Hosea 2:14

Hosea 2:14 says, Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.  Though God had pronounced their destruction due to their disobedience, He was not abandoning them for good.  God said He would allure Israel, call them into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to them.  When they had been in the wilderness, the people were totally dependent on God, and He brought them comfort.  Once they realized again that they were dependent on God, He would comfort them.  Verse fifteen adds, And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.  God told His people, just as He had delivered them from Egypt, He would deliver them again when they turned to Him in hope.  They had been relying on false gods and their own status by birth for happiness and security and had forgotten that God was responsible for that status in the world.  If the world seems to be overwhelming today, we need only look to God to have our hope restored.  If we find ourselves in a spiritual wilderness where we see little hope, all we need to do is look to God and submit to His will once more.  Verse sixteen continues, And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.  Both names denote husband, and God was reminding the people of Israel that their true relationship was with Him, not the false god Baal. When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, that means that false gods no longer have a place in our lives.  Verse seventeen concludes, For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.  God told the people of Israel that when He restored them, they would no longer even remember the false gods, much less call on them.  We, as followers of Christ, are to be the same way.  Once we accept Christ, all the false gods in our life, whatever they might be, need to be totally forgotten.  We cannot effectively serve God while at the same time chasing after false gods.  We often think of false gods as being some idol that is worshipped. It is more than that, though. A false god is anything that becomes more important to us than our relationship with God.  When we are truly God's, He will be the One we follow at all times.