AN UNFAITHFUL LOT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, son of Beeri, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, king of Israel:

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” So he married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day, I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”

After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

Hosea 1:1-9

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today we begin our study of the Book of Hosea, the first of the books of what has been called the Minor Prophets, not that they are any less important than any of the Major Prophets because they aren’t but their books are markedly shorter.

As the Book of Hosea opens, we find the prophet receiving directions from God that on the surface seem to be rather odd until He explains His motives within our scripture passage. Look again at these verses here:

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, son of Beeri, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, king of Israel:

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” So he married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day, I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”

After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”  Hosea 1:1-9

The first thing we need to realize is that we have shifted our focus from the exile and post-exile period of the last several Old Testament books to the pre-exile period of Israel and Judah, the time “during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, king of Israel”.

The second thing of note is that God wasn’t very happy with His people. They had been an unfaithful lot to Him, giving their devotion to pagan gods and idols, and so God used Hosea and the family he formed as an illustration of sorts to underscore His dissatisfaction with the Israelites, specifically those who inhabited the northern kingdom of Israel.  

The analogy of unfaithfulness began with the wife God told Hosea to take. Her name was Gomer and the scriptures tell us she was a “promiscuous woman”, one prone to adultery. Gomer represented the Israelites and the land which was “guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord”.

God not only told Hosea to marry Gomer but to also have children with her. And so he was obedient to his Lord and the end product was the following three children, all bearing names that condemned the Israelite people:

1.  The son Jezreel.

Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day, I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

To understand why God designated the first child, the boy to bear the name he did, you have to go back to the Book of 2 Kings where you’ll find the following refresher on Jehu and Jezreel:

“You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord’s servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.” 2 Kings 9:7-8

So what did Jehu do? Look at this verse from Chapter 10 of 2 Kings:

“So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.” 2 Kings 10:11

Note here that Jehu did more than God commanded, not stopping at the elimination of the house of Ahab but continuing to kill his chief men, close friends, and priests until no survivors remained. It was the excessive slaughtering of people against the will of God that drew the Lord’s ire, instigated His punishment on the house of Jehu, and led to the name bore by Hosea’s first child.

2. The daughter Lo-Ruhamah.

Scripture tells us that Gomer conceived again by Hosea and this time she gave birth to a daughter. God directed the couple to name the daughter, Lo-Ruhamah which translated meant “not loved”, symbolizing how God was no longer going to show His love to Israel. Note where this love was not withdrawn from the southern kingdom of Judah, although we know that their time in the crosshairs of God’s judgment would also come.  

3. The son Lo-Ammi.

After Lo-Ruhamah was weaned, we find Gomer having yet a third child, another son who was named Lo-Ammi. This name meant “not my people” and represented the message God was sending to Israel, a harrowing message that indicated the state of His relationship with them.

What was the message?

It was as follows:

“You are not my people, and I am not your God.”

The people of the northern kingdom of Israel had been an unfaithful lot before God and so He was sending a clear message in return.

“Abandon Me and I will abandon you.”

Today, we would be wise to hear the message of the scriptures, learn from the mistakes of the Israelites, and never compromise our commitment and dedication to the Lord so that we can ensure we’ll always live in His favor and never be in a place where He abandons us for our unfaithfulness.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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