Quick Note – Hosea 2:16 – Our Ishi

Hosea 2:16 – “And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’”

In a marriage, one spouse is not superior to the other; each one plays a unique role that complements the other.  Although the Bible teaches that the husband should lead and the wife should submit, the husband is not treated as a master and lord over his household, but a loving caretaker of his family.  He is not told to rule with an iron fist, putting his legs up and watching TV, waiting to be served.  No!  He is asked to love his wife as Christ loved the church, giving himself up for her, serving her, and making sure her every need is cared for.  He is not a slave master, but a servant leader to his wife.  What is very interesting though is that Christ, who has every right to be Lord and Master over our lives, has instead chosen to take the position of Husband instead.  He would rather have a personal, intimate relationship with us rather than one built on Master and slave.

Our passage today emphasizes this truth.  The book of Hosea highlights the relationship between God and His people of Israel.  Although Israel had made a covenant with the Lord – to serve Him and Him only, they had gone astray to serve other gods like Baal, Asherah, and Molech.  They even worshipped gods that they created themselves like the Bronze Serpent that Moses had made in the wilderness in Numbers 21.  Israel was like an adulteress who betrayed the covenant of marriage by being unfaithful to the Lord with other gods.  They even had the nerve to take the blessings that God had given them like the food, the silver, and the gold and use it to serve these other gods, who they thought provided them with these blessings.  They had lost sight of the Person who loved them with an unconditional love.  Interestingly though after allowing them to suffer the judgment they deserved, God called them back to Him tenderly.  He did not demand them back.  He did not invoke His right as Master.  He did not even treat her as an outcast.  Instead, He called her back with love and affection, restoring His people Israel.

This declaration in verse 16 is so important, because culturally, when Jewish people introduce their spouses, it is by using the terms described above.  The husband will introduce his wife by saying, “This is my wife……” but the wife will introduce herself by saying, “I belong to ……..”  The wife will refer to her husband as her “baali” which means “my master,” instead of calling him, “ishi,” which means “my husband.”  Nowadays, we don’t deal with that terminology, but at the time, it was the norm.  The beauty of this passage is because God said that His people would no longer call Him “My Baal” but “My Husband.”  It was a switch from “Baali” to “Ishi,” from a term that sounds like captivity and obligation to a term that indicates love and partnership.  God loved them so much that He wanted to change their relationship to one that was filled with personal love, even though they had sinned and “committed adultery” with other gods.  Verse 16 powerfully depicts God’s unconditional and amazing love.

What is even more wonderful is that that same love extends to us!  While we were still sinners, God sent His Son to die for us (Romans 5:8).  We were His enemies; we were people who had run to other gods and attributed all His blessings to other things; we were people who outright rejected Him.  Yet, He willingly died for us and wanted to restore that relationship.  He didn’t just want slaves to His will, but disciples and partners in His work.  He wanted to be our Ishi not our Baal, though He had every right to demand otherwise.  He didn’t make us robots but lovers.  As Christians, let us be thankful for this beautiful relationship we can have with our God.  He is not distant or demanding but personal and faithful.  He provides for us, cares for us, restores us, and even gives us a chance to know Him deeply.  What a loving Ishi, we have.