Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
Hosea's painful personal history symbolizes the Lord's separation from His people, and this declaration names that separation: Israel is no longer regarded as God's people, and God will not be their God. Its setting is Israel's moral corruption, which brings prediction of the northern kingdom's captivity and desolation. That corruption is backsliding, idolatry, conformity to the world, and departure from God, portrayed as spiritual adultery that attempts to mix what is of heaven with what is of earth, or righteousness with sin.
In that setting the prophecy warns against wicked alliances. It predicts the coming captivity of the northern tribes and the captivity and desolation of the northern kingdom because of apostasy. The name Lo-ammi declares the dire consequence of continued rebellion and persistent apostasy: Israel would no longer be acknowledged as God's people, and God would no longer be their God.
Beyond apostasy the book looks to the Lord's restoration of His people. It also contains hopeful appeals and prophecy of the future. Joined to the next verse, the declaration shows that those once reckoned as not God's people can become God's people and children of the living God, a calling that embraces Gentiles as well as Jews without distinction and comes through faith and grace.
Hosea's painful personal history symbolizes the Lord's separation from His people, and this declaration names that separation: Israel is no longer regarded as God's people, and God will not be their God. Its setting is Israel's moral corruption, which brings prediction of the northern kingdom's captivity and desolation. That corruption is backsliding, idolatry, conformity to the world, and departure from God, portrayed as spiritual adultery that attempts to mix what is of heaven with what is of earth, or righteousness with sin.
In that setting the prophecy warns against wicked alliances. It predicts the coming captivity of the northern tribes and the captivity and desolation of the northern kingdom because of apostasy. The name Lo-ammi declares the dire consequence of continued rebellion and persistent apostasy: Israel would no longer be acknowledged as God's people, and God would no longer be their God.
Beyond apostasy the book looks to the Lord's restoration of His people. It also contains hopeful appeals and prophecy of the future. Joined to the next verse, the declaration shows that those once reckoned as not God's people can become God's people and children of the living God, a calling that embraces Gentiles as well as Jews without distinction and comes through faith and grace.