A Door Of Hope

“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.” (Ho 2:15 AV)

 

What a verse!  Let me give a bit of context here.  The prophet is comparing what happened in the past with what will occur for Israel in the future.  The subject is Israel.  The promise is from God to provide a way by which Israel can return to her land and prosper physically and spiritually.  She will return much like she did when she escaped Egypt.  She stared in Palestine under Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  She fled into Egypt because she lacked faith. This caused her to become enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years.  When she returned, she came to the valley of Achor. So named after Achan, the man who cursed Israel due to his lust and materialism.  After God judged Achan and his family at the valley of Achor, He blessed her and gave her great victories from that time forward.  At the time of the writing of this book, the ten northern tribes were warned of the invasion of Assyria for their idolatry.  They would be carried away into captivity.  This warning did not come without a promise of restoration.  As Israel returned from Egypt, they would return from Babylon.  As Israel returned from Babylon, they will return from the wilderness when Jesus comes back.  That door has been open on three separate occasions.  This door of hope is a hope of reconciliation with a God whom we have offended.

I have had a few opportunities to minister to inmates.  There have been a few times when I went to a local jail to encourage a saint who had gotten themselves in serious trouble.  I cannot even imagine what it must be like to hear those iron bars close behind you as you are locked in for the night.  One of the jails I went to was different than others that I have visited.   It was a small county lockup.  Really small.  The building was no bigger than an average house.  When I met with the inmate, there was a clear view from his perspective of the front entrance.  Every time he had a visitor, his eyes were focused on the entryway behind his visitor.  Glass doors revealed freedom beyond those doors.  Other views only showed more confinement.  The yard.  The depot.  Maintenance.  But the front entrance was all about freedom.  That door was a door of hope.  A way back to a better life improved by the lessons learned inside.  That door of hope made the sentence feel all that much shorter.  As long as he could see the sunlight through those glass doors, each day was bearable.

We have a door of hope.  We don’t have to stay in prison.  Our door of hope is found in 1Jo 1:9 and Heb 4:16.  Our door of hope has one word on it.  Mercy.  On the side posts, there appears grace and forgiveness.  This door of hope goes through the valley of Achor.  The valley where that which offends God has been dealt with.  The valley of Achor where that which displeases God dies off and is buried.  The valley of Achor where lays the sins of God’s people and to the west lies a door.  The door of hope where once again, the saint can live in liberty and joy.  He can do so because he knows his God has absolved the saint of all sin and has restored him to full fellowship among the trinity.  This door of hope is never closed.  It is always open.  All it takes is for the believer to desire to walk through.