Hosea 1 Hosea’s Wife and Children
1-11 This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea, son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, a king of Israel.
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”
So Hosea went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, (God sows) for soon I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
Gomer again conceived and gave birth to a daughter, and the LORD said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, (She has not received mercy) for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever forgive them. Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.” (Not My People) for you are not My people, and I am not your God. (Hebrew-I am not yours)
Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ (cited in Romans 9:26) Then the people of Judah and of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and will go up out of the land. For great will be the day of Jezreel.
Hosea ministered from 750-722 B.C., about 200 years after the Northern Kingdom broke off from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. When King Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded him; however, Rehoboam foolishly attempted to lord it over the Israelites. Led by Jeroboam, ten of the twelve tribes split off to form the Northern Kingdom, generally referred to as Israel or Ephraim, after the name of the largest tribe. God had made promises to Jeroboam; however, rather than trust God, Jeroboam established fake religious shrines at Bethel and Dan with golden calves and then told his people, “Jerusalem is too far. Why suffer the long trip to Jerusalem when you can worship at Bethel or Dan?” Jeroboam left a horrible spiritual legacy, for he actively led his new nation into idolatry from its conception. It didn’t take long for the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom to add Baal worship and fertility cults, plus a pantheon of other pagan demons to their worship choices. When Jeroboam rejected God, God rejected Jeroboam.
Who was Jehu and what was his sin? Jehu’s story is told in 2 Kings 9-10. The prophet Elisha anointed Jehu as king over Israel, and Jehu immediately eliminated the current king, Queen Jezebel, and all wicked King Ahab’s descendants. Jehu also slaughtered the prophets of Baal and the Baal worshipers. But Jehu failed miserably despite all these triumphs, for he left the golden calves in Bethel and Dan, leaving the Israelites worshiping the idols established by Jeroboam. Jehu PARTIALLY obeyed God, and partial obedience is essentially no obedience at all. The valley of Jezreel was a very fertile valley; however, it was also a prime spot for battles, hence the reference to defeating Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
Although there were many idolaters in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, there were still many worshipers of the One True God. That is why God tells Hosea that He will rebuild Israel using people from Judah. But what about Hosea’s marriage?
Traditionally, Hosea’s father would have tried to find the best, most industrious, most reverent, and most virtuous young woman possible for Hosea to marry. No right-thinking parent would ever welcome a prostitute as a daughter-in-law! Were Hosea’s parents still alive when he married Gomer, and if so, what must they have thought? Poor Hosea! How do you convince your parents that God wants you to marry the town slut when sexual misconduct is grounds for divorce without any arguments? And what about Hosea himself? As a young man, Hosea has undoubtedly cherished dreams of a peaceful stable household with a loving, caring wife and obedient children. Now all those dreams are shattered by the call of God. And what must Hosea’s friends have commented? “Man, you have GOT to be a special kind of stupid to marry that woman! You know what she is; she won’t stay with one man any longer than the length of a pregnancy. And what do you mean, “God told me to marry her?” Are you really sure this was God’s will for you? Why would God force a reverent worshiper into a loveless, perverted marriage?
When we think of the sacrifices made by various prophets, we are drawn to the dramatic scenes such as Jeremiah sinking into the muck at the bottom of a well. But daily Hosea would have sunk into spiritual and emotional muck, for there’s never any indication that Gomer cared for him at all. Gomer may have been one of those women who chase the thrill of a new relationship, abandoning her current partner as soon as someone else more appealing showed up. And Gomer was likely enticed by presents of jewelry or beautiful clothes.
God wanted to use Gomer’s fickle nature to illustrate how fickle the inhabitants of Israel and Judah had become toward Him. God wanted Hosea to name his children prophetic names so that each time anyone saw them, they would remember God’s statements and His promises. What must Hosea’s kids have thought? The name Jezreel is all right, but what about “Lo-ruhamah?” Can you imagine having your mother call you, “Here, Lo-ruhamah? Here, “Not my people?” Hosea wasn’t the only member of this family to suffer.
The story of Hosea’s call reminds us that the call of God is neither comfortable nor safe, not for us, nor for our family members. But consider the alternative: failure to answer that call will mean discouragement, disappointment, and a nagging knowledge that we have refused God’s perfect will for our lives. The only safe choice is to say “Yes.”
There’s an old hymn that graphically expresses the dilemma of a difficult call and its consequences:
1 They cast their nets in Galilee
just off the hills of brown;
such happy, simple fisher-folk,
before the Lord came down.
2 Contented, peaceful fishermen,
before they ever knew
the peace of God that filled their hearts
brimful, and broke them too.
3 Young John who trimmed the flapping sail,
homeless, in Patmos died.
Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
head-down was crucified.
4 The peace of God, it is no peace,
but strife closed in the sod.
Yet let us pray for but one thing-
the marvelous peace of God.
William Alexander Percy
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to follow Your call wherever it leads, ignoring the dangers or distresses. Help us to remain true to You, no matter what. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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