A Door Of Hope

Hosea 2:14-16

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.

I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;

She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

“And it shall be, in that day,” Says the Lord, “That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’"      

What do you do when you find yourself in trouble?  In this wonderful passage from the book of Hosea the Holy Spirit shows us how to get out of our "Valley of Achor."  

What is the Valley of Achor?  It was named for an infamous character in the company of the Children of Israel who disregarded what the LORD said.  Remember Achan, the "troubler of Israel," in 1 Kings 18?  Let's take a little trip babck to the Old Testament and find out.

The Israelites, under the command of General Joshua, had just come from the fall of Jericho which the LORD had accomplished for them.  It was, to put it mildly, AN OVERWHELMING VICTORY.  Joshua is the one who had been given command of the armies of Israel after the death of Moses.  He is the very same Joshua who was one of the 12 spies dome 40 years prior.

Long before the Jericho event, the fame and dread of Israel had spread throughout the whole land of Canaan!  Everyone had heard how Egypt had been struck by terrible plagues, how the waters of the Red Sea parted for them and then crashed back together killing every Egyptian on their heels.  Then they heard how the Jordan had dried up before them, allowing them to once again cross on dry ground.  Most recently, news had spread of the falling walls of Jericho.  EVERYONE WAS TERRIFIED! 

But, there's always one in the crowd who does what he isn't supposed to, right.  Yep; you guessed it: Achan.  He was the guy who stole forbidden spoils from the cursed city of Jericho and then hid them underneath his tent. His selfish, forbidden, solitary act brought judgement crashing down on all Israel, something they didn't know until they went to attack the next city on God's agenda.

(Israel after their defeated at Ai.)

After their overwhelming, definitive victory at Jericho, the Israelites were feeling pretty confident about themselves.  Understandable. But, when they came to Ai, naturally they assumed taking that city would be a walk in the park.  No problem, right?  Imagine their a shock and surprise not only to be chased away by the men of Ai but 36 of their number were killed.  They were devastated and demoralized!  

Joshua, confused and understandably distraught, fell on his face before God and inquired of the LORD why this had happened.  Was it true what they were saying that he had brought them this far only to be destroyed by the Amorites?  But the LORD revealed to him that someone had taken accursed things from the city of Jericho and transgressed God's  covenant with them.  By divine lot and process of elimination, Achan was found to be the guilty party.  

(Achan found to be guilty by divine lot.)

"And Joshua said, (to Achan) 'Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.'” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the VALLEY OF ACHOR (trouble) to this day." (Joshua 25-26)

(The stones pilled on top of Achan are there to this day.)

When you find yourself in your own Valley of Achor, God will give you, child of the Most High, a "door of hope."  Your door is to Sing Praise to God as when you were young!  Praise opens up the door to God, the One Who delivers you from trouble.  

God illustrates this principle to us in the word for "praise" in Hebrew below.  As you know, Hebrew reads right to left.  It's actually a form of picture writing, like Chinese.  These pictures are very consistent.  The word for praise used in the opening scripture is "YADAH."  It's Hebrew spelling is below:

YADAH is spelled "yod-dalet-hei {ידה} 

[י] Yod=hand

[ד] dalet=door

[ה] hei=grace
"Hand opens the door to grace. Grace = Jesus!  That's the essence of Praise: Raising hands to Jesus with songs of praise!

This word, "Yadah," is the also the root word for the name "Judah." Judah means "praise."
Yehudah [יהודה]
[י]Yod=hand, [ה]hei=grace, [ו]vav=nail, [ד]dalet=door, [ה]hei=grace.

"Yahweh," the covenant-keeping God, is spelled [יהוה]
The letter "dalet [ד]" second to last letter on the left and has been added to spell "Judah."  And Who do we know that came from the tribe of Judah?  JESUS!  Who is the "DOOR TO GOD?"  Right again:  JESUS!

He is the "dalet" of the sheepfold!"  So clearly, to escape your "Valley of Achor," sing praises to God." Tell of His marvelous works!...and, just like the barren woman in Isaiah 54:1 below, you who were barren, who suffer lack in any area of your life will have "more than she who has a husband."

Isaiah 54:1
"Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the LORD.

PRAISE THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD!   In your Valley of Achor, He is your Door of Hope!