25 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
Mercy of God is demonstrated to Israel in at least two ways. First, as we have seen earlier, God’s choosing them in the first place was not because of their inherent specialness, but because of the Lord’s promises to their forefathers—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Deut 7:7-8). Secondly, Israel’s behavior proved beyond any shadow of doubt that they were not worthy of their chosen status. God has promised (or better, He has warned):
“But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you … It shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it.” (Deut 28:15, 63)
In fact, God prophesied through Joshua that they would in fact disobey, and in the worst possible way:
“When you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.” (Josh 23:16)
Therefore it was doubly merciful of God to choose Israel over all the other nations of the earth. He confirms this when in Hosea He tells them, as our passage today reveals, that while Israel deserved to be “not My people” because of their rebellion, God declares them to be “My people.” What mercy is that? A great mercy! And it is fully undeserved. Israel is the consummate vessel of mercy. Where they deserved to be called “not beloved,” they will be called “beloved.” Why? Because God is merciful, not because Israel was deserving.
God continues to have a plan and purpose for the people of Israel, apart from the Gentiles. But that is not because of any merit on their part, but because of God’s mercy (see again Rom 9:16).
Lord, help me never take Your mercy for granted. All glory goes to You.
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