“What’s In a Name?”

Hosea 1:2-10

Margaret I. Manning

What’s in a name? Have you ever wondered about the meaning of your name, or wondered about its origin and derivation? I’ve always been fascinated by names and one of my favorite questions to ask folks who have different or unique names is to ask what their name means and where it comes from. My name, for example, means ‘beautiful pearl or beautiful gem’ and while my parents may have been aware of it’s meaning, I’m fairly certain they simply liked the name and saw it as a tribute to my father’s mother whose name was Marjorie. But, really, what’s in a name? When I ask that question, I’m really trying to discover what a name says about the character, or the purpose or the destiny of the thing or person being named. In other words, does a name claim us? Madonna, for example, has recently changed her name to Esther. Why? Because this new name says something about Madonna’s character, her sense of purpose and her values – namely that she’s been claimed by her newfound devotion to the mystical, Jewish spirituality called, Kabbalah. Changing her name to Esther reveals something of what Madonna values – what she believes in. We give ourselves names of all sorts which reveal something of what we value, and something of the nature of our character – Democrat, Republican, rich, poor, good, bad, Presbyterian, Catholic, liberal, conservative…you could think of many others. When we name, we say something about who we are, what we value, and even something about purpose and destiny. More importantly, we reveal those values, those beliefs that claim us.

Well, in our Scripture passage today from the book of Hosea, names and naming are very important! You see, the naming that happens in this passage illustrates the quality and nature of the covenant relationship between God and God’s people, Israel. The names reveal both God’s character and Israel’s character. The names show us what God values and what Israel valued. Ultimately, Israel began to be claimed by the things they valued, the things they named and these values were not in keeping with what God valued. And through a very potent illustration, God revealed that Israel’s values led them away from a faithful relationship with God. What they named as values began to claim them and led them away from a singular devotion to God.

Now most of us, when we take a look at this passage, or if we’ve heard about the book of Hosea are struck by the command God gives to the prophet Hosea to marry the prostitute Gomer. And God not only tells Hosea to marry a prostitute, but also to have children with her. You see, God wants to use Hosea’s marriage relationship and the children from that marriage to illustrate the state of Israel’s relationship with God. And it is through Hosea’s marriage to the prostitute Gomer and through the naming of their children that God reveals the nature of Israel’s character, and her values.

Right from the beginning of our passage names are given to help us understand the condition of Israel’s covenant relationship to God. Now, Hosea prophesied during the reigns of King Uzziah, King Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Jeroboam, son of Joash. All these kings played pivotal roles in the history of the Northern kingdom of Israel and Southern Kingdom of Judah. In spite of skirmishes and battles, Israel and Judah prospered economically and politically under the rules of these kings. But rather than naming God as their King and the author of their prosperity, the nation of Israel began to name other nations as their king. They formed political alliances with other nations in hopes of securing their future. Hosea names these alliances, ‘lovers’ and thus, names Israel ‘unfaithful’ to their ‘marriage’ relationship with God. Israel became ‘unfaithful’ with one nation in particular. As the nation of Assyria rose in political and economic power, Israel entered into a ‘relationship’ with the Assyrians. As Israel named ‘Assyria’ their lover, they claimed the values and character of their lover. God uses Hosea’s marriage to a prostitute to re-enact Israel’s unfaithfulness to her God and to reveal her values.

Hosea’s marriage to the prostitute Gomer not only reveals Israel’s political and economic unfaithfulness to God but also their spiritual unfaithfulness to God. You see, as Israel named Assyria as their ‘lover’ – claimed Assyria as their savior and deliverer, they were claimed by their lover’s gods. As they ‘prostituted’ themselves with political and economic alliances, they ‘prostituted’ themselves spiritually by adopting the religious practices of these foreign alliances. Gomer’s very name helps us to see this spiritual unfaithfulness. Her name is Gomer of Diblaim. What is interesting about this name, Diblaim, is that it means ‘raisin cakes.’ Now, raisin cakes were used in the fertility cult rituals of the Assyrians. This is a symbolic name that indicates the depths of Gomer’s adultery and unfaithfulness.[1] She wasn’t just a prostitute out of necessity, or because she was down on her luck, but, Gomer is a prostitute involved in the cultic rituals of Baal worship. So, even though Hosea marries Gomer and offers her a new life and a new name, she will continue in her temple prostitution because she is claimed by another god. And just as Hosea bears the pain and humiliation of his wife’s adultery, so God too bears the pain of his peoples’ spiritual adultery. God is the one who named and claimed Israel as His own. God saved Israel from Egypt, God gave them the Promised Land, and yet they name another as their god. They name Assyria as their political god and the religious rituals and practices of the Assyrians as their spiritual gods. What Israel named, claimed them.

The naming of Hosea’s children reveals the judgment of God against Israel’s unfaithfulness. God had made a covenant with Israel, and unfaithfulness to the covenant relationship reaped a harvest of judgment. For God had told them long ago through Moses that he would tolerate no other lovers in Israel’s life. God warns them: “If your heart turns away and you will not be faithful, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you will perish.”[2] So, God declares this very judgment through the naming of the first child. Jezreel is the name of the first child. Jezreel means, ‘God sows’ and God will sow destruction and defeat for Israel in the valley of Jezreel. Within 30 years of Hosea’s prophecy, Israel was conquered by the Assyrians – the very nation they pursued as a lover, the very nation they believed would secure their future, eventually claimed them and destroyed them. What Israel named as their god, claimed them. Through the naming of the second child, God declares, ‘I will not have compassion.’ Because of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the covenant relationship with God, God will no longer be compassionate towards them. And as the third child is named, God pronounces the final judgment against Israel’s adultery: God declares that Israel is not His people and worse, God is not their God. The covenant broken, God has named the people, ‘UNFAITHFUL, NO COMPASSION, AND NOT MY PEOPLE.’

Just like Israel, the values we name often claim us and become our gods. We have named other things or people as our gods. We name political and economic gods as our saviors – if the right person gets elected, the right party in office, if we just have enough national security, if we form strategic relationships with other nations, we’ll be saved. So we name ourselves, Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, hawk, or dove. We name economic gods as saviors – if we just have enough money, if we accumulate the right things, then we’ll be saved. We look to religion, denomination, the morality of a bygone era to save us, we think if we find just the right formula or method, or doctrine we’ll be saved. We name ourselves, Presbyterians, Catholics, Methodists, fundamentalists, or progressives. Now having values is not the problem, please hear me. But, if we’re not careful, what we name as values begin to claim us and can pull us away from true faithfulness to God. What we name claims us as its own and demands our worship. And more often than not, our values become our gods and like Israel before us we end up committing spiritual adultery. The biblical term for spiritual adultery is idolatry. We become idolaters just like Israel. And just like Israel, our other ‘lovers,’ our ‘gods’ lead us to destruction. A political leader betrays us. The stock market crashes. Terrorists bomb our seemingly secure nation. Priests and pastors violate our trust. What is in a name; as far as God is concerned, our values, our character and our devotion.

But, wait…destruction is not the end of the story, and it is not the final name given to Israel in our passage. This story of Hosea’s divinely appointed marriage, and his purposely-named children, has a surprise ending in which God not only reveals His name to be ‘faithful and true’ but God also gives Israel a new name. But it is only in the judgment of false names, that God reveals this new name – for it is in the judgment of God that God’s grace is also shown. God will show Israel that she loves the wrong gods – she has named false gods her lovers. As God destroys those false gods through conquest, defeat, and exile the faithful remnant of Israel can see the one, true and faithful God. God is Israel’s true and gracious husband. As God re-establishes the love relationship between himself and Israel, God gives Israel a new name and desires that she take on the values of that new name. Instead of UNFAITHFUL, NO COMPASSION, AND NOT MY PEOPLE God declares Israel to be God’s people – listen to the new names God gives them: “Yet, the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered; and it will come about that in the place where it is said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said of them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’ “I will betroth you to me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in loving-kindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not my people, you are my people! And they will say, ‘You are Our God.’” Instead of UNFAITHFUL, NO COMPASSION AND NOT MY PEOPLE, God names Israel FAITHFUL, PEOPLE WHO HAVE OBTAINED COMPASSION AND CHILDREN OF THE LIVING GOD. These are the names God desires to give to us as well, if we’ll be claimed by God.

As God’s faithful people, our first new name, God demands our loyalty and commitment to him and to him alone – God will not be shared with other lovers. And our relationship to God should always call into question what we name as values. God wants our values to align with His values. So, all our values must be placed under our desire to be faithful to God, first and foremost. As God’s compassionate people, our second new name, God calls us to demonstrate the kind of compassion that God has demonstrated towards us. God shows mercy and compassion to a nation that was completely unfaithful. God loved Israel, ‘while they were yet sinners.’ In the same way then, we must value compassion – compassion that extends beyond our friends and embraces those who are different from us, and even those we might consider our enemies. And finally, as children of the living God, our third new name, we value the values of the Kingdom of God. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…We live in this world as God’s representatives – full of mercy and grace and compassion. These are the names God longs to give us – these are the names God wants us to claim, and to be claimed by.

So, what’s in a name? What we name reveals our character and what we value. What are the things that we name in our lives? What do we turn to for our security, for our salvation, for our deliverance? Do we long to be faithful to God alone, or do we also, like Israel before us, go after other gods to save us? God wants to give us a new name, and in renaming us, God wants to realign our character, our values and our purpose with His. What’s in a name? Answer carefully, because a name is what claims you and what claims me…Amen.