PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea
John James Given [1853-1943] · 418,632 words · 462 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 121
II. Tm:nE 1~ A LIKr::-:R~~ rRbnt:c1m BY nECil'ROCAr. INll'LUEl'.\'CE, Tho rclal.iouship between pnstor nnd poople is n very sacred one. It is a union -in whic:11 tile one party tioes not nhsorb the dther; ritther, they tend to become filled with tllo same oommon life, and to be mutually aSllimilatcd in views, sentim…
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enh111~c<l hc11rt and prnys with rcdonblccl fervour, and his path seems bathed in sunshine. Aftor nil, too, it is tho people, quite as much as tho pricst,q, who cruard the orthodoxy pmity, lib,orties, and spiritual life of the Church. lfor it is theyn who constitute th~ body of Christ; the pastors are only the servants…
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meanwhile bet~. Up to the time to which eh. iv. refers, Jndah was comparatively uncorrupted. There had always been a difference morally and spiritually between Eph!'Rim and :Tudah: The southern kingdom possessed Jerusll!cm, and the temple, and the Aaromcal pr1eetbood, and the royal dynasty of David. Many of its mona…
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ite own oultus and ite own worshippers. We e.\l reco11:nize that an idol may exist in our t~ought as well as in our _sight. The essence of idolatry is the preference of anyt~mg to God, so as t~ allow it to ta.ke the pla.ce he s~ould fill in our thoughts and affections. The same obJect does not tempt us a.11, nor WIil t…
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hccau~ it is n r:\vouritc? You see the nnswrr in tbo red orosa· ol!, -its tr1.mk1 which Rhows thnt iit is marked for cutting down as a cum herer of the gro'lln.d. , '1'11ko auothor illustration. Two prisoners &re convicted of offences ag&ihst the.le.,r,, •Tho ono, 011 the ground of his youth and possible reformation…
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feoblo, 11,nd their resistance is vain. 'l'hc Rnlcr has established, by his grace and for~ bearnnco, the strongest claims upon his subjects' gratitude and loyal affection; the rebels hnvo shown 111nazin:i; insensibility nnd obduracy. This is indeed a just picture of the righteous and merciful God, 11nd of the disobedie…
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. Ver._9.:--"Like people, like -~t." This and similar passages show the justice and impart1ahty with which the mspired prophets fulfilled the office to which they were called. _K either the fear of the priest nor the favour of the people was allowed to act as a motive to deter them from plain speech and faithful dea…
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of satisfying tho bodily appetites. Those addicted to vice have no room in their souls for generous impulses, and have no disposition to engage in works of philanthropy and public good. IV, SIINSUALITY INDISPOSES THE MIND TO RECEIVE THE ENLIGHTENING AND QUICKEN- 11-0 INFLUENCES OF RE_L~OION .. Ch_ristianity is _a rebu…
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not., there is & moral abjectness of the most terrible description~ "No truth I " A people without reality, not only living in fictions, but their very life I\ lie. "Nor mercy!" No arts of beneficence performed, and the very spirit of kindliness extinct. .A II tenderness and genial feeling burnt out. " Nor knowledge…
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of heaven; 'yea, 'the fishes of the se~ Riso shall be_ taken away." Literally, this refers to qne of tho~e droughts that occas10nally occur rn the East, and is ever one of the greatest calamities. What a dependent creature man is I The beasts of the field, the fowls of heaven, and the fish of the Ma can do better witho…
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then•fore will I change their glory into shame." The "increase" referred to in the text is in all probability an increase in the number of the population. Israel had b<>come a nuru<>rous people. Ilut it might also refer to their increase in wealth; this is the application that we shall make of it, and notice three po…
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incre11scd with the increase of the sins of the people : the more the people sinned, the more sin_ offerings ; an~ ~h? ~ore,, sin ofi'er!ngs, the more prie_stly banquets. So they "set their heart on the1r rn1qmty. That 1e, they longed for its increase; they had an interest in.the growth of sin in the cou~try, so th11t …
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Ver. 17 .-.An unholy alliance and a righteous abandonment. "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone." "Ephraim," the most powerful of the ten tribes, is frequently used by the prophets for Israel. Notice briefly two things. I. AN UNHOLY .ALLIANCE. "Ephraim is joined to idols,'' is welded to them; his heart is roo…
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isinner, and to serve as the instrument of his vices. 3. It is visited on his account with pll\gtles, dronghts, and famines (Amos iv, 6-12). 4-. It is despoiled and down-trodden, and sufferis from his neglect, his misuse, and his ruthless devaatations. 6. The animal creation shares in these calamities, besides sufferin…
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knowledge. Thie was how they allowed the knowledge of him to be lost (cf. Rom. i. 21, 28). The departure of the heart from God comes first. There ie then the indis- position to hear about him or learn about him. Thus the knowledge of him is Jost. 8uch ignorance ie culpable. 3. The fatal ejfU-ts of this lack of knowle…
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it, Feelin~ of a superstitious nature become with m1my a. 11ubstituto for religion. Tbey _sc:k, m the ml\teriR.listic accompaniments of worship, a satisfaction which the worship 1t~elf would not afford them (altars, ritual, architectural gloom, vestments, etc.). l ll. THE: WERE BEGUILED INTO GROSS IMMORALITY. "There…
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OHAPTER V. en te.ngle. East as well as west of the Jordan their evil influence had wrought Ver. 1.-Hear ye this, 0 priests; and ruin, Mizpe.b, now es-Salt, was on the east hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, of the river among the hills of Gilead, where 0 house of the king. The perBOns here Ja.cob and Laban…
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to the feBBts to the house of the Lord; and tliat ie, of idolntriee, which impch them 1o ele.y (victims) in the ueu11l way." The blindly and resistlessly to evil, while at the revolters or apost11tes he takes to be the e0.me time it expels the knowledge of God. worBhippers of B11.&l. "They me.de deep," The first cla…
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revealed himself to them as t() M other us,mlly goes before destruction, 11nd a nation; ho hud given them his Law, he bad haughty spirit before a fall. The conse- made them depositnrios of his truth and the quence of Israel's pride was the fall here conservators of his living oracles: their mentioned. The ten tribes c…
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of whoredom-n adulterons generation. me1ming of the eomewhat obscure wordti in lar8C'l's infidelity to the holy covenant had the concluding clnuse can give little trouble, as its result a graoeles9, godless race- when read in the light of the context. The children strange and supposititioue in the sounding of the al…
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prophet must have written merely •3,or.,, and an arbitrary or self-imposed precept. The not •i•otlJ." Similarly Aben Ezra: "'.rhey LXX. (2) seem to have read 1el, equivalent exercise violence towards those who are in to N:ci', vanity, transle.ting, " for he began to their powor, whilst they are like those who go after …
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V<'rse i• giv,:-n by Kimohi ae follows: "When e.id. With the profltlel!8neee e.e well 88 the Ephraim and Judah BRW the.t the enemies sinfulness of such attempts thoy aro here were C'onatantly invading and plundering sharply rebuked. Thus Oe.lvin: "Here God them, they seek help from the King or As- declares that what…
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HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-5.-God here arraigns the ~ins. of prir,ces,. priests, and pwpk. Their degeneracy had been very greo.t o.nd their sms very grievous. Though there is no fol'mal catalogue given of those sins, yet they are incidentally exhibited in the reproofs and rebukes which follow. I. ALL CLASSES ARE ADDRESSE…
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however tb~y may cloak them, &a though it were possible to cheat the Almighty; yet all such artifices, by which they try to deceive their neighbours, or blind themselves, or e,en escap~ the eye of Omniscience, will prove miserable evasions, leaving them at lost ~ve~ the mmost thoughts and intents of their hearts-ope…
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Rin of the people, but, on the contrary, amplifies their ingratitude1 because they bad forgotten their God who bad so indulgently treated them. As they had been redeetnerl by God's hand, as the toRching of the Law had continued among them, as they had been preserved to that day through God's constant kindness, it was …
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we read that EBRu "found no place of repentance, though he sought It carerully with tears; " or, according to the Revised Version, " even when he e.fterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected (for he found no place of repentance), though he i;ought it diligently with tears." In one of our Lord's parables-…
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HJ. 1-r IS OF MOMENT TO ASSIGN SOME REASONS WHY Goo WITHDRAWS HIMSELF'. ThiR froquontly takes place, we doubt not, in consequence of men silencina conscience and stilling convictions. Conscience may become callous or seared, aud ';:onvictions may wear gradually :weak, nay! at length cease altogether. T_he same result m…
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I. THE DF.SIGN AND NATURE OF MINOR AND MILDER JUDGMENTB, The moth and woodworm may symbolize lesser judgments. Such visitations frequently have for their obJect tbe repentance and reformation of the people or persons so visited. God's design in sending them is gracious; his purpose is merciful. The process, notwithsta…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-10.-National sin and punishment. The general strain of this chapter is similar to that of the preceding. " The judgment" (ver. 1) which has already been pronounced there is still continued. • In eh. iv., however, Judah wa.s addressed as occupying a different position, morally and r…
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Asht.aroth (1 Kings ,r.vi. 30-33). Menahem was such, for his reign was steeped in cruelty, IUH~ he laid his help upon King Pul of Assyria rather than upon the God of Israel _(2 Kings xv, 19). Even the princes_ of Juclah were becoming suoh; they wero r<>monng the landmarks between the worship of Jehovah and idolatry …
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who should remove them (Deut. :u:vii. 17), Elijah pronounced doom upon Aha.b, not for the murder of Ne.both e.lone, but e.lso for "removing the bound" of his vineyard (1 ~ings_xxi. 19). Our text, however! invitee us to consider rat~er the spiritual truth which th1a offence suggests. "The prmces of Judah" wne guilty of …
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Vers. 11-15.-TM Divine judgments. In this strophe the Lord denounces as uReless and foolish the policy which Israel had adopted of seeking to strengthen himself by alliances with Assyria. In doillg this the nation was only adding to its guilt, and precipitating its doom. L THE NATURE OF THE JUDGMENTS. We gather from…
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the Assyrian power. 1. The WMBhip of false gods. (Ver. 11.) "The commandment" refers to Jeroboo.m'a idolo.trous innovation in erecting the two golden calves. Thi~ men.sure wes the result of considerations of state policy on the part of a prince who did not himself rely upon the Divine proooction. But the people accepte…
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from them, Rnd we fail to discern God behind the ambitions and the follies of men. Happy is he who, like Hosea, hears God's voice amidst the tumult, bolievcs in a plan underlying confasion, and recognizes a hand which moulds e.nd shapes e.11 events t0 a wise end. He can "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.…
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truth, till nothing is left of the old fabric of faith and hope. Therefore pray, " Clea.nse thou me from secret fauHs." IJI. 'fHAT THE TEMPTATION TO THE DISTRESSED IS TO FIND HELP m MAN RATHER THAN IN Goo. (Ver.13.) The "sickness," or inward disease, refers to moral corrup- tion; the " ':'~und,''. cnusod by a blow …
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slight. 8. ~ ~ of God in <Jhrut 8MWa that the sorrow is rightly mingled with the .sin-just as storms are good for a vitiated atmosphere. We cannot breathe without creatin12: poison. Ir the air were motionless it would be fatal to us e.nd others. By Divine ordinance the air, beoo.use it is vitiated and heated, must m…
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Ver. 3.-Divine omniscience, Uninspired teachers often act upon imperfect infor- mation, Ministers of religion take some people to be better and others to be worse than they really are. From this unavoidable infirmity of men the omniscient God is free, In dealing with a sinful soul or a sinful community he speaks and ac…
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Ver. 13.-Human physicians help'less. The reference here is to both Israel and Judah ; for both kingdoms were alike suffering, alike guilty of reliance on human help ancl. deliverance, and alike in their experience of its utter vanity. . I. NATIO!\AL DISEASE AND SUFFERING. The language is, of course, figurative, but it…
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II, AFFLIOTION IB INTENDED TO DIREOT THE THOUGHTS TO THE BUFFERER'S BINB. H is oftou idle curiosity to speculate upon the connection between disobedience and pCLrticular troubles. But, as a general principle, sin is the root of which sufferinu is thu fruit. And times of affliction call upon the "tried" and harassed to …
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Ver. 4.-NeCR-ssary preliminaries to a godly life. "They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God," etc. Preachers do not always deal wisely with their hearers. They call upon men to repent; they often describe repentan.ce with metaphysical accuracy, and enforce it with resistless logic and pressing rhetoric…
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III. By thinking on certain subjects WITH A PRA0TI0AL INTENT. To think upon religious subjects in order to increase our theological knowledge or to make our feelin11s glow for a time with a religious sentiment would be of little service; but to think in order to translate the thought into action, to embody the idea in …
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Divine judgment ooming on the rebellious nation, and comma.nde an alarm to be given of tho approach of the enemy. Gibeah (Josh. xviii. 28) and Ramah (xviii. 26) were two elevated plaoee in the tribe of Benjamin, and were well adapted for signals on account of their lofty elevation. The introduction of these pa.rt-ic…
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destroying clothes (lsR. I. 0 ; Ps. xxxix. 12), the worm injuring both wood and flesh." The words indioote God'B quiet method of deBtroying. In two or three verses in this chRptor he is spoken of RB proceeding in bis work of destruction as a lion : "I will b8 unto Ephraim as a lion." Here as a" moth "-working out ruin …
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"fer. 13.- Wrong methods <if relief. "When Ephraim saw hie sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to King Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound." 'l'h11" moth" had .so far eaten into the political heart of Ephraim and Judah that they began to feel the wo…
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the great were direct temptations put in the way or the people. What shall we say of the countenance given by many in high posiUons in our own land to the turf, to, demoralizing ~ports, to gambling institutions, to Sunday festivals, etc.? The toleration- and licensing of vice by public authorities is the spreading of a…
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Yers. 8-12.-Ephraim and Judah. The judgment is represent.c!d in these verses as 11lready fallen. Shrill cornet and trumpet blasts announce the presence of the invaders. They fill the land, They are at the borders of Judah. They :nennce Benjamin. I. IN THE GRAOP OF THE DESTROYER. (Vers. 8, 9.) 1. Ephraim's destructio…
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set by God's commandments? It was the substituting of a human statnte for a. Di vim, -the setting aside of a prohibition or the Decalogue. (2) The people of Ephra.im "walked willingly after the commandment," i.e. after the man-made statute; but so also did the people of Judah. They followed the example of their princes…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER VL " A ma~ ~hall nouri.~h a young oow nnd two sheep; m Isa. xvu. 6 n small number is Yer:e, _1:--3.-;--Thcse three verses have, by spoken of as "two or three;" while a short the d1ns1on rnto chapters, been violently period is similarly described in Luke xiii. and improperly tom from the precedi…
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utwo dBys" to the two cnptivities or his people he.nd, though qnoting Aben Ezra'& comment -th11t in Egypt o.nd tho.t in BBbylon ; while with approval, inclines to the practice.I Bide "the third dBy" donotee tho third or .l?reaent of knowledge: "Let us follow on to know Romnn cBptivity, "out of which he will raise Jehov…
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Raid, He will oause his li~ht and hie goodness eon e.nd eon's son." Thus he reprovee them to shine over us." Hie comment on the for t.he euperflcie.l e.nd lleeting ch1m1oter of s~ond _Rimilitude is eque.lly e.pproprie.te: their goodness. The pe.rtioiples mashkim "He ,nil ('.ome to ue e.s the plentiful re.in, and hole…
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monifcsts itself in prootice, the latter em- Israel wonld loee the land of promis,i. bmoes the proper feelings ond orrections; There is still theworu "there" to be accounte,l the formor is seen in works of chr.rity ond for. It cannot well bo rendered '' therein," benevolence, the Jotter consists in right nor taken BS f…
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is full of people who lie in wait for murder;" Or it ie even possible that the wayfarers ond Kimchi likewise has, "Gilead ie a city referred to may have been persons going of c-ril-doers, who are crafty to murder men." from Se.maria., the northern capit11l, to the llu« (21 it is rather the Qal Pual participle idolat…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-3.-Exhortation and encouragrmte11,t to repentance. Whether the opening words of this chapter be those which the penitents address mutually to each other, or whether they be the exhortation of the prophet encouraging the people to return to God, the sentiment they contain is equally important, and t…
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usual a reply and relief came. " I was brought low, and he helped me i" 11 Ho delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from team, and my feet from falling." 'l'hus God deals with his people still. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." For two ~ays-a relatively brief period-the sleep or sorr…
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know the duty which we nre bound to render to him in gratitude for his amazioa loving-kindness, and in love to him who first loved us. 2. How is this knowleda~ attained? 'l'here must be diligent, prayerful study of the Divine Word under the teaching of tho Divine Spirit. The physician never dreams of gainina a knowleda…
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looked for in vain, for morning is sure to come. It ma.y seem slow in coming and long before_ it comes; or the wen.ry watcher may~ many a time on the point of giving up m despair. But the return of morning, after a mght however long, or dark or painful. or perilous, is certain to take place; its return is prepared; …
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Vers, 4-9.-Iarael's YflC<Tfl,Btan"!J, The Lord bad just comforted the truly godly portion of the people; he now turns aside and expostulates with the ungodly. Judah as woll os Ephraim-the two tribes and the ten-fell far Rhort, unspeakably short, of the picture of penitence, with the annexed promises, which he had just …
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unreliable and faithless. Their Bin in this respect, though declal'ed to be against God, involved afortiori similar conduct in relation to their fellow-men. III. C,oNFIRMATIONB OF IsRAEL's GUILT. Two places are specified as in~tances, and their inbRbitants sinii;led out 118 specimens of the wickedness of the times-G…
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again been partially fulfilled; but its complete accomplishment be loners 0 to "the last things." I. AN EN0OUI\AGEMENT TO GODLY REPENTANOE. (Vers. 1, 2.) 'l'he opening clause of vor. 1 consists of an earnest self-exhortation, and this is succeeded in the remainder of the two verses by arguments in support of it. 'l'h…
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Yers. ·4, 5.-Fugitive piety. A thoughtful reader cannot fail to observe the contrast here suggested between the constancy of Jehovah's grace (ver. 3) and the inconstancy of Israel's piety (ver. 4). If Isre.el would only" return," and "follow on:' to know the Lord" now, all would yet be well. But, al8.l!I ! the twelve t…
599 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.