Vincent Ball 0:02

Today's sermon is called What's in a Name, based on Hosea 1 from the ESV Version Hosea 1 (ESV) The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.” She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.” When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the LORD said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.” Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And the children of Jud ah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel. What do you think of when I say the name Peter? Judas? Jacob? or even Lucifer? Names are more telling than we think. Little did my parent’s know that when I was to grow up I would be a very good artist, so much so that I was called Van Gogh as a nickname at Loughton College by the other students. They may not have known, but God did and in a way it was “prophetic,” just like the names for Hosea and his family. Names have a meaning as we are about to see . Hosea was one of the four writing prophets of the eighth century BC. He lived and prophesied in the Northern Kingdom between about 750–725 BC. His father was Beeri, and that is almost all we know about his personal life. He was younger than Amos and prophesied shortly after him, warning Israel of the coming fall in 722 BC when Assyria conquered Samaria. At the time, Israel and Judah were wealthy, but the wealth was uneven and often gained at the expense of the poor. Amos focused on social injustice; Hosea focused on Israel’s unfaithfulness through idolatry. God told Hosea to marry Gomer, an unfaithful woman, as a living picture of God’s relationship with unfaithful Israel. They had three children with symbolic names: Jezreel (a son) No Mercy (a daughter) Not My People (a son) Gomer eventually abandoned Hosea, but God commanded him to love her again. Hosea redeemed her from slavery and restored her—just as God would one day restore Israel. Gomer was the daughter of Diblaim. Her marriage to Hosea was meant to be a prophetic sign, not a normal marriage. Scholars debate whether she was already a harlot when Hosea married her, but either way, God told Hosea to stay with her despite her adultery. Her unfaithfulness symbolised Israel’s spiritual adultery. Her fall into slavery and Hosea’s act of buying her back illustrated how God would redeem Israel after judgment. Hosea and Gomer had three children and their names meaned different prophesies... God told Hosea to name his first son Jezreel (God will scatter) and through this name God signalled that Israel, once rightfully called “Princes with God,” would become scattered because of their unfaithfulness. As a warning of judgment on Israel’s royal house. The name recalled the bloodshed committed at Jezreel—first by Ahab, then by Jehu, who went beyond God’s command. The name meant God would punish Jehu’s dynasty and break Israel’s military power in the same valley. Hosea’s daughter was named “No Mercy” (Lo‑Ruhamah) to show that God would withdraw compassion from Israel because of their persistent rebellion. Judah, however, would still receive God’s protection. The name signalled severe judgment, yet it also hinted that mercy would return later. The third child’s name meant Israel had broken the covenant so deeply that God declared, “You are not my people.” (Lo‑Ammi) Yet the prophecy immediately promised future restoration: Israel would grow again, be reunited with Judah, and be called “children of the living God.” The pattern is judgment followed by grace. God commanded these names to make Hosea’s family a living prophecy. Every name carried a message of judgment: Jezreel – God will punish bloodshed and end the kingdom. No Mercy – God will withhold compassion. Not My People – the covenant relationship is broken. These names were not cruelty but teaching tools. Israel’s unfaithfulness was being acted out in Hosea’s home. Yet each name would one day be reversed: Jezreel, (God will Scatter) will bring together again. “No Mercy” would receive mercy, and “Not My People” would again be God’s people. Biblical names carry deep meaning. They often express a parent’s hope, a prayer, or a significant event. Names could also mark a new beginning in someone’s life. God’s own names reveal His character and actions. Understanding names helps readers grasp the message of Scripture. Gomer likely comes from the Hebrew root meaning “to complete” or “finish,” giving the sense of “completion” or “God accomplishes.” Some suggest alternative meanings, but the main idea is completion. The irony is that her life was marked by brokenness and unfaithfulness, reflecting Israel’s failure to complete its covenant with God. Hosea means “salvation”, from the same root as Joshua and Jesus. His name matched his message: Israel needed deliverance, and God Himself would provide it. Hosea’s painful marriage illustrated God’s faithful love toward an unfaithful people. Just as Hosea redeemed Gomer from slavery, God would redeem Israel. The book ends with hope—God will heal and restore His people. Hosea’s story forms a three‑layer pattern: Hosea and Gomer – love, betrayal, restoration. God and Israel – covenant love, judgment, and promised renewal. Christ and the Church – the ultimate fulfilment of God’s faithful love. (Hos 1:11) states that Judah and Israel “shall appoint for themselves one head,” but does not explicitly identify this figure. The most developed interpretation understands this as a dual fulfillment: Zerubbabel was a Jewish governor of Judah in the early postexilic period under Persian rule and a major leader in the reconstruction of Jewish life after exile and served as the type—appointed by Cyrus with the people’s approval—while Christ represents the antitype, “appointed by the Father Head of his church, whom believers, may in a large sense be said to appoint to themselves.”[1] The reunited people will appoint over themselves one head of the house of David, which represents the opposite of their sin; as they had chosen many heads, so now they will seek one head.[2] This interpretation sees the historical restoration under Zerubbabel as a type pointing toward Christ’s ultimate headship over the gathered people of God. Believers today also face the danger of “spiritual adultery”—divided loyalty. Yet the pattern shows that God convicts, restores, and calls His people back to exclusive devotion. What does spiritual adultery look like? Spiritual adultery is broken communication with God—when God stops speaking to His people and they stop listening to Him. It’s prayerlessness, broken loyalty, and fractured fellowship. The Bible shows this unfaithfulness in several ways. Israel “played the whore” (Jer 3:6–10) They took God’s precious gifts of gold and silver and made idols to worship instead. (Ezek 16:15–34) Spiritual adultery is not obeying God’s commandments and is idolatry—worshipping other gods. In the New Testament, friendship with the world is enmity with God, and whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4) God feels devastated by His people’s betrayal, like a loving husband whose wife commits adultery. He feels pain because of their unfaithfulness—it tears at His very heart.[3] The metaphor emphasizes how serious it is to reject God’s love by turning toward idols or worldly pursuits instead. His Namesake: Psalm 25:11,say’s “For Thy namesake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity. Not for my sake, but for the sake of the glory of Your grace so that You can put Your glory on display.” John MacArthur says this regarding this verse “That is a prayer offered by a mature man, “For Thy namesake, O Lord,” says the psalmist, “pardon my iniquity for it is great.” And he is saying when You pardon my iniquity, as great as it is, it will be to the glory of Your grace that You are such a pardoning God.” John F. MacArthur God stays with his people because of who he is, not because we are impressive. When the Bible talks about God’s “name,” it means everything about him that he has shown us—his character, his promises, his goodness, his glory. God’s reputation and his actions always match, so when he acts “for his name’s sake,” he’s acting in a way that fits his character. This works in two ways: 1. God acts to show who he is: When God does something “for his name’s sake,” he’s revealing his glory—his faithfulness, his mercy, his power. God’s commitment to making himself known is actually the reason we have hope. Because God cares about displaying his grace, we can be confident he’s willing to forgive and save. 2. God’s name represents his unchanging character: His name stands for everything true about him—especially as he has revealed himself in Jesus. So when God promises to act for his name’s sake, it means all his power and all his mercy are working for his people. He guides us because of who he is. He helps us because of who he is. He forgives us because of who he is. He cannot act in a way that contradicts his own character. This means believers don’t need to understand every reason God sustains them. His own glory and integrity guarantee his faithfulness. And for Christians, this foundation is made rock‑solid through Jesus’ death, which both saves sinners and proves that God is perfectly just. Namesake and Jesus: When God acts “for the sake of his name,” Jesus is at the centre of that action because the very essence of the Father was in Jesus. For John, ministering “for the sake of the name” meant spreading the news of Jesus. By using this simple phrase, he linked Jesus with the name of the Old Testament—the very presence of God himself. So when the Father protects or glorifies his name, he’s protecting Jesus’s honour too. This matters most for salvation. The death of Jesus so honoured the Father and so vindicated the glory of his name that God is bound by his justice to forgive all who stake their lives on the worth of Jesus. John says...in 1 John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. In short: God’s name and Jesus’s name are connected because Jesus is God’s presence on earth. When God acts for his name’s sake, he’s acting for Jesus’s sake too. Acts 4:12 ESV And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” That name is Jesus - The greatest name in all History!