chapter 1
1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Be-eri, 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 LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry, for the land commits great harlotry by forsaking the LORD.” 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 And the LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, “Call her name Not pitied, for I will no more have pity on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will deliver them by the LORD their God; I will not deliver them by bow, nor by sword, nor by war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.”
8 When she had weaned Not pitied, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the LORD said, “Call his name Not my people, for you are not my people and I am not your God.”
10 Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Sons of the living God.” 11 And the people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head; and they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Background:
Hosea lived in the 8th century, or 700’s B.C. His name means “salvation”, His whole book is an explanation of God’s displeasure with Israel, the Northern Kingdom, now known as the Ten Lost Tribes.
FYI: Judah and Israel had been separate nations, and had been since the death of Solomon [1 Kings 14 ff.].
The Typology of the Book
The entire book is a typology of God’s relationship with the northern tribes of Israel.
A type is a person, event, or thing resembling another; the predictive and the fulfilled are called type and antitype respectively; and the link which binds them together is their similarity. You might say that types are pictures or object lessons, which God uses to teach His people about His grace and saving power. The first type is usually physical and the second antitype is usually spiritual.
- The sacrifice of Isaac is the type i.e. physical of Christ death on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice, antitype i.e. spiritual.
- The rejecting of Joseph by his brothers is the type i.e. physical, to the Jews rejection of The Messiah’s kingdom antitype i.e. spiritual.
- Isaiah’s son Immanuel/Mahershalalhashbaz [Isa 7:14; 8:3] is the physical type of a boy born to an Almeh (virgin/young woman) antitype being The Messiah’s birth [Matt 1:23].
Bride verses Prostitute
We do not find here a pure white bride happily living in the harem. Rather the prostitute or whore. She represents those that are unfaithful to the living God. Those that acknowledge God while at the same time committing spiritual adultery. Going up to Jerusalem for the high holy days and then to the high places of Baal and Ashtoreth for what we now call christmas and easter i.e. solstice and equinox. The God is love and will accept what ever I do people.
In this book we have a man of God, who is told by God to marry a prostitute. This flies in the face of the rest of Scripture and is against all logic and propriety. Hosea, while understandably surprised, is obedient and marries Gomer.
Gomer name means “to finish” or “complete”. She was the daughter of Diblaim,
Diblaim’s name means “fig-cake” the offering given to the Queen of Heaven. Gomer’s father is not mentioned.
The couple grows close even to the point of love and then she finds she is not content being faithful to just one man but wants more. Hosea is heartbroken and shamed. He had loved her and then she spurned him and abandoned him. Gomer has rejected the love of her husband and lusts after strangers.
Gomer produces 3 children whose names are allegorical of how God is viewing Israel or the Northern Tribes.
Jezreel
Their first child is Jezreel. Jezreel is a valley in Northern Israel and was extremely strategic, as it is where the main roads between Asia and Africa meet. As such it is one of the most fought over pieces of real-estate in the history of the world. The valley of Jezreel lies between the cities of Jezreel and Megiddo.
Jezreel means “God sows”. Many have taken this to mean the seed of woman, and make it a promise of then coming Messiah.
Megiddo means the “place of cutting”. This was the place of the ritual cutting the priest of Baal practiced there. Physically it represents the spiritual dilemma of standing in the middle, hesitating to make the decision to follow God or Baal. Whether one should abide in the city of Jezreel or in the city of Megiddo. This is what Elijah was referring to when he was calling down fire from heaven, in his great dual with the priest of Baal, while on top of Mt. Carmel which over looks this same valley.
And Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 1Kings 18:21
Lo-ruhamah – Not pitied
This little girls name stands for how God feels about the rebellious house of Israel. He will no longer pity them. From history we know that very soon after Hosea lived and prophesied the Northern Tribes were taken into captivity by the Assyrian Empire and relocated to Medea.
There are alternate views as to the interpretation of these names.
There are some that hold that the church replaced the Ten Northern Tribes.
Others believe that these people will be identified by some means before The Return of the Lord.
The rest of us believe that the actual descendants of the Northern Tribes will return form Media and other lands where they may have wondered. The majority of these people are still in Iraq. They may our may not know who they are. But God knows.
Lo-ammi – Not my people
This little girls name indicates that Hosea knows that she is not his. She is a bastard. As the child is rejected by Hosea so are the people rejected by God.
The Promise
God promises to reunited Judah and Israel as well as take in Lo-ammi. The number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered.
10 Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Sons of the living God.” 11 And the people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head; and they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel. Hos. 1:10-11
Paul explains that Lo-ammi is the Gentiles. That because of God’s great love Gentiles are now Sons of the living God.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, a man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me thus?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘my beloved.’” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” Rom. 9:19-26
Paul has only quoted half of the verse in Hosea. He has only addresses Lo-ammi. The whole verse includes Judah and Israel i.e. Jezreel and Lo-ruhamah. Judah is back in the land. However they are not yet reunited with Israel. So even though Lo-ammi is now clearly the Gentiles, Lo-ruhamah is still out there, needing the compassion of her God.
. . . and I will sow him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Not pitied, and I will say to Not my people, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say ‘Thou art my God.’” Hos. 2:23
The Valley of Decision
Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. Joel 3:14
We all stand in this same valley. Will you take the broad and easy way to Megiddo or the strait and narrow path to Jezreel? Do you want to compromise with the mystery religions of Baal and Ashtaroth that have become easter and christmas, or return to a Biblical faith? We like Israel must decide which side of the valley of decision we will make our stand.
We already know where the kings of the earth will make their stand.
And they assembled them at the place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon. Rev. 16:16
What is really important is to get oneself out of that valley of indecision. Are you for God or Baal? To many of who are supposedly “God’s righteous people” have merely reconstructed a false Jesus out of the pagan myths and memories from the past. So just because you have renamed Baal, Jesus, does not make you secure in your salvation.
The Song of Songs 
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