Passage
Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can’t be measured or counted; and it will come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’
Nearby Context
Hosea 1:8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived, and bore a son.
Hosea 1:9 He said, “Call his name Lo-Ammi; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours.
Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can’t be measured or counted; and it will come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’
Hosea 1:11 The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint themselves one head, and will go up from the land; for great will be the day of Jezreel.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "called", "number", "children", "israel", "sand", "measured", "counted", and "come". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "number", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 9's "He said Call his name Lo-Ammi for..." into verse 11's "The children of Judah and the children...", so "called" and "number" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "called" and "number" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.