Hosea Chapter 2 Breakdown

1 Say to your brethren, ‘My people,’ And to your sisters, ‘Mercy is shown.’

YHWH tells Hosea to tell the people from the Northern Kingdom of the House of Israel, Mercy is shown.

2 “Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband! Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, And her adulteries from between her breasts; Lest I strip her naked And expose her, as in the day she was born, And make her like a wilderness, And set her like a dry land, And slay her with thirst.

The northern Kingdom is Not the wife of YHWH. She must stop with her worship of other gods. Israel will be exposed if she does not stop these actions. She will be put to death and cast out into the desert lands.

4 “I will not have mercy on her children, For they are the children of harlotry.

Those living in this kingdom will not receive mercy because they have been born into the worship of false gods.

5 For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my linen, My oil and my drink.’

Again YHWH explains these children have been born into the worship of false gods and that is what they have been raised to know. They all have the belief that these false gods have provided them with their needs. He calls them harlots because their actions are just the same as prostitutes. For example, "I will go after my lovers, who give me..." This is the same ideology of a modern day prostitute. 

6 “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, And wall her in, So that she cannot find her paths.

Because of all this worship to false gods, YHWH will confuse Israel and cause them to lose their path. They will no longer be able to find YHWH and His given ways, or commands for their lives. They will be separated from His way and Him. This being lost will go on until after the first coming of Christ. AT that point, over time they will wake up more and more. 

Romans 13:11-14

11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

This is the same message. Turn away from the deeds of darkness, the drunkenness, the sexual immorality, the debauchery, the dissension and the jealousy. Turning from these things will aid in bringing us back to YHWH. 

7 She will chase her lovers, But not overtake them; Yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, For then it was better for me than now.’

Israel will be given over to her desires of false gods. She will continually seek these false gods, but never find them. This will happen until she realized YHWH was the one who provided all things for her. She will try then to return to Him.

8 For she did not know That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, And multiplied her silver and gold— Which they prepared for Baal.

It was YHWH who provided all things. They took those things and gave honor and worship to Baal, the Cannanite fertility god who was believed to produce crops. Baal always wants the credit that is deserved by and reserved for YHWH. 

9 “Therefore I will return and take away My grain in its time And My new wine in its season, And will take back My wool and My linen, Given to cover her nakedness.

YHWH says He plans to take back all He has given to her.

10 Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, And no one shall deliver her from My hand.

The filthiness of the actions of Israel will be uncovered before those she worships. No one will be able to stand in the way of YHWH from carrying out His punishment.

11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, Her feast days, Her New Moons, Her Sabbaths— All her appointed feasts.

There will be no more laughter. The pagan traditions, holidays, months, and days of rest, will all come to an end. These are not the Sabbaths, Feast days, and appointed months YHWH gave to them.

12 “And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, Of which she has said, ‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me.’ So I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field shall eat them.

All that they hold dear to them will be destroyed because it was given to them by YHWH but they attributed it to another.

13 I will punish her For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, And went after her lovers; But Me she forgot,” says the Lord.

They gave honor to Baal, and worshipped that god. They forgot about YHWH, their deliverer and God.

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.

Because of all this, Israel will be drawn to the desert and it is there YHWH will comfort her.

15 I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

YHWH will give her new vineyards from the desert, ant the Valley of Achor is a door of Hope. The Valley of Achor. Could this be the gathering place at the end of days? Israel will sing in this Valley, similarly to when YHWH brought them up out of Egypt.

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,’

YHWH says in that day, Israel will call Him Husband, and no longer call Him Master. It seems to be another prophecy given by YHWH. YHWH will gather all of the House of Israel into the Valley of Achor, which is located just outside of Jericho, in the last days.

17 For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, And they shall be remembered by their name no more.

It is at this time YHWH removes all the praise to Baal, and the no longer will Israel remember the names of these other gods.

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.

Here is another prophecy given by YHWH. It is at this time, when He gathers all the House of Israel, that He will make a covenant for them with all the animals of the world. All weaponry will be destroyed so there will be real safety among the people of YHWH.

19 “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord.

YHWH says He will marry these People forever. Considering the worship of other gods is adultery, to be married to YHWH forever means these people will be worshipping Him forever. It is through keeping His Law, and judging by that Law. He will show mercy to all His people. Both sides will be faithful and Israel will know YHWH.

21 “It shall come to pass in that day That I will answer,” says the Lord; “I will answer the heavens, And they shall answer the earth.

In that day, YHWH will answer the heavens and Israel will answer the earth.

22 The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They shall answer Jezreel.

The earth will answer with grain and wine and oil.

23 Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”

YHWH will sow Israel into the earth Himself. YHWH will have mercy on the House of Israel who did not have mercy. This is when YHWH will say to those who He called not His people, Israel, You are my people, and they, Israel, will say you are my God.

Paul specifically mentions this verse in the book of Romans. Therefore, considering the context of this verse is 100% referring to the Northern Kingdom of the House of Israel, we must conclude that Paul, when referring to the gentiles, is also specifically discussing the House of Israel that was divorced and scattered among the gentile nations.