Lo-ammi the third child

The third child was a boy. God commanded that he be given the name Lo-ammi. This also was a prophetic name, and its meaning is “not My people.” God said to the people of Israel, “Because you are not My people, and I am not your God.” (1) The meaning of this verse is not that the people of Israel ceased to be God’s people. They remain God’s people because of the Abrahamic covenant. (2) However, because the people of Israel were in a state of unbelief, they could no longer receive the blessings that God’s people were meant to receive. That is the meaning of the words, “not My people.” (3) The covenant that God made with the people of Israel continues forever, just as it is written: “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29). We Christians have entered into a covenant relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ. This covenant, the forgiveness of sins and the guarantee of eternal life, will never be revoked. Let us remain spiritually awake so that we do not fall into unbelief and lose the experience of the blessings that this covenant brings.

The heart of the prophet

Once again, let us try to imagine Hosea’s feelings. He did not name his son “My people” but rather “Not My people.” He must have felt deep pain at that moment as well. This became an experience in which he took God’s own pain and sorrow upon himself. When God judge sinners, He does not do so mechanically or as a mere procedure. In God’s heart there is deep pain. A prophet experientially shares that divine pain, and from within his own sorrow, he speaks God’s word to the people. Peter writes, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Let us stand in the heart of God and proclaim the gospel to those who are heading toward destruction.