The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. And the LORD 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 to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
---And it shall come to pass ---at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.---
And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and ----will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.----
Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
--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, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and ---appoint themselves --one --head, and they shall come up out of the land: ---for great shall be the day of Jezreel. ---- " - : Hosea 1
Hosea - I
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We have so far focused on (a) prophets to external nations - Jonah & Nahum to Nineveh (Assyria) and (b) the prophets that spoke to the children of Judah before the sack and desolation of Jerusalem - Habbakuk, Zephaniah, and Obadiah.
It is time to turn back the clock a little, and look at the prophecies made to the children of ISRAEL, who dwelt in the northern country.
If the sins committed in Jerusalem, (by the children of Levi, Simeon, Benjamin and Judah) in the south were bad, the sins committed by the tribes that lived in the North ( the rest of the 10 tribes ) were so bad that these tribes were completely scattered amongst the nations.
This traumatic event, which ripped away more than 80% of the Jewish people, the largest proportional loss in Jewish history, occurred in three stages over an 18-year period. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh were first taken into Assyrian captivity. Thus the tribes that had chosen in the time of Moses to live farthest from the spiritual center of the Jewish people were the first to be taken away. All told, the northern kingdom lasted for about 240 years.
What caused this 10+2 split in the first place?
It was Solomons sin, who committed a two-fold error, marrying foreign women (in the book of Ezra, there is a whole chapter devoted to this), and worshipping foreign gods (a constant issue).
---- " And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him ---twice---, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.
Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.." 1 Kings 11:9-12
This word was fulfilled when Solomons son Rehoboam discarded the advice of his elders, and chose to provoke all Israel and Judah by promising to tax them even more than his father had done, causing the northern tribes to secede, under the leadership of Jeroboam, Solomons servant!
It was to these people many years later that the prophet Hosea was sent, and he prophesied upto the years of the last king of Israel, ALSO called Hoshea.... what a punctuation mark!!
It is further highlighted by the strange commandment the prophet received from the LORD, go marry a prostitute! That is how this book OPENS.... and for at least two and a half years, NOTHING seems to happen... Hosea has three children, their names are chosen by the LORD, and there are three prophecies spoken each time.
Ponder upon that for a little while, before you decide being a prophet is your calling ? !!
When we look closer at the words that were spoken, it is remarkable that we see both implacable judgment, and mercy intertwined, along with a theme we have been seeing in the "minor" prophets, the day of the LORD!!
The name of the first son, Jezreel is properly pronounced Yizr-el (sounds like Israel) but it means God will sow. The valley that bears that name was the crossroads for the Middle East at that time, having 6 entrances that allowed people to enter from the north,south, east and west, and go in any direction they chose. This is the valley identified as the site of Armageddon, and 31 battles have been fought here till the present day, as it is both a strategic asset, and a natural battleground.
Hoseas second, Loruhamah, pronounced Lo-ruchamach, means not pitied, and the LORD is clear. There will be no merciful escape for them, nobody to break the bow of their enemies. They will have to pay for their doings.
The last child (a son) is called Lo-ammi, meaning not my people. A terrible pronouncement, ---yet tempered with mercy---, because we see later on, "and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God."
Truly the Grace of God is such that even when He is the harshest, He cannot bear to discard those He once called His children!!!
We even see shadows of a messianic prophecy of a person that will once again unite the tribes of Israel & Judah (and it is interesting to note that Israel will not be saved by ----by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.---- ...
Salvation is coming another way, and Christians know to look for the PERSON via whom it comes... from Yeshua, who trod the dusty roads of Galilee and Jericho, and from the Lamb of God, who will reach down to rescue His people in the day of their distress.
Hallelujah!!!