Hosea 2:16

16 When that day comes,” says the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.’

Hosea 2:16 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 2:16

And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord
The Gospel day, the times of the Gospel dispensation, the latter part of them; at the time of the conversion of the Jews, and the bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles; at the time when God will allure and persuade them to seek the Messiah, and they shall turn to him; when he shall speak comfortably to them, and give them a door of hope, and all spiritual blessings, and cause them to sing as when they came out of Egypt: that thou shalt call me Ishi;
or, "my husband" ^F24; returning to Christ their first husband, and being received by him, shall have faith and interest in him, and full assurance of it; and shall not only be allowed to call him their husband, but in the strength of faith, and with great freedom of soul, shall call him so, and say as the church did, "my beloved is mine, and I am his", ( Song of Solomon 20:16 ) : or, "my man" ^F25; the man the Lord, the man Jehovah's fellow, Immanuel God with us, God in human nature; and so more manifestly points at Christ, who, most properly speaking, stands in the relation of a husband to his people: or, "my strength", as some interpret it; the husband being the strength, protection, and defence of the wife, the weaker vessel; so Christ is the strength of his saints, in whom they have righteousness and strength, and through whose strength they can do all things: and shalt call me no more Baali;
which signifies my husband too, and is used of God and Christ; he is called Baal, and the church is called Beulah, because married together, ( Isaiah 45:5 ) ( Isaiah 42:4 Isaiah 42:5 ) ( Jeremiah 31:32 ) but it signifies a lordly and imperious husband; and the other word, "Ishi", a loving one: so Jarchi observes that the sense is, that they should serve the Lord from love, and not fear; "Ishi" being a word expressive of marriage and love, and "Baali" of lordship and fear: hence some have thought this to be the reason why the one should be used, and the other not, under the Gospel dispensation; because saints now have not the spirit of bondage to fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby they call God their Father, and Christ their husband: though rather the reason is, because the word "Baal", as R. Marinns observes, is of doubtful signification, an ambiguous word, used for the idol Baal, as well as signifies lord and husband; and therefore to be laid aside, lest, when they mentioned it, it should be thought they spoke of Baal, and not of the Lord; or should be led to think of that idol, and remember him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (yvya) "maritus meus", Vatablus, Pagninus, Montanus, "marite mi", Schmidt.
F25 "Vir meus", V. L. "mi vir", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Liveleus.

Hosea 2:16 In-Context

14 “But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.

15 I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.

16 When that day comes,” says the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.’

17 O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips, and you will never mention them again.

18 On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew ‘my baal.’