The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 51

very emphnticnlly," Bh6 /IYT'gal;" tlmt is, me "therefore," hae aomewha,t puzzled commen- the true Goel, her bountiful Benefactor, her tators, because the connootion between the gracious Lorel, nnrl loving Husbo.nel, she fur- judgmente th~eatened in the preceding verse! gnt. 'l'lle visitation expressed by ,p9 with anel the merciee proff'ered in what follows i11 nocus11ti ve of the thing, and ~V before the not ~ _e. euper:ficial view at once apparent. person, is commented by Kimchi ae followe: ~et 1t 1s mercy and truth meeting 1:ogetber, "For the tmnsgressione of her (Israel's) r1g~teonsness e.nd pea?O kissing each other. iniquity in tho exile I will visit upon her It 1s (3) the connectrng link between the the time that she eerveel Baalim ; and I will e~~ity of our sins and the greatness of the lot them remain long in exile for punishment, D1vme mercy; between the vileness of our becnuse they hnvo left my eervice and served iniquities and the riches of Divine grace. other gods. And even upon children's In like manner the psalmist prays, "Par- children shall come thie punishment, al- don mine iniquity, for it is great;" an,l God though they elo not serve strange gods in promises by the prophet," For the iniquity exile; thus is the sentence [literally, 'judg- of his covetousness wae I wi-oth and smote ment '] of their punishment, because their him: I hid me, and wae wroth, ~ntl he went children's chil<lren shall not be perfect in on frowardly in the way of his heart. I the service of God and in his commandmente have seen his ways, and will heal him ; I will in exile, therefore thus shall the iniquity of lead him also, and ree1:ore comforts unto him their fathers who served strange gode unite and to his mourners." Long previously God with their own punishment." harl said, "I will not again C1l1'80 the ground Ver. 14.-Therefore, behold, I will allure a_ny more for man's sake; far the imagina- her, and bring her into the wilderness, and tion of man's heart is evil from his vouth " speak oom.fortably nnto her. As in vers. The secret of such striking contrasts is 2-5 we have an exposure of Israel's sin, that where sin 11bounded grace did mnch and in vers. 6-13 an enumeration of her more abound. Egypt having been to Israel sufferings by penal inflictions; so vere. 14: the house of bondage, the exodus from that -23 contain a touching exhibition of land represents deliverance out of a servile, Divine succour and support. The tranei- enffering condition. (1) The wilderness or tion is abrupt. Vere. 14-17 exhibit the Arabian desert into which they were brou ..ht gradual changewroughtinlerael through the on leaving that country was a place" of progressive means of improvement employed freedom. They were emancipated, and by Jehovah. Israel's future ie here reflected breathed the bee air of the wilderness ; in the mirror of her past history. The events they were exercised with salutary discipline of that history are elegantly employed to re- after their emancipation; as they traversed present ae by type or symbol tile mercies in the wilderness they were trained and tried. store for Israel, wayward and rebellious The allurement which prefaces their deli- though ebe had proved herself to be. Lake:n verance refers to the persuasion of Moses (from l• causal, and ke:n, so, equivalent to and Aaron, who found it necessary tu per- "becauee it is eo ") at the beginning of this suade and even coax their countrymen to verse (14) is renelered by some, (1) "but" or turn their back on their bondage and follow "yet;" but its n11tural signification is (2) the leaders whom God had sent them. The " therefore." It is like the Greek oov (from •• comfortable words" mentioned in the close <Lv, Ionio (.,.,, neuter i&v, contracted oiv); it of the verse were addressed to them at a. being ec,, therefore, u.nd aimi!aJ' to the Latin subsequent period, when, allured out of the phrase, qum cum ita sint, "therefore" implies strange Janel where they had sojoarned so because Ierael can only be turned from her long, they were led forth into the wilderness. foolish idolat1·y by the penal measures The " comforto.ble words" comprehemled named. Aben .!!;zra also understands it here, both tempoml and spiritual mercies-relief as elsewhere, in its literal sense; thus: in every time of emergency, deliverance in "After she [the unchaste wife representative danger and distress, a plentiful supply of of Isro.el] shall know that all this evil has their necessities, with pardon of their ~ins, come upon her because that she had forgot- assurances of grace, nnd renewed tokens of ten me, and hatl not known at the beginning God's favour on repentance. A difficultv that I dealt kindly with her; and when she bas been found in the worels, '" and bring will say,' Yet will I go 11nd return to my her into the wilderness," being interposed former husband;' then will I allure her with between the alluring and the speaking words." nn!al is from the root n!l, cognate comfortably. The difficulty is removed witb the Arabio in the sense of" dividing," (2) by translating 11av, not by '' and," but "being open," "standing open ; " thence it by "after," as if equivalent to ache-r; thus: signifies "to besusceptibleof outwarrl. impres- "After I shall h"ve brought her into the sions," "allow access and entrance;" iu Piel, wilderness I will allure and comfort her." " to Dll\ke one open," "be susceptible or in- Then the meaning would be, '" After l h,H o clined," "induce by words." 'fhe word laken, humbled them thoroughly 1111 I did their  48 TRE BOOK OF HOSEA. [on. n. 1-23,