Contrast Hosea 1:6 & Exodus 34:6-7.
Compare Hosea 1:6 with Exodus 34:6-7 on God's mercy and justice.

Setting the Scene

• Hosea prophesies during Israel’s spiritual adultery; God uses Hosea’s family as living parables.

• Exodus records the foundational revelation of God’s character to Moses after the golden-calf incident.

• Both passages spotlight God’s self-disclosure—yet in two very different moments: warning (Hosea) and reaffirmation (Exodus).


Key Texts

Hosea 1:6

“Gomer again conceived, and she gave birth to a daughter. And the LORD said to Hosea: ‘Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever forgive them.’”

Exodus 34:6-7

“Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: ‘The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness, maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.’”


Observations on God’s Mercy

Exodus 34 piles up mercy words—“compassionate,” “gracious,” “slow to anger,” “abounding in loving devotion,” “forgiving iniquity.”

• The scale: mercy reaches “a thousand generations,” far outweighing the “third and fourth” cited for judgment.

• Hosea’s daughter Lo-ruhamah means “No Mercy.” God withholds compassion from the northern kingdom after centuries of rejection (cf. 2 Kings 17:7-18).

• Even in Hosea, mercy isn’t erased forever. Hosea 1:10; 2:23 foretell reversal: “I will have compassion on Lo-ruhamah.”

• Point: mercy is God’s default posture; its withdrawal signals extraordinary, deliberate judgment after persistent rebellion (cf. Psalm 103:8-12; 2 Peter 3:9).


Observations on God’s Justice

Exodus 34 affirms God “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” Sin brings real consequences, even generational fallout.

Hosea 1:6 illustrates that justice: the northern kingdom’s idolatry now meets its reckoning—Assyrian exile (fulfilled 722 BC).

• Justice safeguards God’s holiness and vindicates His covenant word (Deuteronomy 27–28).

• Justice is measured: the “third and fourth generation” indicates limited scope compared with mercy’s expanse.


Reconciling Mercy and Justice

• These are not competing traits; they intertwine in God’s character.

• Mercy delays judgment (slow to anger). Justice eventually falls if mercy is spurned.

• Hosea shows the tipping point when prolonged mercy gives way to necessary justice—yet even then, mercy plans a future restoration.

• At the cross, both meet perfectly: “so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).


New Testament Echoes

Romans 11:22 – “Consider therefore the kindness and severity of God.”

1 John 1:9 – confession accesses ongoing mercy because justice has been satisfied in Christ.

Hebrews 12:6 – discipline (justice) springs from paternal love (mercy).


Personal Takeaways

• Never presume on mercy; persistent sin eventually invites discipline.

• When facing consequences, remember mercy still longs to restore.

• Stand in awe of a God who balances unwavering holiness with unfathomable compassion—culminating in Jesus, where “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13) because judgment was borne by Him.

How does the name 'Lo-Ruhamah' reflect God's relationship with Israel in Hosea 1:6?
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