Hosea 2:13
And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD. And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.
The prophecy belongs to Hosea, whose name means salvation, the last of the great prophets of the northern kingdom of Israel. It is dated about 785 to 748 B.C., given also as about 750 B.C. The verse stands in Hosea 1-3, where his painful and pathetic personal history symbolizes Jehovah's separation from His people. It is part of a strong and in places definite prediction of the coming captivity of the tribes. It belongs to a warning against alliance with Egypt, against wicked alliances generally.
It points out sad moral conditions and the degeneration and decay of the nation, and exposes the gross iniquity of priests and princes. The book is full of hopeful remonstrance, tender expostulation and exhortation, and earnest entreaty, and it closes with rich promises of blessing from God as the result of repentance, along with somewhat of prophecy of the future. The verse describes Israel's idolatry in the days of Baalim, when the people burned incense to them, decked themselves with earrings and jewels, went after their lovers, and forgot the Lord. The Lord declares He will visit upon her and call her to account for those acts.
He visits His people for those days because He is their Maker, husband, and Redeemer, so that any backsliding from Him and transgression of His holy law is adultery against that marriage bond. Idolatry, conformity to the world, and all departures from God are therefore spiritual adultery, a dangerous adulteration and admixture of heaven with earth, of righteousness with sin, and of good with evil. Together with the preceding verses, the verse warns that Israel's offerings and religious observances could not please God when separated from the spiritual truth they were meant to teach, since the ceremonies and objects had no power in themselves and became vain when treated as sufficient while turning from God. Wearing earrings and jewels while worshiping Baal makes such adornment a sign of idolatry and apostasy. Personal adornment that draws attention to self is no more pleasing to God now than it was then.