Osea 9:12 Commento

In this chapter, I. God threatens to deprive this degenerate seed of Israel of all their worldly enjoyments, because by sin they had forfeited their title to them; so that they should have no comfort either in receiving them themselves or in offering them to God (Hos 9:1-5). II. He dooms them to utter ruin, for their own sins and the sins of their prophets (Hos 9:6-8). III. He upbraids them with the wickedness of their fathers before them, whose steps they trod in (Hos 9:9, Hos 9:10). IV. He threatens them with the destruction of their children and the rooting out of their posterity (Hos 9:11-17).

INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 9 This chapter is an address to Israel or the ten tribes, and contains either a new sermon, or is a very considerable part of the former upon the same subject, the sins and punishment of that people. It begins with an instruction to them, not to rejoice in their prosperity, as others did; since it would soon be at an end, because of their idolatry, which was everywhere committed, and for which they expected a reward of temporal good things, Hos 9:1; but, on the contrary, they are threatened with famine, with want both of corn and wine, Hos 9:2; and with an ejection out of their land into foreign countries; where they should be obliged to eat things unclean by their law, Hos 9:3; and where their sacrifices and solemnities should be no more attended to, Hos 9:4; yea, where their carcasses should fall and be buried, while their own country and houses lay waste and desolate, Hos 9:6; for, whatsoever their foolish and mad prophets said to the contrary, who pretended to be with God, and know his will, and were a snare to them that gave heed unto them, and brought hatred on them, the time of their punishment would certainly come, Hos 9:7; and their iniquities would be remembered and visited; seeing their corruptions were deep, like those that appeared in Gibeah, in the days of old, Hos 9:9; they acting the same ungrateful part their fathers had done, of whom they were a degenerate offspring, Hos 9:10; wherefore for these, and other offences mentioned, they are threatened with being bereaved of their children, and drove out of their land, to wander among the nations, Hos 9:11.

Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place,.... That is, either as the city of Tyre, a very famous city in Phoenicia, was situated in a very pleasant place by the sea, and abounded in wealth and riches, and was well fortified, and seemed secure from all danger, and from all enemies; so Ephraim or the ten tribes, the kingdom of Israel, were in like circumstances, equal to Tyre, as the Targum paraphrases it, in prosperity and plenty; yet as the prophet in the vision of prophecy saw that Tyre, notwithstanding all its advantages by power and wealth, by art and nature, would be destroyed, first by Nebuchadnezzar, and then by Alexander; so by the same prophetic spirit he saw that Ephraim or the ten tribes, notwithstanding their present prosperity, and the safety and security they thought themselves in, yet should be given up to ruin and destruction by the hand of the Assyrians; or it may be rendered thus, "Ephraim as", or "when I saw it, unto Tyre" (k); reaching unto that place, and bordering upon it, as part of the ten tribes did; I saw it, I observed it, took a survey of it, and I perceived it was "planted in a pleasant place"; like a tree planted in a fruitful soil, well rooted, and in a flourishing condition; so were they, abounding with all good things, and having a numerous offspring; from all which they promised themselves much happiness for ages to come: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer; to sacrifice them to Mo, as some; so the Targum, "they of the house of Ephraim have sinned in slaying their children to the service of idols;'' with which Jarchi agrees; but rather the sense is, with Kimchi, and others, when their enemies shall come against them, as the Assyrian army, they shall go out with their sons to fight with them, and these shall be destroyed and murdered by them; it will be like leading lambs to the slaughter to be butchered and devoured by them. (k) "quando vidi usque ad Tyrum", Schmidt.

"Ephraim has flown away like a bird: their glory from birth and from the womb and from conception. Even if they bring up their children, I will make them childless in men. But woe to them when I depart from them. Ephraim, as I saw, was founded in Tyre in beauty, and Ephraim will bring their sons to the slayer." LXX: "Ephraim has flown away like a bird: their glory is in giving birth and in births and conception: because even if they bring up their children, they will be without children among men: because woe to them, for my flesh is from them. Ephraim, as I saw, offered his children into captivity, and Ephraim, to bring his children to slaughter." There is much disagreement among interpreters on this passage. In that place where we said, "woe to them when I depart from them," the Septuagint and Theodotion translated it as "woe to them, my flesh from them." Seeking the reason for such a variation, I seem to have found this: "My flesh" is said in Hebrew "Basari;" again, if we say "my departure" or "my declination," it is said "Basori." Therefore, the Septuagint and Theodotion translated "my departure" and "my declination" as "my flesh," whereas for "Ephraim, as I saw, Tyre was," the Septuagint interpreted "θήραν," which means "hunting" or "capture," Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted as "a very hard rock," that is, a flint, which in Hebrew is called "Sur;" but if we read "Sor," it means "Tyre." "But the Seventy interpreters, thinking from the similarity of the letters of Res and Daleth that it was not Res but Daleth, have read Sud, that is, "hunting" or "capture," from which Bethsaida is also called "the house of hunters." We have stated the diversity of interpreters; let us return to the sense. Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes, flew away like a bird into captivity and departed from their own place. And he called them birds to demonstrate their swift passage into Babylon." But if we read, "as though the glory of them had flown away like a bird," we say that their aid has departed and flown away from God. And that which follows, "from birth, and from the womb, and from conception," can be understood in two ways, so that the glory which has flown away from Ephraim also departs from their birth, from the womb, and from their conception. That is, their children shall be deserted and their posterity forsaken. Or indeed, we say that all the glory of Israel was in its multitude, and that Judah, his brother, esteemed himself greater because he ruled over ten tribes, whereas the other over two. Where the Lord speaks that even if they raise their children and gather a multitude of offspring, they will be handed over to death. And now the true burden lies with them when God departs from them. He then explains how once Ephraim was so forsaken, though he was beautiful, and so supported by God's help, that he seemed as if he were Tyre, which is surrounded by the sea, or certainly like a hardest rock, fixed on the ground, which disdains all storms and cares nothing for tornadoes and winds. But he, that is, Ephraim or Tyre, which was founded in the beauty ("Al." fullness) of the sea, will bring his sons into captivity. Many refer this chapter to the times of Azahel, who besieged Samaria and afflicted it with hunger for a long time, so that those besieged by the sword might be thought to perish more lightly than from hunger (2 Kings 6, 7, and 8). But let us say, according to the tropology, that Ephraim, that is, the heretics, as if they had gone away from the Church like a bird, and that they have all their glory in childbirth, in the womb, and in conception, if they have born many sons whom the Lord threatens, even if they have been raised and punished, not by anyone else, but by the Lord himself, because they have generated children of fornication, and woe to them when God departs from them. And he repeats that which was Ephraim: when, he says, he was in the Church, in such a way was he pounded by the waves of this world like Tyre, but yet he could withstand nothing adverse, because he had the foundation of Christ, upon which the house was built, cannot be overturned (Matt. VII). But now he brings up his sons for slaughter: that is, for the devil. And well said he brings up, that is, he makes them go outside the Church. We are able to speak evil of the sons of Ephraim, and contrary dogmas to truth, which the Lord destroys with the breath of his mouth; he does not allow them to have such children, and leaves them to eternal destruction. As for what we read in the Septuagint, 'From these, my flesh: Ephraim, how I have seen, has provided for his sons a livelihood of prey,' we understand it thus: If Christ is the head of the body, that is, the Church, all of us are members of Christ and the Church. Therefore, whoever departs from the Church tears apart the body of Christ: therefore, Ephraim was also flesh and a member of the Lord Savior. But he provided his children for hunting, and for the hunting of those about whom it is written: "Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare" (Psalm 123, 7). And he led his children out of the Church, for slaying or for wounding: so that they may be wounded by those who send burning arrows, so that they may be struck and burned together.

God is not ashamed to take flesh from such members, for he framed these very members. Who tells us this? The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I dedicated you.” If in fashioning me, therefore, he touched them and was not ashamed, was he ashamed in forming for himself the holy flesh, the veil of his Godhead? It is God who even now creates the babes in the womb, as it is written in Job, “Did you not pour me out as milk, and thicken me like cheese? With skin and flesh you clothed me, with bones and sinews knit me together.” There is nothing corrupt in the human bodily frame unless one defiles it with adulteries and wantonness. He who formed Adam formed Eve also; and male and female were fashioned by the divine hands. None of the members of the body, as fashioned from the beginning, is corrupt. Let all heretics be silent who slander their bodies, or rather him who formed them. But let us be mindful of Paul’s words: “Do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you?” Again, the prophet has foretold in the person of Jesus, “my flesh is from them.”

The prophet reproves the Israelites for their sacrifices and rejoicings on their corn-floors, by which they ascribed to idols, as the heathen did, the praise of all their plenty, Hos 9:1. For which reason they are threatened with famine and exile, Hos 9:2, Hos 9:3, in a land where they should be polluted, and want the means of worshipping the God of their fathers, or observing the solemnities of his appointment, Hos 9:4, Hos 9:5. Nay more; they shall speedily fall before the destroyer, be buried in Egypt, and leave their own pleasant places desolate, Hos 9:6-9. God is then introduced declaring his early favor for his people, and the delight he took in their obedience; but now they had so deeply revolted, all their glory will take wing, God will forsake them, and their offspring be devoted to destruction, Hos 9:10-16.

Though they bring up their children - And were they even to have children, I would bereave them of them; for, when I depart from them, they shall have all manner of wretchedness and wo.

WARNING AGAINST ISRAEL'S JOY AT PARTIAL RELIEF FROM THEIR TROUBLES: THEIR CROPS SHALL FAIL, AND THE PEOPLE LEAVE THE LORD'S LAND FOR EGYPT AND ASSYRIA, WHERE THEY CANNOT, IF SO INCLINED, SERVE GOD ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENT RITUAL: FOLLY OF THEIR FALSE PROPHETS. (Hos. 9:1-17) Rejoice not . . . for joy--literally, "to exultation." Thy exultation at the league with Pul, by which peace seems secured, is out of place: since thy idolatry will bring ruin on thee. as other people--the Assyrians for instance, who, unlike thee, are in the height of prosperity. loved a reward upon every corn floor--Thou hast desired, in reward for thy homage to idols, abundance of corn on every threshing-floor (Hos 2:12).

Even though they should rear their children, yet will I bereave them (the Ephraimites) of them (Job 27:14). woe . . . to them when I depart--Yet the ungodly in their madness desire God to depart from them (Job 21:14; Job 22:17; Mat 8:34). At last they know to their cost how awful it is when God has departed (Deu 31:17; Sa1 28:15-16; compare Hos 9:11; Sa1 4:21).

Warning against false security. The earthly prosperity of the people and kingdom was no security against destruction. Because Israel had fallen away from its God, it should not enjoy the blessing of its field-produce, but should be carried away to Assyria, where it would be unable to keep any joyful feasts at all. Hos 9:1. "Rejoice not, O Israel, to exult like the nations: for thou hast committed whoredom against thy God: hast loved the wages of whoredom upon all corn-floors. Hos 9:2. The threshing-floor and press will not feed them, and the new wine will deceive it." The rejoicing to which Israel was not to give itself up was, according to Hos 9:2, rejoicing at a plentiful harvest. All nations rejoiced, and still rejoice, at this (cf. Isa 9:2), because they regard the blessing of harvest as a sign and pledge of the favour and grace of God, which summon them to gratitude towards the giver. Now, when the heathen nations ascribed their fights to their gods, and in their way thanked them for them, they did this in the ignorance of their heart, without being specially guilty on that account, since they lived in the world without the light of divine revelation. But when Israel rejoiced in a heathenish way at the blessing of its harvest, and attributed this blessing to the Baals (see Hos 2:7), the Lord could not leave this denial of His gracious benefits unpunished. אל־גּיל belongs to תּשׂמח, heightening the idea of joy, as in Job 3:22. כּי זנית does not give the object of the joy ("that thou hast committed whoredom:" Ewald and others), but the reason why Israel was not to rejoice over its harvests, namely, because it had become unfaithful to its God, and had fallen into idolatry. זנה מעל, to commit whoredom out beyond God (by going away from Him). The words, "thou lovest the wages of whoredom upon all corn-floors," are to be understood, according to Hos 2:7, Hos 2:14, as signifying that Israel would not regard the harvest-blessing upon its corn-floors as gifts of the goodness of its God, but as presents from the Baals, for which it had to serve them with still greater zeal. There is no ground for thinking of any peculiar form of idolatry connected with the corn-floors. Because of this the Lord would take away from them the produce of the floor and press, namely, according to Hos 9:3, by banishing the people out of the land. Floor and press will not feed them, i.e., will not nourish or satisfy them. The floor and press are mentioned in the place of their contents, or what they yield, viz., for corn and oil, as in Kg2 6:27. By the press we must understand the oil-presses (cf. Joe 2:24), because the new wine is afterwards specially mentioned, and corn, new wine, and oil are connected together in Hos 2:10, 24. The suffix בּהּ refers to the people regarded as a community.