The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 326

t11rned e.side from their being's end Md •im. There is endeavour but it is for sol£. ooo·s glory is unthought of, unsouii;ht. 3, 00'),Sequentfailtm1. Fn:m this perversion of ,·xistence in Isrnel 11.J'Ose (l) rejectlion of Divine control, fiii;urcd in the vine's lawleaa_ u11tutored luxuria_n~e; and ~2) ultimate degen?f&CY: 'l'he sinful Ii~ h_owever vigorous, p,wrrful, and thrivmg-lookmg at first, has tine as its penalty, that 1t 1e unable perma• 1,e11tly to maintain its vitality. Even when, to outward appearance, it see1n8 flourishing it is lound, on closer examination, to be without substance, without healthy fruitful~ ness. "It is smitten, its root is dried up, it bears no fruit" (cf. eh. ix. 16). Only of the ri!!hkons can it be said," He bringeth forth fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither·· (Ps. i. 3). "They shall bring forth fruit in old age; they sho.11 be fat 11,nd flo11r1,hing" (Ps. xcii. 14). Il. (;LOR£, BUT NOT TO TIIE CREATOR. (Ver. 1.) The more God gave to Israel, the more they sinned against him. Their altars were multiplied as their fruit increased. 'l'he better God ma.de their llmd, the goodlier became their images. 1. They withheld from God the gl-Ory due to him. 'fhcy denied him in his gifts, They did not own him :is the Author of their prosperity. They felt no thankfulness. They did not glorify him in the use they ma.de of what he ga¥e. How common is this sin l 2. They gave his glory t-0 another. .Alt.an and pillars wet" multiplied to the idols.. Bsal was praised and served for the prosperity which came from Jehovah. God was dishonoured to his face. In the Lord's own land his glory was given to" graven images." The glory which ought to be given to God is often retained for self, or distributed out to the powers which we secretly idolize. Hero and nature worship, Bacchus-worship, idolatry of wealth, glorification of military might, etc. 3. They made his goodness the occasim of greater sin. The bent being evil, sin only assumes the greater proportions the larger the powers put at its disposal With plenty in the land the people had more to sin with. They had more time and means, and they lavi_shed more freely on their idols. '!'hey built more altars, and made their pillars higher and goodlier. Man's sin thus keeps pace with God's goodness. The wealthy, talented, powerful, robust, exalted, are able to sin in a way and to an extent not possible to others. The facilities for sin are greater. More extravagance, pride, worldly display, dissipation, self-confi- dence, etc. . . . . III. WoRSIIIP, BUT WITH A DIVIDED HE_ABT, (Ver. 2.) . Israel's heart was,'! smooth" or "di¥ided." It was deceitful towards God. His worship was ostensibly maintained,. but the worship of the Baals was kept up aloniside of it, and was the .real worship of the people. Nay, while in name honouring Jehovah, the people had" changed the truth of God into a lie" (Rom. i. 25), _by setting up the images of the ,calves. Their whole worship was thus an abomination to the Lord, a~d he would avenge his insulted honour by a judgrnent which would lay their altars in the dui;t;"· 1, -In worship, it is the heart God looks to. He is not deceived by the outward appearance, .or by ifattering word~. He desires truth in the inward parts (Ps. Ii. 6). The utmost lavishing on externals will not condone for the want of the right spirit. 2. The_lteart is insincere towardii God when it is divi,ded between God and other objects. God 1s not hon!mred as God when the whole hea.rt is not given up to him. He. ought, as God, to receive iiU~ He will not share his glory with another. A really divided state of the atrectioµs c"unot last (Matt. vi. 24). Tbe division of the heart between God and the world ends l,y the world getting all. 3. God will punish the divided heart by talcing its idols from it. He may do so in this world. He will certainly do so at last. IV. A Kll'G, YET NO KIKG. (Ver. 3.) When the judgmen~ fell on lera~l, _the people would not be slow to realize the cause of their misfortunes. " We have no king, because we feared not the Lord." 1. They had a ldng, but not a ldng from ()od. Sincd the extinction of the how;e of J ehu, no king had reigned in Israel with even a. semblance of Divine right. The throne had been held by a succession of usurpers. Hoshea gained it Ly slaying Pekah, as Pekah had raised himself to power by killi~g the son. of Mena.hem (~ Kings xv. 25-30). The people could not feel to a1;1 _anarch1~al usurper o.s towards a true king. Their feeling was that the days of leg1t1mate krngs were ove~. They Lad, at least, no king through whom they could expect God to seud them deliverance. 'J'hc.,e frequent and violent usurpations were a. proof that God had departed from them. 2. Their itate u;as snch thal. a Icing could no longer do them any good. He who ought _to Lar~ L:er., tLc'r Ki11:.(, J. hornh hiwSt:lf, bad cast th~m off. They ha.l provoked huu OH, X, 1-16.] THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 327