Chapter 3: Children of Sorrow

After Jezreel was born, something changed in Gomer. She grew restless, pulling away from the life Hosea had built for them. Gomer had begun to stray.

Then she conceived again and bore a daughter.

But the language of scripture changes here. With her first son, Gomer bore the child to Hosea. This time, it simply says she bore a daughter. Hosea's name is absent. The change leaves a question hanging in the air.

God told Hosea what to name her.

GOD“Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, and I will no longer forgive them.”— Hosea 1:6

Lo-Ruhamah meant "not loved." Every time Hosea spoke his daughter's name, at the table, in the doorway, calling her in from the fields, he would be saying "not loved" out loud.

Then Gomer conceived once more and bore a son. Again, scripture does not connect the child to Hosea.

GOD“Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”— Hosea 1:9

Lo-Ammi meant "not my people." In the personal sense, the name could also mean "not my child."

Three children now lived in Hosea's house. Hosea fed them, held them, and raised them as his own, regardless of the questions that surrounded their birth.

And Gomer, with each passing season, grew more distant.