BOOK OF HOSEA - CHAPTER 1
1 This is the message of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri. This message came when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. This was during the time of Jeroboam, son of Joash, who was king of Israel.
COMMENTARY
VERSE 1
Four kings of Judah were during the time of Hosea, but only one king of Israel.
About Hosea's Wife and Children
2 The Lord began to speak to Israel through Hosea. The Lord said to Hosea, 'Go, and marry a prostitute. I want you to have children by her. The children will be like her. In the same way, my people have left me and have been guilty of terrible adultery'. 3 So Hosea married a woman called Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. After this, a child began to grow in her and she gave birth to their first child, a son. 4 The Lord said to Hosea, "Give him the name of 'Jezreel'. This is because I will soon punish the family of Jehu. I will punish them because of the people that Jehu murdered at Jezreel. Then I will put an end to the nation of Israel. 5 And in the Valley of Jezreel I will at that time completely destroy the armies of Israel".
6 Gomer had a second child − this time it was a daughter. The Lord said to Hosea, 'Call her Lo-Ruhamah. This is because I will not show love to the people of Israel any more. I will not forget their sins. 7 But I will show love to the people of Judah. I, the Lord, will save them. I will not do it by war. I will not use swords or bows and arrows. I will not use horses and people who ride horses'.
8 After Gomer had looked after Lo-Ruhamah, a child began to grow in Gomer again. She gave birth to a son. 9 Then the Lord said to Hosea, 'Call him Lo-Ammi. This is because the people of Israel are not my people, and I am not their God'.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 2-9
Readers are told immediately why God told Hosea to marry Gomer. This marriage was arranged in order to serve to the prophet as a symbol of Israel's unfaithfulness to the Lord. His marriage will dramatize the breakdown in the relationship between God and His people Israel. Hosea's family life reflected the "adulterous" relationship which Israel had built with other gods.
God told Hosea to marry a woman. He knew that she would become a prostitute. Then his experiences would become a parable that he would act out in his life. This is because worshipping idols is like going to a prostitute. Idolatry is turning away from the living God and turning toward other gods.
The woman gave birth to three children. The names of the children each have a special meaning. They are a way for God to speak to Israel. The names show that another nation will destroy the people of Israel. Hosea does not have any choice about his marriage. Later, Hosea uses the word ' prostitutes' in 4:12 and 5:4. He means that Israel behaves like a prostitute.
Gomer's Children Are Part of a Bad Nation
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 Jezreel means 'God sows.' Perhaps the name was to make people remember an event in the past. This was when Jehu killed the group of Omri kings at Jezreel. This showed that God would bring an end to Israel too.
The name Lo-Ruhamah means 'Not Pitied' or 'Not Loved.' God will no longer care about the needs of his people even if they depend on God for everything. Israel's enemies will defeat her. But God will have mercy on Judah because they were more faithful to him.
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 Lo-Ammi shows that there is no mistake about what God thinks about 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. God controls the direction of both Judah and Israel. This is because they are His people. The nation of Israel ended because God gave a judgment on the people. This was because of their sin of idolatry, among other evil things. However, God will have mercy on Judah because they were still God's covenant people.
God Will Make Israel a Better Place Again
10 In the future, the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand that is next to the sea. You cannot measure the sand or count it. Now God says to Israel, 'You are not my people.' But the day will come when he will say to them, 'You are the children of the living God'! 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will unite again. They will choose for themselves a single leader. Their nation will grow and do well in their land. The day of Jezreel will be a great day.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 10-11
The message changes to a message of hope. The future of Israel is compared to sand next to the sea. Not now, but in the future the day will come when the people of Judah and the people of Israel will unite again.
At this time, there were about 600,000 people in Israel and Judah who will unite again in the future. A new leader will bring his people together. God wants to bring back Israel in a way that makes it a part of Judah.
The word 'future' can mean thousands of years in the future. Jeremiah 33:22 says the same thing. Only Hosea uses the words 'children of the living God' in the Old Testament. Hosea is careful to use the word 'leader' (verse 11). He does not use the word 'king' as this was a time when Israel had war. The kings also did not obey God.
The Hebrew word for 'unite' can also mean a plant that comes up from the ground. It would be like a resurrection. Jezreel, a valley, is another way of using the word Israel.
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