The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 86

Vers. 10-18.-Retribtdion. Israel's punishment, while retributive, was l'eformatory. It is equally true that, while reformatory, it was retributive. It repaid Israel {or her sins. It vindicated righteousness. All earthly punishments have this double character. The following principles come to light in the passage:- . , , I. SIN mrns IN THE FULL REVELATION OF ITS HlDEOUSNE.ss. . (Ver. 10.) .At first its true nature is ~con~aled. It corn_ es with_ fair appearances; it depks. \t,iiel~ i,µ, fe~tl\l garments (ver. 10); 1t makes large promises. Only at a later period is t)1e mask stripped oft~ and it appears in its full hideousness. Such a day of revelation will .come for every sinner. He will find himself put to shame even inJhe eyes of those 'whom he sought to sen-e. How loathsome even the body can become when sin 'has wrouaht its work _in it (the drunkard, the harl~t) ! How much more the, ~oul! E,very ~ag of deceptive appearance will yet be stripped off, and the foul, al>hon-ent, spectacle of depravity exposed to the whole universe. ', • II. SIN ENDS IN THE DYING OUT OF JOY. "l will ,also .cause ~n ;her .i:nirth to cease" (ver: 11). This is literal~y true, even in the pr~se~t life. A~~~r, ~ t}i;ne,, sin ceases to yield the pleasures wh1cb at first were found 1n it. The very, tj~paejty ,for Joy dies out. The debauchee, the fortune-hunter, the slaves of fashion, the victims qf ambition, know this well. ' III. SIN ENDS m THE WITHDRAWAL OF A,~UBED PBIVILEGlj:s:·· (Ver. 11.) The feast days, new_ moons, sabbaths, and other festivals, which Israel had turned ~n~. qays of unholy carnival, would be taken from her. They were given her for different erids e.nd she had abused them. We cannot hope to reject.'God and yet retain uni'rripaired our religious liberties, opportunities, and blessings; •e.g. our sabbaths. These will vanish with our regard for the Giv:er of them. . ' . , ,. , , ... IV. SIN EIIDS IN THE BEM_OVAL OF NA:URAL ,BLESSINGS. (Ver. 12.) Faili_ng,,\n,the due acknowledgment of God m Jhe reception of them, we may look for the withd~wal of these also. . - V. SIN ENDS Ill' POIGNA.1''T MEMORIES OF. AN EVIL PAST. "The days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and.· she. decked herself," etc. (ver. 13). The memory of past follies is no small part of the sinner's misery., ~• Son,. remember" (Luke xvi 25).-J. O. Yer. 14.-lsraers recovery. It had already been told that God's dealings with Israel would not be permanently in vain.. This truth is now expanded. 'l'imes and, seasons are not specified; for (1) it was not.given .to the prophet to know them (cf. Acts i. 7); alid (2) it lay with Israel itself, in some measure, to 711/J,lce the tin;ies !Ind ,seasons. 1. The earliest phase of the predicted allurement is seen in the promises held out in connection with the return from the Babylonian captivity. These prqmises embraced Israel as well as Judah (Isa. xl.-lxvi.; Ezek. x:xxvii. ; Zech. viii., etc.). The result, however, showed that Israel was not yet in a fit condition to receive :the fulfilµ;ient. 2. The second phase of the allurementwas in the preaching of Christ's gospel. This, which was addressed to both Jews and Gentiles, tells of God's redeeming love, and prays, "Be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. v. 20). Many of the "house of Israel" lisLened-many still listen-to this allurement. 3. The final fulfilment will be reached in the day of Israel's national conversion. Then, as the result, perhaps, of_ great experience of trouble (ver. 15), God's words will come with new power to their hearts. Earnest penitence will ensue. "All Israel shall be saved" (Rom. xi. 26). The fulfil- ment of these promises is connected in prophecy with the coming of a Redeemer 'and the gift of the Spirit. This supposes new dispensational arrangements. There is implied the bringing in of a new economy, which yet, from its nature, would have a wider scope thau the economy which then existed. Israel participates in the blessings of the new coveuaut only as part of a larger "people of God." 'l'his is the principle which Jegitirnizes the extension of these promises-so far as they are not plainly national-to the whole Church of believers.-J. 0. Vers. 14-18.-Allurement. Wonderful are the steps of Divine love in t,he history of the recovery of a soul. View those which are here presented. I. WILDERNESS PREPARATION, (Ver. 14.) Chastisement would prepare the way for mercy. lsrad was to be takc:11 out "into the wildcrne~H." There, deprived of her idols,  en. n. 1-23.J 'l'llE BOOK OF HOSEA. 83