The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 58

had long gone by. They 't'honght of the time when Jehovah was the God of'Isrllel si~.ting ~tween the cherub_im, and when the pro_sperlty of the ~ple had kept pae; 'lnth their piety. Bow d1fferent now! How different ever Qfter ·Jeroboam seduced them to the idolatry of the calves, or Ahab indoctrinated them in ·the heathenish rites of 1he dual deities of PhO'nicia! The retrospect pcrsnaded them of their sad mistake in departing from their true Hn~b:ind and Head. Find.in& themselves hardly besteRd their condition desy,erate, and their hopes blighted, they dctormina to retrace thei: ~teps, and with sentiments and lanp:uage closely akin to the prodigal in our Lord's parahlc, they set about the accomplishment of their purpose. IV. THE SAD MISTAKE OF ISRAEL. In the time of their plenty and prosperity they mistook the sonrce of their blessings, as also the right use of them. They attributed them to their idols, and abused them in their sen,ice. Worldly prosperity was what Israel, in the period of degeneracy, most cared for. 'What contributed to bodily grati- fication, luxurious living, and worldly wealth, was most esteemed by them. These they counted blessings, and regarded as the bestowments of their idols. Just as in Jeremiah's time their brethren, or rather sisters, of Judah clung obstinately and stupidly to the evil and error of their ways, saying, " We will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own month; to bum incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings nnto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, o,ur kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, a.nd in the streets of Jerusalem:' for then had· wo plenty of victuals, a.nd were well, and saw no evil. But since _we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine." What- ever excuse the heathen may have had wben they spoke of their com as coming from Ceres, and their wine as the gift of Bacchus, and their wealth as bestowed by Plutus, Israel had none; for they had early been instructed in the knowledge of the one living and true God, and early as well as impressively reminded that the good land, which yielded the corn and on which the vine and olive grew, was God's gift;' and that' it was God, moreover, who gave them power to get wealth, so that however plentiful the silver and abundant the gold, they owed all to him. Worst of all, they not only mistook the Author of these mercies, but perverted them to the eervice of a. rival deity, thus provoking Jehovah to jealousy with that which was not God, but the miserable idol of Sidon, Tyre, and Phcenice. V. SEVERE CHASTISEMENT wAB THE CONSEQUENCE. This was to be expected. Created things are given to man for his service, and man himself was created for God'11 service ; but when man perverts the creatures which God has given him, and, instead of serving and glorifying God by means of them, actually employs them in ways and for purposes derogatory to the Divine glory, no wonder the Almi~hty, in just indignation, should snatch them from him who so misuses and abuses them. As in ver. 8 the addition of the personal pronoun to the verb gives emphasis, so in ver. 9 the repetition of the possessive pronoun with the nouns serves the same end. "She did not know, not she, that I even I it was that gave her corn and wine and 'oil, . ; . therefore I will take away my corn, my wine, my wool, and my flax." God requires two things at least in return for his mercies: (1) that we gratefully acknowledge the Giver in the gifts; and (2) that we employ them in his service or to his glory. Men praise the fruitful earth, but it is God that makes the earth fruitful; men talk learnedly of the laws of nature, but it is God that invests nature with those functions, or arranges those natural sequences called law8; men boast of good fortune, but such fortune is only the bounteous providence of God. Whether, then, it is articles of food, or materials of raiment, or the precious metals which represent wealth that men possess, it is God that either gives or withholds at pleasure. How beautifully this lesson Is inculcated in that precious chapter, the eighth of Deuteronomy! "When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he bath given thee;" and again, beware that "thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the J,ord thy G"d: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth." Further, the question with Israel, as with the heathen both then and now, is, " What shall we eat, and wLat shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothe,!?" whereas the question should be, "How shall we use God's gift8 to God's glory; so that whether we cat or C'lt. lr. 1-23.'.J 'l'HE BOOlt Ol<' HOSEA.