The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 413

&nd gradue.lly kills the life of the soul. Now, Ephraim in hla proaperity hd apostatized from God. The Divine complaint is, "'l'hey have forgotten me" (ver. G). .Although the people owed everything to God, they allowed the very e.bundance of hie 11:lfte to become the means of ·withdrawing their hearts from him. In the time of Hosea. the ne.tion was really "dead in trespasees and sins." Again, in this passage, the prophet lam~nts the manifestations of this state of death. 1. The Ba,a,l-worahip. (Ver. 1.) " "' hen be offended in Baal, he died." The introduction of the Phmnician idolatry imTolved Israel in spiritual ruin. The rit,es of that idolatry were in the highest degree obscene and cruel; and by the Law of Moses every breach of the fir~t commandment wa.s to ente.il terrible penalties. Yet, notwithstanding all, Israel went aeido to serve Baal and Ashtaroth, and thereby became morally degraded and spiritually destroyed, 2. The fmage-worship. (Ver. 2.) Although Jeroboa.m's sin (1 Kings xii. 28) was manifestly distinct from thRt of Ahab (1 Kings xvi. 31-33), and in itself by no means ~o- heinous, it had yet been the beginning of the evil disease which, under Ahab and Jezebel, culminated in the spiritual death of the nation. Image-worship is idolatry; and the "kissing " of the two golden calves had led to the multiplication of idola.trous images all over the land. The people in their blindness were addicted in their private life to all manner of "will-worship." How melancholy that Ephraim should forsake ,J ebo..-ah to bow down to manufactured gods-" a.11 of them the work of artificers" I 3. The &el,f-wor,,,hip. (Ver. 6.) Ephraim abused his prosperity to such a.n extent. that his heart became at once steeped in materialism and elated with pride. He minded earthly thing~. His "pasture" became everything to him; he was greedy, a.nd could never have enough. "Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked" (Deut. xxxii. 15). Selfish• ness a.nd insolence and tyranny were born of Ephra.im's abundance; he became puffed up with self-sufficiency, forgot Jehovah hie God, a.nd "died." IIL ErRRADI WILL SOOK BE DEAD OUTWARDLY, As the dissolution of the body follows death, so the temporal ruin of a state is the natural result of its moral decay. In cherishing his pride a.nd pursuing hie idola.trie11, Israel wa.s busily digging hie own grave. As bis wealth and power increased, he steadily deteriorated in moral fibre, a.nd thus gradually lost hie prestige and reputation. So: 1. His destruction shall be swift. (Ver. 3.) This pari of the prophecy probably belongs to the time of Hoehea, the last of the kings of Isre.el, who wa.s "cut off aa the foam upon the water," and in whose day the unhappy Ephraimitee were carried a.way into Assyria.. The captivity, there-- fore, wa.s now at hand. The suddenness of the impending tra.nspla.nta.tion is indicated by four similitudes-" the morning cloud," "the early dew," "the chaff," and "the smoke." Such is the result of the prosperity of nations which continue to be incurably wicked ; the time comes a.t last when the whole fa.bric of the commonwealth suddenly falls to piecea. 2. It shal,l be dreadful. (Vers. 7, 8.) Here also there a.re four com- parisons-" a lion," "a leopard," "a bear," a.nd "the wild beast." 'l'beee shall come down upon the flock in their fat "posture," and devour them, It. is remarkable. that the aame four beasts reappear in Daniel's vision of the four world-empires (Dan. vii.), and that they are combined into one bestial form in "the wild beast" of the Apocalypse (Rev. xiii. 1-3). Alas! Jehovah. who has been the Shepherd of Israel, is now com• pelled to become Turael's Devourer I He will send the Assyrian-strong as a lion, fierce as a leopard, and savage as a bear-to tear the very heart of the nation. ThUB would Isre.el "destroy himself" (ver. 9), being carried a.way into sudden exile and total oblivion LESSONS. 1. "Righteousness exa.lteth a nation" (ver. 1). 2. "The Lord is a jealous God •" "His glory he will not give to another, neither hie praise to graven images" ( ver;, ~ 3) 3. God destroys our idols tba.t we ma.y learn to "kiss the Son ; " for. he is " th/true God a.ad eternal life," a.nd " there is no Saviour beside him" ( vers. 3, 4), 4. Th6 dangers of material prosperity to all who neglect those means of grace which make prc,sperity safe (ver. 6). ?· "Pride goe~h be~ore destru~tio~" (ve~, 6). ~- T~e great moral evils of our age (rntemperance, 1mpur1ty, 1;>rofan1ty, 10fidelity, soc13:l ~18- orders, etc.) constitute a call to God's people to more faith and prayer and Ohr1stian a.ctivity.-C. J. Ve1'11. 9-16.-Rr.wn, ret,-ibu,Uqn,, ancl ruurrection. Underlying the88 verses, and interpenetrating the judgment of Jehovah's anger with which they are chnrged, theni en. xm. 1-16.] 'l'HE BOOK OF HOSEA.