Read Hosea 2.2-13. In 2.2-23: God pleads with faithless Israel. The scene moves from Hosea's actions to God's speech in which God assumes the role of the husband and pictures Israel as his wife. In verse 3: Stripping a woman naked is regarded as punishment for her unlawful sexual activity, an image used by other prophets who employ the marriage metaphor (Ezek 16.30-43). The following phrase, make her like a wilderness, shows that the images of Israel as wife and as land are blended in God's speech. In verse 5: Israel's lovers are other gods; the Canaanite god Baal is mentioned directly (vv. 8, 13). In verse 8: God accuses Israel of failing to recognize that its own God, not Baal, makes the land fertile and ensures agricultural productivity (vv. 21, 22). Comments or Questions..
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