From the archives, a few words that seem appropriate for today . . .
In Hosea 2, the heading in my Bible reads, “Israel Punished and Restored.” There’s a lengthy exposition of Israel’s disobedience followed by some of the most compassionate verses in the Bible: “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.”
In Hosea 2, the heading in my Bible reads, “Israel Punished and Restored.” There’s a lengthy exposition of Israel’s disobedience followed by some of the most compassionate verses in the Bible: “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.”
The first time I read these verses, I checked the footnote, which gave the definition of Achor as meaning trouble. I loved that God was saying of the depths of trouble, He would make a door of hope.
But, I had only begun to understand these verses.
In Joshua, we read the story of the fall of Jericho. Joshua instructed Israel, “The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord" (Joshua 6:17). This meant all plunder from Jericho after its fall was to be put into the Lord’s treasury.
However, Achan disobeyed this command with tragic consequences and took for himself gold, a Babylonian robe, as well as silver shekels, and hid them under his tent. When it was discovered he had done this, he and all that belonged to him were destroyed. Afterward, the place where this destruction occurred was called the Valley of Achor.
It's of that place, God says, He will make a door of hope.
After the death of Jesus on the cross, when His friends had gone, His disciples had scattered, and all seemed lost, God raised Jesus from the dead to become our door of hope for all eternity.
When the horror of world events shakes, or tragedy strikes close and hard, or failure and sin overwhelm, what God says about the Valley of Achor helps us cling to the hope God offers in Jesus.
No matter how terrible the situation, He can bring hope, redemption, and mercy if we turn to Him.
If you are standing in your own Valley of Achor, He is your refuge and strength.
There are no hopeless situations, for with God, tragedy becomes the building material for a door of hope.
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