“Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the LORD said to Hosea,
‘Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them – not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God.'”
Hosea 1:6&7 (NIV)
Lo-Ruhamah means Not Loved. Again, using Hosea’s children, God prophesies judgment on the Northern Kingdom. If you know the history of Israel, you know what happens. We’ll chat about that more in verses 8 & 9.
But the interesting part of this section to me is the second part of verse 7: “…I will save them – not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God.”
God is referring to the Southern Kingdom, Judah. While this kingdom also is eventually taken captive (to the Babylonians) due to pride and idolatry, here God talks about how He will show them love.
Don’t you love how He will save them?
Not by bow or sword – anything they could wield or figure out.
Not by battle, horses or horsemen – human beings weren’t the originator of His covenantal love, and no battle they could muster the strength to fight would keep it.
But by the LORD their God.
But by the LORD their God.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7
Psalm 44:6, 8: “I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory…In God we make our boast all day long.”
1 Corinthians 1:25-29:
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called…God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong…so that no one may boast before him.”
The New King James version says, “that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
And one of my favorites:
“‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” Zech. 4:6b
Oh, yes, He gives us many good things: spiritual gifts, wisdom, principles, disciplines, accountability. Heck, I just showed you on the blog a testimony of some principles that have been so important for our family.
But until you know your bow and sword can’t save you…until you know your might and power will fail…until you’ve been reminded of what you were when you were called…it will never be the cry of your heart that it is by the LORD your God.