Betrothed Forever
19 I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion. 20 I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know Yahweh. 21 It will happen in that day, that I will respond,” says Yahweh. “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth; 22 and the earth will respond to the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they will respond to Jezreel. 23 I will sow her to me in the earth; and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; and I will tell those who were not my people, ‘You are my people;’ and they will say, ‘You are My God!’”
A remarriage is described as a betrothal, and the chapter closes by revoking all three children's names in one verse.
I will betroth you to me forever. The word is not remarriage but engagement — the stage before a marriage, done as though nothing had preceded it. A wronged husband taking back an unfaithful wife might speak of restoration; this speaks of a fresh proposal.
And the bride price is stated as five qualities rather than a payment: in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion, and then, in its own clause, in faithfulness. Every item is something God supplies, so the dowry is paid by the groom on both sides.
The two nouns in the middle are the book's own vocabulary. Chesed occurs six times here and is what chapter 6 will say God wants instead of sacrifice Hosea 6:6; compassion is the root of the second child's name Hosea 1:6.
And the result in verse 20 is the thing the book keeps saying the land lacks: you shall know Yahweh Hosea 4:1.
Verses 21 and 22 then describe a chain of answering — heavens to earth, earth to grain and wine and oil, and all of it to Jezreel. The commodities she credited to her lovers Hosea 2:5 arrive by a route that runs through God at every link.
And verse 23 gathers all three names at once. I will sow her — Jezreel, God sows. I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy — Lo-Ruhamah undone. I will tell those who were not my people, You are my people — Lo-Ammi undone.
Three sentences of judgment revoked in one verse, in the order they were pronounced. And the answer given back is four words: You are my God.
settled What this mark means