Hosea: Lo-Ammi “Not My People”
Devotions based on Week 1 of The Prophets: Hosea (WATCH HERE)
Hosea 1:8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.
Few passages in the Bible sound as devastating as this one. God commands Hosea to name his child Lo-Ammi, “Not My People.” In this name, the covenant relationship between God and His chosen nation seems to be broken. Israel’s persistent idolatry, spiritual adultery, and rejection of His Word had led to this chilling declaration: “You are not my people, and I am not your God.”
In a living illustration, Hosea’s son captures the seriousness of unfaithfulness. Israel had exchanged the glory of the living God for the lifeless idols of Baal. They pursued self-reliance, political alliances, and worldly pleasures rather than trusting in the Lord. The covenant, which should have been marked by loyalty and love, was trampled by their rebellion.
God had warned them many times. In Deuteronomy 28:62–64, Moses spoke of the curses that would come if Israel abandoned the Lord: “You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number… because you did not obey the Lord your God.” Their loss of identity as “God’s people” was not an arbitrary punishment, rather it was the natural consequence of rejecting Him.
It is not hard to see parallels in our own world. We live in a time when loyalty to God is often traded for loyalty to self, career, wealth, or pleasure. Many still say “We are God’s people” but live in ways that contradict His Word. The spirit of Lo-Ammi echoes whenever our lives declare, “We do not need God; we can be our own masters.”
And if we’re honest, this is not just about “the world out there.” Each of us has moments when our lives do not reflect God’s covenant love. We may trust in money more than His promises, in approval more than His grace, or in our own wisdom rather than His Word. If God were to deal with us strictly according to our faithfulness, we too would deserve to be named Lo-Ammi.
But here is the stunning grace of God: even when He declares judgment, He always holds out the hope of restoration. Just a few verses later, Hosea prophesies:
“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” (Hosea 1:10)
God’s faithfulness is stronger than our unfaithfulness. Israel’s sin was great, but God’s mercy was greater. He promised to one day restore the relationship, not because Israel had earned it, but because His covenant love could not be broken.
The Apostle Peter quotes this very passage in 1 Peter 2:10 to describe the church: “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Through Christ, God takes the Lo-Ammi of our sin and replaces it with Ammi—“My People.” In Jesus’ blood, we who were outside of God’s people have been made God’s people.
Apply: So how do we live this out? We live as people who belong to Him. That means: Rejecting idols—anything that takes first place in our hearts. Trust God’s promises, even when the world offers easier paths. Living with gratitude that we are “children of the living God.”
Prayer: Gracious Father, we confess that our hearts are prone to wander, like Israel of old. Too often we chase after other loves and forget that we belong to You. Yet we thank You that in Christ, You have made us Your people again. Help us to live in the joy and security of being Your children. Amen.
Hosea: Lo-Ruhamah “Not Loved”
Devotions based on Week 1 of The Prophets: Hosea (WATCH HERE)
Hosea 1:6 6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them.
A son named Jezreel? Perhaps one could live with that.
But then to have a daughter and each time you spoke her name you would declare, “Not loved!” Hosea’s second child with Gomer was to be named Lo-Ruhama, which means “not loved” or “no mercy.”
Can you imagine some of the conversations with Lo-Ruhamah as she grew up and began to understand or maybe be teased about her name? “Dad, why did you name me ‘Lo-Ruhamah’?”
Hosea would then have to explain to his daughter that God was using her to be a constant witness to the people of Israel. While Hosea could affirm his love for his daughter, the people of Israel had stepped away from the love of God.
How?
They started loving other things. They spent their worship time in front of false idols. The Lord wasn’t responsible for not loving them, the people had stepped outside of God’s love and therefore would not receive God’s love and mercy.
Hosea confronts them:
Hosea 8:11-13 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning. 12 I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien. 13 They offer sacrifices given to me and they eat the meat, but the LORD is not pleased with them.
On the surface it might have looked like at times the people of Israel were worshipping, sacrificing and followed some of God’s law, but it was not an engagement of the heart. They chased after idols and pleasures of their own heart and found the worship and word of God foreign.
As a result…”not loved.”
While the daughter of Hosea pictured the state of God’s people, the relationship Lo-Ruhamah had with Hosea was one where Hosea still accepted and loved his daughter as his own. The Lord was no different. God’s people had pushed Him away repeatedly.
But even this harsh word is not final.
God’s heart in pointing out the drift of his people was so that they would return to the one who truly loved them. In Hosea 2:23, God promises, “I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’” His mercy returns, overflowing. God’s faithfulness amidst our unfaithfulness prevails. This truth wasn’t just for Israel at the time of Hosea, but for us today. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Ultimately, the love of the Lord would be manifested in his Son Jesus. All who had no mercy for their sins would receive mercy. All who are searching for love, would receive the enduring grace of God. This includes you.
Apply: Have you ever felt beyond God’s mercy? Remember, God’s mercy is not earned—it’s extended. You may feel unloved, but God’s Word declares something better.
Prayer: God of mercy, thank You that even when I feel unworthy, You extend grace. Let me live not by my feelings, but by the truth that I am deeply loved in Christ. Amen.
Hosea: Jezreel “The Lord Scatters”
Devotions based on Week 1 of The Prophets: Hosea (WATCH HERE)
Jezreel – The Place of Scattered Judgment
Hosea 1:4 “Then the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.’”
When Hosea and Gomer had their first child, God told Hosea to name him Jezreel, a name loaded with history, meaning, and judgment. In Hebrew, Jezreel means “God sows” or “God scatters.” The name referred to the Valley of Jezreel, a place that had become infamous in Israel’s history for bloodshed, idolatry, and rebellion.
God’s reference to the “massacre at Jezreel” pointed back to Jehu, who had violently overthrown the house of Ahab (2 Kings 9–10). Though Jehu was initially acting on God’s command, he went beyond God’s purpose and used excessive violence, eventually leading Israel into the very same sins he had supposedly eradicated. Jezreel became symbolic of corrupted leadership and national rebellion.
So why name a child after that?
God was using Hosea’s family as a living sermon. Jezreel represented the judgment coming upon Israel. The people had sown seeds of idolatry, injustice, and violence and now they would reap the consequences. God was about to “scatter” them in exile. The northern kingdom of Israel, which had rejected God over and over, would soon fall to the Assyrians (722 B.C.).
But here’s where God’s faithfulness will overcome the scattering of unfaithful Israel.
In Hosea 2:22-23, God reverses the meaning of Jezreel: “…and they will respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land.”
Suddenly, Jezreel no longer means scattered in judgment but rather planted in hope. The same name that once signified exile now points to restoration. This is the heart of our faithful God: judgment is never His final word. He disciplines to redeem. He scatters in order to plant again.
God’s faithfulness is not voided by our failures. Even when He allows painful consequences for sin, it is never to destroy us, but to draw us back to Himself. Alluding to the reign of the Messiah and his Kingdom, he gives hope to his people of gathering them again, but this time stronger, deeper, and more faithful to him.
We can be like Israel. Sometimes, we experience the consequences of our own sin or the brokenness of a fallen world, and it feels like God is scattering everything. This is not the time to move away from the Lord, but rather realize that what feels like destruction may actually be preparation for new growth.
God’s faithfulness always works to call us back. At times he allows a “scattering” to bring us to a realization of what we are missing when we walk away from the Lord. In repentance, he gathers us back to plant us in his Kingdom to be a people gathered together to produce a harvest of righteousness.
Remember, God is not just the God of Jezreel the battlefield, but he is also the God of Jezreel the planting ground.
Apply: Are you in a season of “scattering,” a time where it feels like things are falling apart? Could it be that God is using this season to plant something new in you? Are you willing to let Him work, even when it feels like judgment or discipline?
Prayer: Lord, I confess that sometimes I fear Your judgment more than I trust Your heart. When I see things unraveling in my life, I assume You are angry or distant. But Your Word reminds me that even when You scatter, You intend to replant. Even Your discipline comes from a heart of mercy. Help me trust that You are always working for my blessing and your desire to bring me close to you. Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Hosea: Gomer: The Portrait of Unfaithfulness
Devotions based on Week 1 of The Prophets: Hosea (WATCH HERE)
Hosea 1:2-3 “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.”
How would you have responded to this call from the Lord? How would your family have responded when you told them you were going to marry an adulterous woman (with no guarantees that she had left her life of promiscuity!).
Yet this is what the Lord called Hosea to do.
Gomer was a living picture of Israel’s spiritual adultery, Israel’s unfaithfulness. It wasn’t about sexual promiscuity, but it was about spiritual adultery. The people of Israel had “divorced” the Lord for idols. They had become comfortable with the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth. Yet they still claimed a loose allegiance to the Lord.
The Lord would not settle for Israel’s unfaithfulness. So he sent Hosea with the living illustration of God’s faithfulness in spite of his people’s unfaithfulness.
It would be easy to assume we’re better than Gomer, but spiritual idolatry can be subtle. We may not have a statue of Buddha, Baal, or another foreign God, but our hearts could be tempted to trust in wealth, success, or our own intellect over God. These idols in our hearts are just as vile as setting up golden calves and calling them “God” in the land of Israel.
The Lord would not let his people continue in their spiritual adultery.
He doesn’t discard us. He doesn’t walk away. Instead, He pursues us—again and again. Just as Hosea continues to pursue Gomer, God refuses to let go of His people. “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)
God didn’t wait for us to clean up our act. He came to us in our mess. Jesus is the greater Hosea—the One who doesn’t just speak God’s love but embodies it. He came to redeem a faithless world, not with silver, but with His own blood.
This is the good news: You are not loved because you are faithful. You are loved because the Lord’s heart is faithful. His love is steadfast, undeserved, and unrelenting.
He preserved the message of Hosea to bring to us today a vivid picture of our unfaithfulness and to show us great contrast with his faithfulness. God’s faithfulness never wavers. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” – 2 Timothy 2:13
Apply: Where in your life are you placing trust outside of God? Identify those areas, confess them, and receive God’s forgiveness. His grace reaches even the Gomers of this world.
Prayer: Father, thank You for loving me even when I’ve been unfaithful. Help me see the idols I’ve clung to and turn back to You with a whole heart. Thank You for never giving up on me. Amen.
Philippians 4:21-23 – Grace…the key to finding Joy in the Journey!
Devotions based on week 13 of Joy in the Journey: Mindset (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:21-23 “Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”
God’s Grace: The First Word and the Last Word
Paul ends his letter to the Philippians with a short but powerful benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” At first glance, this feels like a customary closing. But if we pause, we see that Paul’s words are deliberate. Grace was the first word of his letter (“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” – 1:2), and it is the last word as well.
This is no accident. Grace is the foundation and the finishing touch of the Christian life. From beginning to end, our joy, our strength, and our hope are anchored not in ourselves but in the grace of God through Jesus Christ.
Before Paul speaks of joy, unity, humility, or contentment in Philippians, he speaks of grace. Why? Because without grace there is no Christian life. Grace is God’s undeserved love and favor given to sinners through Christ. It is what takes us from enemies of the cross (3:18) to citizens of heaven (3:20). It is what rescues us from the futility of chasing earthly glory (3:19) and gives us eternal hope in Christ’s resurrection (3:21).
Grace is the reason Paul can rejoice in prison (1:18). Grace is the reason believers can work out their salvation “for it is God who works in you” (2:13). Grace is the reason the Philippians can give generously (4:14–18). Everything begins with God’s gracious action toward us.
Think of a seed planted in the soil. Without the life and nutrients provided by the soil, water, and sun, the seed will never sprout. In the same way, without God’s grace poured into our lives, we cannot grow in joy, faith, or obedience. Grace is the soil of the Christian life.
But grace is not just the start—it is also the end. Notice how Paul doesn’t say, “I hope you’ll be strong enough” or “Keep trying harder.” He says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” He points us back to the source. Our journey ends where it began: with grace.
At the end of a day filled with successes or failures, God’s grace covers us. At the end of a life of faith, it is grace that ushers us into glory. And at the end of this letter filled with encouragement, challenges, and practical wisdom, Paul leaves the Philippians resting not on themselves but on Christ’s never-ending grace.
This reminds us that joy does not come from our performance but from God’s promise. As Paul said earlier: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (1:6). What God starts in grace, He finishes in grace.
Every day focus on grace!
-
Start each day with grace. Before the tasks, emails, and worries crowd in, remember: you are loved, forgiven, and strengthened by Christ’s grace. Try beginning your prayers with thanksgiving for God’s undeserved favor.
-
End each day with grace. When you lay down at night, give your failures and successes to God. Rest knowing His grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).
-
Extend grace to others. If grace is the bookends of your life, it should also mark your relationships. Be patient, forgiving, and generous with others, because Christ has been infinitely patient and generous with you.
Prayer: Gracious Father, thank You for bringing joy to my journey. Remind me each day that my life begins and ends with Your grace. Forgive me for the times I try to rely on myself instead of resting in Your love. Teach me to start each day in Your grace, to live each moment by Your grace, and to end each day with Your grace. May Your grace fill me with joy every day! In Jesus’ name, Amen.