Daily Devotions
Hosea
"Call his name Jezreel"
Text: Hosea 1:4
THE NAMING OF A CHILD
This was usually a family affair. The parents were often the ones who would choose the name. Relatives would often be consulted to suggest names. Most times, the name chosen would be that of an ancestor.
“Then the LORD said to him:
‘Call his name Jezreel,
For in a little while
I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.'”
Hosea 1:4
1. “Then the LORD said to him”
a) It was the LORD Himself who gave the name of the son of Hosea.
b) In happier times, this would be a great honour and of special significance.
i) The name “John” was given by an angel for the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth (Luke 1:13).
ii) The name “Jesus” was given by the same angel for the son of Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:31).
2. “Call his name Jezreel”
a) Jezreel was the name of a place in Samaria, the capital of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.
b) Naboth was the owner of a vineyard in Jezreel.
c) Jezebel the wife of King Ahab schemed to kill Naboth and seize Naboth’s property at Jezreel for himself (1 Kings 21).
3. “Jezreel”
a) It would be the place where Ahab would die (1 Kings 21:19).
b) It would also be the place where Jezebel would die (1 Kings 21:23).
c) Both of them would have scavenger dogs lick their blood (1 Kings 21:19, 23).
d) This was a sobering way of saying they would experience a gruesome death.
e) They would die in total indignity.
4. “I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu”
a) Jehu was a blood-thirsty man.
b) He fought Ahab to ascend the throne.
c) He killed all who belonged to Ahab’s family (2 Kings 10:17).
d) He slaughtered all worshippers of Baal (2 Kings 10:18-28).
Ahab was a murderer but Jehu was no better; God would destroy Jehu as he killed so many.
5. “And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel”
Jehu’s dynasty ended with Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam II. Zechariah was assassinated (2 Kings 15:8-10).