THE
PULPIT COMMENTARY, EDITED BY THE
VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D., DEAN OF GLOUCESTER;
AND BY THE
REV. JOSEPH S. EXELL, M.A.
WITH
INTRODUCTIONS BY THE
VERY REV. F. W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., DEAN OF CANTERBURY. RIGHT REV. H. COTTERILL, D.D., F.R.8.E. VERY REV. PRINCIPAL J. TULLOCH, D.D. REV. CANON G. RAWLINSON, M.A. REV. A. PLUMMER, M.A., D.D.
NEW EDITION.
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY LONDON AND NEW YORK 1906 ~ BY WILLIAM CLOW8S AND SONS 1 LIMITED, LONl)ON AND BBCCLES.
(TAe rights of translation on4 rtfro4ucllon are reserved. J THE
PULPIT COMMENTARY, ZDITEl) BT THJl
VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D., l)EAJI o• GLOtrOU'l'J:a;
AND BY TIIPl
REV. JOSEPH S. EXELL, ~I.A.
HOSEA. lfnttobuctfon BY REV. W. J. DEANE. M.A., BEOTOB Oll' ASHEN,
esxposition anb ~omiletics BY REV. PROF. J. J. GIVEN, Pn.D., D.D., LATE rnOFESSOR Oli' llEBREW AND llERMENEDTIOS, MAGEE COLLEGE, LOliDONDEim'l'.
~omflfts b~ Fatious ~utbotS. REV. C. JERDAN, M.A., LL,B. REV. PROF. J. R. THOMSON, M.A. REV . .A. ROWLAND, B.A., LL.B. REV. J. ORR, M.A., D.D. REV. D. THOMAS, D.D.
NEW EDITION.
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY LONDON AND NEW YORK 1906 THE BOOK OF HOSEA.
INTRODUCTION.
§ I. SUBJECT OF THE BOOK'. IN the Book of Hosea we have a. summary of what the prophet taught and felt during his official career of 11ome thirty years. His lot was cast in mournful times. If he did not live to see the actual destruction of the kingdom of Israel, he beheld it in prophetic vision a very short time before the terrible consummation ; and the causes that led to the overthrow were plain and open to his clear insight. Under Jeroboam II. Israel had been prosperous and successfu.l, as she had never been since the days of David and Solomon. She had recovered much of the territory which those monarchs had held, and restored the ancient boundaries which had marked out the promised inheritance. As it is recorded in 2 Kings xiv. 25, 28, "He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain . . . and warred, and recovered Damascus." But the curse of idolatry still remained, accompanied with other sins which defection from the Lord and the worship of strange gods always brought in their train. Impiety, luxury, profligacy, everywhere abounded; and when Jeroboam died, and the strong hand which had checked the open turbulence and lawlessness of the people was removed, a. scene of anarchy and confusion ensued, which gave sure token of coming vengeance. His son Zechariah was assassinated, after a.reign of six months, by Shallum, who usurped the crown, and, after wearing it for one month, was himself murdered by one of bis generals, Menahem. This cruel and wicked tyrant occupied the throne thus gained by bloodshed for ten years. His reign is chiefly remarkable for the appearance of the A.ssyria.ns in the Holy Land under Pul, who assumed the name of Tiglath- Pileser. To escape the attack of these stern invaders, Mena.hem became tributary to the Assyrians, and was confirmed in his kingdom at the price of a thousand talents of silver, which he exacted from the wealthiest of his subjects. His son Pekahiah, after a troubled reign of two years, was murdered by one of his officers named Pekah, who seized the throne, and ii INTRODUCTION TO
held it. for twenty years according to the present reading in 1 Kings xv. 27 • but. there is some error in the number, and probably we ought to read "two,: inst.ead of" twenty," as he was conquered by the Assyrie.ns and put to dee.th n.c. 734, which wa.s the second yea.r of his reign. This me.n, in order to sir<'ngthen his position, formed a close alliance with Rezin of Damascus a.nd the two kings turned their arms against Judah, in the hope of over: throwing the dynasty of David. Jotham, the King of Judah, in his extremity, ca.ll<'d in the aid of the Assyrians, wpo deva.state\f the territory of Dapiascus, took Sa.m11,ria., put Peke.h to death, and a.ppointoo. lioahea king in his place, exacting from him a large yee.rly tribute. The discontinuance of the tribute, which was effected by the secret mecliine.tions of Egypt, under promises of support which were never fulfilled, led to another inroad of the Assyrians under Shalmaneser IV., the successor of Tigla,th-Pileser. Hoshea was carried into captivity; and, after a. siege of three years, Sa.maria fell into the hands of Sargon, who bad seized the Assyrian crown on the death of Shalmaneser, n.c. 722. Many of the people were deported into foreign countries, their places being partially filled by the introduction of heathen settlers, while much of the land beca.me wholly depopulated. Thus ended the kingdom of Israel, brought to this miserable issue because it.s rulers and ita people had done evil before the Lord continne.lly. The moral condition of the people, as we conclude from the historical books and from intimations in Hosea's own pages,.was exceedingly, .corrupt; tba.t of Judah :indeed was notoriously bad (as we see later from the denu,n- ciations of Micah, Ra.ba.kku.k, a.Jld Zephania.h), but it never' fell into such a depth of degradation a.a its northei-n sister.. The very priests, instead.of instructing the people in the. du.ties .oi pure religio:q,, ta~ht the very oppo- site, encouraging e. worship which led to gross e;x:cesse$, welcoming the spread of any :impiety which occasioned them material adve,nta.ge (eh. iv. 8; v. 1), and even wayla.yiag and murdering those who were pa.esiilg on their w11,y-to J erasalem ( eh. vi. 9). The kings and rulers set an exa,m.ple of dr~e:i;t:i;iess and debauchery, 8lld de-lighted in the contemplation o_f the general ipiqujty ( eh. vii . .3-5). These cala.mitous results were the -nii.tural issue of c;,orrupt worship. The Israelities, indeed, worshipped J eho'Vah, and observed certain imitations of the Mosaic ritual and festivals; but they u.aed these forms without entering into their spirit aud mea.n,ing; they confounded Jehovah with the local Be.aliin, they employed unlawful· syml:>oh! in tl;leir worship, and " the calf of Sa.maria " ( eh. viii 5) destroyed all the epiritq11,lity of their religion, bringing e.bont that gross declension in -more.le of which we have a.bnnda.nt proof. This.:forma.lJeho-vah~Baa.l worship led, a.s Pro~eesor Cheyne has well remarked(' .Introdn.ction,' p. 25), to dietmet of ,God, a.n,d:to relianc,e on foreign aid as a IIOUl'oe .of strength.. The .A.esyriansfl.lwaye referred th~ir militaey successes to the fa~our of the gods whom they .adored;, they JjD&~e a point of depreciating and insulting the deities of conque.red nations. This spirit the Israelites had imbibed. They distrusbed. their own national Divinity ; they doubted bis po.w,er t,o pro~t them, and, ;a,s l;J,~a, 99mplaine THE BOOK OF HOSEA. iii