Hosea names his first son Jezreel, which was the place where Jehu killed Joram and his mother Jezebel; names his first daughter Lo-ruhama, which means 'no mercy," and reflects the Lord's lack of mercy for Israel; and he names his second son Lo-ammi, which means "not my people," to indicate God's rejection of Israel.
The following are insights from J. Clinton McCann Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation Eden Seminary, Saint Louis, MO in his commentary found at http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=641
The matter was not that God was punishing Israel, but rather that Israel had abandoned God. The reality of broken covenant is captured in the names of Gomer and Hosea's children (verses 4-9). The name "Jezreel" although pleasant-sounding enough ("he sows"), virtually drips blood. Not only was it the site of "Jehu's purge" (see 2 Kings 9-10), which is alluded to in verse 4 (and which involved the deaths of both the kings of Israel and Judah), but it was also the site of Naboth's vineyard (and Naboth was killed as a result of King Ahab's excessive desire for more land -- see 1 Kings 21 and above). To be sure, Jehu had the support of the prophet Elisha, but apparently, the prophet Hosea had seen enough of the violent consequences of royal oppression. He announced that divine sanction had been withdrawn.
The name of the daughter involves nothing short of what we would call child abuse. "Lo-ruhamah" is often translated "Not Pitied" (see "pity" twice in verses 6-7); but this is much too nice a translation. The Hebrew root in its noun form means "womb," so the name connotes something like "Not Motherly Loved," or perhaps even something like "Neglected" or "Abused." It is shocking, matched only perhaps by Israel's shocking rejection of God and God's will. Verse 7 seems to be a Judean redaction of an earlier formulation.
The third child's name, "Not My People," is an explicit reversal of the covenant formula (see "my people" in Exodus 3:7, 10; 6:7). The explanation of the name in verse 9 is more literally, "for you are not my people; and as for me, not 'I am' to you" -- thus another poignant allusion to the Exodus (see Exodus 3:14) and an indication of the rupture of the covenant relationship.
I've have seen several books with names for babies, and I've been in some crazy discussions about baby's names, but those names have never come up in conversation! I am reminded of a "Dick Van Dyke Sho9w" episode when their son discovers that his middle name is ROSEBUD, which is actually an acronym for all the names the family thought they should use: Robert Oscar Sam Edward Benjamin Ulysses David (I actually found the episode on the Internet and watched it!).
I generally ask couples how they met and why they are going to get married. It generally leads to some interesting stories. None as interesting as God told me to find a prostitute and marry her, which would have been Hosea's story. Or, fast forward to a few years into the marriage and Gomer has betrayed Hosea and gone back to prostitution. What does Hosea do? He goes and buys back his wife who is now a prostitute and an adulterer. Cannot imagine that? Welcome to the grace of God!
It is interesting to we who try to keep politics out of religion (or at least we pretend to do so) read Hosea, as well as other minor prophets, who sees it all intertwined. How Israel's faith is lived out in the world or power and politics reflects directly on how God views Israel. Admittedly, our representative democracy is different than the theocracy of Israel, but I find it challenging that the nation of Israel is judged by its policies with the expectation that Israel will have policies that reflect its faithfulness to God.
Hosea finishes with a word of hope that is found in the opportunity for Israel to "return" to the Lord., the Lord who will forgive. A word of hope that is not as clearly articulated in the prophet Amos.
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