I fell down a rabbit hole.  But that’s sort-of my favorite way to read the Bible.  To find something I am curious about, then start excavating.  It’s like finding the tip of an artifact poking through soil, and gathering a band of archeologists to unearth the ruins of an ancient city.  My archeologist buddies are mainly my Bible and Concordance, but there are also some great Commentaries that can help a sister out, too, at times.

Today I wanted to read Hosea, don’t ask me why.  I don’t have a bookmark there.  It was just on my mind.  I got about 6 verses in before my curiosity hit a whirlpool.

Starting in verse 4, God tells Hosea to name his son “Jezreel” because he is about to punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel.  A few verses later, we see God telling Hosea to name his next kid (a daughter) “No Mercy” and his next (a son) “Not My People”.  But then, a few verses later, He says “in the place it was said to them ‘You are not my people,’ it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’ and again, “Say to your brothers, ‘You are my people,’ and to your sisters, ‘You have received mercy.”  We will circle back to those second and third kids in a moment.  But for right now, back to the whirlpool… Jezreel.

My curiosity-satiating Concordance sent me back to 2 Kings 9, where Elisha the prophet anoints Jehu as king of Israel, then tells him to go wipe out the house of Ahab (king of Israel).  Ahab and his hideous wife, Jezebel represented everything unholy.  They were possibly the most blasphemous king and queen that ever lived.  But Jehu does more than just kill off Ahab’s household.  He also kills off Ahaziah (the king of Judah), and almost his entire household (in chapter 10).  This takes place in the land of Jezreel, by the way, where in Hosea 1:4, God explains the meaning of asking Hosea to name his son Jezreel, by saying “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”.  I wonder if the blood that needs avenged is Ahaziah’s.

As I was reading this, it occurred to me that Jehu’s behavior is like that of the zealous Jews.  God gave them the Law, and they took it way further than they ought to have… to the degree that spiritual judgment has fallen on them because of their unbelief.  Jehu was told to wipe out the leading culprits of Israel’s flagrant idolatry against God, by taking down the evil king and his vindictive wife, as well as any offspring who would have inherited their traits.  Instead, Jehu took it a step further, and tried to wipe out sin that was not in the kingdom he was being made king over.

Now, back to No Mercy and Not My People.  If you read Hosea prophetically (he was a prophet, after all), we know that the Gentiles (non-Jews) are those who were once not God’s people, and living outside the bounds of His mercy, and yet, a glimpse at the New Testament and we quickly see them being grafted into the Kingdom of heaven (notice part of the prophecy of Jezreel’s name is that God was putting an end to the kingdom of Israel- Hosea 1:4- and we see that the physical kingdom died off in the exile to Babylon, but spiritually speaking, the Kingdom of heaven was transferred from a Jewish religion to the Christian religion that consists of every tribe and tongue).

Gentiles are the outsiders, the non-Jews, who did not receive the Law given through Moses, those who were not His people.  Yet God tells Hosea that He will make “No Mercy” into one who receives Mercy, and “Not My People” into His’ people.  This is amazing for us, as Gentiles! (I am not saying that there are no Jewish believers, but we call them Messianic Jews, because they know you don’t get to be God’s people without receiving God’s mercy through the Messiah Jesus!).

This morning, I read this small section of Scripture, full of gratitude that I am one of His people, through the blood of Jesus, and not my adherence to the Law (or overzealousness for it).  But I was also convicted.  Jehu became overly zealous because his pride got in the way of simple obedience to God’s command.  He suddenly saw himself as more important to God because he had been anointed as the next king, and was on mission to fulfill God’s command and then some.  How often do we do this?

On a macro scale, I’ve seen the Church trample the world around us with our zeal for the kingdom of heaven, just like Jehu trampled Judah with his zeal for Israel.  We get angry at the sins of the culture, and at individuals who adhere to those sinful ideas and practices.  But maybe, if we fix our eyes solely on ourselves and upon the need we have to be obedient to the Christ who made us into those who have received mercy, the whole world would be much better for it.

On a micro scale, I can easily do this to this to my husband (and I bet you can, too, with anyone you live with).  I expect him to be godly in all the ways I’ve arrive (yikes, what pride!  Thus this confession.).  I am zealous to see him repent of the things that offend me.  I slay him with the sword of my tongue because I am angry that he doesn’t live up to perfect holiness, and God tells us to “be holy as I am holy,” by golly.  But perhaps the only one I am responsible to pursue holiness for is myself, just like Jehu was only called to cleanse the kingdom he was being given.  Perhaps I will bring peace to my household by seeking the inner peace that comes through my own obedient pursuit of Christ, and not demanding those around me to live up to my expectations (which, by the way, only brings turmoil).

And that, my friends, is the rabbit hole I fell into, but I climbed back out to tell you about it.  Because I have a feeling I am not the only one who struggles with this.  In fact, I know I’m not… thus the term “Bible-bashing”.  Hey world, and hey husband(s), please forgive me and all the rest of us who sometimes lose sight of what our own mission is in this world.  May we all be better… because if we’re here to represent Christ, we ought to be holy as He is holy, not externally, but in the deepest crevices of our being where humility and grace ought to exist in fullest measures!

Space 5/6/25

P.S. This is a lot of information, as well as a lot of criss-crossing across a Bible that I’ve been studying for nearly three decades.  If this does not make sense, or if I’ve left out important information, please feel free to ask questions and point out gaps.  I could write much more, but I want this to be short enough that folks will still want to read it.