Hosea 2:2-13 “But now bring charges against Israel – your mother – for she is no longer my wife, and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts. Otherwise, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will leave her to die of thirst, as in a dry and barren wilderness. And I will not love her children, for they were conceived in prostitution. Their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and water, for clothing of wool and linen, and for olive oil and drinks.’ For this reason I will fence her in with thorn bushes. I will block her path within a wall to lose her way. When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think, ‘I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.’ She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has – the grain, the new wine, the olive oil; I even gave her silver and gold. But she gave all my gifts to Baal. But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine I generously provided each harvest season. I will take away the wool and linen clothing I gave her to cover her nakedness. I will strip her naked in public, while all her lovers look on. No one will be able to rescue her from my hands. I will put an end to her annual festivals, her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days – all her appointed festivals. I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees, things she claims her lovers gave her. I will let them grow into tangled thickets, where only wild animals will eat the fruit. I will punish her for all those times she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me,” says the Lord.
Just as I gave everything to your nation – to your people – I will take it away. You have prostituted yourselves to your enemies for what? Money? Possessions? Fame? Comfort? You have taken the gifts I provided and used them to commit evil. You have forsaken everything I represent in order to make yourselves “happy”. Do you not see it? Do you not feel the changes all around you? Do you not feel the oppressive nature of the evil that you have not only invited in, but celebrated in this country? Do you not feel the confusion that has entered your world? You once knew what was good and right. You once knew that I am your God and you are my people. But, you wanted to be your own gods. You wanted to be in charge of everything. You wanted to feel good instead of doing good. You wanted to be known by your fellow men, instead of cherishing being known by me. You wanted to extend and prolong your life here on this earth instead of looking forward to leaving this temporary abode and coming home to eternity with me. You exchanged truth for convenient lies. You call evil good and good evil. You care only about yourselves. And, so, have abandoned any commitment to your fellows. You have convinced yourselves that all is acceptable in pursuit of personal pleasure, happiness, wealth, fame, power. And so, have completely rejected me as your Lord, as your Savior, as your Father. Therefore, I will reject you as my children. Already you see what walking away from me is doing to your nation. You see the evil that has invaded every part of your society and every level of your government and institutions. You see how your quest for personal power over your own lives by rejecting my lordship has led you into slavery to your enemies. You have sacrificed real freedom for this. Repent and turn back while there is still time. But, time is running out. And just as I did to Israel – who had prostituted herself just as Gomer had – I will do to you. You have prostituted yourselves. Sold yourselves for worthless things. Turned your lives over to your real enemies. You are near the point where there will be no turning back. I will give you what you have been asking for over the last many years. Be careful.
Amanuensis 