Hosea Continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 1:6-11 (ESV)

She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”

When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Devotional:

Gomer bore a daughter after Jezreel.  Hosea was told to name her No Mercie.  God will not show Israel any mercy because they fell away from Him.  In verse six God says I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel…”  He goes on to say that He will have mercy on Juda and that they will be saved not by the bow, sword, war, horse, or by horsemen.  Gomer’s next child was a boy whose name was Not My People.  In Exodus God referred to Israel as “My People” seventeen times.  The Israelites were God’s own.

Through generations of disobedience God had finally had enough.  God’s mercy was no longer going to be with them.  They were no longer God’s people.  They turned their back upon Him.  The message Hosea was giving to Israel is a harsh one.  The end of verse nine says “…for you are not my people and I am not your God.”

God’s warnings are all through the Bible.  He is a jealous God and we are to worship Him alone.  All through the Old Testament God gives His people warnings and a chance to repent.  Time after time Israel slips away.  God gives them messages and wake up calls.  Until finally He had enough, and His people were exiled.

After Adam and Eve sinned, they too were exiled.  We live in that exile.  We are outside of God’s mercy.  God has given us plenty of warnings and plenty of chances.  He is calling.  The question to ask, are we listening?

In Jesus’s time the Jews believed that a messiah would come and overthrow their oppressors.  God made it clear that was not going to be the case.  His plan was different.  He saved in a way no one expected.  Salvation came to us through a baby who would grow into a man.  He lived a perfect life to become the perfect sacrifice for all.  Through Jesus we are one of God’s own.  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 

God lets us know when we stray.  He gives us warnings and wants us to return to Him.  Our way to Him is through Jesus.  Our sins can be forgiven.  Even after we accept Christ we can and will make mistakes.  However, we still can head God’s warnings and return to Him.  Once we believe and accept Christ as our savior, we are God’s children.