Hosea 1:6

Hosea 1:6 says, And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. We are still looking at God working through Hosea's family live to reveal His prophecy for Israel.  We should be closely aligned with the will of God today so that He can work through us to reveal Himself and His will to the world.  Hosea and Gomer had a second child, a daughter, who Hosea was instructed to name Loruhamah, which means not beloved or not having obtained mercy.  If we were instructed by God to name a child with a name such as this, would we do it?  They now had a son and a daughter, and both were named to signify God's displeasure with His chosen people, Israel.  The sons and daughters of Israel had all gone astray from the will of God.  God told Hosea that He would have no mercy on the house of Israel, but He would utterly take them away.  God had not failed in His covenant with the people of Israel, but they had failed in their covenant with Him.  As followers of Christ, we are in a covenant relationship with God through accepting salvation through the sacrifice of Christ.  We need to take care that we never allow the circumstances of the world to come between the will of God and us.  In their time of success, Israel had turned away from God.  Verse seven adds, But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.  The people of God were divided at this time into the nation of Israel and the nation Judah.  God had not divided the kingdom, but the people had.  Here, God tells Hosea that He will have mercy on the house of Judah.  God was going to save them, not by their own military might, but by His mercy.  We may often look for our security to our worldly power, but we can truly find security only in the sustaining power of God.  We might be the most powerful nation in the world, but if we do not rely on God's mercy for our redemption and strength, then we are doomed to ultimate failure.  The people of Israel thought God would protect them, even if they did not follow His laws.  They were mistaken, and so will we be if we have the same attitude.  To be God's people requires that we are His in everything we do.  It is only by the mercy of God that we have hope.