She will give herself to me there,
As she did long ago when she was young,
When I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
“When that day comes,” says the LORD,
“You will call me ‘my husband’
instead of ‘my master.’
O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,
And you will never mention them again.
When Yahweh led His people out of captivity with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, it was clear Who was their Savior. It’s in times like those we’re most likely to sing to Him our praise. Of course, like the Israelites, the trick is to continue to put Him in focus. We fix our own eyes on Him and we help each other look up and see Him when we lose perspective.
When is the last time someone did that for you in love?
“When that day comes…you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.'”
The Hebrew word for master in this verse is ‘Baali.’ It means my lord and has to do with authority. The word for husband is ‘Ishi’, a term of affection.
When that day comes…you will call me Ishi, not Baali.
When He leads us out of captivity, when He speaks tenderly to us and restores our Valley of Trouble, we know Him by a different name. There is a difference in intimacy between a master and a husband. Obedience is still there. But it looks different.
To obey someone whose job is to tell you what to do is different than obeying someone who you know has your best interest at heart and loves you. Even the most rockstar husband cannot love us the way our Husband loves us. The biblical role of husband is to lay down his life for his bride. He shows us over and over throughout Scripture that is exactly what He does for us.
You will call me Ishi, not Baali. You will serve me out of love, not fear.
“Oh Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,
And you will never mention them again.”
The many names of Baal.
Baal technically means “lord.” But there were many different deities under that name to which the Israelites were bowing down and whose names they were crying out for crop production or fertility.
He will wipe them all from their lips.
He will show them only He provides for them.
God will gather to Himself a people Who worship Him alone.