Lo-Ruhamah is the daughter of Gomer, the product of an affair. Her mom, a former prostitute, cheats on her husband and hooks up with someone more appealing. Understandably, the child’s stepdad, Hosea, rejects his wife’s daughter.
To make sure everyone knows he’s not the dad, he names her Lo-Ruhamah, which means no pity or not loved.
What a terrible way to begin life. What a condemning legacy to carry. Each time someone calls her name, it serves as a painful reminder to Lo-Ruhamah of being rejected by the only man in her life.
Eventually Hosea reconciles with his wife. He accepts Lo-Ruhamah as his daughter and loves her. We wonder how Lo-Ruhamah responds. Does she rise above the conditions of her birth or does she remain forever wounded?
Though all parents fall short in childrearing, that’s not an excuse for not making the best of our lives. We don’t get to choose our parents, but we can choose how we respond to their mistakes in raising us.
How can we best react to the situation we find ourselves in?
[Discover more about Lo-Ruhamah in Hosea 1:6 and Hosea 2:23.]
Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
