The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 316

themselves to the love and worship of God, and yet they could not make np their minds to part altogether either wHh him or with their idols. Such was the root of the nationnl sinfulness. But Hosea here calls attention rather to: 1. It~ for'TIUI in the national life. These were principally twe1. (1) 'l'rust in idols. Israel had allowed his sense of the solitnrinesa of the Godhead to be broken down, and had "increased " the nu,rnber. of altars. to heathen divinities. So far from i;alizi~g tbat all the" springs" of tho nation were In Jehovah alone, the people gave "hie praise to graven imaC7eB 0 •" and the glory which was his due, to the personified powers of physical nature. (2)' Trust in Icings; The l:Iebrews bad been guilty of high treason against Jehovah when, in the days of f3amuel, they insisted upon having an earthly king set over them. And this sin became even more aggravated, on the part of the ten tribes, when they revolted froin the theocratic monarchy which God ha.<l established at Jerusalem, and gave their allegiance .to the usurpers who exercised the functions of royalty at Samaria. 2. Its manifestations in the national character. The people's sin incorporated itself with them., and they la.P.sed further and further into moral degradation. There was: (1) Self-indulgence. (Ver. 1.)' Israel had been a thriving and luxuriant" vine;" but his fruitfulness took a wrong direction: "he brought forth fruit unto himself," and was "empty" to\\'.ards God. '.rJ/.e peopl~ regarded themselves as at once the source and the end' of_ their own prosperity ; so, they abused it by spending it upon their lusts. (2) lngraeitude. (Ver. 1.) Increase of wealth, instead of attracting them to God's temple to express thankfulness to him as the great Giver, led them instead to multiply their altars and idolatrous s:uperstitions.. '(3) Decei~ and perjury. (Ver. 4.) Their" words" were insincere and untrntbful; tbe· 0covenants" which they made (e.g. with Assyria) were deceitful. Nothing ,that the·nation said could be depended on; the life of the community was a lie. (4) Perveriion of justice. (Ver. 4.) A wicked king and a corrupt court poisoned the administration o'f law among the people. The judges took bribes, and their unrighteous decisions: VITere· as·" hemlock." overgrowing fields which ought to have been wavjng with'. a healthful ·narvest of righteousness. II. THE lfATIONA"L PUNISHMENT. Israel is about to lose all the false defences in which he gloried/and his heart shall have rear and shame for its melancholy heritage. The punishment is in these v;erses contemplated from a twofold point of view, viz. : 1. ltsforms in. the national lift!. (1) .As regards the idols. There would presently be "fear" for them(ver. 5). The very calves which had been an object of trust and stay would become a source of anxious solicitude. Instead of feeling safe under the protection o'f their golden gods; the people would tremble for the safety of the gods themselves. "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence ; " but the men of Israel " feared not the Lord" (ver. 3), and their punishment was to "fear because of the calves." More than this, they would suffer the loss of them (vers. 2, 5, 6, 8). The images which Jeroboam had set up would be carried into captivity as a tribute "to King Jareb," the avenging .Assyrian. In that way the calf-worship of the northern kingdom would come to an end. Bethel and Dan, Samaria and Gilgal, the centres of Israel's idolatry, would be destroyed. The shrines of Baal and Asbtaroth would be broken down, and thorns and thistle8 would grow luxuriantly upon the idol-altars. (2) As reirards the kings. Already the monarchy was helpless (ver. 3). Although it may be that Hoshea (who proved to be the last king in Ephraim) was still upon the throne, the people were saying," We have no king;" "What·would a king do for us?" They see now, when it is too late, that it is vain to expect deliverance from monarchs who. themselves do not fear God, and who have assumed their royalty in opposition to his will. Soon, too, the monarchy shall be finally desfroyed (ver. 7). The king shall be "cut off as the fbam upon the water," or a!! a chip which is ·carried down· the stream and lost. Presently the long siege of Samaria shall begin; and in· three years thereafter the standards of Shalmaneser shall wavci'over the ruined strongholds of that wicked city. B1tt, ii.gain, the prophet refers to the national punishment in: 2.. Its mora? results upon the people. It would produce: (1) Moutning. (Ver. 5.) The people would lament because of the helplessness of the golden idols, in which they had gloried, and in which their false priests had rejoiced. They would sadly grie--.,e because of the irnominious deportation of the calves to Assyria. (2) Shame (ver. 6), because of « their own counsel;" the reference being to the untheocratic policy of the ten tribes in separating themselves ecclesiastically and volitically from Judah and Jerusalem. The worldly-wise statecraft of Jeroboam, whkh  816 TH)j] BOOK OF HOSEA. [ CH, X, 1-16.