Hosea 11:4 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. The great goodness of God towards his people Israel, and the great things he had done for them (Hos 11:1, Hos 11:3, Hos 11:4). II. Their ungrateful conduct towards him, notwithstanding his favours towards them (Hos 11:2-4, Hos 11:7, Hos 11:12). III. Threatenings of wrath against them for their ingratitude and treachery (Hos 11:5, Hos 11:6). IV. Mercy remembered in the midst of wrath (Hos 11:8, Hos 11:9). V. Promises of what God would yet do for them (Hos 11:10, Hos 11:11). VI. An honourable character given of Judah (Hos 11:12).

INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 11 This chapter gives an account of the free and ancient love of God to Israel, and of the benefits and blessings of goodness he bestowed upon them; and of their ingratitude in not owning them, nor hearkening to his prophets, but sacrificing and burning incense to idols, Hos 11:1; wherefore they are threatened with disappointment of relief from Egypt, with captivity into Assyria, and with the ravages of the sword in all places, being a people bent to backsliding, and incorrigible, Hos 11:5; and yet, notwithstanding all this, the bowels of the Lord yearn after them, and promises of mercy are made to them; that they shall not utterly be destroyed, but a remnant shall be spared; which in the latter day shall be called and follow after the Lord, the King Messiah, and be returned from their captivity, and be resettled in their own land, and replaced in their own houses, Hos 11:8; the chapter is concluded with an honourable character of Judah, Hos 11:12.

I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love,.... As Ephraim is compared to a heifer in the preceding chapter, here he is said to be drawn; but not with such cords and bands as cattle are, but with such as men are; in a rational and gentle way, in a kind, loving, tender, humane, friendly, and fatherly way and manner; so the Lord drew Israel on in the wilderness, till he was brought to Canaan's land, by bestowing kind favours upon them, and by making precious promises to them. So the Lord deals with his spiritual Israel; he draws them out of the present state and circumstances, in which they are by nature, to himself, and to his Son, and to follow after him, and run in the ways of his commandments; and which he does not by force and compulsion against their wills, nor by mere moral persuasion, but by the invincible power of his grace, sweetly working upon them, and attracting them; he does it by revealing Christ in them, in the glories of his person and in the riches of his grace, and by letting in his love into their hearts; and by kind invitations, precious promises, and divine teachings, attended with his powerful and efficacious grace; see Jer 31:3; and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws; as one that is merciful to his beast; as a kind and humane husbandman, when his cattle have been hard at work, takes off their bridles or muzzles, or the yokes on them, fastened with a halter about their jaws, that they may have liberty to feed on food set before them, as the next clause shows. So the Targum, "my word was to them as a good husbandman, who lightens the shoulder of oxen, and looses "the bridles" on their jaws.'' This may refer to Israel's deliverance from their bondage in Egypt; and be spiritually applied to Christ, the essential Word of God, breaking and taking the yoke of sin, Satan, and the law from off his people, and bringing them into the liberty of the children of God. Schmidt reads and interprets the words quite otherwise, "and I was to them as they that lift up the yoke upon their jaws"; not remove it from them but put it on them; expressing their ignorance and ingratitude, who, when the Lord drew them in the kind and loving manner he did, reckoned it as if he put a yoke upon them, and treated them rather as beasts than men; but this seems not to agree with what follows: and I laid meat unto them: or declined, or brought it down to them, to their very mouths; referring to the manna and quails he rained about their tents. So the Targum, "and, even when they were in the wilderness, I multiplied to them good things to eat.'' And thus in a spiritual sense the Lord gives meat to them that fear him, while in the wilderness of this world; he brings it near, and sets it before them, in the ministry of the word and ordinances; even that meat which endures to everlasting life, the flesh of Christ, which is meat indeed; and the doctrines of the Gospel, which are milk for babes, and strong meat for more experienced saints.

"And I, as a foster father to Ephraim, carried them in my arms, and they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with cords of Adam, with the bonds of love. And I will be to them like one who lifts the yoke from their cheeks, and I inclined to him so he could eat." LXX: "And I gathered" ((or "placed")) Ephraim, I took him up on my arm; and they did not know that I healed them in the corruption of humans. I drew them with the cords of my love. And I will be to them like one who gives slaps on his cheeks, and I will look at him being strong." The Hebrew and the edition of the interpreters differ much from one another. Therefore, let us try to recount the history according to the Hebrews; to write a comprehensive account according to the Septuagint. The one who said above: "I loved the son of Israel, and called him out of Egypt," and later brought to light the crime he had committed, "they were sacrificing to the Baals and to the idols," now tells how Israel was beloved through as per Deuteronomy: "The Lord your God has carried you, as a man carries his little son, in all the ways that you have gone," "until you came to this place" (Deut. I, 31). And in another place: "He spread his wings and took him, and carried him on his shoulders" (Ibid. XXXII, 11). I, he said, who was a father, became a nurse, and I carried my little one in my arms, so that he would not be harmed in the wilderness, and so that he would not be frightened by either heat or darkness. In the day I was a cloud, in the night a pillar of fire (Exod. XIII): so that those who I had protected, I might enlighten and heal them with my light. And when they had sinned and had made themselves a calf's head, I gave them a place for repentance, and they did not know that I cured them, and for the space of forty years, I covered the wound of idolatry and restored them to their former health. But I cared for them because of the cords and bands of charity, with which I bound them as if with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, Aquilae, Symmachus, Septuagint, and Theodotio translated "Adam" as "men": so they would say, "I will draw them in the cords of men, in the bands of charity." And what follows: "I will be to them as one lifting up the yoke," for which Symmachus interpreted: "and they thought that I would put a yoke on their jaw," is understood in two ways: either I took away from them the yoke of all the nations round about, or they thought that my Law was like the heaviest weight of a yoke. And I gave them manna to eat in the desert (Exodus 16), that they might eat, for this is what he says, "I have turned to him to be fed:" for which Symmachus interpreted, "and I have turned to him with food." Not that God turned to him, but that he made the food of manna turn to him. Otherwise: I loved them so much and was such a merciful shepherd, that I myself carried the sick sheep on my shoulders (Luke 15): but they themselves did not know that I cared for them with my passion; and as I am a lover of all people, I drew them to believe in the bonds of love, according to what is written in the Gospel: "No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). And they thought my yoke light, to be very heavy: and I turned to them forsaking the kingdom of heaven, to eat with them, assuming the form of a man, or gave them food of my body: both the food and the guest. Let us go to spiritual understanding, according to the Septuagint only interpreters: lest if we want to explain both according to history and according to interpretation, we tend to the size of the book. When they sacrifice Baalim, things they have made from their own hearts, and when they flee from my face at my call (for thus it is contained in the Septuagint), I, the most merciful Lord, bound the feet of Ephraim so that they would not flee further from me: this is what συνεπόδισα means. But I bound (them) by the testimonies of the Scriptures, and by the discussion of the teachers of the Church, so that by patience it would hold bound with its arms those who did not understand that God's patience was an opportunity for their salvation. Hence, in the corruption of men, namely, of teachers, who had deceived them bound by the coldness of their treachery, I extended the warmth of faith and, as it were, binding those who resisted, I bound them with the bonds of my love. And because they did not run according to their own will, but were dragged by ropes, I slightly struck their cheeks with slaps, not punishing them, but correcting and improving. "The judge tears flesh, twists with ropes, and tortures with whips and fire. But a father, he who is, strikes the wanton son with the palm of his hand. And he did not say beautifully, 'I will beat them with slaps,' but striking the cheeks with his hand like a man. But God strikes errant sons with the threat of punishments, with the reading of the Gospel, and with the testimony of the prophets. And when he strikes thus on the cheek, that he may drive out from the foul mouth of heretics their bread and doctrine: then he looks at him, his son having been beaten, saying to him, 'Look at me, and have mercy on me.'" (Psalm LXXXV,16) And again: "Look upon me and hear me, O Lord my God" (Psalm XII, 4). And when he has looked upon him, he shall prevail, or be helpful to them, that is, he shall overcome his adversaries, and shall make slaves flee. And he shall give them true and sweet food, who before devoured the lies and most bitter food of heretics.

And as the lover of humankind I will draw them to believing in cords of love, just as that which is written in the Gospel: “No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me will have drawn him.” But they thought that my light yoke was very heavy; and I bent toward them, leaving the kingdom of heaven so that I may eat with them, having assumed the human form. Or rather, I gave them my body as food; I was both food and table companion.

This chapter gives a very pathetic representation of God's tender and affectionate regard for Israel, by metaphors chiefly borrowed from the conduct of mothers toward their tender offspring. From this, occasion is taken to reflect on their ungrateful return to the Divine goodness, and to denounce against them the judgments of the Almighty, Hos 11:1-7. But suddenly and unexpectedly the prospect changes. Beams of mercy break frown the clouds just now fraught with vengeance. God, to speak in the language of men, feels the relentings of a tender parent; his bowels yearn; his mercy triumphs; his rebellious child shall yet be pardoned. As the lion of the tribe of Judah, he will employ his power to save his people, he will call his children from the land of their captivity; and, as doves, they will fly to him, a faithful and a holy people, Hos 11:8-12.

I drew them with cords of a man - This is a reference to leading strings, one end of which is held by the child, the other by the nurse, by which the little one, feeling some support, and gaining confidence, endeavors to walk. God, their heavenly Father, made use of every means and method to teach them to walk in the right and only safe path; for, as the Targum says, "As beloved children are drawn I drew them by the strength of love." That take of the yoke on their jaws - I did every thing that mercy could suggest, and justice permit, to make their duty their delight and profit. There appears to be here an illusion to the moving and pulling forward the collar or yoke of beasts which have been hard at work, to let in the cool air between it and their neck, so as to refresh them, and prevent that heat, which with the sweat would scald their necks, and take off not only the hair, but the skin. I have often done this at the land ends, in ploughing, when at the turnings the cattle were permitted a few moments to draw their breath after the hard pull that terminated the furrow at either end of the field: - And I laid meat unto them - Giving them at the same time a bite of grass or hay, to encourage them to go on afresh. The metaphor is strong and expressive; and he who ever had or saw the management of cattle in the plough or cart must admire it. Thus God acted with the people on whose necks was the yoke of his law. How many privileges, advantages, and comforts did he mingle with his precepts, to make them at once a righteous and happy people!

(Hos 11:5 shows this prophecy was uttered after the league made with Egypt (Kg2 17:4)) Israel . . . called my son out of Egypt--BENGEL translates, "From the time that he (Israel) was in Egypt, I called him My son," which the parallelism proves. So Hos 12:9 and Hos 13:4 use "from . . . Egypt," for "from the time that thou didst sojourn in Egypt." Exo 4:22 also shows that Israel was called by God, "My son," from the time of his Egyptian sojourn (Isa 43:1). God is always said to have led or brought forth, not to have "called," Israel from Egypt. Mat 2:15, therefore, in quoting this prophecy (typically and primarily referring to Israel, antitypically and fully to Messiah), applies it to Jesus' sojourn in Egypt, not His return from it. Even from His infancy, partly spent in Egypt, God called Him His son. God included Messiah, and Israel for Messiah's sake, in one common love, and therefore in one common prophecy. Messiah's people and Himself are one, as the Head and the body. Isa 49:3 calls Him "Israel." The same general reason, danger of extinction, caused the infant Jesus, and Israel in its national infancy (compare Gen. 42:1-43:34; Gen 45:18; Gen 46:3-4; Eze 16:4-6; Jer 31:20) to sojourn in Egypt. So He, and His spiritual Israel, are already called "God's sons" while yet in the Egypt of the world.

cords of a man--parallel to "bands of love"; not such cords as oxen are led by, but humane methods, such as men employ when inducing others, as for instance, a father drawing his child, by leading-strings, teaching him to go (Hos 11:1). I was . . . as they that take off the yoke on their jaws . . . I laid meat--as the humane husbandman occasionally loosens the straps under the jaws by which the yoke is bound on the neck of oxen and lays food before them to eat. An appropriate image of God's deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian yoke, and of His feeding them in the wilderness.

The prophet goes back a third time (cf. Hos 10:1; Hos 9:10) to the early times of Israel, and shows how the people had repaid the Lord, for all the proofs of His love, with nothing but ingratitude and unfaithfulness; so that it would have merited utter destruction from off the earth, if God should not restrain His wrath for the sake of His unchangeable faithfulness, in order that, after severely chastening, He might gather together once more those that were rescued from among the heathen. Hos 11:1. "When Israel was young, then I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. Hos 11:2. Men called to them; so they went away from their countenance: they offer sacrifice to the Baals, and burn incense to the idols." Hos 11:1 rests upon Exo 4:22-23, where the Lord directs Moses to say to Pharaoh, "Israel is my first-born son; let my son go, that he may serve me." Israel was the son of Jehovah, by virtue of its election to be Jehovah's peculiar people (see at Exo 4:22). In this election lay the ground for the love which God showed to Israel, by bringing it out of Egypt, to give it the land of Canaan, promised to the fathers for its inheritance. The adoption of Israel as the son of Jehovah, which began with its deliverance out of the bondage of Egypt, and was completed in the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, forms the first stage in the carrying out of the divine work of salvation, which was completed in the incarnation of the Son of God for the redemption of mankind from death and ruin. The development and guidance of Israel as the people of God all pointed to Christ; not, however, in any such sense as that the nation of Israel was to bring forth the son of God from within itself, but in this sense, that the relation which the Lord of heaven and earth established and sustained with that nation, was a preparation for the union of God with humanity, and paved the way for the incarnation of His Son, by the fact that Israel was trained to be a vessel of divine grace. All essential factors in the history of Israel point to this as their end, and thereby become types and material prophecies of the life of Him in whom the reconciliation of man to God was to be realized, and the union of God with the human race to be developed into a personal unity. It is in this sense that the second half of our verse is quoted in Mat 2:15 as a prophecy of Christ, not because the words of the prophet refer directly and immediately to Christ, but because the sojourn in Egypt, and return out of that land, had the same significance in relation to the development of the life of Jesus Christ, as it had to the nation of Israel. Just as Israel grew into a nation in Egypt, where it was out of the reach of Canaanitish ways, so was the child Jesus hidden in Egypt from the hostility of Herod. But Hos 11:2 is attached thus as an antithesis: this love of its God was repaid by Israel with base apostasy. קראוּ, they, viz., the prophets (cf. Hos 11:7; Kg2 17:13; Jer 7:25; Jer 25:4; Zac 1:4), called to them, called the Israelites to the Lord and to obedience to Him; but they (the Israelites) went away from their countenance, would not hearken to the prophets, or come to the Lord (Jer 2:31). The thought is strengthened by כּן, with the כּאשׁר of the protasis omitted (Ewald, 360, a): as the prophets called, so the Israelites drew back from them, and served idols. בּעלים as in Hos 2:15, and פּסלים as in Kg2 17:41 and Deu 7:5, Deu 7:25 (see at Exo 20:4).