Daily Devotional for Tuesday, June 30

The Children

“And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away,” Hosea 1:6.
Expecting a baby is a joyful time for a family and choosing a name for the child is part of the excitement. I remember as an expectant mother, I searched through baby name books and looked at the meaning of each name. I wanted to choose a name that represented integrity and strength of character. The prayer of all godly parents is that their children will one day emulate the character traits of the names they are given. Unfortunately for the prophet Hosea, this was not his experience. The names of his children were chosen by God and represented the rebellious state of Israel and its impending judgment.
Hosea had already been commanded by God to marry a prostitute, to picture the treachery of Israel’s idolatrous behavior toward the Lord. Now his three children would be given names to represent specific consequences for departing from Him. His first child was named Jezreel meaning scattered, then Lo-Ruhamah which means no mercy and the last was Lo-ammi meaning not my people. These names all spoke to the fact that Israel had forsaken God, and He was no longer with them. After this, the Assyrian empire conquered the nation of Israel and took them captive.
God desired to be a husband to Israel, but they were as an adulterous wife giving themselves to false gods, wickedness and immorality. We as the Lord’s true churches are the Bride of Christ. We are called to be pure and faithful to our Bridegroom, set apart for Him. The day is coming when we will be face-to-face with our Lord Jesus Christ, and we will have His name in our foreheads (Revelation 22:4). How glorious! May we represent His name well while we are here.

REFLECTION
Are you unashamed to bear the name of Christ?

Darla Goodrum