My People Have Been Shown Mercy

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver

"Say ye unto your brethren, 'Ammi;' and to your sisters, 'Ruhammah'" (Hos 2:1).

The gospel is preached in view of what Christ Jesus has done! It is an announcement that sin has been put away and salvation is available in Christ Jesus the Lord. The gospel calls to those who were once "not a people" and says "Ammi," which means "you are My people." It calls out to those who had once not been shown mercy and says "Ruhammah," which means "you shall be shown mercy."

They Rejected the Lord. The people in Hosea's day were idolatrous. They were adulterers and adulteresses. They had gone after other gods and had forgotten the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They honored Him not as God, and neither did they give thanks. They attributed His provision to other gods. Much like Israel did with the golden calf saying, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (Exod 32:4), so the people in Hosea's day said, "I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink" (Hos 2:5).

It is never acceptable to attribute another's work to God or God's work to another. Thus, the Lord says of the people, "She did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold." God had provided all of these things for His people yet the people attributed their sustenance as coming from another. They even used God's provisions to prepare sacrifices to Baal (Hos 2:8). They took what God had given them and offered it in worship to a false god.

As a result of this God used the prophet Hosea to both speak and demonstrate what He would do with Israel. God told Hosea "Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms; for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord" (Hos 1:2). Furthermore, God instructed Hosea to name one of his children "Lo-ruhammah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away" (Hos 1:6). Later, Hosea bore a son and was to name him "Lo-ammi: for ye are not My people and I will not be your God" (Hos 1:9). Hosea would be to his family what God was to Israel: married to a harlot, having children of harlotry.

This circumstance was not desirable to God. His people were living in wickedness and their iniquities had separated them from their God. As a result, they were dwelling in His wrath. His word to such people is "Repent!" "Plead with your mother, plead" (Hos 2:2) saith the Lord. God does not accept sin but calls men out of it. "As I live," saith the Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: 'Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?'" (Ezek 33:11).

The condition of God's people was an abomination to Him. But the Lord is abundant in mercy and would give them space to repent. He was determined to give them a good end. He committed Himself to gathering this wayward people to Himself. They would be able to consider the patience of the Lord as salvation. For in His wrath, He would remember mercy. "And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, 'Ye are not My people,' there is shall be said unto them, 'Ye are the sons of the living God'" (Hos 1:10).

God's Tender Mercies are Displayed in Salvation. Israel was not the only people who went "a whoring after the heathen" and was polluted by their idols. This is the experience of all the sons of Adam. "For ALL WE have gone astray; we have turned EVERY ONE to his own way" (Isa 53:6). The glory of the Lord is seen in His power and wisdom to save such people. And how would He do it? By causing the iniquity of us all to be laid on Jesus (Isa 53:6). Jesus took away the sin of the world so that this word through Hosea could be uttered: "I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say unto them which were not My people, 'Thou art My people,' and they shall say, 'Thou art my God'" (Hos 2:23).

God is revealing Himself in salvation. More of His person is displayed in His salvation than in His wrath. He is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet 3:9) and would "have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4). When men consider their own straying from the Lord and the path of sin they trod, God's great salvation manifests to them His tender mercies and His power to save. They know it is a faithful saying, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear" (Isa 59:1).

A Proper View of Salvation. As men grow in their understanding of the work of God through Christ, it will become increasingly more obvious to them that "the Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy" (Num 14:18). The wrath of God is upon "the children of disobedience" (Eph 5:6; Col 3:6). They are not, as some suppose, getting away with wickedness. They are, in fact, storing up for themselves "wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds" (Rom 2:5-6). The reason God has not rained down fire and brimstone like He did in Sodom and Gomorrah is because "the Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy." But there is coming a day "wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat" (2 Pet 3:12). Until then all those who are out of the way can "account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" (2 Pet 3:15).

And for those who have turned from their wicked ways and called upon the name of the Lord, they have something to say. "Say ye unto your brethren, 'Ammi;' and unto your sisters, 'Ruhammah.'" This is precisely the declaration of the apostles' doctrine. The Holy Spirit reasons upon Hosea's ministry and speaks comfortably to us in Christ Jesus:

"Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God [Ammi]; which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy [Ruhammah]." (1 Pet 2:9-10)