Hosea 3:5

After this period of cleansing, the Israelites would return to the Lord. They would seek Him as their God and a Davidic king as their ruler (cf. Hosea 2:7; Hosea 5:15; Deuteronomy 4:29). They would approach the Lord with a healthy sense of fear because of His rich blessings. This would happen "in the last days," namely, the days of Israel’s national restoration (i.e., the Millennium; cf. Deuteronomy 4:30; Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1).

"The reference to ’David their king’ should not be understood in an overly literalistic manner. The prophets view the ideal Davidic ruler of the future as the second coming of David (see Isaiah 11:1-10; Micah 5:2) and even call him ’David’ on occasion (see Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23-24; Ezekiel 37:24-25). This ’David’ carries out royal functions that cannot be distinguished from those assigned to the messianic king. Other texts make it clear that this ’David’ is actually a descendant of David (see Jeremiah 23:5-6; Jeremiah 33:15-16) who comes in his ancestor’s spirit and power, much like John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah and thus fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 4:5 (see Matthew 11:10-14; Matthew 17:11-12; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 1:17; Luke 1:76; Luke 7:27)." [Note: Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., p. 348. Cf. Kaiser, p. 198.]

This appears to be another messianic prophecy (cf. Hosea 1:11).

"Chapter 3 is one of the classic O.T. passages describing Israel’s past, present, and future. Her idolatrous past is illustrated by Gomer’s unfaithfulness to Hosea (Hosea 3:1-2), despite which Hosea is commanded to love her and buy her back ’according to the love of the LORD toward . . . Israel,’ a love which led Him to pay the purchase price of the blood of the cross to redeem Israel, the basis of her restoration. The present condition of Israel is illustrated and plainly prophesied in Hosea 3:3-4. Her future is declared in Hosea 3:5, showing her repentance toward God who, in His faithfulness, will restore her." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 921.]

"To summarize [chapters 1-3]:

"God is gracious, and no matter what ’name’ our birth has given to us, He can change it and give us a new beginning. Even the ’valley of trouble’ can become a ’door of hope.’

"God is holy and He must deal with sin. The essence of idolatry is enjoying the gifts but not honoring the Giver. To live for the world is to break God’s heart and commit ’spiritual adultery.’

"God is love and promises to forgive and restore all who repent and return to Him. He promises to bless all who trust him." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 320.]