make sense of human commentaries can do your head in. Best just let the Bible say what it wants to. Israel offered wine to false gods, showing their departure from the Lord. Yet God still loves them and will restore them.

Adultery equals idolatry. Israel’s unfaithfulness is spiritual adultery. Hosea is told not merely to retrieve the woman but to love her as God loves Israel — faithfully, mercifully, and with covenant commitment.

The details of the woman are secondary; the message is primary.

So in Hosea 3:2 we have Hosea obeying God,

So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

“So I bought her to me ”. This is not a marriage command; God said “love a woman,” not “take a wife.” The main point here is redemption, not romance.

The purchase reflects redemption imagery — God buying Israel back from bondage.

Under Israel’s law in Exodus 21, buying a Hebrew servant was regulated and not the abusive slavery modern readers imagine.

Exodus 21 explains how buying a servant worked under Israel’s law.

A Hebrew servant could be bought only for his service, not stolen or trafficked.

He served six years and was released in the seventh. If he entered alone, he left alone; if married, his wife left with him. If his master gave him a wife, the wife and children remained with the master, but the servant could choose to stay permanently out of love for his master and family. In that case, his ear was pierced as a sign of voluntary lifelong service. This was not abusive slavery but a regulated system of household labour, with strict protections.

A daughter could be sold as a maidservant for financial reasons, but she could not be sold to foreigners. She could be redeemed, and if betrothed to the master’s son, she became part of the family. If the master failed to provide food, clothing, or marital duty, she was freed without payment.

These laws protected the vulnerable and restricted masters. The kind of slavery known from later world history—stealing people and selling them—was punishable by death, as we see in Exodus 21:16, which says,

And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

Israel’s law eliminated the corruption that plagued other nations.

Exodus 21:32 sets the value of a servant at thirty shekels of silver, no different from the wage-award system today.

If someone’s negligence caused a servant’s death, the master received thirty shekels as compensation.

This matters because Hosea 3:2 says Hosea bought the woman for fifteen pieces of silver—half the servant price, the price under the law for a maidservant.

Women are consistently valued at half or slightly more than half the male valuation.

This is not about personal worth. A woman’s worth is the same as a man’s — it’s about labour capacity in an agricultural society where physical workloads were vitally important.

This also explains why Hosea’s purchase price is 15 shekels — half of the 30‑shekel servant price. It suggests the woman was a maidservant, not a wife being “bought back,” and fits the redemption imagery rather than the romantic picture.

We see a similar picture in the book of Ruth.

Ruth is the story of a Moabite woman who clings to her Israelite mother‑in‑law Naomi after both lose their husbands. Ruth humbly works in the barley fields of Boaz, a kind and godly man who is a near‑kinsman to Naomi. Boaz redeems both the land and Ruth herself, marrying her and restoring Naomi’s family line. Their son becomes the grandfather of King David, showing how God weaves grace, loyalty, and redemption into the lives of ordinary people.

Ruth chapter 4 shows Boaz purchasing Ruth to be his wife, redeeming her and raising her up. Ruth was a Gentile, “not God’s people,” yet through redemption she became part of Israel. This theme matches Hosea: God will redeem His people and restore those who were “not beloved” to beloved status.

This “purchase” explains why Hosea 3:1 generates so much speculation. People imagine Gomer being sold into slavery or captured, but the text never says this. The buying simply fits the redemption picture. Similar examples of this culture appear in Judges 19, where a concubine “played the whore,” ran away, and her husband went to “speak friendly unto her” and bring her back — almost identical to Hosea 2’s picture of Israel departing and God alluring her.

Hosea 3 is not strange or hard to understand for Israel and certainly not back when these passages were written. This was life as they knew it, and whether we today see it through the lens of modern society as bad or good is totally irrelevant.

These passages also give us a glimpse of just how important Moses’ law was in the everyday lives of the Israelite population back then, even when they went into idolatry.

The unusual part in these passages in Hosea is that Hosea’s told to love an adulterous woman while she is still in her sin — mirroring God’s love toward Israel “while they look to other gods.” This is grace.

Hosea is commanded to love her according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel. The point is not marriage instruction but a picture of God’s faithful love toward His unfaithful nation.

Hosea 3:1–2 must be read through this lens. God tells Hosea, “Go yet, love a woman… yet an adulteress.” The command is not “marry her,” but “love her” here in this verse. The ambiguity, the vagueness, about who she is—Gomer or another woman—is intentional.

The point is not her identity but the symbol: Israel is the adulterous woman. Hosea is to love her according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods and “love flagons of wine,” used in idolatrous rituals.

The purchase in Hosea 3:2 reflects redemption, not romance.

So, Hosea’s act pictures God buying Israel back from bondage. The law’s servant-price background explains why the amount is fifteen shekels—she is treated as one needing redemption, not as a wife being reclaimed.

Hosea 3 continues the theme of chapters 1–2:

– Israel is adulterous (in idolatry).

– God disciplines her.

– God still loves her.

– God will restore her.

Romans 9:25–26 quotes Hosea to show Israel’s fall and future return. Paul adds the phrase “her beloved, which was not beloved,” which may reflect Hosea 3:1’s “beloved of her friend.”

Hosea 2 speaks of mercy restored; Hosea 3 introduces “beloved.” Paul may be drawing from both passages to show Israel, once unloved, then restored to beloved status.

However, the central message is clear: God’s faithful love toward Israel remains, even in her unfaithfulness. Hosea’s actions illustrate God’s covenant mercy and His promise to redeem and restore His people.

Hosea 3 continues the same message as chapters 1–2: Israel is adulterous, idolatrous, and estranged, yet God loves her, disciplines her, and will restore her. Paul quotes Hosea because Hosea teaches Israel’s fall and future return, and that’s the exact theme of Romans chapters 9–11.

Hosea 3:2 adds that Hosea buys the woman for fifteen pieces of silver and barley.

The text reads,

and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

What does the barley mean? Well, firstly, the “homer” was an ancient measurement of volume, and it’s generally believed that a homer equalled 220 litres of barley. That’s a huge amount — roughly what a small field could produce in an entire harvest.

Barley is, firstly, the grain of the poor. In Israel’s economy: Wheat was the grain of prosperity, while barley was the grain of poverty, humility, and low status. Barley was cheaper, more common, and associated with the poor, the needy, the humble and those in distress’

So Hosea’s barley payment matches the woman’s condition:

She’s spiritually impoverished, just like Israel in her idolatry.

Barley is, secondly, the grain of redemption stories, showing up in key redemption passages like Ruth chapters 2–3 where Ruth gleans barley in Boaz’s field. Boaz gives her six measures of barley as a sign of provision, protection, redemption and future restoration.

Ruth is a picture of Israel returning to God, and barley is the grain that marks her journey from poverty to blessing, the same symbol as Hosea uses.

Thirdly, Barley’s the grain of restoration after judgment’

Barley appears in passages where God restores what was lost, such as in Joel 2:23–24 — God restores grain (including barley) after judgment.

2 Kings 7:1 — barley becomes abundant after famine.

John 6:9–13 — Jesus feeds Israel with barley loaves, symbolising spiritual restoration.

Barley symbolises God restoring the humble.

Hosea’s woman is redeemed with barley because Israel will be restored after being humbled.

Barley also fits the servant‑price symbol. 30 shekels was the price of a male servant, while 15 shekels, half that price, was for a female servant.

Since barley was the grain associated with servants, poverty, and low estate, Hosea’s payment is

1. legal (matching Exodus 21 and Leviticus 27)
2. symbolic (matching Israel’s spiritual condition)
3. prophetic (matching Israel’s future redemption)

It is not a romantic purchase — it is a redemption purchase.

Barley shows Israel’s condition when God redeems her. It tells the story of how Israel was spiritually poor, humbled, in bondage, redeemed at a price and restored by grace.

Just as Ruth came with nothing and was redeemed by Boaz,

Israel comes with nothing and is redeemed by the Lord.

Then, Barley connects Hosea to Christ. Jesus feeds Israel with barley loaves in John 6, and that miracle is a sign and a symbol that He’s the Redeemer. He feeds the poor, He restores the humble, and He gives life to those who have nothing.

Hosea’s barley points forward to Christ’s redemption of Israel.

So the barley picture is much deeper than we think.

Let’s move on to Hosea 3:3,

And I said unto her [that’s Hosea speaking to this woman], Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

She’s still an adulteress when purchased, but Hosea gives her conditions that mirror God’s covenant language: you will be mine, and I will be yours. This reflects God’s promise to Israel: “I am your God, and you are my people.”

The “many days” introduces another question: how long? Hosea doesn’t specify. Prophecy often leaves the duration open, creating space for a long, undefined period in which Israel is scattered, disciplined, and without her former privileges. This undisclosed time allows for the later revelation of the mystery revealed by Christ to Paul, though Hosea itself doesn’t reveal or describe the church, as we’ve been at pains to point out. The passage speaks only of Israel’s future restoration.

Hebrews 9 explains the redemption behind this picture. Christ entered the holy place “by His own blood,” obtaining eternal redemption. His death redeems the transgressions under the first covenant so Israel can receive the promised inheritance. Hosea’s purchase, Ruth’s redemption, and the servant laws in Exodus all point to Christ’s redemptive work for Israel.

Now we come to Hosea 3:4-5, and as we’ve tried hard to show throughout our studies,  we need to notice the all-important word “For” which opens the verses. Verses 4 and 5 explain verse 3 because of that word “For”. In other words, verses 4 and 5 are the reason for what was just previously said, in this case, what was said in verse 3.

Hosea 3:4-5 reads,

For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and… Hold on, let’s stop and read the whole passage in context from Hosea 3:3,

And I said unto her [that’s Hosea speaking to this woman], Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

We see here that God, through Hosea, is moving from the symbolism of the woman to explaining how Israel actually fits the symbolism. Israel matches the woman’s conditions: no harlotry, no idolatry, no other man. Israel will abide for a long period with no king or prince — exactly what happened.

Hoshea was the last king of the northern tribes, and Jeconiah was the last king of Judah. Israel has never had another national king ruling ever since then.

The “many days” also describe Israel’s condition: no sacrifice, no temple worship, no images, no ephod, no teraphim.

The ephod was a priestly garment worn by the high priest, as seen in Exodus 28.

The ephod represented divine guidance and authorised priestly worship.

So when Hosea says Israel will be “without an ephod,” it means no priesthood, no temple service, no direct revelation from God and no lawful means of seeking His will. Israel would be cut off from divine communication.

Teraphim were household idols or images used for divination, and we see accounts of them in Genesis 31:19 and 1 Samuel 19:13.

They represented false spiritual guidance — the counterfeit of the ephod. So “without teraphim” means there’d be no images of idolatry either. God would remove both true and false symbols of their former religious life.

Again, this is clearly not the church; it’s Israel’s long discipline. Commentaries that apply Hosea 3:4 to the present dispensation and the Body of Christ simply don’t fit.

Prophecy shows Israel scattered and awaiting return. The northern tribes have never returned in history.

In May 1948, the modern State of Israel was officially established.

This is the moment when Israel became a recognised nation‑state again after nearly 2,000 years of dispersion. A huge number of Christians today believe that this 1948 establishment of the modern State of Israel was the fulfilment of bible prophecy about Israel’s restoration.

It restored political nationhood, but not the biblical promises of Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Daniel, and the entire timeline of prophecy.

Restored Israel must have specific features and requirements promised to them in covenant by God, of which the modern state of Israel does not have.

We have a list of the differences between modern and prophetic Israel in our Resources section of this site, and we’ve included it below this recording.

The modern Israel, which was established in 1948, is not the fulfilment of Hosea 3:4–5. The prophecy says Israel will abide many days, then afterward return. That “afterward” has not occurred yet.

So:

– Israel departs in Hosea 1–2.

– Israel is purchased and told to abide many days in Hosea 3:1–4.

– Afterward Israel returns in Hosea 3:5.

The mystery of the Body of Christ revealed to Paul fits into this long, undefined interval, but Hosea itself speaks only of Israel’s fall, discipline, and future restoration,

The mystery of Ephesians 3:1-13 and the many other places in Paul’s epistles was still hidden to Hosea and the other prophets. It was still a secret hid in God since before the foundation of the world.

This issue of Ephraim, the House of Israel and the northern tribes has given birth to a false and deceiving religious movement claiming that the northern tribes are “lost”. The “Lost Tribes of Israel” migrated to England, which in turn gave rise to the movement of British Israelism.

British Israelism teaches that the British royal family descends from the line of King David.

To support this claim, they connect the Stone of Scone (also called the Stone of Destiny) that sits in a rectangular slot beneath the wooden seat of the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey to biblical history. British Israelism claims the Stone of Scone is the same stone Jacob slept on in Genesis 28, where he saw the ladder to heaven, and that this stone was carried through history by the Israelites to Britain, making the British monarchy the continuation of David’s throne.

Herbert Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God was very big on this up until the 1990s, when he died. I remember, as a very young Christian in the early 1980’s recieving a host of well-presented books and magazines from this crowd that were able to rock the faith of many uninformed believers, another reason why, as Christians, we need to know our Bible rightly divided.

Of course, Hosea 3:4 directly refutes the whole British Israelism idea. Israel would “abide many days without a king,” yet Britain has had kings continually. Additionally, Israel would also be “without an ephod, and without teraphim,” meaning without temple worship, priesthood, or a national religious system. Britain has never lacked rulers or religion, or symbols of religion; therefore, it’s clearly not Israel.

Hosea 3:4 describes Israel’s condition during a long, undefined period: no king, no prince, no sacrifice, no ephod, no image, no teraphim. Without a ruler, temple, or land, Israel exists only by God’s promise. Daniel 9 also speaks of sacrifices being stopped. Messiah would be “cut off” in Daniel 9:26, the sanctuary destroyed, as it was in AD 70, and sacrifices ceased. Jesus confirmed this in Matthew 24, before 70 AD, when He said the temple would be torn down. Sacrifices cannot be offered in a temple that doesn’t exist.

Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 speaks of a future temple where the man of sin will stand, showing himself to be God. So Scripture shows periods with sacrifices, periods without sacrifices, and a future restoration — all matching Hosea’s “many days without sacrifice.”

The book of Hebrews was written to Jews who could not offer sacrifices. They had no temple, no city and no priesthood. Hebrews comforts them by pointing to Christ as their priest and His blood as their redemption. They are Jews abiding with God without a king or sacrifice — exactly what Hosea 3:4 describes. This is remnant Israel, not the church. Hebrews through to Revelation deals with this remnant awaiting the kingdom God promised. Hebrews through to Revelation will again be critical to Israel during the tribulation after the church, the Body of Christ, has been raptured, caught up to heaven to meet the Lord in the air, and the dispensation of grace ended.

Again, Hosea 3 outlines Israel’s timeline in prophecy:

– Israel is purchased and told to abide “many days.”

– During those days they have no king, no prince, no sacrifice, no ephod and no teraphim.

– Afterward in Hosea 3:5, Israel returns, seeks the Lord, and receives the promised kingdom.

This long interval contains many historical events — including the destruction of the temple, Israel’s scattering, and later the revelation of the mystery to Paul— but Hosea itself speaks only of Israel’s condition and future restoration. The church is not in the passage. Hosea is one of the many prophecies describing remnant Israel, redeemed by God, awaiting their kingdom. In Israel today, Jews, the physical descendants of Israel, can only come to God the same way as the Gentiles, by God’s grace through faith, through Paul’s gospel. There is no Jew or Gentile in the Body of Christ, only the one new creature. The kingdom, so long promised by God to Israel, is still future.

Hosea 3:5 is also one of the great hope‑verses in the book.

After describing Israel’s adultery, idolatry, and separation from God, Hosea ends each chapter with restoration and then Hosea 3:5 says “afterward” — after the “many days” of discipline — “shall the children of Israel return.” No matter how long the interval lasts, God promises their return. Whether one hundred, one thousand, or two thousand years, God keeps His covenant. Jeremiah says that as long as the sun and moon remain, God will keep His promise to Israel.

Hosea 1:11 promised the gathering of Israel and Judah. Hosea 2 promised those who were “not my people” becoming “my people” again. Hosea 3:5 repeats the same hope: Israel will return, seek the Lord, and seek David their king. They’ll “fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.” God’s goodness appears because Israel, finally, believes, obeys, and returns.

Jesus preached this same message in His earthly ministry: “Seek and ye shall find.”

Hosea said Israel would seek the Lord and find Him; Jesus came saying that time had arrived. He was the bridegroom calling the bride back. He came not in judgment but in salvation, wooing Israel to return.

Some believed; others rejected Him. Paul later explains that Israel’s blindness is partial and temporary. Afterward, all Israel, believing Israel, will be saved — the same promise Hosea gives.

Jeremiah 30 and Ezekiel 34 expand this hope. Israel will be redeemed, freed from bondage, and restored to their land. They’ll serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom God will raise up. David will reign over Israel through Jesus, David’s Lord. This requires literal resurrection and literal restoration.

Hosea 3:5 clearly places this restoration in “the latter days.”

Other prophets use the same phrase. Ruth uses it to describe greater blessing at the end than at the beginning — a picture of Israel receiving abundance after returning to God. Joel 2 says God will pour out His Spirit on Israel and Judah in the latter days. Peter quoted Joel at Pentecost, showing the remnant in Jerusalem had an opportunity for this fulfilment right then, at that time. But persecution scattered them in Acts 8:1, and Israel’s national return was postponed. The remnant was scattered again, awaiting the kingdom.

Hosea’s message is very clear: despite Israel’s long exile and spiritual barrenness, God will restore them. They’ll seek Him, find Him, fear His goodness, and enter the kingdom promised to their fathers.

In the next episode, we’ll start Hosea chapter 4 and until then, may God bless you in the knowledge of Him.

God allowed the captivity to take place because He no longer protected them as His nation. That’s a result of God making them, quote, “not my people”.

When Israel returns to their land, God will restore the kingdom and fulfil His promises.

Hosea 1:11 says Judah and Israel will be gathered together, reuniting the divided nation. Jeremiah and Ezekiel also speak of the house of Israel and the house of Judah becoming one again. This reconciliation is not the same as Jew and Gentile becoming one body, as in Ephesians 2:14–16 and many of Paul’s other references to the body of Christ. The subject is Israel’s two houses, the divided nation becoming one.

Many people confuse this with the new covenant that Paul says he’s been made an able minister of in 2 Corinthians 3:6, but Jeremiah 31 clearly states that the New Covenant says the law is written on Israel’s hearts. Similar language doesn’t mean the same covenant. The Body of Christ is not under the law today, and that’s crystal clear throughout Paul’s epistles, from Romans to Philemon, but in the kingdom, when it comes, Israel will still live by the law, but it will be put into their hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit, and they will live by and keep that law as second nature. Then they’ll never depart from it again.

We have a free, downloadable book that deals with the subject of 2 Corinthians 3:6 and the New Covenant in the Resources section of this website.

Hosea speaks of Israel and Judah appointing one head. They appoint their king; we, today, in the body of Christ, didn’t appoint Christ as our Head.

Hosea 1:11 ends with “ for great shall be the day of Jezreel.”

As we saw last time, Jezreel is a place in Israel, connected with king Jehu’s judgment.

The name Jezreel means “God sows.” Hosea 2:22 explains that meaning: God says the earth will hear the corn, wine, and oil, and “they shall hear Jezreel,” meaning God will sow His people again in the land. He’ll have mercy on those who had not obtained mercy and say to those once called “not my people,” “You are my people,” and they will say, “You are my God.”

Jeremiah 31:27–28 confirms this saying: God will sow the house of Israel and Judah with people and animals, repopulating the land. Just as He once plucked up and destroyed, He’ll now build and plant.

Jezreel can mean sowing judgment or sowing blessing. Hosea 1 shows both: first judgment on King Jehu, then blessing when God plants Israel in their land and brings the kingdom.

As we saw in the last episodes. Jehu carried out God’s judgment but then violently shed much blood far beyond what God commanded. He then fell into idolatry himself.

Some sowings bear no fruit, but the final sowing does. God is the sower, and the land must be prepared—sometimes by judgment—before fruit comes, just as Jesus taught in Matthew 13.

Jesus never taught anything that wasn’t already planted in the Old Testament. When He gives the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:18, He’s using a picture that Israel already knew.

People often make the parable of the sower about the condition, or soil, of their own heart, often relating the parable to the church today and making it the method by which they can receive the things they desire.

It’s become a foundational doctrine to the Word of Faith movement that’s so powerful today, which says, “Make sure your heart’s not stony or full of thistles and weeds so the word of prosperity or healing that you plant in your heart can take root and grow.”

But Jeremiah 31 shows God sowing people in the land of Israel. He plucked them up when they were full of thorns and briars, and He will plant them again so they bear fruit. Hosea 1 is the same. Jezreel means “God sows.” God sowed judgment in Jezreel, then, in the future, He’ll sow the whole house of Israel together again.

So when Jesus explains the parable of the sower privately to the disciples, He’s talking about the gospel of the kingdom—the promise that God will reunite Israel and Judah and bring the kingdom. This sowing of the gospel of the kingdom is not a new subject. It’s the kingdom that God’s going to bring Israel and Judah together into one day. That’s what the kingdom is: Israel united with all the tribes together and in their promised land.  Hosea 1:11 is the kingdom promised.

Jesus says the seed is “the word of the kingdom.” The “of the kingdom” part’s almost always missed, glossed over or misunderstood in modern Christianity.

If Israel doesn’t believe God’s covenant and promises, the wicked one snatches the seed away. The ground’s not ready, so the kingdom can’t come. Belief, faith, is the key, and it always is with God.

Matthew 13:19 shows the devil catching away what was sown. Israel often turned from the true God to false gods, so they lost the kingdom when they could have, and should have, had it after Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

In Matthew 13:20, the stony ground pictures Israel receiving God’s word with joy but having no root. When persecution or trouble came—like Assyria threatening them—they abandoned God’s commands and sought help from other nations. They couldn’t endure covenant discipline, so they fell away.

Matthew 13:22 speaks of thorns: the cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches. Israel had wealth, especially in Solomon’s day, but they credited their prosperity to idols, so God took their riches away, and they lost the kingdom. They were promised a kingdom, but instead they were taken captive.

God sowing a kingdom in Israel is not new in Matthew 13; it’s everywhere in the Old Testament. Israel repeatedly faced the devil’s corruption, prosperity that choked them, and persecution that made them fall.

Solomon’s riches, his women and his idolatry eventually led to the kingdom being split—showing a classic example of the “thorns” choking the word of the kingdom. Jesus explained the meaning of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:38-41.

The good ground in Matthew 13:23 is the nation ready to receive God’s word, bear fruit, repent, and endure trouble. That nation gets the kingdom. Jesus identifies who will receive it: the prepared remnant of Israel. The rest reject Him and don’t receive the kingdom.

Jesus is talking to Israel here, not the Body of Christ, which wasn’t even in existence at that time and wasn’t known by anyone other than God. It was a mystery never prophesied.

Isaiah shows the same pattern.

Isaiah 11:10 speaks of the root of Jesse, the Messiah, and it speaks of “in that day”. What day? The day the Lord God returns to set up the kingdom. He’s pictured as a plant bearing fruit and giving rest, and the Gentiles will seek Him.

In Isaiah 11:11, God sets His hand the second time to recover His people. The first recovery was from Babylon; the second hasn’t happened yet. When it does happen, He’ll gather Israel from Assyria, Egypt, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the islands. He’ll assemble the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Ephraim and Judah will no longer envy or vex each other. This is the same reunion Hosea promised: the northern tribes and Judah restored as one nation under their Messiah.

Isaiah 11:16 explains how the root of Jesse—Jesus—will bring back the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah.

It says there’ll be a highway for the remnant returning from Assyria, just like when Israel came out of Egypt. The remnant of the northern tribes still living in the area where Assyria took them into captivity all those centuries ago will return.

Isaiah describes the path of this return, showing Christ leading His people back into the land the way Joshua once did. In Joshua’s day, the nation was united, and Hosea 1:11 speaks of that same future unity when God sows His people in the land in the great day of Jezreel. This hasn’t happened yet!

Today, under the dispensation of grace, both Jews and Gentiles are saved when they believe and trust in the gospel of Grace: that Jesus was God and that He died according to Scripture, was buried and rose again, according to Scripture. That’s the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

When either a Jew or a Gentile believes that gospel, they’re saved and become a new creature, a member of one body, the Body of Christ. But national Israel and Judah are not yet one nation united in their land, despite the huge number of Christians who believe they are.

We’re talking about different promises.

Hosea 2 begins by talking about family, just like chapters 1 and 3. But the book’s not about Hosea’s family drama, even though that’s what commentaries focus on; it’s not all about Hosea and Gomer.

The family’s only an illustration, an example in prophecy, and each chapter quickly turns to the real subject, which is Israel and God’s covenant relationship with them. Hosea’s wife pictures the land of Israel, while the children picture the people of the land.

God takes the private pain of a prophet and turns it into a public picture of His own heart toward Israel.

Israel had left the God who redeemed them and run to other nations and gone after Baal, thanking an idol for the blessings God Himself had provided them. They took God’s rain, God’s grain, God’s wine and God’s protection and attributed those blessings to foreign nations and foreign gods. Then they offered sacrifices and thanks to those false gods. It was spiritual adultery in its ugliest form.

Hosea 1:1 opens with Hosea’s marriage and children, while chapter 2 begins with the children being told something.

SAY ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ru-hamah.

In chapter 1, the children were named Lo‑ammi, meaning “not my people”, and Lo‑ruhamah, meaning “no mercy”.

Removing the “lo” reverses the judgment: Ammi means “my people,” and Ruhamah means “mercy.”

Then we go straight to verse 2, Hosea 2:2,

Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

God speaks to those people still in the land. Remember that they’ve not gone into captivity as yet. He tells them to plead with their mother, the land of Israel, to put away her whoredoms. The appeal’s both personal and legal, because Israel’s relationship with God is through a covenant, like a marriage contract.

The mother represents the land, Israel, serving false gods. The children represent the people who must call their nation to repentance. Hosea’s told to make the situation public. In real life, parents hide their problems from children, but here God uses the family to expose Israel’s sin.

Prophets do this: they make hidden sin public, so people have a chance to turn. Israel’s idolatry had been secret and tolerated, so God sends Hosea to reveal it.

This public exposure follows the same pattern Jesus later describes in Matthew 18:15-18 for dealing with sin among Israel’s remnant: first private appeal, then public confrontation if there’s no repentance. Hosea’s already appealed privately; now he speaks to the children, and soon the sin will be exposed to the lovers and to the whole world.

When sin stays hidden, people accept it and are shocked when judgment comes. But Scripture calls sin out, warns of consequences, and then shows that God’s judgment is just.

So when God says in Hosea 2:2,

Plead with your mother, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband,

He’s telling the people to appeal to their nation to repent.

The names Ammi and Ruhamah show this.

This is quite shocking language, especially for children, but it describes what adultery does to a marriage. Hosea did marry Gomer—chapter 1 makes that clear—but her actions make her “not his wife” in practice.

Adultery destroys the unity of marriage. When one spouse lives as if married to someone else, the real marriage can’t function. This is why adultery was forbidden in the Ten Commandments and why the law allowed severe punishment. When adultery becomes acceptable in a society, families collapse. But in Hosea we have to continually remind ourselves that it’s not a lesson on marriage but an illustration of relationship with God and His people, Israel, even though the example can be applied to marriage today.

Jesus teaches from the law in Matthew 19:9.

He says divorce is not permitted “except for fornication,” and remember Jesus is in His earthly ministry here, under the law, preaching the law.

Even though adultery breaks the marriage covenant, it doesn’t mean reconciliation’s impossible, but it means the marriage is not operating as a marriage while adultery continues. Hosea’s not simply saying he’s done with his wife; he’s saying her adultery is active, still going on, and while she’s living with other men, he can’t act as her husband, and she’s not acting as his wife. So he tells the children to plead with her to put away her whoredoms and adulteries. When we see that Hosea is relating this to Israel and God’s relationship, it makes perfect sense.

Jeremiah 3 helps explain it.

Jeremiah asks whether a man can take back a wife who has gone to another man, again, talking of Israel’s relationship with God, even though the lesson fits perfectly to any marriage.

In Jeremiah 3:6–16, the land is defiled. Yet God says to Israel, “Turn again to me.” He pleads with them to return to Him, even after their spiritual adultery. God also tells Judah to look at what Israel did and learn a lesson from them. Jeremiah 3 says how Israel went up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and played the harlot and how God called her to return, but she did not. Hosea is in the same situation: God tells the children to plead with their mother, Israel, to come back to God.

This shows God’s mercy.

The strict law demanded death for adultery, but God calls for repentance instead. In John 8, in the account of the woman taken in adultery, Jesus doesn’t deny the law; He says,

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

He teaches mercy while still acknowledging the seriousness of sin. God had every right to destroy Israel for centuries of adultery, yet He continually called them back. In the wilderness He often threatened to destroy the nation, but Moses interceded, and God showed patience and mercy.

Jeremiah 3:8 says God, speaking of backsliding Israel, said,

I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

Human marriages don’t have that same divine promise, which is why divorce among people is different from God’s dealings with Israel, even though the basic truths apply.

They had a contract. It wasn’t a literal marriage. The marriage was symbolic, an illustration of how Israel and God were in union with each other.

Israel broke the contract. God let them break it, but then, after repeated warnings to turn back to Him failed, God gave them the punishment that was due under that contract. But God said, “I still have a promise I have to keep with them, the promise I made to their fathers.”

Israel’s adultery and the consequences of it were a warning to Judah. They could look north and see the tribes gone. If Israel had repented, Judah would have learned from it. But Israel did not return, and Judah followed the same sins.

We see here that the problem was not the original sin itself; the problem was refusing to return when God called. Sin doesn’t prevent salvation—refusing God’s offer does.

God is merciful, but when people repeatedly say “no,” judgment comes. Judah saw Israel’s fall and still played the harlot despite God’s pleading in Hosea 2:2 for her to repent before the consequences arrive.

Hosea 2:3-4 warns of the consequences of failing to heed God’s plea in the previous verse,

Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.

This is harsh language, but it refers to removing the blessings God gave Israel.

Exodus 21:10 lists a husband’s obligations: food, clothing, and marital rights. God fulfilled these for Israel—He fed them, clothed them, protected them, and blessed them. But if Israel rejects Him, He’ll stop providing these things.

Israel was “born” as a nation in the wilderness. In Exodus 4:22, God is instructing Moses,

And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

There they had no land, no food, no water, and no clothing except what God provided miraculously. When God says He’ll “strip her naked” and “slay her with thirst,” He means He’ll remove His blessings and return her to those wilderness conditions. The land’s prosperity came from Him, and without Him it becomes dry and barren.

Hosea 2:4 continues,

And I will not have mercy upon her children, for they be the children of whoredoms.

Before dealing with the fairness of the children suffering for the mother’s sin, we need to understand the phrase “upon the children.” The mother represents the land, and the children represent the people living in it. So the judgment is not only on the land becoming barren; the people themselves will be removed and will suffer the loss of God’s provision. The whole nation experiences the consequences.

People ask, “What about innocent individuals?”

Scripture shows that God knows every person.

Look at the story of Lot. Abraham asked God if He would spare Sodom for even ten righteous people. God is the final judge. Even if someone suffers in national judgment, God rectifies all things in His own judgment. This life is not perfectly fair because sinners rule it, but God’s judgment is always righteous.

Jeremiah suffered during Judah’s fall, yet he trusted God because he knew God was doing exactly what He said He would do. Men of faith don’t accuse God when judgment comes; they understand why it comes.

God tells the children to plead with their mother because repentance could have changed the situation. But they did not respond. So the children suffer as part of the nation’s sin. Hosea says they are “children of whoredoms”, which reflects both the covenant picture and the marriage illustration. In real marriages, adultery harms more than the spouse—it harms the children. When a marriage breaks, children lose the stability God designed for them. They become victims of the parents’ sin.

Adultery also creates confusion about identity.

In a faithful marriage, no one asks, “Who is the father?” But adultery introduces doubt. Hosea’s wife conceived children while running after other men. Without modern tests, the only way to know a child’s father was through marriage. That’s why marriage is so important—it establishes responsibility for the children’s origin, upbringing, teaching, and provision.

When adultery enters, that clarity disappears. Hosea’s children picture Israel’s spiritual confusion: Are they God’s people or Baal’s? God says, “You are not my people,” because their unfaithfulness makes their identity unclear.

Hosea 2:5 explains the mother’s guilt, and we read:

For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

She’s played the harlot, saying, I’ll go after my lovers. She pursues them for bread, water, wool, flax, oil, and drink—basic provisions and luxuries.

She believes her lovers give her these things, but this is a lie. Later God says, “She did not know that I gave her corn and wine and oil.” She’s deceived, claiming “my bread, my water,” as if her lovers provide them. This pictures Israel chasing false gods and foreign nations for prosperity, thinking they can supply what only God gives. Her hope is false, and her lovers can’t help her. She ends up empty, not realising she abandoned the only One who truly provided for her.

Hosea 2:6–8 shows God speaking to Israel through Hosea,

Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.

For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

We can see that the focus is not Hosea’s marriage but God’s prophecy to the nation. God says He’ll hedge up her way with thorns and make a wall so she cannot find her paths.

Israel will try to follow her lovers—false gods and foreign nations—but she’ll not reach them. She’ll seek them but not find them.

Then she’ll say, “I will return to my first husband, for it was better with me then than now.”

God is describing how He’ll hinder Israel’s idolatry, so she eventually sees her need to return.

This is not God forcing her will.

His first desire was obedience, but Israel repeatedly refused. So He blocks her destructive path, like someone putting safeguards in place to avoid sin. Lamentations 3:7 uses similar language:

He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

God becomes a burden only when someone wants to sin. Israel wants adultery; God places thorns in her way so she can’t reach her lovers. The goal is repentance.

Verse 7 to 8 (Hosea 2:7-8) shows her returning home because she can’t find her lovers, but she doesn’t realise that God arranged this. Sinners can’t often see God’s help; they only see their own desires. Israel thinks she’s entitled to what she receives, but fails to recognise that it was God who gave her corn, wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold; but instead of thanking Him and appreciating Him, they offered thanksgiving to an idol, praising a deaf and dumb idol of a false God, Baal, with God’s blessings in their hands. Could there be anything more offensive to the One who gave the provision?

This didn’t just happen once; it had been happening over and over again for a long time.

This sounds exactly like Paul’s description of the state of mankind in Romans chapters 1 and 2.

The powerful Ezekiel 16 describes the same relationship.

God found Israel abandoned like a newborn left in a field. No one pitied her, but God said, “Live,” and raised her. He caused her to grow, clothed her, washed her, adorned her, and entered into a covenant with her. She became His.

He provided everything—food, clothing, protection, and honour. Ezekiel lists the ornaments, linen, silk, jewels, and the crown God gave her. He was a perfect husband according to the covenant, but she turned her back on Him and went to other lovers.

Israel became glorious in the days of David and Solomon because of God’s provision. But verse 15 says she trusted in her own beauty and played the harlot. She forgot who made her beautiful and used her blessings to attract other lovers.

Hosea’s picture matches Ezekiel’s: God birthed Israel, nurtured her, and made her His own. Yet she used His gifts to serve other gods, thinking it was those other gods, her lovers, who provided them.

This is spiritual blindness. Israel chased false hopes, believing idols and other nations could supply what only God gives. Her lovers could not help her; they were not in covenant with her. She ended up empty, not knowing the One who truly provided for her.

God’s hedging, or His withholding of blessings, and His call to return all show His mercy. Though Israel committed adultery, God still sought her repentance because of His covenant promises.

Ezekiel 16 describes Israel’s offerings to Baal in detail. She used God’s garments, jewels, oil, incense, flour, honey, and children in idolatry. Verse 20 says she even sacrificed her sons and daughters in fire—children God said were His. This shows how deep her unfaithfulness ran.

Baal means “lord,” which makes the deception subtle.

People could say “praise the lord” while worshipping a false god. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “You worship you know not what.” The issue is not the word “lord” but who’s being worshipped. If the god described is not the God of Scripture, it’s Baal.

Ezekiel 16:30–34 shows how extreme Israel’s adultery became.

God calls her an “imperious woman,” harsh and stubborn. She built high places everywhere and acted like a prostitute—but not even a normal one. Prostitutes receive payment; Israel paid her lovers.

She hired foreign nations and false gods to protect her instead of trusting God. She gave gifts to them, and they gave nothing in return. This was spiritual adultery: paying Egypt, Syria, and others for help instead of trusting the Lord.

God says He’ll gather all her lovers—nations and idols—and expose her nakedness to them. They’ll witness her shame. This is exactly what happened to the northern tribes: the nations they trusted turned against them, leaving them exposed and destroyed.

The harsh language in Hosea and Ezekiel is intentional.

God’s not being “impolite”; He’s revealing the seriousness of Israel’s sin. The marriage imagery is meant to shock them awake. Their spiritual adultery—forsaking God’s covenant—is worse than physical adultery. Wrong doctrine and false worship are more destructive than the sins described in the marriage picture. God uses strong language because Israel’s betrayal is deep, persistent, and deadly.

People often judge wrongly.

They boycott worldly companies for their woke stances or for other reasons they disagree with, but fully endorse churches that preach a false gospel.

A statue of Satan is obviously wrong, but a church preaching a distorted Christ is more dangerous. Israel made the same mistake—mixing truth with lies—and God exposes this in Hosea 2.

Hosea 2:9-10 says,

Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

God will return and take away the provision He gave Israel. She used His gifts to serve Baal, so He removes them.

He’ll later “discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers”; in other words, He’ll make her sin public.

This is the same picture Ezekiel 16 gives: God exposes Israel’s shame because she refuses to repent. Public exposure’s not cruelty; it’s honest judgment. Marriage is public; adultery hides in darkness. God brings hidden sin into the light so its seriousness is seen.

Israel was birthed, raised, and prospered by God, yet she credited Baal, so God removes His provision and protection.

God calls Assyria the rod of His anger in Isaiah 10:5. God “returns” by sending Assyria to take back what He gave.

Habakkuk struggled with this—God using a wicked nation to judge His people—but God promised He would also judge the wicked nation afterwards. God’s always righteous: He judges Israel, then judges her enemies.

When God becomes Israel’s enemy, she learns that Baal, the chief god of a pagan religion, can’t help her.

Hosea 2:10 says none will deliver her from God’s hand. She brought nothing into the land; she’ll leave with nothing.

This again mirrors Romans 1.

Before Israel existed, the nations knew God but were not thankful. They became vain, darkened, and idolatrous. Now Israel repeats the same decline. They knew God, were not thankful, and changed His glory into images. So God “gave them up” to uncleanness. He gives Israel up to her lovers.

This is why Hosea uses the imagery of marriage and adultery. False gods always allow moral corruption. Only the God of Scripture demands faithfulness. Israel’s spiritual adultery leads to the same moral decay described in Romans 1—unnatural affections, dishonoured bodies, and a reprobate mind. When Israel rejects God, she becomes like the nations God once judged.

Hosea 2:11-12 says,

I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

Israel performed these rituals for a false god. By exposing her shame and removing her celebrations, God severs her relationships with idols and nations. He even causes their mirth, their exultation, joy, and rejoicing to cease. Public judgment destroys the sinful alliances she formed. It’s severe, but it’s righteous, and it’s meant to bring her back to the only true God.

Isaiah 1:10–14 and Amos 5:21–27 show God rejecting Israel’s worship.

He says, “I hate, I despise your feast days… I will not smell in your solemn assemblies,” meaning He won’t accept their incense or burnt offerings. Israel kept the rituals—burnt offerings, music, incense—but God refused them because they were offered to the wrong god and in the wrong spirit.

Amos says God will not hear their songs or accept their offerings because they’re not worshipping Him as He commanded. In Amos 5:24, He wants judgment to run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream, not empty ceremonies.

Israel mixed truth with idolatry, carrying the tabernacle of the false god Moloch and the star of their god.

Their worship looked religious, but it was corrupt. So God said He would send them “into captivity beyond Damascus,” Assyria.

Hosea 2 echoes this.

God removes Israel’s feast days, new moons, Sabbaths, and solemn assemblies because they were performed for Baal. If they won’t worship rightly, He stops the worship entirely, then He destroys their vines and fig trees—symbols of joy, prosperity, and religious life—and turns them into a forest for beasts to devour. Israel claimed, “These are my rewards that my lovers gave me,” but God says He will take back what He provided.

Now on to Hosea 2:13, which says,

And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.

God will “visit upon her the days of Baalim,” meaning He’ll judge her as He did in earlier generations. Judges 2 describes those days: Israel did evil, served Baalim, forsook the Lord, and followed the gods of the surrounding nations. They provoked God to anger, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers. They could no longer stand before their enemies.

This cycle repeats throughout Judges: Israel forgets God, serves idols, suffers judgment, repents, and is delivered—only to fall again.

Judges 3:7 says Israel “forgot the Lord their God and served Baalim and the groves.”

God’s anger burned, and He punished them. Hosea warns that God will do the same now.

Even though Israel has a king, the king is not doing his job, so God Himself will discipline the nation. He’ll bring bondage, remove blessings, expose their shame, and judge them as He did in the days when they forgot Him.

The point is clear: Israel’s worship was corrupt, her alliances were sinful, and her rituals were empty. God removes her prosperity, exposes her idolatry, and brings judgment so she’ll see that Baal can’t save her. Only when righteousness flows like a mighty stream will her worship be accepted again.

All this is so we can get an accurate background knowledge of Israel and God’s dealings with her so that we can properly understand what Paul’s going to teach us in Romans chapters 9 to 11 about Israel falling again after the Lord had come.

He said He would come to bring the kingdom He promised to Israel’s fathers and to make the nation great again, but Israel again rejected Him when He came, just as they always did.

We’ve taken this break after Romans chapter 8 in our verse-by-verse study of Romans to get this incredible background story before moving back to Romans chapter 9.

God bless you all.