“I will call them My people, who were not My people,
and her beloved, who were not beloved. And it shall come to pass
in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’
there they shall be called sons of the living God”
(Romans 9:25-26).
The name “Hosea” is an affectionate form of Joshua and means “God saved.” The prophet Hosea carried out his ministry for about twenty-five years during a time of intense national suffering. Israel, the northern kingdom, fell into the hands of the Assyrians. They were defeated and carried into captivity at two different times.
In that time of mourning and pain, Hosea wrote his book. It was not a time to feel sympathy and affection for foreigners, but the prophet spoke not from his own feelings of anguish, but through the revelation of the Lord. Paul quoted Hosea to show the believers of Rome that the gospel should reach everyone.
God had asked Hosea something strange:
“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman
who is loved by a lover and is commiting adultery,
just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel,
who look to other gods’ ” (Hosea 3:1).
God asks him to love an unfaithful woman who did not deserve to be loved, just as He loves an unfaithful people who do not deserve to be loved. Gomer’s infidelity is a mirror of the nation’s infidelity and idolatry.
Hosea’s and Gomer’s first son was named Jezreel, which means “God scattered.” The second daughter was called “Lo-Ruhamah,” which means “no mercy,” to show suffering in exile. The third son was called Lo-Ammi, which means “not my people,” to show that the covenant between God and His people had been broken.
The metaphorical meaning of the three children is used to represent the restored marriage relationship. Before the restoration, Jezreel meant “God will scatter,” but then it meant “I will sow.” Before, Lo-Ruhamah meant “not pitied,” but then it meant “I will have mercy.” Before, Lo-Ammi meant “not my people,” but then it meant “you are my people.”
That is why Paul gave assurance that God would call those who were not His people “my people,” and those who were not love, “beloved,” in order to show all Christians that God was always interested in reaching everyone with the message of the gospel. Thus, those nations could also be part of God’s people and would be called “children of the living God” (Hos. 1:10; Rom. 9,26).
This was why the Son of God became the Son of man:
That all the children of humankind, without any discrimination,
might be called children of God.
“The Christian does not believe that God will love us because we are good,
but that God will make us good because He loves us” (C.S.Lewis).
You are a child of God, you are loved by the Almighty. God bless you…