III, 'J'1m Bl!lST-GUARDED HOMES ARE NOT SAFE FROM THE INFECTION OF SURROUNDING EVH,. No home wonld be more jealously guarded than Hosea's. Yet the infection entered it, In o. dissolute state of society it is almost imposgible to exclu<le the pes- tiferous germs wHh which the moral atmosphere is loaded. They find insidious lodg- ment in places and hearts where we would least suspect their presence. Our safety lies in vigilance, and in doing our utmost to resiAt the spread of moral corruption. IV. CHILDREN TEND TO FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE PARENTS. Especially of the mother. A mother'y influence is greater than a father's. A pious mother is the best of blessings, as a wicked mother is the worst of curses.-J. 0. Vers. 3-9.-" Children of whoredoms." Hosea's children, like Isaiah's, were to be "for signs and wonders" in Israel (Isa. viii. 18). Their names--Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, Lo-ammi-were significant. A prophetic word was attached to each. I. JEZREEL. (Vera. 4, 5.) This first name-" God will scatter"-foretells Israel's scattering. Through it judgment is denounced (1) upon the house of the king-" Yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu;" and (2) upon the kingdom-" I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel." The lessons taught are: ,1. The chara,eter of an action is determined by its motive. By the "blood of Jezreel" is meant the slaughter of the seed of Ahab (2 Kings x.). God had commanded the extermination of Ahab'ij house (2 Kings ix. 7). Jehu was bis chosen instrument in executing the judgment. Yet God says," I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu." 'fbe apparent contradiction is solved, by remembering the unsanctified spirit in which Jehu went about his work of bloodshed. He did what God commanded, but there was no purity of motive in what he did. His "zeal for the Lord" was mere pretence, covering the seeds of personal ambition. He served God only so far as he could thereby serve himself. The massacre of Ahab's seed opened bis own way to the throne. When, therefore, having extirpated Ahab's house, Jehu and his successors showed themselves heirs to Ahab's sins, the bloodshed of Jezreel was justly imputed to them as guilt. Actions formally right may yet become sin to us through the motives which prompt them. 2. Partn'9's in guilt will be made partners also in punishment. The kingdom bad followed in the steps of its guilty rulers. The doom of excision, therefore, which is denounced against them-the same doom as had been denounced formerly against the house of Ahalr-will fall on it also. J udgment is impartial. 3. There is a law of symmetry in the Divine visitations. It was the "blood of Naboth," shed in Jezreel, which brought down on Ahab's house the sentence of extermination (1 Kings xxi. 17-25). It was in Jezreel that the doom was inflicted 011 Ahab (1 Kings xxi. 19; xxii. 34--38), on Jezebel (2 Kings ix. 30--3i), and on Ahab's sons (2 Kings x. 11). Jezreel was the head-quarters of the wickedness for which the whole nation was now to be punished. And now J ezreel is again chosen as the place of vengeance. " I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of J ezreel." A simila.r correspondence of sin and punishment may be traced in very many of God's dispen- sations. God would "break the bow." When he smites, weapons of defence alford but 1mall protection. II, Lo-RUHAMAH. (Vers. 6, 7.) The first name spoke of external judgment. The second, "Unpitied," lays bare the ground of the judgment in the withdrawal of the Divine pity, It tells that Israel has nothing to hope Jor from God's wercy iu the dire hour that was so rapidly approaching. "l<'or I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel," etc. (ver. 6). '!'he fact that mercy was no longer to be shown to Israel implied: 1. That mercy had been shown to Israel hitherto. This was the case. No attribute had been more conspicuously displayed in the history of God's dealings with the nation. Mercy was to be shown to Judah still (ver. 7). God's end was merciful, oven in the threatened rejection. 2. That there are limits to the Divine mf:f'C'!J, Not, i:..u.Jeed, to the mercy itself, but to the exercise or manifestation of it. Righteousness set~ limits to mercy, There comes a time when, consistently with righteousness, punish- ment can no long:er be postponed. Evon love sets limits to mercy. Paradoxical as it may seem, there are times when the only mercy God can show us is to show no mercy. It is no kindness to the incorrigible transgressor to coutinue sheltering him from the rosults of his transgression. God's very love for lsrnel compelled him to exchange kindness for a holy severity which would not spare. This was needful, as eh ii. 40 THE BOOK OF HOSEA, [en. 1.1-11.
11hows, for Israel's salvation. The experience of the bitter fruits of sin may be the only thing which will bring the wayward one to repentance (cf, Luke :r.v. 11-32). 3. God would pi'.ty Judah whil.e rejecting Israel. (Ver. 7.) 1'he distinction mado was not arbitrary. Judah, too, had deeply sinned, but she had not yet filled up the cup of her iniquity. Mercy, therefore, was still to be extended to her. The grouud of this mercy, however, was to be sought, not in Judah, but only in God. "I will save them b~: ~he Lord their God." 1:here is indicat:c~ here (1) the long-sufferingness of the D1vme mercy; (2) the sornre1gnty of the D1vme mercy; (3) the omnipotence of the DiYine mercy. "Will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle by horses nor by horsemen." ,Ye read of many such signal deliverauces 0!Zl'antea' to Judah (Isa. ,ii. ,, 8; xxxvii. 6). III. Lo-AMllll. (Vers. S, 9.) The third name, "Not my people," is most signifi- cant of all. It bespeaks a. present, though, as the sequel shows, ouly temporary dissolu~ioll: of the covenant bond subsisting between the people and Jehovah. Throuµ:h this re,1ect10n Israel would cea.se to be God's people-would sink to the level of the Gentiles. 1. In declaring Israel ro be not his people, God but ratified the choice of the 1=pl,e themsdves. They had refused to be God's people. They had resisted all attempts to bring them back to their a.llegiance. God at length ratifies theil' choice. It is the same with every sinner. He chooses his own position. He ma.kes his choice, and Gml confirms it. 2. In declaring himself ro be not their God, God took up the only attitude ,ww possibl,e to liim. Many would gla.dly have God a.s their God, i.e. would retain the benefits of his favour, friendship, and protection, while refusing the counter-oblio-ation of liYing as his people. This cannot be. If we refuse to be God's people, he has no alternative but to refuse to be our God.--J. 0.