Why refuse to love "children of adultery"? (Hosea 2:4–5)
Hosea 2:
4 And I will not love her children,
for they were conceived in prostitution.
5 Their mother is a shameless prostitute
and became pregnant in a shameful way.
She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers
and sell myself to them for food and water,
for clothing of wool and linen,
and for olive oil and drinks.’
Hosea 2:1 - 13
ESV - 1 Say to your brothers, "You are my people," and to your sisters, "You have received mercy. 2 Plead with your mother, plead - for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband - that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts.
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Asked October 25 2022
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Jack Gutknecht
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Shirley H
First, these are God's unfaithful people, not children. You can refer to them as children of God who were steeped in idolatry! In Isaiah 1:1-3 we read a prophecy in which God defends Himself against implied accusations, brought by unbelieving exiles, that He was unwilling to save them. Jeremiah 13:22: "And if you say in your heart, 'why have these things come upon me?' For the greatness of your iniquity your skirts have been uncovered, your heels made bare." This is their shame exposed, as public discouragement. Jeremiah 4:22: "For my people are foolish. They have not known Me they are silly children. And they have no understanding, they are wise to do evil. But to do good they have no knowledge." Jeremiah 44:17,18: "But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine." Hosea 2:8: "For she did not know that I gave her grain, new wine, and oil and multiplied her silver and gold which they prepared for Baal." Since they would not acknowledge the Lord as the source of prosperity, the Lord took back His blessings and no longer provided for the nation. God is always righteous in His ways. God used Hosea's unfaithful wife as an example. A covenant has two participants.
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