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The Door of Hope
–the Bride Collection by Glenda
Wilson
Though
this piece is in the “Bride of Christ” Collection – I can
see that it really crosses over into the “Door
Collection”. Were it not for Christ we would not have
access to “the Door of Hope”.
Hos
2:14-20 Therefore, behold, I will allure her [Israel] and
bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly
and to her heart. There I will give her vineyards and make
the Valley of Achor [troubling] to be for her a DOOR OF
HOPE and expectation. And I will betroth you to Me
forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness
and justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will even
betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and
you shall know (recognize, be acquainted with, appreciate,
give heed to, and cherish) the Lord.
AMP
To appreciate the book of Hosea you must grasp the
parallels between God and Israel … Hosea and Gomer –the
unfaithful wife. In becoming friends with the world, we
have conceived and birthed many illegitimate dreams and
plans. Essentially, it is own decisions and actions take
us to the Valley of Achor.
The
passages are so typical of the unconditional love that He
has for us –giving us mercy instead of fully executing the
judgment that we deserve.
I
discovered these scriptures while reading James 4.
James 4:4-5
You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love
affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to
God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is
being God's enemy? … Or do you suppose that the Scripture
is speaking to no purpose that says, The Spirit Whom He
has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for
the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love? [Jer 3:14;
Hos 2:19 ff.] AMP
My
heart began to break when I thought of the times we find
ourselves drifting so far away from our first love. Have
we become like unfaithful wives having illicit love
affairs with the world. Numerous times God seemingly
said, why do you continually turn away from me when I have
been so loving and merciful to you. The Lord would say
unto you, “The valley of troubling (Achor) is not my best
for you, I would rather keep you in peace, tranquilly and
abundance. But if I must allow you to come into Achor in
order to speak to you –so be it.”
Hos 2:15 15
There I will give her vineyards and make the Valley of
Achor [troubling] to be for her a door of hope and
expectation. And she shall sing there and respond as in
the days of her youth and as at the time when she came up
out of the land of Egypt. [Ex 15:2, Josh 7:24-26.] AMP
To
appreciate the book of Hosea fully you must grasp the
parallel – God and Israel … Hosea and Gomer –the
unfaithful wife. In becoming friends with the world, we
have conceived and birthed many illegitimate dreams and
plans. Essentially, our own decisions and actions take us
to the Valley of Achor.
The
passages are so typical of the unconditional love that He
has for us –giving us mercy instead of fully executing the
judgment that we deserve.
I will stop here. This “behind the scenes” chronicle
reveals the inspiration for the piece of art. This is not
a teaching but is meant to provoke readers to search their heart
and allow the Lord to speak tenderly, betroth them unto
Him and make the Valley of Troubling a “Door of Hope”. |
