by
Rev. Mark Perkins, Pastor
Denver Bible Church
326 E. Colorado Ave.
Denver, Colorado 80210
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I. Translation.
"Therefore behold! I myself am intensely persuading her,
and I shall bring her into the wilderness and I will speak unto
her heart".
II. Hebrew Notes and the Meaning of the Verse
A. The verse begins with the conjunction LAKHEN, which shows
the explanation of what has just been spoken. This verse begins
the explanation of the divine discipline.
B. The interjection HINNEH beseeches the listeners to look, to
listen even closer to what Yahweh has to say, to consider his
discipline and its purpose.
C. The piel stem of the verb MEPHATEYAH indicates an intensity
of action.
1. The verb is in its participle form, and here it denotes the ongoing action of the discipline.
2. The verb means to be simple minded, or open minded about a matter.
3. Here it shows God communicating in such a way as to bring about repentance in one who is willing to look at the facts, and be honest with them.
4. There really is no other way. This is the way in which we should witness to others. Be rational. Present the facts.
D. The prophetic future perfect of the verb HALAQ shows a future
action of God, and one that will definitely occur. God is going
to bring this woman into the wilderness.
E. God is going to speak to this woman's heart. Heart here is
from the word LEB, and it indicates the right lobe of her soul,
where true repentance takes place.
1. The meaning of this word is intimately connected with MEPHATEYAH, the word for rational persuasion.
2. Rational persuasion can only occur in the heart, the heart is the only place where true repentance can take place.
F. Finally, she is taken to the MIDBAR - the uninhabited wilderness.
There are no people, no men for adultery, no market that sell
the things for idolatry, no distractions, just God.
III. The Summary of the Verse.
A. The summary of God's discipline of the woman/Israel is in
the word for rational persuasion.
B. God speaks to the heart of the woman, presenting rational
arguments for repentance.
C. God still wants the very best for her, and His discipline
is really rational persuasion, not random punishment.
D. Everything that God does to the woman/Israel has a purpose.
Each part of her suffering is quite appropriate and a part of
God's perfect design for her life.
E. So He takes her out into the wilderness, where it is quiet,
and where she can remember everything that God has said and done.
It is there that the discipline passes in review, and she has
the opportunity to repent.
F. Some two hundred years later, after the rise and fall of Isaiah's
generation, the nation of Judah would fall, and the Babylonians
would destroy the great city of Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah
was left behind after most of the Jews were carted off into slavery.
He sat down and recorded his lament over the fifth cycle of discipline
in Judah. The Lamentations of Jeremiah are filled with sadness
and over Judah's rejection of the spiritual covenant of God.
But in the third chapter he wrote one of the most beautiful passages
in the Bible.
READ HOSEA 3:19-38
I. Translation.
And from there (the wilderness) I shall give her vineyards and
the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will answer there
as the day of her youth and as the days of her going up from
the land of Egypt.
II. Hebrew Notes and the Meaning of the Verse.
A. The verse begins with the qal prophetic future perfect WENATHATI.
This is a prediction from God concerning a future blessing in
the life of Israel.
B. The direct object of the verb is KERAMEYAH, which is translated
vineyard.
1. A vineyard was a symbol of blessing and prosperity in Israel, since it was a luxury crop.
2. The drink offering came from the best wine, and the drink offering was a remembrance of Divinely given prosperity.
The first thing that Noah planted when he came off the Ark was
a vineyard.
C. The second blessing is defined with the phrase WE'ETH `IMEQ
`AKHOR. This is translated, "the valley of Achor".
1. AKHOR means literally, 'disturbance, or trouble'. It was the place of an interesting event in the life of Israel.
2. AKHOR is a narrow valley between Jericho and Jerusalem.a. Jericho is in the Jordan river valley, and it is the gateway into the promised land.
b. Jerusalem, the city of David, represents all the prosperity of the promised land.
c. When Joshua destroyed the city of Jericho in the great battle, the gate to prosperity and the promised land was finally open.
d. However, there was one hitch. God had set certain rules concerning the plunder of the city. Achan, one man, broke those rules. The ban disallowed the people to take for themselves the precious metals of the spoil.
e. Because of Achan's sin, the Israelites lost the battle of Ai.
f. Achan confessed his sin, but he was killed under the law of capital punishment for what he did.
g. The valley of Achor marks the site where Achan and his family were
h. Achor's sin resulted in trouble for Israel, and it was a temporary roadblock on the way to the conquest of the promised land.
i. The door was closed at the valley of Achor, and then it was opened again.
j. The valley of Achor is a symbol in this verse.It symbolizes the past, in the story that has just been told.
It symbolizes the present, because Israel is in a state of sin.
It symbolizes the future, in the millennial reign of Christ, Isa 65:10.
D. LEPHETHAH.TIQWAH. relates the significance of the blessing.
TIQWAH is a word that means 'to wait' in Hebrew. LEPHETHAH is
the word for door, or entrance, or opening.
1. At the valley of Achor, the Israelites had to wait. They were delayed by the sin of one man.
2. Until the sin was discovered and handled the blessings of the promised land were on hold.
3. In this passage, the valley is actually a door of hope.
4. The valley represents discipline and hesitation on the way to blessing.
E. The verb WE'ANTHAH means to answer, or respond in a positive
and humble manner. It is in the qal future prophetic perfect,
and it shows the future of Israel, and her response in the tribulation
and millennium.
III. The Impact of the Verse.
A. This verse is about the future response of Israel to the leadership
of Jesus Christ.
B. The geographical location of the valley of Achor does not
have future significance.
C. The valley is a symbol for the negative response of Israel
during this time.
D. It is also a symbol for their positive response in the future,
in the tribulation and under the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
E. The valley is a symbol for all the means to grace. Means such
as the Word of Truth. Such as the ministry of the Spirit, and
the logistical provision of God the Father.
F. It is a door of hope, because it is the grace of God, and
it is all sufficient.
G. A summary of this verse: God is giving Israel fantastic grace
blessings, and the means to obtain them.
H. The valley is a symbol for undeserved suffering.
1. The people of Israel did not all deserve to suffer defeat at Ai. Joshua certainly did not.
2. Achan's sin was a test, and the Israelites passed it.
I. The answer of the woman is the expression of her positive
volition to God in the midst of undeserved suffering.
J. Therefore, the millennium is in view here.
I. Translation
"And it will be in that day an utterance of Yahweh you will
call 'my man - husband, and you will not call to me again 'my
master'
II. Hebrew Notes and the Meaning of the Verse.
A. The verse begins with the qal prophetic future perfect the
verb 'to be'. It indicates that a future state of being will
definitely exist.
B. The demonstrative pronoun HAHU with the preposition and noun
BHAYYOM makes a very definite statement... "in that day".
It is talking about the millennium.
C. N'UM YAHWEH adds to the clarity of the statement. This is
an utterance of God. It cannot be changed. It will definitely
happen.
D. Now for what will be. The qal imperfect of the verb QARAH
plus the construct noun 'ISHI form the first part of the prediction.
They are translated, 'my man'. In this case, it is the appellation
that a woman makes to a man that she respects and loves. It is
the appellation of the good marriage.
E. The second part of the prediction is the negative part. It
is identical except for the negative adverb LO and the noun BA'LI.
1. BA'LI is a play on words here. It means husband in a negative sense husband when the issue of his authority is constantly at the front.
2. A good husband, though he has authority, hides it, and only makes it an issue when absolutely necessary. Leadership hides the issue of authority.
3. This is also the word used for the idols, the baals, and the woman's idol worship is the very reason that the husband's authority became an issue.
4. God exerted His authority when the woman/Israel became involved in idol worship, to the exclusion of her relationship with God.
5. God expressed His authority in the form of discipline.
6. The word BA'LI characterizes the master/slave relationship very well.
7. The woman enslaved herself to the idols, and thus God disciplined her, as a master disciplines a slave. The woman's attitude towards God was BA'LI, my master.
I. Translation
"And I will personally remove the names of the Baals from
her mouth, and they will not be mentioned again by their name."
II. Hebrew Notes and the Meaning of the Verse.
A. The verse begins with the hiphil stem of the verb HAMIROTHI.
The hiphil stem shows that the subject of the verb is causing
the action in some way. When it is used for a person, it shows
that the subject is personally involved in the action.
1. The verb is in the perfect tense, and so this is the future prophetic perfect. It shows that though this is in the future, it will definitely come to pass.
2. The verb itself means to turn aside when it is used of apostasy. It can also indicate recovery from apostasy, which is repentance.
3. With regard to slavery, it means to set someone free, or remove the bonds of slavery. That is the meaning here.
B. The direct object of the verb is SHEMOTH HABE'ALIM "the
names of the Baals".
1. The name of a person or a thing revealed its very essence. Baal meant slavemaster.
2. When you called someone or something by name, you knew them in some personal way.
3. The woman/Israel had an intimate relationship with these idols, and she called them by name.
4. The intimate relationship was also slavery.
5. By removing the names of the Baals, God is removing the woman from the slavery involved.
C. The next word is MIPIAM, which is translated, "from her
mouth". The woman is communicating with the Baals. She has
an intimate relationship with them.
D. The next verb is the niphal passive imperfect, which shows
the effect of the removal of the names of the baals. They will
not be mentioned again by their name.
1. This denotes that the Baals, although they might be a part of the woman's conscious memory, they are not émentioned by their name.
2. This shows that she will never again have a relationship with an idol.
3. The verb ZAKOR does mean "to remember", and when it is used of verbalization, it comes to mean mention.
E. God does not arbitrarily remove these names. He does not impose
His direct will on an unwilling subject. Instead, the woman/Israel
cooperates by means of her volition.
F. She will grow to the point where the idol worship no longer
is a part of her life.
End of Hosea Lesson 9
Grace Notes
Warren Doud, Editor
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Phone: 512-458-8923