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Hosea 1

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Hosea Is Commanded to Marry Gomer 1–3

1
The word of Jehovah that came unto 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 Jehovah spake at the first by Hosea, Jehovah said unto Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredom and children of whoredom; for the land doth commit great whoredom, departing from Jehovah. ​
3
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived, and bare him a son.

The First Child: Jezreel (Judgment) 4–5

4
And Jehovah said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. ​
5
And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. ​

The Second Child: Lo-Ruhamah (No Mercy) 6–7

6
And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And Jehovah said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah; for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, that I should in any wise pardon them. ​
7
But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by Jehovah their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. ​

The Third Child: Lo-Ammi (Not My People) 8–9

8
Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
9
And Jehovah said, Call his name Lo-ammi; for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. ​

Promise of Future Restoration 10–11

10
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. ​
11
And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up from the land; for great shall be the day of Jezreel. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Hosea 1

Verse 1

Hosea, the son of Beeri — Hoshea, 'deliverer', is the name Joshua bore before Moses called him Jehoshua (Num 13:16); Paul writes it 'Osee' (Rom 9:25). Four kings of Judah are named but only one of Israel, 'Jeroboam the son of Joash' (2 Kgs 14:23), and the book speaks mostly to Israel. Amos prophesied under the same Uzziah and Jeroboam (Amos 1:1).

Verse 2

a wife of whoredoms — Zenunim, 'whoredoms', is the word for idolatry spoken of as unfaithfulness. The law had warned of Israel going 'a whoring after their gods' (Ex 34:15), and the LORD says to the backsliding, 'I am married unto you' (Jer 3:14). The reason given for the command is that the land has been 'departing from the LORD', and the marriage becomes the picture of it (3:1).

Verse 4

Jezreel — Yizreel, 'God will sow', is where Jehu 'slew all that remained of the house of Ahab' (2 Kgs 10:11). The LORD had promised that Jehu's sons would 'sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation' (2 Kgs 15:12), and that line ended with Zachariah, who reigned six months (2 Kgs 15:8). 'Avenge' is paqad, to visit. The name is turned to blessing in 2:22–23.

Verse 5

I will break the bow of Israel — The bow is the nation's weapon, the same word as 'not save them by bow' in v.7. The valley of Jezreel is where the Midianites and Amalekites once 'pitched' against Israel (Judg 6:33), and Tiglathpileser later 'took… Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria' (2 Kgs 15:29). The LORD promises to 'break the bow' from the earth in 2:18.

Verse 6

Loruhamah — Lo-ruchamah, 'not pitied', from racham, the verb 'have mercy' in this verse and the next. The LORD is 'merciful and gracious' (Ex 34:6). The name is cancelled in 2:23, 'I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy', and Peter applies it to the church: 'which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy' (1 Pet 2:10).

Verse 7

save them by the LORD their God — Yasha, 'save', is the root of Hosea's own name (v.1). A deliverance of this kind came in Hezekiah's day, when the angel of the LORD 'smote in the camp of the Assyrians' (2 Kgs 19:35). 'Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God' (Ps 20:7); 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit' (Zech 4:6).

Verse 9

Loammi — Lo-ammi, 'not my people', reverses the covenant words: 'I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God' (Ex 6:7) and 'I will be your God, and ye shall be my people' (Lev 26:12). Chapter 2 reverses it again: 'I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people' (2:23). Paul quotes it in Rom 9:25, Peter in 1 Pet 2:10.

Verse 10

as the sand of the sea — The number repeats the promise to Abraham, 'as the sand which is upon the sea shore' (Gen 22:17), and Jacob's prayer, 'which cannot be numbered for multitude' (Gen 32:12). The verse undoes the judgments of vv.6 and 9. Paul applies it in Rom 9:26: 'in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God'.

Verse 11

appoint themselves one head — Rosh, 'head', a leader. The reunion is promised in Ezek 37:22, 'one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations', and Jer 50:4, 'the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together'. Hosea 3:5 names the head: 'David their king'. 'The day of Jezreel' turns the name of v.4 into the sowing of 2:23.