The Marred Marriage Metaphor (Pt.2)

Scripture Reading

Hosea 1:2–11 NIV84

2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 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. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.” 6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God.” 8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God. 10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

3. A Daughter Named Lo-Ruhama (vv.6-7)

If a son named Jezreel was confrontational and challenging to the Israelites, Hosea’s second child brought very little relief. Verse 6 says...

Hosea 1:6 NIV84

6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them.

The name “Lo-Ruhama” literally means not loved. The love that is spoken of here has in mind a very specific kind of love within a particular context. It really means to take pity, and is very much connected with showing mercy. So for example, in Isaiah 54:8, we find it translated as follows:

Isaiah 54:8 NIV84

8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer.

That word “compassion” is the word that is translated as love in our passage. The word thus shows and demonstrates God’s concern and care for his people, rather than a general expression of love. Thus, when God tells Hosea to name his daughter Lo-Ruhama, He is saying that Israel has now reached a point where He will no longer show them compassion and mercy where judgment is deserved. They have so deserted Him, and so rejected Him, that he will no longer have pity on them and show the mercy that he has continued to show them despite their wickedness. God is indeed long-suffering, but He is also just, and must act according to his holy character. Specifically, within this context, God says that He would no longer show mercy to forgive them. This is striking, and a most terrifying statement by God. The people of Israel were known as the ones for whom God had compassion. Israel was the very object of the love and compassion of God. But they are now told that this very identity as those with the special care of God would be removed. But God

Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 31: Hosea–Jonah Form/Structure/Setting

For the time being, Judah is safe from such severe punishment, though nevertheless dependent on Yahweh’s grace for deliverance. Nothing is implied about the distant future of Judah (cf. 6:11). Judah is not here called unequivocally pleasing to Yahweh; she is merely not at the moment the object of Yahweh’s wrath.

4. A Son Named Lo-Ammi (vv.8-9)