One would think that at this point the situation would be absolutely hopeless for Israel. One would think that Israel would be lost forever. Once divorced, with Israel out in the world marrying false gods, the divine law stood as a strong barrier between God and these ex-Israelites, seemingly preventing Him from ever remarrying her. But Hosea says no such thing.God would, of course, allow her to experience the oppression of those other gods (religions of men), until she said, “I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now” (Hosea 2:7). Even so, God said He would not bring her back to the old land of Palestine. Instead, “I will allure her” to a new place called “the wilderness” (2:14), where He would court her again. In that new place, God says,19 I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.20 I will even betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know the Lord.Then in verse 23 we find the climax of the prophecy. We will quote the verse using some of the original Hebrew words and names in the text, so that the force of the verse is not lost in the translation. Keep in mind that God was using the names of his children as prophetic statements. Lo-ruhamah means “no mercy” and Lo-ammi means “not My people.” The word lo in Hebrew means “No,” or “Not.”23 And I will sow [zara, the root word of Jezreel, “to seed, scatter, or sow”] her unto Me in the earth; and I will have mercy on Lo-ruhamah; and I will say to Lo-ammi, Thou art Ammi; and they shall say, Elohim.In other words, regarding Jezreel, the name means “to scatter” as seed in the field, and this is the meaning of the name in Hosea 1:3. But it has a double meaning. It also means “to sow.” One must scatter the seed to sow it and bring an increase of grain. Hence, God's judgment upon Israel was to scatter them like seed in the field. This is why Hosea 1:10 says of Israel,10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people [Lo-ammi], there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.One cannot escape the simple fact that God did not cast off Israel so that she might stumble and fall forever, but rather that she might be transferred to a new land called “the wilderness.” Israel was being sown in a larger field, where she might grow and multiply as seed sown in the field (the world). Why? So that she might fulfill the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Genesis 32:12.12 And Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.This was the promise of the birthright, given to Joseph (“God will add”) and his son, Ephraim (“fruitfulness”). It was the promise of Sonship—many sons into glory. Such a promise could be fulfilled only partially, so long as Israel remained in the limited space of the old land. So God used Israel's sin as an occasion to divorce her and send her out of His house, NOT so that she would fall, but so that she would be sown in the field and multiplied like grain in a field. Paul says this in Romans 11:11.11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid; but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the nations, for to provoke them to jealousy.So while it is true that God did bring judgment upon the house of Israel and scattered them as the name Jezreel implies, He did so with the purpose of sowing them in the field (world) to multiply them and fulfill the Abrahamic promise. Paul understood Hosea's prophecy that God would again restore them. He understood the underlying purpose of Israel's scattering. It was so that all nations would be saved.How? The simplest answer is found in the parable of Matthew 13:44, where Jesus tells us that God found a treasure (Israel—Exodus 19:6) in the field (world). He then hid it in the field (Israel was “lost” like Joseph in Egypt) until He had time to sell everything He had (including giving up His life on the Cross) to raise the money to buy the field (world).His prime focus was to obtain the treasure (Israel); but in order to obtain the treasure lawfully, He had to buy the field in which it was hidden or buried. Thus, God purchased the entire world by His blood. So Paul tells us that the casting out of Israel was for the purpose of saving the whole world. God intended from the beginning to buy the entire world. Hence, He used Israel's judgment to fulfill two main purposes: to sow them in the field and multiply them to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant with Israel; and secondly, to purchase the whole world.This is, therefore, good news for all men, whether of Israel or not. God was being exclusive when He chose Israel as His wife; but His overall purpose was inclusive. He is not only the God of Abraham, but also the God of the whole earth (Isaiah 54:5). All creation has a place in the plan of God and must come under His government.Logabe