The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 245

Vers. 4-8.-The causes of the Divine judgments are more particularly specified. The first sin which brought down the Divine displeasure was their civil apostasy, e.s it has been called, or change of civil government. L NATURE OF THE FIBST SIN BY WRICH !SBA.EL INCURRED DIVINE WRATH. By this we are not to understand. with some, the election of Saul, because this political offence, if we may rightly so term it, included the twelve tribes in common, whereas it is the ten tribes of the northern kingdom with which the prophet here deals; neither are we, according to others, to confine the sin with which Israel is here charged to certain ..:surpers who, by treachery, or conspiracy, or assassination, forced their wa.y to the throne, for this wa.s long after the disruption, a.nd was the sin of a. few individuals rather than of the whole people, though undoubtedly the whole people suffered by the tra.nsgreSbion of these particular persons. It is to the separation of Israel from the Davidic dynasty e.nd the southern kingdom in the days of Jeroboam that the prophet refers. II. THE SAXE THING DONE AND NOT DONE BY Gon. An objection is sometimes urged against the severity with which Israel is reproved for the disruption of the kiugdom of David, seeing that God had predestined a.nd promised it. 1. It is true, indeed, that God had predicted the rending of the kingdom of Solomon; it is true he had promised ten tribes to Jeroboam by Ahija.h the Shilonite; it is true also that he ha.d even predetermined the whole. How, then, ca.n it be said to have taken place without God's consent? Or why should Israel be so sharply rebuked for the sin? God ha.d determined to punish Solomon by rending ten tribes from the kingdom of his son e.nd successor, though he himself was allowed to retain the government of the whole till the end of his days, a.ad by handing them over to Jeroboam. The part enacted by the people was not with the Divine knowledge, that is, the Divine consent, approval, They did not consult God about the matter, or the manner of it, or the time of it; they did not wait for bis command to do it; they did not seek his approbation in doing it; they were no way concerned about executing the Divine purpose-nothing wa.s further from their thoughts. They revolted from the house of David not in order to obey God ; of this, as far as the history shows, they never thought. What they did was done from a spirit of sedition; what they aimed a.t wa.s a. relief from oppressive taxation. They had no regard to the Divine mind in the whole movement. 'l'hey were bent on carrying out their own cherished project, and yet unwitti_ngly, unintentionally, they W?re ca.rryi~g out tlie !JUrpuse and promist: of God, though without any reference to the mrnd and will of Go<l. 2. '!'he fullowing illusLra.tion of this difficult subject is given by Calvin. ,. God," he says, "designed to prove the patience of his servant Job. '!'he robbt,rs who to~k away his property, were they excusable? By no means. For what wae their olJJect, but to enrich themselves by injWltice and plunder? Sinoe, then, they purchased OB. fflL 1-H,l THm BOOK OF HOSEA. 24:'i