Hos 2:19-20 | KingComments | STEP | God speaks here directly to Israel. A new beginning is made, as if Israel has never been unfaithful. It is a new covenant, which replaces the old one, which has been broken by Israel. The new covenant that God then makes with His people is “forever” and will never be broken again. Israel will then no longer wander away from God because God’s law is written in their hearts. The basis of this relationship is multiple. First and foremost is “in righteousness and in justice”. Herein is expressed the perfect legal basis for this marriage. It is not a relationship in which sin has been condoned. All the unfaithfulness of the people has been judged righteously by God, while a remnant has been spared because of the work of His Son. To this remnant, that confesses Jesus as the Christ, God will fulfill all His promises. Because God’s righteousness has been fully fulfilled through Christ, Christ is also entitled to the fulfillment of His promises. He is in His right when He takes the people back to be His bride. In addition to righteousness and justice, “lovingkindness and … compassion” underlie the restoration of the relationship between the LORD and His bride. In this way it is expressed that God cares for His bride with His whole heart. This points to God’s mind for His people and His compassion with the wretched condition in which they have been. What characterizes the relationship between the Messiah and His earthly people is also found in the way the Messiah rules in the realm of peace: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You” ( ). It is difficult for some to understand that the Lord Jesus has two brides, an earthly bride, Israel, and a heavenly bride, the church, “the bride, the wife of the Lamb” ( ). But we must keep in mind that it is all about metaphors. It is a representation of the relationship between the Lord Jesus and Israel and a representation of the relationship between the Lord Jesus and the church. With both Israel on earth and the church in heaven, the Lord Jesus maintains a close relationship of love and fellowship. That relationship and that bond, which He has both with Israel and with the church, cannot be better represented than by the picture of marriage.

‏ Hosea 2:19-20

Israel Betrothed to God

God speaks here directly to Israel. A new beginning is made, as if Israel has never been unfaithful. It is a new covenant, which replaces the old one, which has been broken by Israel. The new covenant that God then makes with His people is “forever” and will never be broken again. Israel will then no longer wander away from God because God’s law is written in their hearts.

The basis of this relationship is multiple. First and foremost is “in righteousness and in justice”. Herein is expressed the perfect legal basis for this marriage. It is not a relationship in which sin has been condoned. All the unfaithfulness of the people has been judged righteously by God, while a remnant has been spared because of the work of His Son. To this remnant, that confesses Jesus as the Christ, God will fulfill all His promises. Because God’s righteousness has been fully fulfilled through Christ, Christ is also entitled to the fulfillment of His promises. He is in His right when He takes the people back to be His bride.

In addition to righteousness and justice, “lovingkindness and … compassion” underlie the restoration of the relationship between the LORD and His bride. In this way it is expressed that God cares for His bride with His whole heart. This points to God’s mind for His people and His compassion with the wretched condition in which they have been. What characterizes the relationship between the Messiah and His earthly people is also found in the way the Messiah rules in the realm of peace: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You” (Psa 89:14).

It is difficult for some to understand that the Lord Jesus has two brides, an earthly bride, Israel, and a heavenly bride, the church, “the bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Rev 21:9). But we must keep in mind that it is all about metaphors. It is a representation of the relationship between the Lord Jesus and Israel and a representation of the relationship between the Lord Jesus and the church. With both Israel on earth and the church in heaven, the Lord Jesus maintains a close relationship of love and fellowship. That relationship and that bond, which He has both with Israel and with the church, cannot be better represented than by the picture of marriage.

Faithfulness

The fifth characteristic, after the four of the previous verse on which the new relationship between God and His people is based, is “faithfulness”. This characteristic of faithfulness will certainly also apply to the people in their relationship with God. They will no longer be unfaithful to Him. For God, this is always so: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2Tim 2:13).

That He is faithful is also evidenced by the fact that He is the guarantor of all His promises to Israel. He will fulfill them. They will not wander away from the LORD again, because they will really know Him. That is the result of the new heart they will have received, in which God has written His laws (Heb 8:8-12; Jer 31:31-34). It is this knowledge of the LORD that is characteristic of the realm of peace (Isa 11:9). This knowledge is not yet present (Hos 2:8 ; Hos 4:1 ; 6).