Hosea 1-5 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge

Hosea’s Wife and Children

Hos 1:6 LSB – [6] Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And Yahweh said to him, "Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them.

Hos 1:7 LSB – [7] "But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and save them by Yahweh their God, and I will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen."

Hos 1:9 LSB – [9] And Yahweh said, "Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God."

Hos 1:10 LSB – [10] Yet the number of the sons of Israel 

Will be like the sand of the sea, 

Which cannot be measured or numbered; 

And it will be that in the place 

Where it is said to them, "You are not My people," 

It will be said to them, "[You are] the sons of the living God."

No Compassion for Children of Harlotry

Hos 2:1 LSB – [1] Say to your brothers, "Ammi," and to your sisters, "Ruhamah."

Hos 2:4 LSB – [4] "Also, I will have no compassion on her children Because they are children of harlotry.

Yahweh’s Faithful Betrothal

Hos 2:14 LSB – [14] "Therefore, behold, I will allure her And bring her into the wilderness And speak to her heart.

Hos 2:16 ESV – [16] "And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me 'My Husband,' and no longer will you call me 'My Baal.'

Hos 2:19-20 LSB – [19] "And I will betroth you to Me forever; 

Indeed, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, 

In lovingkindness and in compassion, 

[20] And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. 

Then you will know Yahweh.

Hos 2:23 LSB – [23] "And I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they will say, '[You are] my God!'"

Hosea Redeems His Wife

Hos 3:1 LSB – [1] Then Yahweh said to me, "Go again, love a woman [who] is loved by [her] companion and is an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."

Hos 3:5 ESV – [5] Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.

Yahweh’s Contention with Israel

Hos 4:6 LSB – [6] My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. 

Because you have rejected knowledge, 

I also will reject you from ministering as My priest. 

Since you have forgotten the law of your God, 

I Myself also will forget your children.

Hos 6:6 LSB – [6] For I delight in lovingkindness rather than sacrifice,

And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

2Co 4:3-6 LSB – [3] And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 

[4] in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 

[5] For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. 

[6] For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Hos 4:12 LSB – [12] My people ask their wooden idol, and their [diviner's] wand declares to them; For a spirit of harlotry has led [them] astray, And they have played the harlot, [departing] from their God.

Yahweh Withdraws from Israel

Hos 5:6 LSB – [6] They will go with their flocks and herds 

To seek Yahweh, but they will not find [Him]; He has withdrawn from them.

Hos 5:15 LSB – [15] I will go away [and] return to My place 

Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will seek Me earnestly.