Hosea 10:15 Komentář

In this chapter, I. The people of Israel are charged with gross corruptions in the worship of God and are threatened with the destruction of their images and altars (Hos 10:1, Hos 10:2, Hos 10:5, Hos 10:6, Hos 10:8). II. They are charged with corruptions in the administration of the civil government and are threatened with the ruin of that (Hos 10:3, Hos 10:4, Hos 10:7). III. They are charged with imitating the sins of their fathers, and with security in their own sins, and are threatened with smarting humbling judgments (Hos 10:9-11). IV. They are earnestly invited to repent and reform, and are threatened with ruin if they did not (Hos 10:12-15).

INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 10 This chapter is of the same argument with the former, and others before that; setting forth the sins of the ten tribes, and threatening them with the judgments of God for them; and exhorting them to repentance, and works of righteousness. They are charged with unfruitfulness and ingratitude; increasing in idolatry, as they increased in temporal good things, Hos 10:1; with a divided heart, and with irreverence of God, and their king; and with false swearing, covenant breaking, and injustice, Hos 10:2; and are threatened with a removal of their king, and with the destruction of their idols, and places of idolatry, which should cause fear in the common people, and mourning among the priests, Hos 10:1. It is observed, that their sin had been of long continuance, though the Lord had been kind and good unto them, in chastising them in love, giving them good laws, sending his prophets to exhort them to repentance and reformation, but all in vain, Hos 10:9; wherefore they are threatened with the spoiling of their fortresses, the destruction of the people, and the cutting off of their king, Hos 10:14.

So shall Bethel do unto you, because of your great wickedness,.... Or, "because of the evil of your evil" (s); their extreme wickedness, and exceeding sinfulness; the evil of evils they were guilty of was their idolatry, their worshipping the calf at Bethel; and this was the cause of all their ruin: God was the cause of it; the king of Assyria the instrument; but the procuring or meritorious cause was their abominable wickedness at Bethel; which therefore should be as Betharbel; yea, the whole land should be, on the account of that, like unto it, or be spoiled as that was. Or the words may be rendered, "so will he do unto you, O Bethel" (t); that is, either God, or Shalman or Shalmaneser, shall do the same to Bethel as he did to Betharbel; utterly destroy it and its inhabitants, showing no mercy to age or sex; in a morning shall the king of Israel be utterly cut off; meaning Hoshea the last king of Israel, and the kingdom entirely destroyed; so that afterwards there was no more king in Israel, nor has been to this day; there was not only an utter destruction of that king, but of all kingly power and government, and ever since the children of Israel have been without a king, Hos 3:4; and this was to be done, and was done, in a "morning": in the beginning of his reign, as Joseph Kimchi; but this seems not so well to agree with the history, since it was in the ninth year of his reign that Samaria was taken: but the sense is, either that it would be certainly done, as sure as the morning came; or suddenly and quickly, as the morning light breaks forth; or in the morning of prosperity, when they were expecting light and good days, from their alliance with the king of Egypt, against the king of Assyria. (s) "propter malitiam malitiae vestrae", Pagninus, Cocceius, Schmidt. (t) "sic faciet vobis, Deus, O Bethel", Drusius; "sic faciet vobis Salman, O Bethel", Schmidt. Next: Hosea Chapter 11

"Because you trusted in your ways: tumult shall arise among your people because of the multitude of your strong ones, and all your fortifications shall be laid waste. Just as Salman was devastated in his own house, he who was judging Baal on the day of the battle, when a mother was dashed upon her children, so has Bethel done to you because of the malice of your wickedness." LXX: "Because you trusted in your chariots, in the multitude of your strength, destruction shall arise in your people, and all your fortified walls shall go away; just as the princes of Salman from the house of Jerobaal on the days of battle, who dashed a mother upon her children, so I will do to you, the house of Israel, because of your malice." Therefore, you have eaten the fruit of lies, and in all your plans, your false hope deceived you. Because you trusted, O Ephraim, in your ways of idolatry: for these are your ways, and in the multitude of your strong ones, you do not have hope in God, but in the strength of armies. Therefore there shall arise a tumult among thy people, which in Hebrew is called Saon, that is, the "sound" and "roaring" of an howling army; whereby, with their cry, all thy fortifications shall be laid waste, and those things which thou didst esteem as defenced and secure, shall be opened to thy enemies, and so shall be wasted, as Salmana, prince of the Madianites, was wasted and broken, who was slain by the house of Jerobaal (Judges 8). Doubtless it signifies Gedeon, who, for that he destroyed the temple of Baal, and cut down the grove, could not be revenged, received the surname of Jerobaal, that is, "let Baal revenge himself." As Salmana slew the children before their mothers' faces, so there shall they slay thy sons, O Ephraim, yea, and thou thyself shalt be compelled to be slain. We search where it is written that Salmana killed her mother over her children: we read in the book of Judges, Gideon speaking to the chief of Midian: 'As your sword has made many mothers childless, so will your mother be childless among women.' (Judges 8) Therefore Salmana was devastated by Jerobaal, whom some think was the son of Nabath Jeroboam, who led ten tribes, and was devastated, as is contained in Hebrew, by Arbel, which also means "Jerobaal," but in a shorter and more expressive language: thus has Bethel done to you, O Israel, from the face of your malice, in which you placed a golden calf and worshipped Egyptian gods. For 'Bethel,' which is interpreted as 'house of God,' the LXX translated 'house of Israel,' which is not at all in Hebrew. We have somehow escaped from the shattered places: now, sailing towards the open sea of metaphor, let us cross over. 'Because thou hast trusted,' o Ephraim, 'in thy ways,' or 'in thy chariots,' of which it is written: 'Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God' (Ps. XIX, 8): and thou hast trusted in the multitude of thy heroes, whom thou hast strengthened with false knowledge: therefore there shall arise tumult and noise among thy people. For whatever the heretics speak, they do not have a voice explaining opinions, but rather turmoil, shouting, and noise. "And all your fortifications," whether walled or not, "will be destroyed" (for they are fortified and built not by the testimonies of the Scriptures, but by dialectical art and arguments of philosophers) "as Salmone was devastated" by Gideon, with the mother killed above her sons. The eighty-second psalm mentions the story, where among other leaders, it recalls that Salmana was also among the Midianites, saying, "Do to them, Lord," without a doubt, he means those who entered into a pact or covenant against the Lord, "as to Midian and Sisara" (Ps. 82: 12-13). And furthermore: 'Put their leaders like Oreb and Zeb, and Sebee, and Salmana, all their leaders who said, 'We possess the sanctuary of God as our inheritance.' And in this very psalm, the leaders of the heretics are described, who tried to claim the altar of God for themselves. And what follows: 'Just as he did for you, Bethel, because of the malice of your wickedness,' is properly adapted to the leaders of the heretics, because he did that to them which he did to Bethel, which they call Bethel, that is, 'House of God,' and a false Church; so that it must be understood thus: Thus shall your Church, which you call the House of God, be done to you. It must be otherwise called Bethaven by you, that is, 'House of idol,' because of the multitude of your malice.

This chapter treats of the same subject, but elegantly varied. It begins with comparing Israel to a fruitful vine but corrupted by too much prosperity, Hos 10:1. It next reproves and threatens them for their idolatry, Hos 10:2; anarchy, Hos 10:3; and breach of covenant, Hos 10:4. Their idolatry is then enlarged on; and its fatal consequences declared in terms full of sublimity and pathos, Hos 10:5-8. God is now introduced complaining of their excessive guilt; and threatening them with captivity in terms that bear a manifest allusion to their favourite idolatry, the worshiping the similitude of a calf or heifer, Hos 10:9-11. Upon which the prophet, in a beautiful allegory suggested by the preceding metaphors, exhorts them to repentance; and warns them of the dreadful consequences of their evil courses, if obstinately persisted in, Hos 10:12-15.

So shall Beth-el do unto you - This shall be the consequence of your idolatry. In a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off - Suddenly, unexpectedly. Hoshea, the king of Israel, shall be cut off by the Assyrians. There are some allusions to facts in this chapter, which cannot be easily verified, as we have not sufficient acquaintance with the history of those times.

ISRAEL'S IDOLATRY, THE SOURCE OF PERJURIES AND UNLAWFUL LEAGUES, SOON DESTINED TO BE THE RUIN OF THE STATE, THEIR KING AND THEIR IMAGES BEING ABOUT TO BE CARRIED OFF; A JUST CHASTISEMENT, THE REAPING CORRESPONDING TO THE SOWING. (Hos 10:1-15) The prophecy was uttered between Shalmaneser's first and second invasions of Israel. Compare Hos 10:14; also Hos 10:6, referring to Hoshea's calling So of Egypt to his aid; also Hos 10:4, Hos 10:13. empty--stripped of its fruits [CALVIN], (Nah 2:2); compelled to pay tribute to Pul (Kg2 15:20). MAURER translates, "A widespreading vine"; so the Septuagint. Compare Gen 49:22; Psa 80:9-11; Eze 17:6. bringeth forth fruit unto himself--not unto ME. according to . . . multitude of . . . fruit . . . increased . . . altars--In proportion to the abundance of their prosperity, which called for fruit unto God (compare Rom 6:22), was the abundance of their idolatry (Hos 8:4, Hos 8:11).

So shall Beth-el do unto you--Your idolatrous calf at Beth-el shall be the cause of a like calamity befalling you. your great wickedness--literally, "the wickedness of your wickedness." in a morning--speedily as quickly as the dawn is put to flight by the rising sun (Hos 6:4; Hos 13:3; Psa 30:5). king--Hoshea. Next: Hosea Chapter 11

In a fresh turn the concluding thought of the last strophe (Hos 9:10) is resumed, and the guilt and punishment of Israel still more fully described in two sections, Hos 10:1-8 and Hos 10:9-15. Hos 10:1. "Israel is a running vine; it set fruit for itself: the more of its fruit, the more altars did it prepare; the better its land, the better pillars did they make. Hos 10:2. Smooth was their heart, ow will they atone. He will break in pieces their altars, desolate their pillars. Hos 10:3. Yea, now will they say, No king to us! for we feared not Jehovah; and the king, what shall he do to us?" Under the figure of a vine running luxuriantly, which did indeed set some good fruit, but bore no sound ripe grapes, the prophet describes Israel as a glorious plantation of God Himself, which did not answer the expectations of its Creator. The figure is simply sketched in a few bold lines. We have an explanatory parallel in Psa 80:9-12. The participle bōqēq does not mean "empty" or "emptying out" here; for this does not suit the next clause, according to which the fruit was set, but from the primary meaning of bâqaq, to pour out, pouring itself out, overflowing, i.e., running luxuriantly. It has the same meaning, therefore, as ג סרחת in Eze 17:6, that which extends its branches far and wide, that is to say, grows most vigorously. The next sentence, "it set fruit," still belongs to the figure; but in the third sentence the figure passes over into a literal prophecy. According to the abundance of its fruit, Israel made many altars; and in proportion to the goodness of its land, it made better מצּבות, Baal's pillars (see at Kg1 14:23); i.e., as Israel multiplied, and under the blessing of God attained to prosperity, wealth, and power in the good land (Exo 3:8), it forgot its God, and fell more and more into idolatry (cf. Hos 2:10; Hos 8:4, Hos 8:11). The reason of all this was, that their heart was smooth, i.e., dissimulating, not sincerely devoted to the Lord, inasmuch as, under the appearance of devotedness to God, they still clung to idols (for the fact, see Kg2 17:9). The word châlâq, to be smooth, was mostly applied by a Hebrew to the tongue, lip, mouth, throat, and speech (Psa 5:10; Psa 12:3; Psa 55:22; Pro 5:3), and not to the heart. But in Eze 12:24 we read of smooth, i.e., deceitful prophesying; and there is all the more reason for retaining the meaning "smooth" here, that the rendering "their heart is divided," which is supported by the ancient versions, cannot be grammatically defended. For châlâq is not used in kal in an intransitive sense; and the active rendering, "He (i.e., God) has divided their heart" (Hitzig), gives an unscriptural thought. They will now atone for this, for God will destroy their altars and pillars. ערף, "to break the neck of the altars," is a bold expression, applied to the destruction of the altars by breaking off the horns (compare Amo 3:14). Then will the people see and be compelled to confess that it has no longer a king, because it has not feared the Lord, since the king who has been set up in opposition to the will of the Lord (Hos 8:4) cannot bring either help or deliverance (Eze 13:10). עשׂה, to do, i.e., to help or be of use to a person (cf. Ecc 2:2).