3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the LORD said to Hosea, "Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel's bow in the Valley of Jezreel." Hosea1:3-4
Gomer's children (we are fairly sure Hosea wasn't the father of all of them) are given symbolic names.
The first-born, a son, is named "Jezreel."
Understanding the symbolism around Jezreel is challenging. Here are some thoughts.
1. "Jezreel" and "Israel" sound similar and although Hebrew poetry doesn't rhyme, Biblical authors often made puns of similar sounding words. Jezreel is both a valley and a town.
2. "Jezreel" means "God scatters (seed)" or "God sows."
3. Jezreel is mentioned in connection with Jehu who defeated Jezebel and all her sons in a particularly bloody confrontation in the town of Jezreel.
4. Jezreel was also the site of Naboth's vineyard which King Ahab wanted and so Jezebel had Naboth falsely accused and murdered. Naboth was a Godly man whereas Ahab was a Baal-worshipper.
The problem with limiting the punishment described in v.4 to Jehu's family, is that Jehu had his orders from God. It makes more sense if the "house of Jehu" is seen as Israel, the Northern Kingdom, over which Jehu's house is king.
The Naboth story is given a lot of prominence in 1Ki.21 with Elijah coming to confront Ahab and it seems that this is the "straw" that breaks the camel's back as far as God's patience with Ahab is concerned. It is therefore significant and ironic that Ahab and Jezebel die in Jezreel.
So... Jezreel is a place of betrayal, bloodshed and retribution. Jezreel and Israel have seen great betrayal and bloodshed, and those who do evil like Ahab and Jezebel will reap the chaos they have sown.
And so it is not surprising that God's response is to "scatter."
If Jezreel (and Israel) and Jehu (and the nation under him) continue to massacre and destroy, then the cycle(the bow) will be broken.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
