Hosea 1:8,9

After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhammah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son.  And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi–‘not my people’–for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God.”

Lo-ammi was Gomer’s third child, a son, and his name means “not my people.”  Not only would God remove His mercy from His people, but He would also renounce the covenant He had made with them.  It was like a man divorcing his wife and turning his back on her, or like a father rejecting his own son (see Exodus 4:22 adn Hosea 11:1).

Here God was in essence dissolving the covenant (Jeremiah 7:23).  The name of the third child conveys the finality of God’s judgment.  God’s warnings recorded in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 were beginning to come true:  Israel was abandoning God, and in turn, He was leaving them alone and without His blessings.

I believe God’s warning in Jeremiah still rings true for us today.  God wants us to obey him with a joyful heart and in turn we enjoy an amazing relationship with Him.  It’s a no-lose situation for us:  walk in all the ways He commands, and He will take us places beyond our imagination. 

Credits:  Be Amazed (Wiersbe), Grace Institute:  The Prophets:  Hosea, Life Application Bible, New Living Translation Bible