HOSEA 1
6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will have no more mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.” 10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” 11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
– Hosea 1:6-11
HOSEA 1 ISRAEL’S FATE BECAUSE OF THEIR ADULTERY
The prophets were mouthpieces of God. Every word in the book of Hosea is God’s message for his people. Hosea repeated every word that God spoke to him. The name ‘Hosea’ is like ‘Joshua’. It means ‘God is our Saviour’. In those times, names have special meaning. Sources say that the names of the children of Hosea are a way for God to speak to Israel. It was God who gave these names to Gomer’s children. These names will show what will happen to Judah and Israel in the future. It is a prediction that another nation will ruin Israel.
Gomer’s children are part of a bad nation. Some commentaries say that Jezreel, who was born first, was Hosea’s son. But it is possible that Hosea was not the father of the next two children. We cannot be sure because the book does not mention him as the father. The name Lo-Ruhamah means ‘Not Pitied’ or ‘Not Loved’. This means that he will not meet the Israelites’ needs anymore since they have pledged allegiance to their idols. The name Lo-Ammi means ‘Not My people’. God says that his covenant with Israel is over. In the future, he will destroy Israel. The name Jezreel means ‘God sows’. The name Lo-Ammi shows that there is no mistake about what God thinks about Israel. The nation of Israel ended because God gave a judgement on the people. This was because of their sin. Hosea explains this again later in the book. But God will have mercy on Judah because they were still God’s covenant people. The last verse of these verses sounds that God will reunite Judah and Israel and will multiply as much as the sand of the sea which is immeasurable.
REFLECTION
- What character of God is revealed in this account?
