The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 122

enh111~c<l hc11rt and prnys with rcdonblccl fervour, and his path seems bathed in sunshine. Aftor nil, too, it is tho people, quite as much as tho pricst,q, who cruard the orthodoxy pmity, lib,orties, and spiritual life of the Church. lfor it is theyn who constitute th~ body of Christ; the pastors are only the servants of the Church for. Jesus' sake. OoNOLUB~Oli'.· 1. It is doubtless sometimes the fact that.the priest and the people never become ass1m1lated, to each other at all. It was so, e.g., m the ,caso of Hosea• in that of Jeremi11h; ,in that o~ th_e Lord Jesu~ himself, duri~g his earthly minist~y. Bnt what the text expresses 1s simply an ordmary tendency m connect10n with this sacred relatiQl).llhip, 2. Let our closing thought be this, th~t the obligation involved in the pastoral.tie is a mutual one. If his Churcl;l responsibilities should weigh heavily upon the.minister's heart, they sboulq also press upon the conscience of each member. Both are responsible for the results of the tie. It ill, "like people, like priest."-C. J. Y~rs, 15-'-19.~Epl.rai_m ~nd Judah.. In this passnge, as in eh. i. 7, the kin11c\om of Judah.ls presented in contrast wi_th that _of Israel. Here, for the first time in" Hosea, we :!ll,eetwith ,th1:1 name "Ephraim." _As the United Kingdom over which Queen Victoria. reigns is often, ca,ll~d simply ":E:ngland," so the kingdoJn of the ten tribes aometimes-receives, th11 n11,me of" Epbrai:i:n,,,that tribe being the most powerful of tho ten, and.havipg within.its bounds the seat of i:overnment. I. EPHRAIM's SIN. It consisted in the subversion of the entire moral Law. I. General v,ngodwn§~,., He.had broken: (1) The first corumandment, by turning from Jehovah ·to _serve the Baali!ll, (2) The second commandment, by leaving the oue rightful altar; and bowing pown to Jeroboam's graven iruages. Gilgal had once been a holy ,place to Je)lovab, but it was now noted for _the idolat,ries which were practised there; and Beth-el, "the house of God," where Jacob bad seen:the stairway and the visio11 of the Almighty, is ,now for the same reason nicknamed Beth-aven, "house of iniquity" (ver. 15). (3) The third commandment, in swearing by Jehovah while worshipping the calves (ver. 15). 2. Gen_eral licentiomness. 'l'he worship of Baal and Ashtaroth became as irupure and revolting as it is possible to iruag;ine. The groves were the scenes of t:j!e foulest debaucheries. Every bpnd of truth and justice was broken. The ju<lges loved to say, "Give ye;'' i.e. they gaped for bribes, and some- times sold their judicial decisions to the highest bidder. Morally, Ephraim was utterly degenerate; he had_, become just like "turne<l" · or "sour'' milk (ver. 18). He was c.onstant in his sin: u 'l'hey he.v:e committed whpr~om continually" (ver. 18). He Wllll refractory: in moral conduct he..resembled a stubborn cow (ver. 16). And he was oh~urate: a, i~l!-tf\11 and unholy; \lDion sub~isted between Ephraim and the dead idols which he served (v!Jr. ;I.7). ..•. . . . . . , . II. EPBRAIM's DOOM. H wiB fa,ll ,upon him swiftly. It will come in the form of: 1. Banishr_nent. Israel had felt the Lord's fold to be too tight, and the life within it too slow. So the ten tribes are to be driven ioto exile. They are to be exposed to danger like-a timid" lamb" (ver. ,16) in the, wide.wilderness of the world. A ttmpest of judgment shall sudd·enly se\,;e_ them, lift th4lm up, and _carry them away like clia.Jf (ver.19) .. ,2, Shame . .(Ver. 19,) As long as th!l northern kingdom seemed strung and prosperous; its citizens .glori~d in '\ theil: .s:icrifices" to idol&. But now, in these Jays of con.spir~.cy and revol\ltion, Ephraim will be disappointed in his expectation of help from the Baalim; and will be covered with shnme on. account of his iofamous idolatries. W.e know: that one chief result of the Al!syrian and Babylonish captivities wa., to thoroughly wean the Hebrew nation from its polytheism. 3. _4.bandonment. (\'er. 17,) J11dah is directeq to.-:: lilt Ephraim alone." God's people within the southern kingdom are to send no missionary to reprove him, or to attempt to convert hiru. 'l'h,ey are to leave hiJ;Il to "eat .of the fruit of- his own way." This word spoken. to J udnh, is often understood as if it referred to thts desertion of incorrigible siJ;rners by the Lord the Spirit. Such, however, is a.t best. only a secondary and inferential meaning. It Is. evident that ii). this. ver~e God himself pronounces no decree of final nbandonment, for we finrl, him saying afterwards (eh. xi. 8), "How shnll I give thee up, Ephraim?" 'l'he abandonment here denotes the loss of the" kindness" and" excellent oil" which belong to the .reproof of "the righteous." . III. AN ADMONITION TQ JUDAH. (V crs. 15, 17.) The southern kingdom is cautioned t.o .shun the cc>n_tagion .of Ephraim's wicked e.xum1>1e,: l!'or: 1. Juda,h's condition waa  120 THE BOOK. OF a:oslU.. (oli. 1'9'. 1-19.