Transition: Wilderness and Trouble

This morning I have been reading from the book of the Prophet Hosea. This is such and interesting book, and one where the patience, mercy and faithfulness of the Lord is well demonstrated. The following two verses caught my attention this morning: Hosea 2:14-15 NIV

[14] “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. [15] There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt."

I find the seeming contradictions in these verses very thought provoking. In verse 14, the Lord speaks of leading Israel back into the wilderness to allure her. This would normally make no sense, as the wilderness is generally a place of hardship and need, loneliness and difficulty, confusion and lack of direction. The idea of the wilderness being a place of wooing, and where the Lord desires to speak tenderly to her just seems counterintuitive. Yet when we look at the life of Jesus, He was lead exactly there after receiving His baptism. Although there was hunger and thirst, He came out of the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit and with an intimate relationship with the Father. I believe the Lord uses the wilderness to strip away that which is distracting and nonessential, to draw one into the fullness of intimate relationship. In fact verse 16, (not copied above) speaks of transitioning one's relationship from servant to espoused with the Lord. Thus, we can look at the wilderness as a season of transition and increased intimacy. Also, once the time of the wilderness is over the Lord speaks of a season of blessing and inherited promise. In Exodus, He lead Israel out of the wilderness into the promised land. In verses 18-23 of this same chapter of Hosea the Lord promises to lead them into a place of blessing and plenty.

The second verse from above, verse 15, also is an interesting image. The valley of Achor, which means the valley of trouble, becomes a door of hope. Historically the valley of Achor was where they stoned Achan and his family, after he stole from the Lord shortly after they entered the promised land. The Lord had them name the valley, for the sin of the one man had brought trouble on them all as a people. Here the Lord says that this valley of trouble will become a door or gateway to hope. This means that they don't have to live there, but can move forward into something new, some new blessing or promise. The Lord does not require them to stay in that place forever, but is calling them out of that place to someplace new. This is such a helpful perspective, for the valley was named that for the people to remember not for the Lord. He is willing to forgive and lead us forward, and we need to be willing to move forward ourselves, to pass through the door or gate into hope.

So in summary today, whether we find ourselves in the wilderness or in a place of trouble, there is blessing and promise, hope and life on the other side! These are merely places of transition, where the Lord will reestablish relationship, intimacy, affection and hope. So let us not fear these times, or wallow in them, but continue to move forward with the Lord into the season of blessing. Here are the remaining verses from that chapter for further reflection:

Hosea 2:14-23 NIV:
[14] “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. [15] There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. [16] “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master. ’ [17] I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. [18] In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. [19] I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. [20] I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. [21] “In that day I will respond,” declares the Lord---“I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; [22] and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. [23] I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one. ’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people, ’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God. ’ ”