Good News!

It's good news today, which is a nice change of pace!

16. Therefore, look:  I myself will seduce her
    And cause her to go into the wilderness
    And I will speak to her heart.
17. And I will give her vineyards to her from there,
    And the Valley of Achor for a door of hope
And she will answer [there] as in the days of her youth
    As in the day she came up from the land of Egypt.

So far, in this long oracle, we've had lots of accusations (She said, "I will go after my lovers;" As for me, she forgot me) and dire consequences (I will strip her naked; I will take away her grain...and her new wine) for unfaithful Israel.  We've also had the word "therefore" twice in this prophetic speech, which is a little odd.  Usually, we'd only have one, but Hosea doesn't seem to be able to draw things to a close.  Instead, we now have a third "therefore."  It is to prove the final one in this oracle, as well.

Brokenhearted

Maybe I'm just in a poetic sort of mood, but there's something oddly beautiful about today's verses, despite their continued topic of divine punishment on Israel.

13. And I will cause all her joy to cease:

    Her feasts, her new moons, and her sabbaths,

    And all her festivals

14. And I will make her vines desolate,

    And her figs, about which she said,

"These are my prostitute's wages,

    Which my lovers gave me"

And I will make them a wilderness,

    And the wild animals of the field will eat them.

15. And I will visit on her the days of the Ba'als

    When she burned incense to them,

And she adorned [them] with her earrings and her jewels,

    And she went after her lovers

And as for me, she forgot me.

                --This is a saying of YHWH.