December 20

There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. — Hos 2:15 BSB

The "valley of Achor" means the "valley of trouble." It was the valley where Achan was stoned for taking the accursed thing. He was drawn in by the Babylonish garment and the golden wedge, which he hid in his tent, and that brought God's displeasure. This gives us insight into what the "valley of Achor" represents spiritually. Maybe you have committed a similar sin—become too involved with the world or done things that grieve God. Let your conscience speak. As a result, you find yourself in the "valley of Achor," filled with trouble, sorrow, and confusion, and unsure whether the same fate as Achan awaits you.

But it’s in this "valley of Achor," this valley of sorrow and confusion, that the "door of hope" opens. Why there? So that we stop hoping in ourselves. A true, lasting gospel hope can only enter when we place our hope not in ourselves but in the blood of the Lamb and in a sweet experience of that blood applied to our conscience. This is the "door of hope," through which we see the presence of God, Jesus on the throne of grace, the sprinkled mercy seat, and the great High Priest who is both willing and able to save to the uttermost.

Through this "door of hope," as we see Christ, the soul begins to long, desire, and hunger for Him. And through this "door of hope" come visits from Him, smiles, tokens of His love, and mercies and favors. The "door of hope," no longer barred or closed, is thrown wide open in the side of the incarnate God. Through it come renewed visits of joy that seemed lost, hopes that felt extinguished, and comforts remembered with fear they were only illusions. “There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up from Egypt.”