8 After Gomer had weaned Lo Ruhamah, she became pregnant again and had a son. 9 Yahweh said, "Name him Lo Ammi [Not My People]. You are no longer my people, and I am no longer your Ehyeh.a,b 10 "Yet, the Israelites will become as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to measure them or count them. Wherever they were told, 'You are not my people,' they will be told, 'You are the children of El Chay.' 11 The people of Judah and Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint one leader for themselves, and they will grow in the land. The day of Jezreel will be a great day.

Israel Is the LORD'S Unfaithful Wife 2 c1 "So call your brothers Ammi [My People], and call your sisters Ruhamah [Loved].

2 "Plead with your mother; plead with her.

She no longer acts like my wife.

She no longer treats me like her husband.

Tell her to stop acting like a prostitute.

Tell her to remove the lovers from between her breasts.

3 If she refuses, I will strip her.

I will leave her as naked as the day she was born.

I will turn her into a dry and barren land, and she will die of thirst.

4 I won't love her children, because they are children of a prostitute.

5 Their mother acted like a prostitute.

The woman who became pregnant with them did shameful things.

She said, 'I'll chase after my lovers.

They will give me food and water, wool and linen, olive oil and wine.'

6 "That is why I will block her way with thornbushes and build a wall so that she can't get through.

7 She will run after her lovers, but she won't catch them.

She will search for them, but she won't find them.

Then she will say, 'I'll go back to my first husband.

Things were better for me than they are now.'

8 "She doesn't believe that I gave her grain, new wine, and olive oil.

I gave her plenty of silver and gold, but she used it to make statues of Baal.

9 That is why I will take back my grain when it has ripened and my new wine when it's in season.

I will take away the wool and the linen that I gave her to cover her naked body.

10 I will show her naked body to her lovers, and no one will rescue her from my power.

11 I will put an end to all her celebrations: her annual festivals, her New Moon Festivals, her weekly worship days-all her appointed festivals.

12 I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees.

She said that they were gifts from her lovers.

I will turn her vineyards into a forest, and wild animals will devour them.

13 I will punish her for all the times she burned incense as an offering to other gods-the Baals.

She put on her rings and jewelry, and she chased after her lovers.

She forgot me," declares Yahweh.

The LORD Continues to Love Israel 14 "That is why I'm going to win her back.

I will lead her into the desert.

I will speak tenderly to her.

15 I will give her vineyards there.

I will make the valley of Achor [Disaster] a door of hope.

Then she will respond as she did when she was young, as she did when she came out of Egypt.

16 "On that day she will call me her Ish," declares Yahweh.

"She will no longer call me her master.a 17 I won't allow her to say the names of other gods called Baal.

She will never again call out their names.

18 "On that day I will make an arrangement with the wild animals, the birds, and the animals that crawl on the ground.

I will destroy all the bows, swords, and weapons of war, so people can live safely.

19 "Israel, I will make you my wife forever.

I will be honest and faithful to you.

I will show you my love and compassion.

20 I will be true to you, my wife.

Then you will know Yahweh.

21 "On that day I will answer your prayers," declares Yahweh .

"I will speak to the sky, it will speak to the earth, 22 and the earth will produce grain, new wine, and olive oil.

You will produce many crops, Jezreel.

23 I will plant my people in the land.

Those who are not loved I will call my loved ones.

Those who are not my people I will call my people.

Then they will say, 'You are our Elohim !'"

ISH.

HUSBAND.

God's passionate love for Israel is reflected in the Hebrew word Ish (EESH), meaning "husband." The word baal in the Hebrew Scriptures can also be translated "husband," though it usually refers to the Canaanite fertility god Baal. Remarkably, in Isaiah and Jeremiah, this word is also used to describe God as the husband of his people Israel. Though we never pray to baal, we do pray to the God who is the ideal husband, the one who provides for and protects his people and who refuses to divorce us no matter how unfaithful we may be.

The Hebrew Scriptures present God as the perfect husband-loving, forgiving, and faithful, providing for and protecting his people. This metaphor of monogamous marriage between God and his people is strengthened in the New Testament, which reveals Jesus as the loving, sacrificial bridegroom of the church. Our destiny, our greatest purpose as God's people, is to become his bride.

Praying to Ish Once upon a time there was a single guy named Joe, a big man with a big heart. His dream was to follow God anywhere he led him. His passion for God did not go unnoticed, especially among the single women in his neighborhood.

One day, as Joe was seeking the Lord's will for his life, he thought he heard God say something rather astonishing. It went something like this: Joe, I want you to get married, and I've already picked out your wife. She's the woman who hangs out on the street corner late at night, selling her body. I want you to marry her, and then I want you to name your eldest son "God Scatters." I know it sounds strange, but just do it. Then name your daughter "Unloved" and your youngest son "Not My People."

Maybe then, my people will get the message.

Don't think that by marrying this woman you will immediately change her. You're going to have to keep on loving her even though she stays out all night. Don't abandon her because one day you will win her back. I will also bring my people back. Those who are called "Unloved" I will call my "Loved Ones." And those who are called "Not My People" I will call "My People."

So, Joe, being a remarkable man of faith, went out and did just what the Lord had asked, marrying the woman with the spiked heels and fishnet stockings, the one wearing enough makeup to launch a cosmetics company. And everyone rejoiced.

Wrong! The single women were outraged, spurned by this so-called man of God who went chasing after a prostitute. The local religious leaders were so upset they refused to marry them, so Joe had to hold the wedding elsewhere. Then word spread that Joe's decision to marry this woman was supposed to signal some kind of message from God, who was equating his people with a prostitute, saying they had been carrying on affairs with other gods, hardly a message that would endear him to the community.

It took a few years. Things didn't go well. But finally one day, Joe's wife came dragging home asking for his forgiveness. This time he could tell she meant it.

Everyone else was faring better too. People had been holding prayer meetings and talking excitedly about renewal and revival. New people were committing their lives to God.

Sound unbelievable? Too far-fetched to swallow? Something very much like this did happen, but it took place more than twentyfive-hundred years ago in Israel. The man's name was Hosea, and the prostitute's name was Gomer. If you read the original, you will discover something quite poignant-a God so desperate for intimacy with his people that he used a lived-out parable to call them to their senses. In the midst of their unfaithfulness, this is what God promised in Hosea 2:19-20: I will make you my wife forever.

I will be honest and faithful to you.

I will show you my love and compassion.

I will be true to you, my wife.

Then you will know Yahweh.

This is our God, a faithful husband to his gathered people, willing to do whatever it takes to bring us into an enduring relationship with himself.

Lord, you call yourself Ish, Husband to your people. I am amazed that you use this intimate image to characterize your relationship with us. Help us, Lord, through the power of your Spirit to be a loving faithful wife to you.

Promises Associated with the Name ISH.

Your husband is your Maker. His name is Yahweh Tsebaoth. (Isaiah 54:5) As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your Elohim will rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5)

Hosea's Adulterous Wife 3 1 Then Yahweh told me, "Love your wife again, even though she is loved by others and has committed adultery. Love her as I, Yahweh, love the Israelites, even though they have turned to other gods and love to eat raisin cakes."

2 So I bought her for 23 ounces of silver and 10 bushels of barley. 3 Then I told her, "You must wait for me a long time. Don't be a prostitute or offer yourself to any man. I will wait for you."

4 In the same way, the Israelites will wait a long time without kings or officials, without sacrifices or sacred stones, and without ephodsa or family idols. 5 After that, the Israelites will turn and look to Yahweh their Elohim and David their king. They will come trembling to Yahweh for his blessings in the last days.

The LORD'S Legal Case against Israel 4 1 Listen to the word of Yahweh, you Israelites. Yahweh has brought these charges against those who live in the land: "There is no faith, no love, and no knowledge of Elohim in the land.

2 There is cursing, lying, murdering, stealing, and adultery.

People break my laws, and there is one murder after another.

3 That is why the land is drying up, and everyone who lives in it is passing away.

Wild animals, birds, and fish are dying.

4 "No one should accuse other people or bring charges against them.

My case is against you priests.

5 During the day you stumble, and during the night the prophets stumble with you.

So I will destroy your mother, the nation of Israel.

6 I will destroy my people because they are ignorant.

You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be my priests.