Hosea’s Symbolic Wife and Children
Hosea 1The word of YHWH that came to 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.
When YHWH began to spoke through Hosea, YHWH said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of promiscuity and children of promiscuity, for the land is promiscuous-promiscuous, forsaking YHWH.”
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived, and bore him a son.
YHWH said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. It will happen in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
She conceived again, and bore a daughter.
Then he said to him, “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah,+1:6 Lo-Ruhamah means “not loved”. for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel. I will not forgive-forgive them. But I will show love to the house of Judah, and will save them by YHWH their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”
Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived, and bore a son.
Hᴇ said, “You are to name him Lo-Ammi,+1:9 Lo-Ammi means “not my people”. for y’all are not my people, and I will not be y’all’s God. Yet the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And in the place where it was said to them, ‘Y’all are not my people,’ they will be called ‘Children of the living God.’ The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint one head for themselves and will go up from the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.