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, you are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, you are the sons of the living God.
All Commentaries on Hosea 1:10 Go To Hosea 1
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Because Hosea is such a profound prophet, it is no easy matter to get at his meaning. Still, I must keep my promise and quote something from him at this point. He says, “And it shall be in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people’; it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’ ” The apostles themselves understood this text as a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, who were previously not God’s people. And because the Gentiles are spiritually sons of Abraham and correctly therefore alluded to as Israel, Hosea goes on to say, “And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the earth.” Now to add one word of explanation to this text would be to lose the savor of Hosea’s prophetic style.
