Hosea Chapter 1

The word of the LORD 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. Hos. 1:1

word of the... "The word of the Lord" is used three times (Hos. 1:1, 1:2; 4:1).

came unto Hosea... Hosea, salvation. The only man whose name is spelled this way (Hos. 1:1-2). He is called Osee in Rom. 9:25.

son of Beeri... Jewish tradition identifies Beeri with Beerah of Reuben (1Ch. 5:6). Christian tradition makes Hosea of the tribe of Issachar.

in the days... Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

Hosea was a prophet to the 10-tribe kingdom, but he had warnings for Judah also. He prophesied in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel. The period must have been at least 72 years, for if he prophesied during the last 2 years of Jeroboam, there would be 38 years in the rest of the time of Uzziah’s reign to be counted, besides 16 years of Jotham’s reign and 16 years of Ahaz’s reign (making a total of 72 years); this would not include any time of his prophesying in the reign of Hezekiah (Hos. 1:1). The book of Hosea points to the imminent destruction of the 10 tribes and the fall of Samaria (predicted in Hos. 13:16), which took place in the 6th year of Hezekiah. The book is quoted in the N.T. in Mat. 2:15; 9:13; 12:7; Rom. 9:25-26; 1Cor. 15:55; 1Pet. 2:5, 2:10.

Hosea's Wife and Children

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. Hos. 1:2

said to Hosea... Hosea claimed that God spoke by him.

Go, take unto... Twenty-six Commands in Hosea

1. Go, take a wife of whoredoms (Hos. 1:2).

2. Call his name Jezreel (Hos. 1:4).

3. Call her name Lo-ruhamah (Hos. 1:6).

4. Call his name Lo-ammi (Hos. 1:9).

5. Say to your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ru-hamah (Hos. 2:1).

6. Plead with your mother (Hos. 2:2).

7. Let her put away her whoredoms.

8. Go yet, love a woman beloved by her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of God for Israel (Hos. 3:1).

9. Hear the word of the Lord (Hos. 4:1).

10. Let not Judah offend (Hos. 4:15).

11. Come not to Gilgal.

12. Do not go up to Beth-aven.

13. Do not swear, the Lord liveth.

14. Let him alone (Hos. 4:17).

15. Hear this, O priests (Hos. 5:1).

16. Hearken, you house of Israel.

17. Give ear, O house of the King.

18. Blow the trumpet in Gibeah (Hos. 5:8).

19. Blow the trumpet in Ramah.

20. Cry aloud at Beth-aven.

21. Let us return to the Lord (Hos. 6:1).

22. Set the trumpet to the mouth (Hos. 8:1).

23. Rejoice not, O Israel (Hos. 9:1).

24. Sow to yourselves in righteousness.

25. Return to the Lord, O Israel (Hos. 14:1).

26. Take with you words and turn to the Lord: say to Him, Take away all iniquity (Hos. 14:2).

The prophet’s wife was a woman of the northern kingdom and was therefore regarded as an idolatress, being the child of people in a nation which had gone deep into idolatry. She became unfaithful to her husband, Hosea, as she was unfaithful to Jehovah (Hos. 2:1-13).

committed great whoredom... Whoredom referred to here not only meant backsliding from Jehovah, but included literal sex orgies and perversions in connection with idols, as we have seen through the historical books of the O.T.

So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. Hos. 1:3

So he went... Three things the prophet did:

1. He went—he did not argue with God as Moses did (Exo. 4:18).

2. He took Gomer for his wife (Hos. 1:3).

3. He became a father, Gomer having borne him a son.

and took Gomer... Gomer means completion; that is, filling up the measure of idolatry.

In the course of prophesying he made mention of this person, who was a notorious common strumpet; and suggested hereby that they were just like her; or these were fictitious names he used to represent their case by Gomer signifies both "consummation" and "consumption".

The meanings of the people’s names are very important in this. The name "Gomer" means completion. This means then, that God has sent them final warning. They have gone too far, with their unfaithfulness to God. "Diblaim" means two cakes. If we put the names together, we would see that the woman was a pleasure, but not a true wife as she was full of sin. Thank goodness the son here is Hosea's 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. Hos. 1:4

And the LORD... The 1st prophecy in Hosea (Hos. 1:4, fulfilled). Next, Hos. 1:6.

Three Predictions—Fulfilled:

1. In a little while I will avenge the blood of Jezreel (Hos. 1:4; 2Ki. 9:16, 2Ki. 9:25, 9:33; 10:11, 10:14-30).

2. I will cause the kingdom of Israel to cease (the ten tribes, Hos. 1:4; 2Ki. 17:1-41).

3. I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel (Hos. 1:5; 2Ki. 18:11).

Call his name... Jezreel, God will scatter or sow. The name of Hosea’s first son. The meaning was that God would scatter Israel and sow them in all lands; and when His purpose for this was complete He would again sow them in their own land (Hos. 2:22-23).

I will avenge... It was at the city of Jezreel where Jehu slaughtered the house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:7 – 10:28).

house of Jehu... Jehu had carried out God’s judgment on the house of Ahab; then he went into the same sins for which he had judged Ahab (2Ki. 10:31-36). This total destruction of the house of Ahab is called "the day of Jezreel" (Hos. 1:11). It was an appropriate picture of the terrible destruction in the day of the Lord and Armageddon.

He is to be a reminder that God will judge the house of Jehu for the bloodshed in Jezreel, when the kingdom was wrested from Ahab and Jezebel and God’s judgment was poured out against them (2 Kings Chapter 9) as above.

cause to cease... Looks forward to the exile of Israel to Assyria in 722 B.C., from which she never returned.
House of Israel... Israel means prince with God, or he will rule as God. "Jehu" means Jehovah is He. The blood of Jezreel that was to be avenged probably had to do with Ahab and Jezebel, who were severely punished for their evil deeds. This is saying that God will remove the house of Israel from their kingdom.
In Isaiah, God named Isaiah's children for what was going on in the country at the time. This is true here as well. God named these children to reveal an extra message to the people.

And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. Hos. 1:5

break the bow... The bow was a common euphemism denoting military strength, the principal instrument of warfare in Israel. Fulfillment came in 722 B.C. when Assyria invaded.

valley of Jezreel... Jezreel, called Esdraelon, extends 10 miles in breadth from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, near Carmel; it was the great battlefield (see Rev. 16:14-16), adjoining the Valley of Megiddo, which will become an avenue of blessing (verse 11), when Christ returns in triumph.
The bloodshed of Jezreel would “reoccur” in the house of Jehu, and his dynasty would come to a violent end, just as Ahab’s did. This happened (in 752 B.C.; 2 Kings 15:10).
This valley of Jezreel has been the location of many battles. This is the very same place, where Gideon defeated the Midianites as above. We see in this Scripture above, that this is to be the location of Israel's defeat as well. "The breaking of the bow" shows their helplessness in battle.

God told Hosea that the demise of Jehu’s dynasty was to be accompanied by the downfall of the Northern Kingdom. In a display of poetic justice the Lord would break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel, the site of Jehu’s sin. Breaking the bow refers to the destruction of the nation’s military might (cf. 1Sa. 2:4; Psm. 46:9; Jer. 49:35).

The general fulfillment of this prophecy came in 734-722 b.c. when the Assyrians overran Israel and reduced it to a province within their empire (2Ki. 15:29; 17:3-5). The Jezreel plain in particular was probably conquered in 733 b.c. by Tiglath-Pileser III. This valley, which had been the scene of a great military victory under Gideon (Jdg. 6:33; 7:1-25), again became a symbol of national disgrace and defeat, as it had been after Saul’s death (1Sa. 29:1, 29:11; 31:1-13).

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. Hos. 1:6

And she conceived... The 2nd prophecy in Hosea (Hos. 1:6-7, fulfilled). Next, Hos. 1:9.

Five Predictions—Fulfilled:

1. I will have mercy on the house of Israel no more (Hos. 1:6).

2. I will utterly take them away (Hos. 1:6; 2Ki. 17:1-41).

3. I will have mercy on the house of Judah (Hos. 1:7).

4. I will save the house of Judah.

5. I will not save them by carnal means.

Call her name... Lo-ruhamah, I will have mercy no more, or I will not have compassion (Hos. 1:6; cp. Rom. 9:25; 1Pet. 2:10).

no more have... This was literally fulfilled. The ten-tribe kingdom was never restored and never will be, as such, again. God did utterly take them away and only those who clung to Judah and all the kingdom of David were restored with them as a nation; the rest were completely destroyed. God did have mercy on the house of Judah and they were restored (Hos. 1:7).

Lo-ruhamah... Literally “not pitied,” this daughter is named to symbolize God bringing judgment on Israel, no longer extending His favor towards them.

The "she", in the verse above, is speaking of Hosea's wife. Perhaps the reason this child is a female, is to show that not only the males in Israel are guilty of spiritual adultery and deserve to be punished, but the females as well. The name "Lo-ruhamah" means not pitied. This name tells us that God will not pity these evil people, (Israel). He will let them go into captivity to punish them for their spiritual adultery (worship of false gods).

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. Hos. 1:7

I will have... God chose to intervene on behalf of Hezekiah when Jerusalem was besieged at the hands of the Assyrians (in 701 B.C.; 2 Kings Chapter 19; Isaiah Chapter 37).

This is just saying that Judah will not be overrun by Assyria.
and will save...They will be spared from this, because they have not been as unfaithful to God as Israel (10 tribes), has been. They would be taken captive, but not by Assyria, and not until over 100 years later. They had a few godly leaders, and Israel did not. They will not be saved in battle; they will be saved from battle.
and will not... Judah will not have to depend on weapons to save them. God will save them. Perhaps this refers to the battle where Sennacherib, king of Assyria, lost 185,000 men in one night (2 Kings 19:35). The angel of the Lord killed them. God won the battle for Judah. This was during the reign of Hezekiah. This is the very same army that had overrun Israel (10 tribes), and defeated them.

The light of God’s grace shines through the gloom of impending judgment. Judah, the Southern Kingdom, in contrast with Israel, would experience the Lord’s love in the form of deliverance from the Assyrians. This would not be accomplished through human military might (symbolized by the bow, sword, etc.), but by the Lord’s intervention. This promise was fulfilled in 701 b.c. when God supernaturally annihilated 185,000 soldiers in the powerful Assyrian army in one night thereby ending its campaign against Judah (2Ki. 19:32-36).

Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Hos. 1:8

That is, when Gomer had weaned her daughter (Hosea 1:6).

she conceived, and... According to Kimchi, as the weaning of Lo-ruhamah points at the times of weakness, from Zachariah the son of Jeroboam to the times of Pekahiah, when the reigns were short and troublesome. So this son she conceived and bore represents the state of the nation in the times of Pekah; who reigned twenty years, and was too powerful for the kingdom of Judah, slew multitudes of them, and carried others captive, and assisted Rezin king of Syria against Ahaz king of Judah.
This period of time represented by the time she was weaning this baby is showing God waited for the punishment, to see if they would repent. Mothers generally nurse their babies about two years, so this was an interval of about two years. God did not want to punish His people, but He could not let them continue worshipping false gods.
The third child, a son, was named Lo-Ammi, which means not My people. In the ancient covenant formula God declared, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people” (Lev. 26:12; cf. Exo. 6:7; Deut. 26:17-18). But now that relationship was to be severed.

Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Hos. 1:9

Call his name... Lo-ammi means “Not My People”, indicating to the Israel of his day that they were not the Lord’s people, and that the Lord was not their God. This should in no sense be understood as an annulment of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12:1-3), an unconditional covenant depending solely upon God for its fulfillment.

I will not... Literally “I am no longer ‘I Am’ to you.” The phrase gives the breaking of the covenant, a kind of divorce formula, in contrast to the covenant or marriage formula “I AM WHO I AM” given in Exodus 3:14.
In this, God had divorced them. He no longer wanted them as His wife. They were unfaithful. The name "Lo-ammi" means not my people. Because of their unfaithfulness to be His, He will no longer be their God. He will not overrule their will and be their God. There is a lesson in this for us. We must, of our own free will, invite God to be our God.

The last clause of Hos. 1:9 (I am not your God) is literally, “and I [am] not I AM (’ehyeh) to you.” The statement probably alludes to God’s words to Moses, “I am (’ehyeh) who I am (’ehyeh). This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM (’ehyeh) has sent me to you” (Exo. 3:14). “I AM,” which is closely related to the divine name Yahweh, points to God as the covenant Lord of Israel who watches over and delivers His people (cf. Exo. 3:16-17). However, through Lo-Ammi the Lord announced that Israel would no longer experience His special saving presence.

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. Hos. 1:10

Regardless of being cut off they would eventually multiply to be great in Christ when all Israel will be saved (Zech. 12:1-13:1; Rom. 11:25-29) and be gathered (Hos. 1:11; Isa. 11:10; Eze. 37:1-28) and would again be called the children of God. That time is yet future; the prediction will be fully fulfilled at the second coming of Christ (Mat. 24:31).

Yet the number... A reaffirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant, not to be fulfilled in this generation but in the future (Gen. 22:17).

Ye are not... (quoted by Paul in Romans 9:26).
This speaks of a time, when God will forgive them, and take them back as His wife. God is faithful to keep every promise He ever made.
shall be as... He had promised Abraham that his seed would be as the sand of the sea, and He will do it. The punishment that Israel suffers is to make them repent and return to God. In Jesus Christ, God makes a way of restoration for His people. To become sons of God, we must receive Jesus Christ as our Savior.
John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:"
Romans 8:14 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of 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. Hos. 1:11

Then shall the... Then—when Judah and Israel will become sons of the living God, they will be completely gathered (Hos. 1:10-11).

be gathered together... The fact that both kingdoms of Israel were to be gathered proves that both were to be scattered. At this time neither kingdom had been defeated or scattered. About 72 to 90 years after this the 10 tribes were scattered (2Ki. 17:1-41), and 133 years later Judah was scattered (2 Ki. 23-25). Both were gathered after the 70 years of Judah in Babylon (that is, Judah was gathered and those of the 10 tribes who desired to return with her) and both made a nation in the land in the days of Christ. Then in A.D. 70 they were scattered again (Luke 21:20-24). Now they are both being gathered in part and will continue in national restoration as a nation until the second coming of Christ who will gather them fully from all parts of the earth (Isa. 11:10-12; Eze. 37:1-28; Mat. 24:31).

themselves one head... This predicts the reunion of all the tribes of Israel again as one nation ruled by one king (Eze. 37:1-28). One head (refers to messiah; compare 3:5).

day of Jezreel... Here used positively in the sense of divine blessing (compare 2:22).
This is looking far into the future, until the time when Jesus is the head of both. The mention of Jezreel here, is speaking of the same place we call the valley of Armageddon. This will be the time when Jesus will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. This is also, the same thing spoken of as the two sticks that come together in Ezekiel chapter 37. The following Scriptures explain it very well.
Romans 11:25-27 "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:" "For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins."