John Calvin Commentary Hosea 1:8-9

"Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. And [Jehovah] said, Call his name Lo-ammi; for ye are not my people, and I will not be your [God]." — Hosea 1:8-9 (ASV)

The weaning the Prophet mentions here is by some understood allegorically, as if he said that the people would for a time be deprived of prophecies, and of the priesthood, and of other spiritual gifts; but this is unconvincing. The Prophet here, I have no doubt, presents the patience of God toward that people.

The Lord then, before he had utterly cast off the Israelites, waited patiently for their repentance, if, indeed, there was any hope for it. But when he found them to be always the same, he then finally proceeded to the last punishment. Hence Hosea says that the daughter, who was the second child, was weaned. This was as if he said that the people of Israel had not been suddenly cast off, for God had borne with them with great patience and thus delayed heavier judgment, until, having found their wickedness to be incurable, he finally began what follows: Call the third child Lo-ammi.

The reason is added: For you are not my people, and I will not hereafter be your God. This, as I have said, is their final disowning. They had previously been called Jezreelites, and then by the name of the daughter, God testified that he was alienated from them. But now the third name is still more grievous: You are not my people. For God here abolishes, in a way, the covenant he made with the holy fathers, so that the people would cease to have any preeminence over other nations.

So then the Israelites were reduced to a condition in which they differed in no way from the pagan Gentiles, and thus God completely disinherited them. The Prophet, undoubtedly, was not well received when he denied that they were God’s people, even though they had descended from Abraham according to the flesh, had always been considered so, and continued proudly to boast of their election.

From this, let us learn that those who are blind to their own vices make a terrible mistake because God spares and indulges them. For we must always remember what I have said before: that the kingdom of Israel was then opulent; and yet the Prophet denies that those who flourished in strength, and power, and riches are God’s people.

Therefore, there is no reason for hypocrites to congratulate themselves in prosperity; on the contrary, they ought to pay attention to God’s judgment. But though these people, as we see is the case, carelessly despise God, yet this passage carefully reminds us to be cautious so that we do not abuse the present favors of God.