HOSEA 1:4

Referring to the first child that Hosea had with his wife Gomer, the Bible says in Hosea 1:4-5, “And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.[5] And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.” After the death of King Solomon the nation of Israel had broken into two kingdoms: one was called Israel and the other was called Judah. Israel was conquered by the nation of Assyria, and several decades later Judah and Jerusalem were conquered by Babylon. Israel was conquered in 722 BC, and Judah lasted about 136 longer, before eventually committing its own great sins and therefore being destroyed.

The book of Hosea gives a lot of detail about the guilt of sin and the failure of the law. Human beings not only sin, but they fall further and further into sin unless they repent and turn to the Lord. How fortunate we are to live in the age of grace where the death of Jesus on the cross gives us our redemption and acceptance before God. What a terrible circumstance those are in who live under the law. They will end up with the same result as seen here in the book of Hosea.

When the Lord said in Hosea 1:4 that He would “avenge the blood of Jezreel,” God is talking about the terrible event that took place in the Jezreel when Jehu was king of Israel. We can read about this event in Second Kings 10:1-14, “And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying,[2] Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;[3] Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.[4] But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?[5] And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.[6] Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.[7] And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.[8] And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.[9] And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?[10] Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.[11] So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.[12] And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way,[13] Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.[14] And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.” The terrible murderous cruelty of this incident demonstrates how far away from God the Israelites had fallen. The increased violence in our world is also evidence of a departure from God. God is love. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all the heart, and the second greatest commandment is to love one’s neighbor as oneself. As a people departs farther and farther away from God, one of the results is an increase in sexual promiscuity, and another result is an increase in violence: terrible violence.

Hosea’s second child by his wife, Gomer, was named Lo-ruhamah. It says in Hosea 1:6-7, “And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.[7] But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.” Notice carefully the phrase that was said to the Israelites in verse 6, “for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.” A statement like this would never be made to a Christian living in the age of grace. That is because of the difference between law and grace, and the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Those who live under the Covenant of the law are always in danger of the judgment of God because the Covenant of the law is based upon how well someone obeys the law. Under the law, sin brings a curse. But those who believe in Jesus are not under law, but under grace.

Nevertheless, because God has such great mercy, even for those who are under the law, God finds ways to offer His mercy. That is because the death of Jesus on the cross has such great benefits both for those who lived before He died on the cross and for those of us who live after He died on the cross. In spite of the Israelites failing under the law, and in spite of the terrible symbolism of Hosea marrying a prostitute and what that means, God’s plan ultimately was to show them His mercy. That is what belief in Jesus is all about: mercy. God does not punish us according to our sins. He is merciful to us through Christ Jesus the Savior. After saying concerning the short term in verse 6 that He would no more have mercy on them, God said in verse 7, “But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.” Even when God brings judgment, He manifests His mercy. The divided nation of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians, but God had mercy on the divided nation of Judah. Jesus the Messiah came in the lineage of the kings of Judah. Salvation came through that line. Salvation comes from Jesus. The judgment of God is coming for sure upon a wicked world, but there is always mercy available. Avoid the judgment by turning to Jesus.

When God said, “and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen,” God is emphasizing the fact that the salvation that we need has no human source. There is no effort that you can make and there is no good work that you can do to save yourself. You must throw yourself totally upon the mercy of God through faith in Jesus. That is why it says in Titus 3:4-7, “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,[5] Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;[6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;[7] That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

The Bible says in Hosea 1:8-11, “Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.[9] Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.[10] Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.[11] Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.” Notice once again that as soon as the Lord said in verse 9, “for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God,” that He used the word “yet” and countered what sounded like a terrible judgment with once again a promise about the future. God promised in verse 10, “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” Judgment from a holy might come because of the sinfulness of man, but if you are saved by Jesus then judgment is always temporary and of relatively short duration. The final state for a believer is always one of enjoying the mercy and love of God. Once again we see all through the scriptures support for the truth of eternal security. Once you have been saved through faith in Christ, you will never lose your salvation. God might chastise you, but He will not cast you off forever. That is why Jesus said in John 10:28-29, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.[29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” Eternal security is the only conclusion that can be made once we realize that the scriptures teach salvation by faith and faith alone, without works. Once again we quote Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

One of the bad things that happened to Israel because of their sinfulness was the division of the nation of Israel into two kingdoms that fought against each other: the kingdom made up of most of the tribes called Israel and the kingdom of Judah. Samaria became the capital city of Israel and Jerusalem was the capital city of Judah. It was like a divided family: divided by sin. Israel was a family. They all came from Abraham their father. But now they were divided irreparably from a human standpoint. But that which man cannot do God can do. And so the Lord said in Hosea 1:11, “Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land.”

The Bible says in Hosea 2:1-7, “Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ru-hamah.[2] Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;[3] Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.[4] And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.[5] For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.[6] Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.[7] And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.” What is shown in this passage is what should be considered the normal spiritual reaction of a spouse if the one to whom they are married is unfaithful. First, confront them and demand that they change their ways and clean up their act. The husband, who is God, said in verse 2, “let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight.” This is symbolic of the people of God going away from the Lord, but there is always an offer to return. A loving spouse who is a Christian will be able to forgive because every Christian understands forgiveness since we were forgiven by Jesus. Of course, forgiveness is based upon repentance, and repentance is only real if it involves a change of behavior. One of the things that will help sinners realize their need to repent is to understand the consequences of their sins. If anyone would truly think about the real consequences of their sins, both in this life and in the next, then they will be more likely to repent. Notice that the sinful wife said in verse 7, “I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.” You can be sure of one thing: if you turn back to your spiritual husband, whose name is Jesus, He will welcome you with open arms. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

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