1 1 The word of our Father that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel.
Our Father Speaks Through Hosea's Pain
2 When our Father first spoke through Hosea, our Father said to him, "Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and have children of prostitution, for the land has utterly forsaken me, turning away to prostitution instead of following me." 1 1 v2 Hosea's marriage to Gomer is a living picture of our Father's covenant love for an unfaithful people. The whole book traces his heart through judgment, restraint, grief, and relentless pursuit of his children.
3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
4 And our Father said to him, "Name him Jezreel, for in a little while I will bring judgment on the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel." 2 2 v4 Jezreel means "God sows" or "God scatters" — naming both the bloodshed our Father will judge and the scattering to come. 5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.
6 She became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And our Father said to him, "Name her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, nor will I forgive them at all." 3 3 v6 Lo-Ruhamah means "No Compassion" or "Not Pitied" — the name our Father gives to signal a season when his tender, gut-deep mercy is withheld. 7 But I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them as their Father. I will not save them by bow or sword or battle, by horses or horsemen.
8 When she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
9 And our Father said, "Name him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be your Father." 4 4 v9 Lo-Ammi means "Not My People" — the covenant promise "you are my people, I am your God" spoken in reverse. It is the darkest word in the book, and our Father will undo it in the very next verse.
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it will be said to them, "Children of the living Father." 11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one head, and they will go up from the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.