#DailyDevotion Will We Learn From The Bad Example Of Israel?
Hos. 2 “Call then your brothers ‘Ammi'[My People), and your sisters, ‘Ruhamah’ [Mercy). 2“Correct your mother — correct her because she is not My wife and I am not her husband. She should get rid of the sexual lust on her face and the adultery between her breasts, 3or I will strip her naked and make her bare as when she was born. I will make her like a desert, like dry land and I will kill her with thirst. 4And I will not have mercy on her children, because they are born in prostitution.
Many take verse one here to go with the previous chapter. It is an easy connection to make. The negative in the previous names is taken away, so there is the connection with the names. Also, the previous verses are Gospel and this verse is Gospel as well. However, the whole the LORD is the husband and Israel is His adulteress theme last through chapter 3. There is an alternation of Law and Gospel throughout these chapters. The LORD threatens them with Law and then tries enticing them with the Gospel. I tend to think verse one is a connecting verse as it goes with both sections as a pivot. He is appealing to the people of Israel themselves in calling them Ammi and Ruhamah. In forgiving them and bestowing mercy upon them, He is hoping they will do what verse 2 is calling them to do.
The mother is Israel as a whole and no doubt are representing the religious and political class who are supposed to be leading Israel in their worship of the LORD. The LORD is appealing to the people to call their leaders to repentance and faith. He can only hope their call to repentance would move His wife Israel to return. As it is, Israel is not His wife and He is not her husband because she has left Him. He tells the children to correct Israel, to get rid of the adultery between her breasts. That is to say, Israel has taken to the worship of the Baals (which means master and husband). Worshiping them is the spiritual equivalent of this.
If they will not listen, the LORD intends on stripping her naked and making her bare. With the threat of a dry land and killing her with thirst, we can get the image the LORD will visit them with a drought as in the day of Elijah. The LORD wants to bless her, but her actions leave nothing but rejection in punishment left for her. On top of that, those He is enticing with Ammi and Ruhamah, if Israel refuses correction will be Lo-Ammi and Lo-Ruhamaah, not my people and no mercy because they are the children of adultery. That is to say, they were raised with worshiping the false gods of the Baals and they continue in that worship despite the pleas of the prophets. They follow in their leaders’ ways and steps.
What shall we learn from this? We need to live lives of repentance. We need to lead our children in the true worship of the one true and living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We need to call our spiritual and political leaders to repentance. We need more than lip service to our God from these people. Many call us to depart from our faith in the Son and call us to faith in the Church institutions. Some present a false Christ. Instead of seeking life, protection, food, drink and every good thing from our Father, they call us to trust in the political party, politicians, our nations and its military might for all good things. It doesn’t matter if it is left, right or in the middle. All of their alignments are a pretense for your worship at the ballot box. No matter who you think is the best person available, should we not call them to repent for their immorality, pride and idolatry? Let us put aside all earthly aids and trust in Jesus Christ alone for all good things.
Merciful God and Father, You call us My People and have mercy on us in Christ Jesus. Help us to lead repentant lives and call others to repentant faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.