☰ HOSEA 1
HOSEA
1
Hosea’s Wife and Children
1 The word of the Loʀᴅ that came to Hosea the son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel.
2 When the Loʀᴅ first spoke through Hosea, the Loʀᴅ said to him, “Go, take for yourself a *wife of prostitution and have children of [her] prostitution; for the land commits great acts of prostitution by †not following the Loʀᴅ.” 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 And the Loʀᴅ said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for yet in a little while I will avenge the blood [that was shed in the Valley] of Jezreel and inflict the punishment for it on the house of ‡Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the §house of Israel. [2 Kin 10:1-11] 5 On that day I will break the bow [of the military power] of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 Then Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Loʀᴅ said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah (not shown mercy), for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. 7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will rescue them by the Loʀᴅ their God, and will *not rescue them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.” [Is 31:8; 37:33-35]
8 Now when Gomer had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. 9 And the Loʀᴅ said, “Name him Lo-Ammi (not my people), for you are not My people and I am not your God.”
 
10 Yet the number of the †sons of Israel
Shall be like the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered;
And in the place
Where it is said to them,
“You are not My people,”
It will be said to them,
“You are the sons of the living God.” [Gen 22:17; Rom 9:26]
11 Then the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel shall be gathered together,
And they will appoint for themselves one leader,
And they will go up from the land,
For great and glorious will be the day of ‡Jezreel. [Is 11:12, 13; Ezek 37:15-28]
* 1:2 Some scholars interpret this to mean that Gomer was chaste at the time of the marriage, but later became an adulteress. As such, she symbolizes the future unfaithfulness of Israel. † 1:2 Lit forsaking. ‡ 1:4 Jehu murdered Ahab’s sons in order to seize the throne of Israel. § 1:4 I.e. Israel, the Northern Kingdom, which included ten of the original tribes of Israel. Samaria was the capital city. * 1:7 Isaiah also made this prophecy (Is 31:8, 9) and both he and Hosea lived to see its fulfillment (Is 37:36). See also 2 Kin 19:35-37. † 1:10 In general, sons (children) of Israel or Israel or Israelites refers to all the people (males and females) of the various tribes descended from the twelve sons (Gen 35:23-26) of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). In verses about things such as warfare or circumcision, sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites usually refers only to the males. Tribes of ancient people were identified by the name of their founding ancestor. Therefore, this same general rule applies to individual tribal groups, e.g., sons of Reuben, Reuben, Reubenites, and so throughout. ‡ 1:11 The spiritually reborn Israel, the people whom the Lord has chosen and blessed.
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