The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 377

Ven.. 7-10.-Extent of Israel's apost<uy. I. Here we are shown uow FAR lsnAEI. HAD APOSTATIZED, bow unlike they were to the patriarch of whom they boasted nnd how far they fell short of admonitions that had been addressed to them. 1. They' were lilr.er the Canaanite whom they despised than the patriarch from whom they wero desc<'nded. They had become liker fraudulent merchants than God-fearing members of the Church of God. To fraud they added oppression where they had the power'. , 2.. Th~ love of money was the root of this evil tmit of Jewish character-a trait that shows itself too frequently at the present day, and which is not confined to the Jew, but compre- hends the Gentile also. Men hasten to be rich, and cannot long be innocent. 3.. '!'here is fill _qreater aggravation of sin than the love of it. 'l'he people of Israel at the period specified were not only addicted to the sin of covetousness or greediness .of gain, but were actually enamoured of their sin. One of the worst features of wicked men, which the .apostle bas so vividly photographed in that black catalogue of Bin, is that, "know- ir.g the judgment of God. that they which commit such things are worthy of death, no~ only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." 4. Men addicted to covetousness and whose hearts are set on getting gain make light of the doct1·ines of religion Tbus in the days of our Lord "the Pharisees .also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they deri,led him." Sacred truths and Divine mysteries wer.e ::iespised, while the ways and means of amassing wealth were their delight. So here tbe connection of ver. 7 may be the prophet's complaint of his countrymen's neglect of his exhortations, owing to their covetousness. "The scope of the prophet aud. the con- nection here is-We may exhort, but so long 88 their hearts are covetous, and set upon their way of getting gain, they will never regard what we say ; they will not turn to God_. they will not hear of it, but will rather turn a deaf ear to all entreaties." II ExcusEs FOB SIN. Here we see how wicked men excuse themselves and palliate their sins. 1. SucceBS furnishes them with a plausible plea for self-vindication. The prosperity of fools, we are told, destroys them; while the worldly_ prosperity of the wicked is frequently fatal to their spiritual welfare. "Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way," says the psalmist, afterwards ·adding, '' for evil-doers shall be- cut of!:" It has been well and truly said that "prosperity in sinful ways is an old ~nare, hindering men from heeding challenges or God's anger because of them." 2. The l,oastful, spirit of the wicked; they glory in their gains as self-procured; they attribute all tc their own skill, or strength, or ingenuity, or. industry, or ability, and refuse to acknowledge God. Nor is it, indeed, possible they should, for how.could they bless God for what they have acquired by sin or gained by fraudulent dealing? 3. False refuges t.c wh.icl:: wicked men resort: they divest themselves of all dread of Divine displeasure 01 of danger on the ground of prosperity; t.hey force themselves to believe that if their cooduct were either displeasing to God or fraught with danger to themselves, they would not be so prosperous in getting gain or have such succesa in sin. .Another false refuge iR io seek relief for a gu.ilty conscience from the ouLward comforts procurable by ill- ;;otten gairi. 4. Other false shifts or hypocritical evasions are, a~ is here intimated, resorted to by sinners. oometimes they gloss over their sins with fair names; thus tlJ<,ir d.ishor,esties, wLether by fraud or force, take the name of the fruits of their labours, tl.e earniuge of their industry, or the profits of their calling. Sometimes they depcnu uD secrecy and defy detection, and, while they feel themselves free from discovery, they fancy themsd ves safe in their sin, as though the eye of God did not penetrato such tl,in disuuises, or as if God bad not said, " Be sure your sin will find you out." Some- LHHes tr.';,y hypocritically profess abhorrence of sins they habitually practise; or, if they acko0wle<lge i;iD at all, they salve their wounds of cousciencc by the consideration that Lhcir sins are very venial offencc8, and 11uch as are incidental to their situation, or common tu tbeir eallin~, or peculiar to their trade. 'l'hus they minimize their culpability and JJujJUS<J on tl,;,1r own sou!J!. 11 I. L 1·1.c:Ts <JY ~IN. God's goodness, which is designed to lead men to repent of on. xn. 1-14.] 'l'HE BOOK OF IICJSEA. 37()