The book of Hosea tells us that God’s love is unbreakable. God is a lover that pursues. But Israel was not faithful. She had broken away from God. Israel desired to be like other nations and worship their gods.Now the book uses an illustration or story line to tell this story that many find hard to accept. How could God ask His prophet to marry a woman who was and would be unfaithful? But it took this dramatic story to tell of Israel’s, and our, unfaithfulness, and how God wanted to bring His people back to Him.In Hosea 2:14-15, God makes this declaration: “Behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.”He says that He would “allure” her and speak tenderly to her – but then he talks about… the valley of Achor. The Valley of Achor was a place of sadness. In fact, “Achor” means “trouble.” To understand this reference you must go back to the destruction of Jericho. Israel’s job was to march around the city for seven days and then God would deliver the city to them. This is what happened. But in the case of Jericho, they were not allowed to plunder the city. All the gold, silver, and metals were to be God’s.But one man, Achan, got greedy and picked up a few things for himself. So God punished them. They were defeated in the next battle. God revealed to them that Achan was the guilty person. So Achan and his family were to be taken to this valley and put to death. The name “Achan” means “trouble.” The name of this valley came to be known as “Achor” or “Achan’s valley,” which then means “the valley of trouble.”Now the Israelites were facing God’s judgment and punishment. They were in the “Valley of Achor.” They were in trouble! But God says, “I will provide you a door”—a light at the end of the tunnel! There is a door hope in this place of trouble.Down through the centuries things have not changed. They didn’t look to God for encouragement or protection. They were depending upon things ...
