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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>H O S E A.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. X.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter,
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I. The people of Israel are charged with gross corruptions in the
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worship of God and are threatened with the destruction of their images
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and altars,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:1,2,5,6,8">ver. 1, 2, 5, 6, 8</A>.
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II. They are charged with corruptions in the administration of the
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civil government and are threatened with the ruin of that,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:3,4,7">ver. 3, 4, 7</A>.
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III. They are charged with imitating the sins of their fathers, and
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with security in their own sins, and are threatened with smarting
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humbling judgments,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:9-11">ver. 9-11</A>.
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IV. They are earnestly invited to repent and reform, and are threatened
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with ruin if they did not,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:12-15">ver. 12-15</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ho10_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Degeneracy of Israel; Threatenings of Judgment.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 730.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Israel <I>is</I> an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto
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himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath
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increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they
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have made goodly images.
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2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he
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shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.
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3 For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared
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not the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; what then should a king do to us?
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4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a
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covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of
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the field.
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5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves
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of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the
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priests thereof <I>that</I> rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof,
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because it is departed from it.
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6 It shall be also carried unto Assyria <I>for</I> a present to king
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Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed
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of his own counsel.
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7 <I>As for</I> Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the
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water.
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8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be
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destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their
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altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the
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hills, Fall on us.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Observe,
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I. What the sins are which are here laid to Israel's charge, the
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national sins which bring down national judgment. The prophet deals
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plainly with them; for what good would it do them to be flattered?</P>
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<P>
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1. They were not fruitful in the fruits of righteousness to the glory
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of God. Here all their other wickedness began
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>Israel is an empty vine.</I> The church of God is fitly compared to
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a <I>vine,</I> weak, and of an unpromising outside, yet spreading and
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fruitful; believers are branches of that vine, and partake of its root
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and fatness. But this was the character of Israel, they were as <I>an
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empty vine,</I> a vine that had no sap or virtue in it, and therefore
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none of those good fruits produced by it that were expected from it,
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with which God and man should be honoured. Note, There are many who,
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though they have not become <I>degenerate</I> vines, are yet <I>empty
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vines,</I> have no good in them. A vine is of all trees least
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serviceable if it do not bear fruit. It is thenceforth good for
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nothing,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+15:3,5">Ezek. xv. 3, 5</A>.
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And those that bring forth no grapes will soon come to bring forth wild
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grapes; those that do no good will do hurt. He is an <I>empty vine,</I>
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for <I>he brings forth fruit to himself.</I> What good there is in him
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is not directed to the glory of God, but he takes the praise of it to
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himself, and prides himself in it. Christians live not to themselves
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+14:6">Rom. xiv. 6</A>),
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but hypocrites make self their centre; they <I>eat and drink to
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themselves,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+7:5,6">Zech. vii. 5, 6</A>.
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Or Israel is by the judgments of God <I>emptied</I> and <I>spoiled</I>
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of all his wealth, because he made use of it in the service of his
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lusts, and not to the honour of God who gave it to him. Note, What we
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do not rightly employ we may justly expect to be emptied of.</P>
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<P>
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2. They multiplied their altars and images, and the more bountiful
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God's providence was to them the more prodigal they were in serving
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their idols: <I>According to the multitude of his fruit</I> which his
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land brought forth <I>he has increased the altars,</I> and <I>according
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to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.</I> Note, It
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is a great affront to God, and an abuse of his goodness, when the more
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mercies we receive from him the more sins we commit against him, and
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when the more wealth men have the more mischief they do. Should not we
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be thus abundant in the service of our God, as they were in the service
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of their idols? As we find our estates increasing, we should
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proportionably abound the more in works of piety and charity.</P>
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<P>
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3. Their hearts were divided,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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(1.) They were divided among themselves. They were at variance about
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their idols, some for one, some for another, at variance about their
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kings, whose separate interests made parties in the kingdom, and in
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them their very hearts were divided, and alienated one from another,
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and there was no such thing as cordial friendship to be found among
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them; it follows therefore, <I>Now shall they be found faulty.</I>
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Note, The divisions and animosities of a people are the causes of much
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sin and the presages of ruin.
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(2.) They were divided between God and their idols. They had a
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remaining affection in their hearts for God, but a reigning affection
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for their idols. They <I>halted between God and Baal,</I> that was the
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dividing of their heart. But God is the sovereign of the heart and he
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will by no means endure a rival; he will either have all or none.
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Satan, like the pretended mother, says, <I>Let it be neither mine nor
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thine, but divide it;</I> but, if this be yielded to, God says, Nay,
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<I>let him take it all.</I> A heart thus divided will be <I>found
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faulty,</I> and be rejected as treacherous in covenanting with God.
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Note, A heart divided between God and mammon, though it may trim the
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matter so as to appear plausible, will, in the day of discovery, be
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<I>found faulty.</I></P>
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<P>
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4. They made no conscience of what they said and what they did in the
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most solemn manner,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>
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(1.) Not of what they said in swearing, which is the most solemn
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speaking: <I>They have spoken words,</I> and words only, for they meant
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not as they said; they did <I>verba dare--give words.</I> They <I>swore
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falsely in making a covenant;</I> they were deceitful in their
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covenanting with God, the covenant of circumcision, the fair promises
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they made of reformation when they were in distress; and no marvel if
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those that were false to their God were false to all mankind. They
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contracted such a habit of treachery that they broke through the most
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sacred bonds, and made nothing of them; subjects violated their oaths
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of allegiance and their kings their coronation-oaths; they broke their
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leagues with the nations they were in alliance with, nor was any
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conscience made of contracts between private persons.
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(2.) Nor of what they did in judgment, which is the most solemn acting.
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Justice could not take place when men made nothing of forswearing
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themselves; for thus <I>judgment,</I> which should have been a healing
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medicinal plant and of a sweet smell, <I>sprang up as hemlock,</I>
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which is both nauseous and noxious, <I>in the furrows of the field,</I>
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in the field that was ploughed and furrowed for good corn. Note, God is
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greatly offended with corruptions, not only in his own worship, but in
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the administration of justice between man and man, and the dishonesty
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of a people shall be the ground of his controversy with them as well as
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their idolatry and impiety; for God's laws are intended for man's
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benefit and the good of the community, as well as for God's honour, and
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the profanation of courts of justice shall be avenged as surely as the
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profanation of temples.</P>
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<P>
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II. What the judgments are with which Israel should be punished for
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these sins; they sinned both in civil and religious matters, and in
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both they shall be punished.
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1. They shall have no joy of their kings and of their government.
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Because justice is turned into oppression, therefore those who are
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entrusted with the administration of it, and should be blessings to the
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state, shall be complained of as the burdens of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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and those that would not rule their people well shall not be able to
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protect them: <I>Now they shall say, "We have no king,</I> that is, we
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are as if we had none, we have none to do us any good nor stand us in
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any stead, none to keep us from destroying ourselves or being destroyed
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by our enemies, none to preserve the public peace nor to fight our
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battles; and justly has this come to us. <I>Because we feared not the
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Lord,</I> when we were safe under the protection of our kings,
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therefore we are rejected by him, and then <I>what shall a king do for
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us?</I> What good can we expect from a king when we have forfeited the
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favour of our God?" Note, Those that cast off the fear of God are not
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likely to have joy of any of their creature-comforts; nor will men's
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loyalty to their prince befriend them without religion, for, though
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that may engage him to be for them, what good will that do them if God
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be against them? Those that keep themselves in the fear and favour of
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God may say, with triumph, "What can the greatest of men do against
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us?" But those that throw themselves out of his protection must say,
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with despair, "What can the greatest of men do for us?" He was a king
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that said, <I>If the Lord do not help thee, whence should I help
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thee?</I> Yet he is a fool that says, If a king cannot help us, we must
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perish (as these intimate here), for God can do that for us which kings
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cannot. Time was when they doted upon having a king; but now what can a
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king (who, they thought, could do any thing) do for them? God can make
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people sick of those creature-confidences which they were most fond of.
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This is their complaint when their king is disabled to help them, yet
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this is not the worst; their civil government shall not only be
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weakened, but quite destroyed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>As for Samaria,</I> the royal city, which is now almost all that is
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left, <I>her king is cut off as the foam from the water.</I> The foam
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swims uppermost, and makes a great show upon the face of the water, yet
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it is but a heap of bubbles raised by the troubling of the water. Such
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were the kings of Israel, after their revolt from the house of David, a
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mere scum; their government had no foundation. No better are the
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greatest of kings when they set up in opposition to God; when God comes
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to contend with them by his judgments he can as easily disperse and
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dissolve them, and bring them to nothing, as the froth upon the water.
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2. They shall have no joy of their idols and of their worship of them.
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And miserable is the case of that people whose gods fail them when
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their kings do.
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(1.) The idols they had made, and the altars they had set up in honour
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of them, should be broken down, and spoiled, and carried away, as
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common plunder, by the victorious enemy: He <I>shall break down their
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altars.</I> God shall do it by the hand of the Assyrians: the Assyrians
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shall do it by order from God. <I>He shall spoil their images,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Note, What men make idols of it is just with God to <I>break down</I>
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and <I>spoil.</I> But the calf at Bethel was the sovereign idol; it was
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this that the inhabitants of Samaria doted most upon; now it is here
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foretold that this should be destroyed: <I>The glory of it has departed
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from it</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
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when it is thrown down and defaced, no more to be worshipped; but this
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is not all: <I>It shall also be carried to Assyria</I> (as some think
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that the calf at Dan was some time before) <I>for a present to king
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Jareb.</I> It was carried to him as a rich booty (for it was a golden
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calf, and probably adorned with the gifts and offerings of its
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worshippers) and as a trophy of victory over their enemies: and what
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more glorious trophy could they bring than this, or more incontestable
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proof of an absolute conquest? Thus it is said, <I>The sin of Israel
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shall be destroyed</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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that is, the idols which they made the matter of their sin; it is said
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of them, <I>They became a sin to all Israel,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+12:30">1 Kings xii. 30</A>.
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Note, If the grace of God prevail not to destroy the love of sin in us,
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it is just that the providence of God should destroy the food and fuel
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of sin about us. With the idols, <I>the high places</I> shall be
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destroyed, the <I>high places of Aven,</I> that is, of <I>Bethaven</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
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or <I>Bethel;</I> it was called <I>the house of God</I> (so Bethel
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signifies), but now it is called <I>the house of iniquity,</I> nay,
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<I>iniquity</I> itself. The kings did not, as they ought to have done,
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<I>take away the high places</I> by the sword of justice, and therefore
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God will take them away by the sword of war; so that <I>the thorn and
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the thistle</I> shall <I>come up on their altars,</I> that is, they
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shall lie in ruins. Their altars, while they stood, were as thorns and
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thistles, offensive to God and good men, and fruits of sin and the
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curse; justly therefore are they buried in thorns and thistles.
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(2.) The destruction of their idols, their altars, and their high
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places, shall be the occasion of sorrow, and shame, and terror to them.
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[1.] It shall be an occasion of sorrow to them. When the calf at Bethel
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is broken <I>the people thereof shall mourn over it.</I> They looked
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upon the calf to be the protector of their nation, and, when that was
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gone, thought they must all be undone, which made the poor ignorant
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people that were deluded into the love of it lament bitterly, as Micah
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did
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+18:24">Judg. xviii. 24</A>),
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<I>You have taken away my gods, and what have I more?</I> The priests
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that had rejoiced in it shall now mourn for it with the people. Note,
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Whatever men make a god of they will mourn for the loss of; and an
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inordinate sorrow for the loss of any worldly good is a sign we made an
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idol of it. They used to be very merry in the worship of their idols,
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but now they shall mourn over them; for sinful mirth shall, sooner or
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later, be turned into mourning.
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[2.] It shall be an occasion of shame to them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>Ephraim shall receive shame</I> when he sees the gods he trusted to
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carried into captivity, and <I>Israel shall be ashamed of his own
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counsel,</I> in putting such confidence in them and paying such
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adoration to them. God's ark and altars were never thrown down till the
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people rejected them; but the idolatrous altars were thrown down when
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the people were doting on them, which shows that the contempt of the
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former, and the veneration for the latter, were the sins for which God
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visited them.
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[3.] It shall be an occasion of fear to them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear;</I> they shall be in pain for
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their gods and afraid of losing them; or, rather, they shall be in pain
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for themselves and their children and families, when they see the
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judgments of God breaking in upon them and beginning with their idols,
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as he <I>executed judgment against the gods of Egypt,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+12:12">Exod. xii. 12</A>.
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Thus idolaters are brought in trembling when God arises to <I>shake
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terribly the earth,</I>
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|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:21">Isa. ii. 21</A>.
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And here
|
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
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|
<I>They shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on
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us.</I> The supporters of idolatry
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+6:15,16">Rev. vi. 15, 16</A>)
|
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are brought in calling thus in vain to rocks and mountains to shelter
|
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them from God's wrath.</P>
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<A NAME="Ho10_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho10_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Threatenings of Judgment.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 730.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there
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they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity
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did not overtake them.
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10 <I>It is</I> in my desire that I should chastise them; and the
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people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind
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themselves in their two furrows.
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11 And Ephraim <I>is as</I> a heifer <I>that is</I> taught, <I>and</I> loveth
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to tread out <I>the corn;</I> but I passed over upon her fair neck: I
|
|
will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, <I>and</I> Jacob shall
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break his clods.
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12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up
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your fallow ground: for <I>it is</I> time to seek the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, till he
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|
come and rain righteousness upon you.
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13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have
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|
eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in
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the multitude of thy mighty men.
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14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy
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fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the
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day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon <I>her</I>
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children.
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15 So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great
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wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut
|
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off.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
|
|
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I. They are put in mind of the sins of their fathers and predecessors,
|
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for which God would now reckon with them. It was told them
|
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+9:9"><I>ch.</I> ix. 9</A>)
|
|
|
|
that they had <I>corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah,</I>
|
|
and here
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
|
|
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<I>O Israel! thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah.</I> Not only the
|
|
wickedness that was committed in that age is revived in this, and
|
|
reacted, a copy from that original, but the wickedness that was
|
|
committed in that age has been continued in a constant series and
|
|
succession through all the intervening ages down to this; so that the
|
|
measure of iniquity had been long in filling; and still there had been
|
|
made additions to it. Or, "<I>Thou has sinned more than in the days of
|
|
Gibeah</I>" (so it may be read); "the sins of this age exceed those of
|
|
the worst of former ages. The case was bad then, for <I>there they
|
|
stood;</I> the criminals stood in their own defence, and the tribes of
|
|
Israel, who undertook to chastise them for their wickedness, were <I>at
|
|
a stand,</I> when both in the first and in the second battle the
|
|
malefactors were the victors; and <I>the battle in Gibeah against the
|
|
children of iniquity did not overtake them</I> till the third
|
|
engagement, and then did not overtake them all, for 600 made their
|
|
escape. But thy sin is worse than theirs, and therefore thou canst not
|
|
expect but that the battle against the children of iniquity should
|
|
overtake thee, and overcome thee."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. They have warning given them, fair warning, of the judgments of God
|
|
that were coming upon them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
God had hitherto pitied and spared them. Though they had been very
|
|
provoking, he had a mind to try whether they would be wrought upon by
|
|
patience and forbearance; but now, "<I>It is in my desire that I should
|
|
chastise them;</I> it is what I have a purpose of and will take
|
|
pleasure in." He will <I>rejoice over them to do them hurt,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:63">Deut. xxviii. 63</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Because God does not desire the death and ruin of sinners,
|
|
therefore he does desire their chastisement. And see what the
|
|
chastisement it: <I>The people shall be gathered against them,</I> as
|
|
all the other tribes were against Benjamin in the battle of Gibeah.
|
|
One of the rabbin thus descants upon it: "Because they receive not
|
|
chastisement from me by my prophets, who in my name rebuke them, I will
|
|
chastise them by the hands of the people who shall be <I>gathered
|
|
against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two
|
|
furrows,</I>" that is, when they shall think to fortify themselves, as
|
|
it were, within a double entrenchment. Or, <I>When I shall bind them
|
|
for their two transgressions</I> (so the margin reads it), meaning
|
|
their corporal and spiritual whoredom, which they are so often charged
|
|
with, or the <I>two calves</I> at Dan and Bethel, or those two great
|
|
evils mentioned
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+2:12">Jer. ii. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or, <I>When I shall bind them to their two furrows,</I> that is, bring
|
|
them into servitude to the Assyrians, who shall keep them under the
|
|
yoke as oxen in the plough, who are bound to the two furrows up the
|
|
field and down it, and dare not, for fear of the goad, stir a step out
|
|
of them. The Chaldee says, Those that are <I>gathered against them
|
|
shall exercise dominion over them, in like manner as a pair of heifers
|
|
are tied to their two furrows.</I> Thus those that would not be God's
|
|
freemen shall be their enemies' slaves, and shall be made to know the
|
|
difference between <I>God's service</I> and <I>the service of the
|
|
kingdoms of the countries,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+12:8">2 Chron. xii. 8</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. They are made to know that their unacquaintedness with sufferings
|
|
and hardships should not excuse them from a very miserable captivity,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
See how nice, and tender, and delicate, Ephraim is; he is <I>as a
|
|
heifer that is taught to tread out the corn, and loves</I> that work,
|
|
because, being not allowed to be muzzled, she has liberty to eat at
|
|
pleasure, and the work itself was dry and easy, and both its own
|
|
diversion and its own wages. "But," says God, "I have a yoke to put
|
|
upon <I>her fair neck,</I> fair as it is. <I>I will make Ephraim to
|
|
ride,</I> that is, I will tame them, or cause them to be ridden by the
|
|
Assyrians and other conquerors that shall rule them with rigour, as men
|
|
do the beasts they ride upon
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:12">Ps. lxvi. 12</A>);
|
|
|
|
and <I>Judah</I> too shall be made to <I>plough,</I> and <I>Jacob to
|
|
break the clods,</I>" that is, they shall be used hardly, but not so
|
|
hardly as Ephraim. Note, It is just with God to make those know what
|
|
hardships mean that indulge themselves too much in their own ease and
|
|
pleasure. The learned Dr. Pocock inclines to another sense of these
|
|
words, as intimating the tender gentle methods God took with this
|
|
people, to bring them into obedience to his law, as a reason why they
|
|
should return to that obedience; he had managed them as the husbandman
|
|
does his cattle that he trains up for service. Ephraim being as a
|
|
docile heifer, fit to be employed, God took hold of <I>her fair
|
|
neck,</I> to accustom her to the hand, <I>harnessed her,</I> or put the
|
|
yoke of his commandments upon her, gave his people Israel a law, that,
|
|
being trained up in his institutions, they might not be tempted by the
|
|
usages of the heathen; he had used all fair and likely means with them
|
|
to keep them in their obedience, had set <I>Judah to plough</I> and
|
|
<I>Jacob to break the clods,</I> had employed them in the observance of
|
|
precepts proper for them; and yet they would not be retained in their
|
|
obedience, but started aside.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. They are invited and encouraged to return to God by prayer,
|
|
repentance, and reformation,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
See here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The duties they are called to. They are <I>God's husbandry</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+3:9">1 Cor. iii. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the duties are expressed in language borrowed from the husbandman's
|
|
calling. If they would not be brought into bondage by their oppressors,
|
|
let them return to God's service.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Let them <I>break up the fallow ground;</I> let them cleanse their
|
|
hearts from all corrupt affections and lusts, which are as weeds and
|
|
thorns, and let them be humbled for their sins, and be of a broken and
|
|
contrite spirit in the sense of them; let them be full of sorrow and
|
|
shame at the remembrance of them, and prepare to receive the divine
|
|
precepts, as the ground that is ploughed is to receive the seed, that
|
|
it may take root. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+4:3">Jer. iv. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Let them <I>sow to themselves in righteousness;</I> let them
|
|
return to the practice of good works, according to the law of God,
|
|
which is the rule of righteousness; let them abound in works of piety
|
|
towards God, and of justice and charity towards one another, and herein
|
|
let them <I>sow to the Spirit,</I> as the apostle speaks,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+6:7,8">Gal. vi. 7, 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Every action is seed sown. Let them <I>sow in righteousness;</I> let
|
|
them sow what they should sow, do what they should do, and they
|
|
themselves shall have the benefit of it.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Let them <I>seek the Lord;</I> let them look up to him for his
|
|
grace, and beg of him to bless the <I>seed sown.</I> The husbandman
|
|
must plough and sow with an eye to God, asking of him rain in the
|
|
season thereof.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The arguments used for the pressing of these duties. Consider,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It is time to do it; it is <I>high time.</I> The husbandman sows
|
|
in seed-time, and, if that time be far spent, he applies to the work
|
|
with the more diligence. Note, Seeking the Lord is to be every day's
|
|
work, but there are some special occasions given by the providence and
|
|
grace of God when it is, in a particular manner, time to seek him.
|
|
|
|
(2.) If we do our part, God will do his. If we <I>sow to ourselves in
|
|
righteousness</I>--if we be careful and diligent to do our duty, in a
|
|
dependence upon his grace--he will shower down his grace upon us, will
|
|
<I>rain righteousness,</I> the very thing that those need most who are
|
|
to sow <I>in righteousness;</I> for <I>by the grace of God we are what
|
|
we are.</I> Some apply it to Christ, who should come in the fulness of
|
|
time, and for whose coming they must prepare themselves; he shall come
|
|
as <I>the Lord our righteousness,</I> and shall <I>rain righteousness
|
|
upon us,</I> that everlasting righteousness which he has brought in; he
|
|
will grant us of it abundantly. It is foretold
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:6">Ps. lxxii. 6</A>)
|
|
|
|
that <I>he shall come down like rain.</I>
|
|
|
|
(3.) If we <I>sow in righteousness,</I> we shall <I>reap in mercy,</I>
|
|
which agrees with that promise, If we <I>sow to the Spirit,</I> we
|
|
shall <I>of the Spirit reap life everlasting.</I> We shall reap
|
|
<I>according to the measure of mercy</I> (so the word is); it shall be
|
|
a great reward, according to the <I>riches of mercy,</I> such a reward,
|
|
not as becomes such mean creatures as we are to receive, but as becomes
|
|
a God of infinite mercy to give, a reward, <I>not of debt,</I> but
|
|
<I>of grace.</I> We reap not in merit, but in mercy. It is what is
|
|
sown; God gives a body as it has pleased him.
|
|
|
|
(4.) We have <I>ploughed wickedness and reaped iniquity;</I> and the
|
|
time <I>past of our life may suffice</I> that we have done so,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
"You have taken a great deal of pains in the service of sin, have
|
|
laboured at it in the very fire; and will you grudge to bear the burden
|
|
and heat of the day in God's service and in doing that which will be
|
|
for your own advantage? You have done much to damn your souls; will you
|
|
not undo it again, and do something to save them?"
|
|
|
|
(5.) We never got any thing in the service of sin. They have
|
|
<I>ploughed wickedness</I> (that is, they have done the drudgery of
|
|
sin), and they have <I>reaped iniquity,</I> that is, they have got all
|
|
that is to be got by it; they have carried it on to the <I>harvest,</I>
|
|
and what the better? It is all a cheat. <I>They have eaten the fruit of
|
|
lies,</I> fruit that is but a lie, which looks fair, but is rotten
|
|
within; the <I>works of darkness</I> are <I>unfruitful works,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+5:11,Ro+6:21">Eph. v. 11; Rom. vi. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
Even the gains of sin yield the sinner no satisfaction.
|
|
|
|
(6.) As our comforts, so our confidences, in the service of sin will
|
|
certainly fail us: "<I>Thou didst trust in thy ways, in the multitude
|
|
of thy mighty men;</I> thou has stayed thyself upon creatures, thy own
|
|
power and policy, and therefore hast ventured to plough wickedness, and
|
|
thy hopes have deceived thee; come therefore, and seek the Lord, and
|
|
thy hope in him shall not deceive thee."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. They are threatened with utter destruction, both for their carnal
|
|
practices and for their carnal confidences,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:14,15"><I>v.</I> 14, 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Therefore,</I> because thou has sown wickedness, and trusted in thy
|
|
own way, <I>a tumult shall arise among thy people,</I> either by
|
|
insurrections at home or invasions from abroad, either of which will
|
|
put a kingdom into confusion and make a noise, much more both together.
|
|
|
|
1. Their cities and strongholds shall be a prey to the enemy: The
|
|
<I>fortresses</I> which they confided in, and in which they had laid up
|
|
their effects, shall be seized and rifled, as <I>Shalman spoiled
|
|
Beth-arbel in the day of battle.</I> This refers to some event that had
|
|
lately happened, not elsewhere recorded; and probably Shalman is the
|
|
same with Shalmaneser king of Assyria, who had lately put some town, or
|
|
castle, or house (<I>Beth-arbel is the house of Arbel</I>), under
|
|
<I>military execution,</I> which perhaps he used with severity in the
|
|
beginning of his conquests, to terrify other garrisons into a speedy
|
|
surrender at the first summons. God tells them that thus Samaria should
|
|
be <I>spoiled.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. The inhabitants shall be put to the <I>sword,</I> as it was at
|
|
<I>Beth-arbel;</I> when it was taken <I>the mother was dashed in pieces
|
|
upon her children,</I> that is, they were both dashed in pieces
|
|
together by the fury of the soldiers. See what cruel work war makes.
|
|
<I>Jusque datum sceleri--Wickedness has free course.</I> It is strange
|
|
that any of the human race could be so inhuman; but see what comes of
|
|
sin. <I>Homo homini lupus--Man is a wolf to man,</I> and then, <I>Homo
|
|
homini agnus--Man is a lamb to man.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. Even royal blood shall be mingled with common gore: <I>In a morning
|
|
shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Hoshea was the last king of Israel; in him the whole kingdom was <I>cut
|
|
off</I> and came to a period; it may refer either to him or to some of
|
|
his predecessors that were cut off by treachery. It shall be done <I>in
|
|
a morning,</I> in a very little time, as suddenly as the dawning of the
|
|
morning, or at the time appointed, for so the morning comes, punctually
|
|
at its time. Or <I>in the morning,</I> when they think the night of
|
|
calamity is over, and expect a returning day, then shall all their
|
|
hopes be dashed by the sudden cutting off of their king,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
Kings, though gods to us, are men to God, and shall die like men. And
|
|
(<I>lastly</I>) what does all this desolation owe its rise to? What is
|
|
the spring of this bloodshed? He tells us
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>So shall Bethel do unto you.</I> Bethel was the place where one of
|
|
the calves was; Gilgal, where <I>all their wickedness</I> is said to
|
|
have been, was hard by; there was their <I>great wickedness,</I> the
|
|
<I>evil of their evil</I> (so the word is), the sum and quintessence of
|
|
their sin; and that was it that <I>did this to them,</I> that made all
|
|
this havoc, for that was it that provoked God to bring it upon them. He
|
|
does not say, "So shall the <I>king of Assyria</I> do to you;" but, "So
|
|
shall <I>Bethel</I> do to you." Note, Whatever mischief is done to us
|
|
it is sin that does it. Are the fortresses spoiled? Are the women and
|
|
children murdered? Is the king cut off? It is sin that does all this.
|
|
It is sin that ruins soul, body, estate, all. <I>So shall Bethel do
|
|
unto you.</I> It is <I>thy own wickedness</I> that <I>corrects thee</I>
|
|
and <I>thy backslidings</I> that <I>reprove thee.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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