Hosea's Wife and Children
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
Yet the number... Regardless of being cut off they would eventually multiply to be great in Christ when all Israel will be saved (Zec. 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).
מִסְפָּר
mispār: A masculine noun meaning a number, a count, an amount. In general it indicates the quantity numerically of something: years (Dan. 9:2); persons (Num. 3:22); cities (Jer. 2:28), etc. It can take on the sense of recounting something that has happened, a story or narrative (Jdg. 7:15). If something is numbered, it may mean that it is fixed or few (Deu. 33:6). Something that is ‛êyn mispār is without number, innumerable (Gen. 41:49); or unlimited (Psm. 40:12,13; 147:5). The verb ‛ābar, to cross over, plus bemispār means to be counted, enrolled (2Sam. 2:15). ‛Ālāh mispar means to go into a record, into an account (1Chr. 27:24).
of the children...
בֵּן
bēn: A noun meaning son that occurs almost five thousand times in the Old Testament. Although the most basic meaning and general translation is son, the direct male offspring of human parents (Gen. 4:25; 27:32; Isa. 49:15), it is more generally a relational term because of its variety of applications. This word can express an adopted child (Exo. 2:10); children in general, male and female (Gen. 3:16; 21:7; Exo. 21:5); descendants, such as grandsons (Jos. 22:24-25, 22:27; 2Kgs. 10:30); relative age (Gen. 5:32; 17:12; Pro. 7:7; Song 2:3); the male offspring of animals (Lev. 22:28; Deu. 22:6-7; 1Sam. 6:7, 6:10); a member of a guild, order, or class (1Kgs. 20:35; 1Chr. 9:30; Ezra 4:1); a person with a certain quality or characteristic (1Sam. 14:52; 2Sam. 3:34; 2Kgs. 14:14). It may also have a gentilic sense and designate a person from a certain place (Gen. 17:12; Psm. 149:2; Ezk. 23:15, 23:17).
of Israel...
יִשְׂרָאֵל
yiśrā’ēl: A proper noun designating Israel:
A. The name given to Jacob after he successfully wrestled with the messenger of God (Gen. 32:28). The name means "he (who) struggles with God." It was used of the descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt (70 in all) but was applied to the nation that developed from those descendants (Exo. 1:1, 1:7). This name is explained again in Gen. 35:10. The name Jacob had been interpreted in context as well (Gen. 25:26), "he deceives."
B. The persons descended from Jacob who was renamed Israel (Gen. 35:10; see A above). His descendants became known as Israel (Exo. 1:1, 1:7). They were known as the "twelve tribes of Israel [Jacob]" (Gen. 49:7, 49:16, 49:28). The Lord became "the Rock of Israel (Gen. 49:24).
The land of Israel was ideally the territory first described to Abraham. It stretched from the river of Egypt El-Arish to the great Euphrates River and encompassed the territory of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites (Gen. 15:17-21; cf. also Gen. 10:15-18). The full expanse of this territory was occupied during the reign of David and Solomon and approached during the time of Israel-Judah under the respective contemporary reigns of Jeroboam II in Israel and Azariah (Uzziah) in Judah. Most often, however, the land of Israel in the Old Testament is designated as the territory from Dan (north) to Beersheba (south). After Israel divided into two kingdoms in 930 B.C., the name refers still to all of Israel but most often to northern Israel. After the return from exile in 538 B.C., the term is used of the whole restored community again regularly.
shall be...
הָיָה
hāyāh: A verb meaning to exist, to be, to become, to happen, to come to pass, to be done. It is used over 3,500 times in the Old Testament. In the simple stem, the verb often means to become, to take place, to happen. It indicates that something has occurred or come about, such as events that have turned out a certain way (1Sam. 4:16); something has happened to someone, such as Moses (Exo. 32:1, 32:23; 2Kgs. 7:20); or something has occurred just as God said it would (Gen. 1:7, 1:9). Often a special Hebrew construction using the imperfect form of the verb asserts that something came to pass (cf. Gen. 1:7, 1:9). Less often, the construction is used with the perfect form of the verb to refer to something coming to pass in the future (Isa. 7:18, 7:21; Hos. 2:16).
The verb is used to describe something that comes into being or arises. For instance, a great cry arose in Egypt when the firstborn were killed in the tenth plague (Exo. 12:30; cf. Gen. 9:16; Mic. 7:4); and when God commanded light to appear, and it did (Gen. 1:3). It is used to join the subject and verb as in Gen. 1:2 where the earth was desolate and void, or to say Adam and Eve were naked (Gen. 2:25). With certain prepositions, it can mean to follow or to be in favor of someone (Psm. 124:1-2). The verb is used with a variety of other words, normally prepositions, to express subtle differences in meaning, such as to be located somewhere (Exo. 1:5); to serve or function as something (e.g., gods [Exo. 20:3]); to become something or as something, as when a person becomes a living being (Gen. 2:7); to be with or by someone (Deu. 22:2); to be or come on someone or something (e.g., the fear of humans on the beasts [Gen. 9:2]); to express the idea of better than or a comparison (Ezk. 15:2), as in the idea of too small (Exo. 12:4). 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:"
Rom. 8:14 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
as the sand...
חוֹל
ḥôl: A masculine noun designating sand, mud. It is used to refer to the sand along the seashore as an example of the innumerable descendants that will belong to Abraham (Gen. 22:17; 32:12,13) or as simply the major element of the seashore (Exo. 2:12). In the time of Solomon, Israel and Judah were said to have numbered as many as the grains of sand along the seashore (1Kgs. 4:20). It is used regularly in this figurative sense to indicate great quantities: corn (Gen. 41:49); length of days (Job 29:18); of Solomon's wisdom (1Kgs. 4:29; 5:9).
of the sea...
יָם
yām: A masculine noun denoting the sea, west. It points out significant bodies of water in general as created by God and nature at the time of God's bringing order on the earth (Gen. 1:26). It refers to all bodies of water collectively (Exo. 20:11); all the water collected into bodies of water (Dan. 11:45). The word refers often to specific bodies of water, designating them seas: the Great Sea, the Mediterranean (Jos. 1:4); the sea of the Philistines, also the Mediterranean (Exo. 23:31); the Dead Sea, literally, the Salt Sea (Gen. 14:3); the sea of the Arabah, again the Dead Sea (2Kgs. 14:25); the sea of reeds or Red Sea (Exo. 10:19); the sea of Egypt (Isa. 11:15); the Sea of Galilee (Num. 34:11; Jos. 13:27). It was used to refer to large rivers: the Nile (Isa. 18:2); the Euphrates (Jer. 51:36).
It is used in the geographical phrase "from sea to sea" (Amos 8:12). Since it often referred to the Mediterranean Sea, the Great Sea, yām came to mean west (Gen. 13:14); from the west meant on the west side of (miyyām; Jos. 8:9). With āh added to the end of yam, the word means westward (Num. 3:23). It is used of the model bronze sea built by Solomon and used in temple worship (1Kgs. 7:23-25). Finally, it combines in word combinations to give the shore of the sea (Jos. 11:4); sand of the sea ḥōl hayyām (Gen. 32:12,13; 41:49).
which...
אֲשֶׁר
’ašer: This word functions as (a) a relative pronoun meaning which, who, that or (b) a conjunction meaning that, because, so that, as, so that. The use of the word is determined by its function in the sentence in which it is used. Its basic usage: (a) a relative pronoun (Gen. 21:2; Deu. 1:22; Isa. 5:28; Hos. 3:1); a relative pronoun with a preposition prefixed (Gen. 21:17; Exo. 5:11; 33:12); or with nouns placed before ’ašer in the construct or "of" state, e.g., Gen. 39:20, "The place where the king's prisoners were confined."
cannot...
לֹא
lō’, לוֹא
lô’, לֹה
lōh: An adverb meaning no, not. The term is primarily utilized as an ordinary negation, as in Genesis 3:4: "You will not surely die" (NIV cf. Jdg. 14:4; Psm. 16:10). Often it is used to express an unconditional prohibition, thus having the force of an imperative: "You shall not (= do not ever) steal"(Exo. 20:15 NIV; cf. Jdg. 13:5). Frequently, it functions as an absolute in answer to a question (Job 23:6; Zec. 4:5). The word is also employed in questions to denote that an affirmative answer is expected (2Kgs. 5:26; Jon. 4:11). When it is prefixed to a noun or adjective, it negates that word, making it have an opposite or contrary meaning (e.g., god becomes non-god; strong becomes weak; cf. Deu. 32:21; Pro. 30:25). When prefixed by the preposition be, meaning in or by, the combined term carries the temporal meaning of beyond or before (Lev. 15:25); the meaning without is also not uncommon for this combination (Job 8:11). A prefixed preposition le, meaning to or for, gives the term the meaning of without (2Chr. 15:3) or as though not (Job 39:16). Occasionally, the word suggests the meaning not only, on account of the context (Deu. 5:3).
be measured...
מָדַד
māḏaḏ: A verb meaning to measure, to mete out, to stretch. It serves as a general term for various types and ways of measurement: distance or area (Num. 35:5; Deu. 21:2; Ezk. 40:5-6, 40:8, 40:20); an amount of grain of any kind, sand, the heavens, etc. (Ruth 3:15; Isa. 40:12; Jer. 31:37; 33:22; Hos. 1:10; 2:1); counting out payment for something (Isa. 65:7). It is used to line up, measure off, and tally up prisoners of war for life or death (2Sam. 8:2). It refers to God's actions of deliverance for His people as He measures them out for victory (Psm. 60:6,8; 108:7,8). It indicates Elijah's action as he "measured himself out," stretched himself over the widow's son to heal him (1Kgs.17:21). It is probably the preferred reading in Job 7:4, indicating the way the nights continued to drag on.
nor... see cannot above.
Numbered...
סָפַר
sāp̱ar, סֹפֵר
sōp̱ēr, סוֹפֵר
sôp̱ēr: A verb meaning to number, to recount, to relate, to declare. It is used to signify the numbering or counting of objects (Gen. 15:5; Psm. 48:12,13); and people, as in a census (1Chr. 21:2; 2Chr. 2:17,16). It also refers to a quantity that is too great to number (Gen. 16:10; Jer. 33:22). God's numbering of one's steps is a sign of His care (Job 14:16; cf. Mat. 10:30). The word also means to relate or to recount and is used often to refer to the communication of important information and truths to those who have not heard them, especially to foreign nations (Exo. 9:16; 1Chr. 16:24; Psm. 96:3); or to the children in Israel (Psm. 73:15; 78:4, 78:6; 79:13). The matter communicated included dreams (Gen. 40:9; 41:8, 41:12; Jdg. 7:13); God's works (Exo. 18:8; Psm. 73:28; Jer. 51:10); and recounting one's own ways to God (Psm. 119:26). The word also signifies the silent witness of the creation to its Creator and His wisdom and glory (Job. 12:8; 28:27; Psm. 19:1,2).
The participle form of the word sōp̱ēr, means scribe and occurs about fifty times in the Old Testament. Scribes such as Ezra studied, practiced, and taught the Law (Ezra 7:11). Scribes also served kings, writing and sometimes carrying messages to and from court (2Kgs. 18:18; 19:2; Est. 3:12; 8:9). In 2Kgs. 22:10, a scribe read the recovered scroll of the Law to King Josiah, bringing about a personal revival. Scribes, as people who could read and count, also acted militarily, gathering the troops (2Kgs. 25:19; Jer. 52:25). The occupation of scribe could belong to a family (1Chr. 2:55). Also, some Levites occupied the position as part of their job (2Chr. 34:13).
and it shall come to pass... see be above.
that in the place...
מָקוֹם
māqôm, מָקֹם
māqōm: A common noun indicating a place, a spot, a space, a stand. It basically indicates a location or space, in general of any place or location specified: figuratively of the place of the wicked (Psm. 37:10); a place at a table for eating (1Sam. 20:25); a place to live (Deu. 1:33; 2Kgs. 6:1); a spot where one is standing (Exo. 3:5; Jos. 5:15); unspecified: in any place (Gen. 1:9; 28:16-17; Exo. 20:24; Jdg. 2:5; Amos 4:6; 8:3). It is used often to indicate a city, the place of the city (Gen. 18:24; 20:11; 22:14; 26:7; Deu. 21:19; 2Kgs. 18:25). It refers to spots on a person's body (Lev. 13:19; 2Kgs. 5:11). It indicates a place for a statue on a pedestal, a stand (1Sam. 5:3). It refers often to special holy places: the place of the sanctuary (Lev. 10:13; 14:17); a holy place māqôm qāḏôš means a place around the Tabernacle area. Jerusalem is called this holy place (1Kgs. 8:30). It refers to places concerning the Temple or the Temple itself; the place which God chose, where His name is (1Kgs. 8:29-30, 8:35; 2Chr. 6:20-21, 6:26; Isa. 18:7; 60:13). It is used of a holy place at any location or time (Ecc. 8:10). It has the sense of an open space or area (1Sam. 26:13). It is found in the idiom "to yield ground" in battle (Jdg. 20:36). It refers to pagan holy places (Deu. 12:2-3; Ezk. 6:13).
where... see which above.
It was said...
אָמַר
’āmar: A verb meaning to say. It is translated in various ways depending on the context. It is almost always followed by a quotation. In addition to vocal speech, the word refers to thought as internal speech (2Sam. 13:32; Est. 6:6). Further, it also refers to what is being communicated by a person's actions along with his words (Exo. 2:14; 2Chr. 28:13).
A reaffirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant, not to be fulfilled in this generation but in the future (Gen. 22:17). We see the start of this covenant being talked about today but as stated will happen in the future.
unto them, ye...
אַתָּה
’attāh: A personal pronoun meaning you. It is also written ’attā in a few places (1Sam. 24:18,19; Psm. 6:3,4). Its basic use is as the independent personal pronoun meaning you (Num. 11:15; Deu. 5:27,24; 2Chr. 14:11,10; Ezk. 28:14). It is used for emphasis before finite verb forms and then may mean you, yourself. It may also be used after (appended) a verb for emphasis (Exo. 18:19; 1Sam. 17:56; 20:8). Used after a previous suffix referring to you, it is again emphatic (2Chr. 35:21).
are not... God was not permanently casting away the people of Israel, however. In the verses quoted by Paul God promised to restore them as His beloved and as His people. By ethnic heritage the Gentiles were not God’s people, so Paul was led by the Spirit of God to apply these verses to Gentiles — and Jews also — who were sovereignly chosen by God and called to be His people in Christ. The quotation of Hos. 2:23 is rather free with the order of the clauses reversed to fit the application to Gentiles. Paul was applying these verses from Hosea to the Gentiles, not reinterpreting them. He was not saying that Israel of the Old Testament is part of the church.
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.
My people...
עַ ם
‛am, עָ ם
‛ām: A masculine noun meaning a people, peoples, people of the land, citizens. The word is used over nineteen hundred times to indicate groups of people that can be categorized in various ways. The largest group of people is the one comprising the whole earth (see Gen. 11:1); it constituted one people (Gen. 11:6); who shared a common language (Gen. 11:6; Ezk. 3:5); a common location (see Gen. 11:2); and a common purpose and goal (see Gen. 11:4). However, the Lord scattered the group and brought about multiple languages, thereby producing many groups who would then develop into new peoples united around common languages, including common ancestors, religious beliefs, traditions, and ongoing blood relationships.
The word is used to describe various groups that developed. The people of the sons of Israel (Exo. 1:9; Ezra 9:1), was a term referring to all Israel. The people of Judah were a subgroup of Israel (2Sam. 19:40,41), as was northern Israel (2Kgs. 9:6). The people of Israel as a whole could be described in religious or moral terms as a holy, special people (Deu. 7:6; 14:2; Dan. 8:24); or the Lord's inheritance (Deu. 4:20). Above all, they were to be the Lord's people (Jdg. 5:11; 1Sam. 2:24); and the people of God (2Sam. 14:13). They were the Lord's own people because He had rescued them from slavery to Pharaoh and his gods (Exo. 6:7). But the Lord Himself characterized His people as stiff-necked (Exo. 32:9; 33:3; 34:9; Deu. 9:13). To be a member of the Lord's people was to have the Lord as one's God (Ruth 1:16); if God's people rejected the Lord, they ceased to be His people. Therefore, it is clear that God's presence and ownership of His people gave them their identity (Exo. 33:13, 33:16; Hos. 1:9; cf. Deu. 32:21).
In the plural form, the word refers to many peoples or nations. Jerusalem, destroyed and lamenting, called for the people of the world to look on it and its guilt (Lam. 1:18). Israel was chosen from among all the peoples of the earth (Exo. 19:5, 19:7; Deu. 14:2). The Lord is in control of all the plans of the nations and peoples (Psm. 33:10). The word is used in parallel with gôyim. Isaac prayed for Jacob's offspring to become a community of peoples that would include the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen. 28:3).
The word described people in general that is, nonethnic or national groups. It refers to all the people as individuals in the world (Isa. 42:5). When persons died, they were gathered to their people (Gen. 25:8, 25:17). It also referred to people from a particular city (Ruth 4:9; 2Chr. 32:18); or people from a specific land (e.g., Canaan [Zep. 1:11]). Centuries earlier, Pharaoh referred to the Hebrews living in Egypt under slavery as the people of the land (Exo. 5:5). This phrase could refer to the population at large in Solomon's time and later (2Kgs. 11:14, 11:18; 15:5); or to the population of Canaan in Abraham's time (Gen. 23:7).
The term also depicted foreign peoples and nations. The Moabites were the people of the god Chemosh (Num. 21:29). The word designated foreigners in general as strange or alien people (Exo. 21:8); the people of Egypt were considered the people of Pharaoh (Exo. 1:9, 1:22).
The word is even used to describe a gathering of ants (Pro. 30:25); or rock badgers (Pro. 30:26).
there it shall be said... see it was said above.
unto them, ye are the sons...
בֵּן
bēn: A noun meaning son that occurs almost five thousand times in the Old Testament. Although the most basic meaning and general translation is son, the direct male offspring of human parents (Gen. 4:25; 27:32; Isa. 49:15), it is more generally a relational term because of its variety of applications. This word can express an adopted child (Exo. 2:10); children in general, male and female (Gen. 3:16; 21:7; Exo. 21:5); descendants, such as grandsons (Jos. 22:24-25, 22:27; 2Kgs. 10:30); relative age (Gen. 5:32; 17:12; Pro. 7:7; Song 2:3); the male offspring of animals (Lev. 22:28; Deu. 22:6-7; 1Sam. 6:7, 6:10); a member of a guild, order, or class (1Kgs. 20:35; 1Chr. 9:30; Ezra 4:1); a person with a certain quality or characteristic (1Sam. 14:52; 2Sam. 3:34; 2Kgs. 14:14). It may also have a gentilic sense and designate a person from a certain place (Gen. 17:12; Psm. 149:2; Ezk. 23:15, 23:17).
of the living...
חַי
ḥay, חַיָּה
ḥayyāh: A feminine noun meaning a living thing, an animal, a beast, a living thing. The basic meaning is living things, but its most common translation is animals or beasts. The word refers to all kinds of animals and beasts of the field or earth (Gen. 1:24-25; 1Sam. 17:46) and sometimes stands in parallel with birds of the air (Ezk. 29:5). The nations, such as Egypt, were referred to metaphorically as beasts (Psm. 68:30,31). Beasts were categorized in various ways: beasts of burden (Isa. 46:1); land animals (Gen. 1:28; 8:19); cattle (Num. 35:3); sea creatures (Psm. 104:25); clean, edible creatures (Lev. 11:47; 14:4); unclean, nonedible creatures (Lev. 5:2); large and small creatures (Psm. 104:25).
Two further categories of animals are noted: wild animals or animals of prey and animal or beast-like beings. God made the wild animals of the field. Sometimes the Lord used wild beasts as instruments of His judgments (Ezk. 14:15; 33:27), but on other occasions He protected His people from ravenous beasts (Gen. 37:20; Lev. 26:6). At any rate, vicious beasts will not inhabit the land of the Lord's restored people (Isa. 35:9). The bizarre living beings mentioned in Ezk. 1:5, 1:13, 1:22; 3:13 were like birds and animals but were composite beings. They could not be described adequately by human language, for they also had the forms of humans, each with faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle. However, they did not resemble flesh and blood in their appearance (Ezk. 1:13) and were tied to the movement of the Spirit (Ezk. 1:20).
God...
אֵל
’ēl: A masculine noun meaning God, god, mighty one, hero. This is one of the most ancient terms for God, god, or deity. It appears most often in Genesis, Job, Psalms, and Isaiah and not at all in some books. The root meaning of the word mighty can be seen in Job 41:25,17 and Mic. 2:1. This word is used occasionally of other gods (Exo. 34:14; Deu. 3:24; Psm. 44:20,21; Mal. 2:11) but is most often used to mean the one true God (Psm. 5:4,5; Isa. 40:18). It expresses various ideas of deity according to its context. The most common may be noted briefly: the holy God as contrasted to humans (Hos. 11:9); the High God El (Gen. 14:18; 16:13; Ezk. 28:2); the Lord (Yahweh) as a title of Israel according to the Lord's own claim (Gen. 33:20; 40:18); God or god in general (Exo. 34:14; Deu. 32:21; Mic. 7:8); the God of Israel, the Lord (Num. 23:8; Psm. 118:27); God (Job 5:8).
This word is used with various descriptive adjectives or attributes: ’ēl is God of gods (Psm. 50:1); God of Bethel (Gen. 35:7); a forgiving God (Psm. 99:8). He is the holy God (Isa. 5:16). Especially significant are the assertions declaring that ’ēl is with us, Immanuel (Isa. 7:14); and He is the God of our salvation (Isa. 12:2); a gracious God (Neh. 9:31); a jealous God (Exo. 20:5; 34:14). The closeness of this God is expressed in the hand of God (Job 27:11).
In the human realm, the word also designates men of power or high rank (Ezk. 31:11); mighty men (Job 41:25,17); or mighty warriors (Ezk. 32:21). The word is used to designate superior and mighty things in nature, such as mighty or high mountains (Psm. 36:6,7), lofty, high cedars, or stars (Psm. 80:10,11; Isa. 14:13).
In conjunction with other descriptive words, it occurs as ’ēl šaday, "God Almighty" (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; Exo. 6:3) or ’ēl ‛elyôn, "God Most High" (Gen. 14:18-19; Psm. 78:35). Used with hand yāḏ in some settings, the word conveys power, strength (Gen. 31:29; Deu. 28:32; Pro. 3:27), or ability.
The Symbolism Reversed
In a remarkable shift of tone the Lord declared that the effects of judgment would someday be reversed. He promised a time of rich blessing accompanied by restoration of the covenant relationship and national unity.
Despite the demise of the Northern Kingdom (Hos. 1:4-5), the Israelites will again be like the sand on the seashore in fulfillment of the Lord’s irrevocable promise to Abraham (Gen. 22:17; 32:12). In the same place where Israel heard the words not My people (cf. Hos. 1:9) they will be called sons of the living God. The sonship reference points to restoration of the covenant relationship, pictured under the figure of a family setting (cf. Hos. 2:1-5). The divine title “living God” was used in Jos. 3:10 in reference to the Lord’s mighty presence with Israel during the Conquest of the land. In the future Israel will again experience the benefits of a relationship with the living God as they reoccupy the Promised Land.
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