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“A Provocative Illustration”

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Introduction

The minor prophets are less familiar to us. We call the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel major. Those are the big leaguers. Then we have all the minor prophets. Little League. Most of these guys don’t get much airtime. And to be honest, it is a lot of work to mine out the gold contained in the minor prophets.

Surely it is worth the effort, but we aren’t as familiar with what was going on in Israel’s history at that time, then there are many geographical references that for the most part have very little significance to us, then there are all of the cultural references that we don’t understand. It’s over the most part we have a few key verses that we no from the minor prophets that are familiar and meaningful. But the minor prophets are not an area that we spend as much time studying as other places in our Bibles. I’m stating this upfront, just to recognize where we are at, and also to let you know why we are doing this series right now. If so that you will have a greater understanding and appreciation of Hosea’s contribution to the canon scripture.

Paul told Timothy that all Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable. That means the Old Testament and the New Testament. Same God of the entire Bible, but many distinctions in terms of how use representative in what we learn about him in each testament.

The apostle Paul tells us how to think about reading about Israel.

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1 Corinthians 10:11–12 (ESV)—Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

When we read about Israel, And we come to understand how badly they dishonored the Lord, We might think, “how terrible of them.” But Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10 warn us not to look down upon Israel, but rather to study Israel’s mistakes and in making direct application to our own life, avoid sinning in the very same ways.

Introduction to Hosea

Our sin is relational. Often times we view the law of God separated from the law giver. We view our salvation separate from our savior. And we view our sin separate from our sustainer. God created us for fellowship with him, he blessed us, and everything about our lives is connected back to our relationship with him. Think of how often in the Scriptures, and especially in the Old Testament you here reference to “your God.” (Exodus 20:1)

Hosea is all about God’s relationship with his people. It reveals God’s hatred in his offense toward our sin. It reveals God’s unstoppable grace and mercy that knows no end.

Chapter 1 will set up the mega themes of the entire book.

Hosea 1:1–11—1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the

Page 2 of 22 Page 3 of 22 land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” 3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 And the LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, 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. 5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.” 6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.” 8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the LORD said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.” 10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” 11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel. 2:1 Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.”

Hosea 1:1–11—1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

This opening verse orients us to the time and geography, the setting for these words.

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Hosea is a prophet. Prophets received revelation from God. This is a typical introduction, “the word of the Lord came… “

We know nothing about Beeri. What we do know is that right now God’s people are divided into two kingdoms. The 12 tribes of Israel came out of it, and formed a unified nation under the reign of King David and King Solomon. But in 931 the kingdom was divided. Israel was the northern kingdom, it contained more tribes, more land, and it was less faithful.

Judah occupied the south, it was where Jerusalem was located, and the monarchy coming through the line of David was more stable in Judah and in Israel. That meant if you were kings. Judah was still unfaithful, but Israel’s idolatry was much worse.

Five kings. Jeroboam II, the son of Joash, is the only one from Israel (the north). The other four kings are from Judah (in the south).

This was a time of national prosperity, things are going relatively well economically and politically. But it was a time of spiritual decay.

Hosea’s ministry had to span at least 45 years in order to minister at some point during all of these monarchies.

There was some longevity to this role that outlasted other leaders. Similar In some ways to a US Supreme Court Justice. Justice Anthony Kennedy served for 30 years spanning six presidencies from 1988 to 2018.

Hosea does not give us exact dates, but this is mid-eighth century. 750’s. For reference, Israel will fall to Assyria in 722 B.C.

So this is coming somewhere around 20 to 30 years before destruction.

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2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea,

So, this is your first day on job. You show up for work, you don your prophet’s uniform. You’re full of a mixture of excitement, fear, and anticipation. You’re going to be a mouthpiece for God—a privilege known by a few handfuls of individuals in the history of the entire world.

I distinctly remember my first day of my first real job. I had to make sure that my bleach blonde hair was properly styled. It was the 90’s OK? I had to go buy new white dress shirt because I either did not have one or it was stained. I delete out my clothes, and get my shirt ironed. Buy new work shoes. Make sure to leave extra early. And show up wondering what is the first day going to bring?

And so here’s Hosea. “Ok Lord, here I am ready to go… what’s my first assignment?”

When the Word first came to Hosea.

So, the text tells us that the first message, the message that Hosea could write down in his parchment scroll journal entitled, “Messages from God,” is commemorating his first mission from God. He licks his charcoal pen and to write. “Ok, LORD, here I am, lay it on me…”

Do I get to be a missionary like Jonah? Or do I get to go serve in the Kings Court like Isaiah? Maybe I will lead a crusade, and a revival impact, and fruit, and nationwide repentance and restoration. Miracles like Elijah and Elisha?

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The God who created Hosea, and commissioned him, and requires obedience that is done right away, all the way, and with the happy heart; or immediately, completely, and cheerfully, says:

“Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom,

Hosea, your bachelor days are over. It’s time for you to pursue a woman in marriage. Here’s what I want you to do. Go find a prostitute and marry her, and be a dad to children who are brought into the marriage through her cheating on you with other men.

Can we blunt for a minute?

I get uncomfortable reading these words silently, let alone out loud in a room full of people.

That’s the point, you see.

And the shame of reading them out loud pales in comparison to the scandal of actually implementing these instructions. This isn’t a parable story. These are actual instructions in real life.

Can you imagine what Hosea must experienced when he got this message from God?

Hosea gets the mission of where he is supposed to go. He is to go find a prostitute and take her as his wife and then father children who came into the family not through marital union, but through adultery.

As we will see, there are many caveats that could make this story feel better and be less offensive.

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But this is not a situation of a man of God marrying a woman who had a checkered past, but then came to God and salvation and is now washed clean. As we will see Gomer is not a woman who now hears the Lord, but squandered years in sin. That kind of story is a normal testimony for first- generation believers, and we rejoice in it.

This is not a story of a woman who was forced into prostitution against her will. Is not a woman who in a moment of weakness being faced with the choice of starvation on one hand or selling your body to eat on the other immorality over trusting the Lord.

Gomer as we will see wants to have multiple lovers.

And although Gomer will be given a fresh start: a marriage, a loving husband, a stable home life—the provisions that she needs for daily sustenance, she disregards all of it.

Gomer loves other things. And in the graphic imagery of this real-life story, Gomer loves other men. The loyal love of her husband was not satisfying to her desires. Instead, she will give herself away to others, seeking satisfaction, and meaning, and significance in forbidden places.

Why something so graphic? Why something so painful and tragic?

God anticipates that question and gives the provocative explanation for this instruction: for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.”

The word used here for whoredom and forsaking are the same word. Some of your translations may have harlotry. It can mean fornication which is sexual immorality, or prostitution. But it can refer to more than

Page 7 of 22 Page 8 of 22 just the sexual sin and emphasize the treachery of sexual sin when it involves unfaithfulness to a spouse.

That is how the word is being used here. We know this because of a preposition in Hebrew that doesn’t really come out in our English, but could be expressed in this way: the land continually commit sexual and morality from after YHWH.

It is against the Lord!

Why Lord? Why put a family together in this way? Couldn’t Hosea I just remain single? And Gomer keep doing her thing? Why add the pain and heartbreak of introducing a marriage and children? a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom,

A wife and children are to be a blessing. Celebrated. A wife is described various ways in scripture as a fruitful vine, the wife of ones youth, children are to be tender shoots, arrows in the hands of an archer, a heritage, a blessing from the Lord.

It’s because the people of God we’re in a bad spot spiritually right now. Israel has rejected the Lord by trusting in and living for other gods. They were not only in a bad spot because of their idolatry, but because they had grown so accustomed to it that they had lost the ability to perceive their own morality. They were deluded.

The land, which he refers to the land of Israel, was treating the Lord, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the God who delivered them out of the land of Egypt with the mighty hand and an outstretched arm, the God who fought for Israel and the conquest and subdued their enemies, the

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God who is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness has been betrayed.

Just like Gomer, who can’t perceive the depth of damage, Israel doesn’t see what the big deal is right now.

And so God chooses his servant Hosea to be a real-life object-lesson for Israel. God has used various illustrations to describe his relationship with his people. Israel is God’s Vineyard. Israel is God’s bride. Israel is the discarded infant lying in squalor that no one wanted and God picked up and cleaned and adopts in Ezekiel 16.

Now it is drawing on the husband/wife imagery.

As one pastor writes:

The first truth that Hosea’s messages regularly reiterate is the inestimable wickedness of the human heart. This utter moral corruption is a spiritual fact that men must hear often because self-righteous hearts are slow to believe the Bible’s testimony against us. We are loath to admit that we are actually as corrupt as the Scriptures say that we are. The prophet Hosea employs some of the grossest metaphors in all the Bible to document just how horribly sinful God’s people can be. Israel’s chronic idolatry and unfaithfulness toward God is likened to the treachery of adultery within marriage.1

1 Todd Murray, Love Beyond Degree, 17.

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We think of our sin too lightly. Putting it in the context of breaking a marriage covenant, and prostitution with multiple lovers, is God’s choice metaphor here. It takes the familiarity off our sin and it shakes us awake.

It makes is uncomfortable.

But exposing sin isn’t the only thing this imagery does for us. The marital relationship and the adultery highlights the corresponding reality as well. Not only does it serve to make a us vividly see our sin. But it gives us a sense, in graphic imagery, of God’s relentless love for his people.

The second truth, often doubted in men’s unbelief, is the shocking attestation of the incomprehensible love of God in the face of hideous and deplorable sin… Hosea recalibrates our understanding of God’s love, insisting that divine love be defined beyond all weak human definitions.2

This is redemptive love.

It is not some passive love, that ignores sin. It is not in indulgent love. Rather it is a love that is jealous, and a love that produces anger when it is disregarded. This is a love that brings chastisement and correction over sin. Love that keeps pursuing, and a love that stands with arms open- wide, waiting to receive back any who will come.

At this point Israel has blown it. And they have ignored the prophets. And now God is going to give them a living illustration of their treachery.

2 Todd Murray, Love Beyond Degree, 17.

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3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

He obeys. In the text, unlike his recent counterpart, Jonah, Hosea does this without discussion, debate or delay.

We don’t know anything about Gomer or her family history beyond this. The name Gomer appears only one other time in Scripture and it was the name of Noah’s grandson. Gomer was like Teri or Carey it could be a boys name or a girls name.

Gomer isn’t a changed woman with an immoral past. Hosea takes her as a wife from her prostitution real-time.

They had a wedding—I imagine some interesting tensions between the families. A prophet and a prostitute. Not quite compatible.

Prophets were spiritual leaders. They were sensitive to the Lord and his truth. Hosea would have loved things that were true and pure, and hated what was false.

And so, this man who loved what was pure and right, who is being commissioned by God as a prophet. We don’t know Hosea’s circumstances prior in his life but certainly this is a man who knew and loved the Lord.

So, they get married and in due time she conceives a son. Some people like selecting baby names, other people find it challenging. Hosea and Gomer did not have to look through baby name books, God just told them, “this is what it’s going to be.”

4 And the LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I

Page 11 of 22 Page 12 of 22 will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Here in the text we get the explicit reason for the name: name your kid to depict punishment.

Jezreel sounded a lot like Israel in Hebrew. Like naming your baby, “Merica.”

Jezreel is a specific location, but our distance from this time requires a bit of explanation so that we can appreciate what is taking place here.

When I say, “Columbine” you don’t think of a town in Colorado in Jefferson County with a population of less than 30,000 people. No, for anyone who was alive in 1999, what comes to mind is the Columbine High School Massacre—a shooting and attempted bombing that became the deadliest school massacre in history of United States for nearly 20 years.

Name your son Columbine.

To develop a full understanding of King Jehu and the blood of Jezreel you can read 2 Kings 9-10 for yourself. But here’s the gist. About 100 years before this, Jehu was anointed king over the southern kingdom of Israel. Contemporaries of Hosea looking back would be similar to us remembering the days of Warren G Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. It isn’t recent history, but it is also far from ancient.

Jehu’s was called by the Lord to remove wickedness from the people. The Lord used Jehu, but he wasn’t pleased with him because Jehu’s heart was not fully devoted to the Lord. He was was also motivated by self-interest and a thirst for violence.

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• He assassinated Jotham and Ahaziah, the king of Judah. • Jehu was the one who called for Jezebel to be thrown out of a window into the street, at which point he trampled over her bloody body, and left her carcass out in public to be eaten by dogs. • Jehu tricked the Jews who were worshiping the idol Baal by pretending to worship Baal and then having them slain by the sword while they were in the temple. He burned the temple and made it into a latrine. • But what happened at Jezreel topped all of these other brutalities. King Ahab had 70 sons. And Jezreel called for their heads. The 70s sons of Ahab we’re decapitated, the heads were placed in baskets, and then piled up in two heaps at the entrance gate of the city. It was a practice done by the Syrian Kings T strike fear in the hearts of people by demonstrating their power. That would be an effective deterrent I would say. Scenes like that are brutal enough to cause grown men to vomit. • Then Jehu went to the entrance of the city the next morning and blamed the men who carried out his orders and slaughtered them for slaughtering the sons of Ahab. He killed anyone and everyone associated with Ahab.

Partly Jehu was doing what he was supposed to do. Elijah prophesied in 1 Kings 21:20ff that God was going to Judge Ahab for his evil. And he was going to destroy his family. And Jezebel’s body would be eaten by dogs in the city.

But putting heads in piles and going overboard in the slaughter moved into selfish violence that God had not required.

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So what is the punishment coming? Jehuis indicative of the spiritual state of Israel right now.

What does it mean to break the bow? The bow was the insignia of military power it would be like saying today, “I’m going to empty your arsenal” or “I’m going to neutralize your bombs.”

God is telling this prophet, I am going to punish Israel. And remove their king and break apart the Kingdom, and I’m going to destroy their military might by breaking their bow.

It is difficult to time exactly, but this is only decades on the horizon. Name your kid Jezreel so whenever one hears it they know I’m coming.

Can you imagine that birth announcement? Talk about a downer. The little guy was born on Monday night, 6 lbs. 3 oz., Mom and baby are doing fine. We named him Jezreel because God is going to crush Israel sometime in the next 20 to 30 years.

We named our baby columbine because God is going to come and destroy us on account of that massacre.

News like this is terrifying because when God vows to punish, there is no way to escape.

Well that’s just the first kid. If you don’t get it right the first time maybe you will on second.

The text says:

6 She conceived again and bore a daughter.

Notice anything missing from verse six that is present in verse three? The little pronoun “him” v. 3 she bore him a son—v. 6 she bore a daughter.

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I believe this is exegetically is significant. Commentators are split on whether or not this daughter was Hosea’s. But the normative and common way of expressing a woman’s conception of a child is related to the father.

She bore him…

Second, God told Hosea to have children of whoredom. That doesn’t make sense these are natural children.

While married, Gomer has gotten pregnant by another man. She’s been unfaithful.

And now this name is even worse than the first.

And the LORD said to him, “Call her name No Mercy,

No compassion. No pity. Why? for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all.

What?! No more responding in tender compassion. Huh? What about what God to Moses in,

Exodus 34:6 (ESV)—The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

What about what David said in,

Psalm 103:8 (ESV)—The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

And what about the words of Jeremiah:

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Lamentations 3:22 (ESV)—The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

How does this square up? His steadfast love never ceases until it does. His mercies never come to an end until they do. What kind of hope is that what kind of promise is that? What kind of comfort is that?

Can you imagine?

Hey son, I want you to know that I will always love you until I don’t. We’ll see in a minute what God is up to here.

But first a concession.

7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah,

Judah was the southern kingdom. It was more stable. It was less idolatrous. Davidic line, and less turnover (fewer kings all together).

Israel has spurned God’s mercy and he is removing it. It is not as though Judah is not characterized by sinners who have unclean lips and impure hearts. God’s not assessing relative righteousness in saying Judah has earned my Mercy and Israel has not.

No, the issue is trust and love.

See we cannot stop at reading Exodus 34:6. You must also read verse 7.

Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.

Page 16 of 22 Page 17 of 22 and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”

Here the threats are physical. When God saves Israel it is physical and spiritual salvation tied up together.

These words constitute a corrective to what, unfortunately, and all too frequently, characterized his people’s response to local and international threats. Instead of fearing and trusting God, they would fear man and trust in the making of covenants with nations that they thought would defend them from an enemy’s attack.3

Is not trusting God a big sin to you or a little sin? How is it that men like John Newton could feel the significance of their own sinfulness increasingly as they matured in the Lord? Because as the Spirit of God sanctified their minds in the truth, they left behind familiar ways of defining morality: external sins that they could say they didn’t do. Things such as robbery, sexual morality, drunkenness in the like. And begin to see that while covering all of those external bases, there exists within my being such a level of corruption, that even my best day my desires are tainted.

• Trusting in Christ and not eating the bread of anxious toil. • Trusting in Christ and not fretting over your life. What you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear, what are you’ll have enough money at the end of the month, or at the end of your life.

3 Zemek, 33.

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• Trusting in Christ and not scheming or manipulating to achieve an outcome that you deeply long for were desperately want to avoid. • Trusting in Christ and not living your life as though God’s pleasure in you is at risk based upon your send or lack thereof. • Trusting in Christ and not seeking relief from the burdens that plague you in something earthly. • Trusting in Christ rather than getting angry about what you aren’t getting that you want.

Most of us are not terribly concerned about gaining personal safety through international treaties. But do we not have our own Assyrias and Egypts?

When you define idolatry properly it goes from being some vague concept of a little amulet or figurine. And it becomes something very relatable. The object (it could be seen or unseen) that you trust in, hope in, and derive satisfaction and comfort from.

Israel has been playing the harlot, with other gods. The Lord has called to hear many times through the prophets to repent and she has ignored him. And so he says, “times up. No more mercy.”

8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son.

Number three. New child. New name.

9 And the LORD said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

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One commentator notes that these words, “explode like a nuclear bomb” 4

You aren’t my people, and I’m not your YHWH.

How could God reject his people? This is his beloved Israel?

Well, clearly Israel has rejected the Lord.

I am not your God.

The knower of hearts knew that they had forsaken the unseen God for idols. Not-gods. Vanities. Worthless things.

I’m not your Yahweh. I’m not the one you love and trust.

There’s nothing to say right now in defense. It’s guilty and guilty and guilty a million times over.

This is divorce language. You’ve committed adultery so many times and now the marriage is over.

To summarize where we are at in the story:

Okay Hosea here’s the plan. Go marry a prostitute. Have a kid and name him the Palestinian equivalent of Columbine as a sign that I’m going to destroy the nation.

Child number two name no mercy because I am done forgiving. I am not going to release these people from their sins any longer. No more compassion. No pity.

4 Zemek, 33.

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Child number three name not a people. You broke the covenant. It’s spiritual adultery, and now the marriage is over.

God is chastising his people right now, and holding them accountable for their idolatry. Gomer and Hosea are serving as a real life illustration of the spiritual relationship between Israel and God.

To fully appreciate what is taking place here I would encourage you to read Leviticus 26. The last verse of that chapter says “these are the statutes and rules and laws that the Lord made between himself and the people of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai.”

In that chapter you read if then statements. If you walk in my statutes and observe my commitments and do them, then I will give… rain, increase, fruit, bread, security, peace, safety from beasts, safety from enemies, and most significantly that God would dwell with his people and be among them as their God. He would “walk among them.”

In that same chapter we also read: if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul of wars my rules, so that you will not do all my Commandments, but you break my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, disease, fever, heart ache, fields that don’t produce, enemies ruling over you, fear, broken pride, weakness, wild beasts let loose, ravaged livestock, ravaged children, pestilence, a lack of bread, hunger unto cannibalism, devastated cities and land and humiliation among the nations.

And it keeps crescendoing going from bad to worse as Israel continues to disregard the warning of the Lord.

God delivered Israel out of Egypt, and then he set the rules for the relationship, and this was part of the plan from the beginning. Hosea is

Page 20 of 22 Page 21 of 22 coming at the end of a long line of ignoring the warnings and these crescendoing judgments

This is heavy. God’s chosen people rejected as not being his people. But God provides a stunning reversal here:

10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” 11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of a Jezreel. 2:1 Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.”

How is this possible for God to speak this way? Sounds like he’s taking out of both sides of his mouth. Or he’s changing his mind all over the place. Of course that’s not how God operates.

No, this is God clarifying that although he is cutting his people off and rejecting them, he will not renege on the promises he made to the patriarchs.

• The sand of the sea is a reference to Genesis 22:17. Numerous descendants. A reversal from cutting off. • Reputation and love in making them children of the living God. • Reuniting the twelve tribes into one people. • A return from captivity to the Promised Land. Assembly to Israel. • Family reunification is the people of God… The alienation a verse 9 is canceled as they referred to one another as brother and sister.

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What do we see from this? God’s love punishes sin. And God’s love prevails over sin.

Conclusion

Well this sets the mega themes of the book for us.

Relational nature of our sin. Considering whom it is that we are sinning against.

These promises came to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is he promised head in v. 11 that will reign is glorious king in his future kingdom.

See we did not have the relationship with God through Christ that Israel had and Moses and Sinai. We are now children of the promise.

And so even our own infidelity cannot threaten our position, or our relationship with the Lord.

Romans 8ff.

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