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Hosea Chapter
One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 1
After
the general inscription of the book, in which the author, penman, and time of
this prophecy, are expressed, Hosea 1:1, the
people of Israel are reproved for their idolatry, under the representation of a
harlot the prophet is bid to marry, which he is said to do, Hosea 1:2, and
their ruin and destruction are foretold in the names of the children he had by
her, and by what is said on the occasion of the birth of each, Hosea 1:4, but
mercy and salvation are promised to Judah, Hosea 1:7 and the
chapter is concluded with a glorious prophecy of the conversion of the
Gentiles, and the calling of the Jews in the latter day; and of the union of
Judah and Israel under one Head and Saviour, Christ; and of the greatness and
glory of that day, Hosea 1:10.
Hosea 1:1 The word of the
Lord that came to
Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of
Israel.
YLT 1A word of Jehovah that hath
been unto Hosea, son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah,
kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel:
The word of the Lord that
came unto Hosea,.... Whose name is the same with Joshua and Jesus, and signifies
a saviour; he was in some things a type of Christ the Saviour, and prophesied
of him, and salvation by him; and was the instrument and means of saving men,
as all true prophets were, and faithful ministers of the word are: to him the
word of the Lord, revealing his mind and will, was brought by the Spirit of
God, and impressed upon his mind; and it was committed to him to be delivered
unto others. This is the general title of the whole book, showing the divine
original and authority of it:
the son of Beeri; which is added to distinguish him from another
of the same name; and perhaps his father's name was famous in Israel, and
therefore mentioned. The Jews have a rule, that where a prophet's father's name
is mentioned, it shows that he was the son of a prophet; but this is not to be
depended upon; and some of them say that this is the same with Beerah, a prince
of the Reubenites, who was carried captive by Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, 1 Chronicles 5:6,
but the name is different; nor does the chronology seem so well to agree with
him; and especially he cannot be the father of Hosea, if he was of the tribe of
Issachar, as some have affirmed:
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah,
and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel; from whence
it appears that Hosea prophesied long, and lived to a great age; for from the
last year of Jeroboam, which was the fifteenth of Uzziah, to the first of
Hezekiah, must be sixty nine years; for Jeroboam reigned forty one years, and
in the twenty seventh of his reign began Uzziah or Azariah to reign over Judah,
and he reigned fifty two years, 2 Kings 14:23, so
that Uzziah reigned thirty seven years after the death of Jeroboam, through
which time Hosea prophesied; Jotham after him reigned sixteen years, and so
many reigned Ahaz, 2 Kings 15:23, so
that without reckoning any part, either of Jeroboam's reign, or Hezekiah's, he
must prophesy sixty nine years, and, no doubt, did upwards of seventy, very
probably eighty, the Jews say ninety; and allowing him to be twenty four or
five years of age when he begun to prophesy, or only twenty (for it is certain
he was at an age fit to marry, as appears by the prophecy), he: must live to be
upwards of a hundred years; and in all probability he lived to see not only
part of Israel carried captive by Tiglathpileser, which is certain; but the
entire destruction of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser, which he prophesied of.
Jeroboam king of Israel is mentioned last, though prior to these kings of
Judah; because Hosea's prophecy is chiefly against Israel, and began in his
reign, when they were in a flourishing condition. It appears from hence that
Isaiah, Amos, and Micah, were contemporary with him; see Isaiah 1:1, within
this compass of time Hosea prophesied lived Lycurgus the famous lawgiver of the
Lacedemonians, and Hesiod the Greek poet; and Rome began to be built.
Hosea 1:2 2 When
the Lord
began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea:
“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And
children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing
from the Lord.”
YLT 2The commencement of
Jehovah's speaking by Hosea. And Jehovah saith unto Hosea, `Go, take to thee a
woman of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms, for utterly go a-whoring doth
the land from after Jehovah.'
The beginning of the word
of the Lord by Hosea,.... Or "in Hosea"F9בהושע
εν ωσηε, Sept.; in
Hosea, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, Tarnovius. ; which was internally
revealed to him, and was inspired into him, by the Holy Ghost, who first spoke
in him, and then by him; not that Hosea was the first of the prophets to whom
the word of the Lord came; for there were Moses, Samuel, David, and others,
before him; nor the first of the minor prophets, for Jonah, Joel, and Amos; are
by some thought to be before him; nor the first of those contemporary with him,
as the Jewish writers interpret it, which is not certain, at least not all of
them; but the meaning is, that what follows is the first part of his prophecy,
or what it began with; by which it appears he was put upon hard service at
first, to prophesy against Israel, an idolatrous people, and to do it in such a
manner as must be disagreeable to a young man:
and the Lord said to Hosea, go, take thee a wife of whoredoms and
children of whoredoms; a woman given to whoredom, a notorious strumpet, one taken out
of the stews, and children that were spurious and illegitimate, not born in
lawful wedlock. Some think this was really done; that the prophet took a whore,
and cohabited with her, or married her which, though forbidden a high priest,
was not forbid to a prophet; and had it been against a law, yet the Lord
commanding it made it lawful, as in the cases of Abraham's slaying his son, and
the Israelites borrowing jewels of the Egyptians; but this seems not likely,
since it would not only look like countenancing whoredom, which is contrary to
the holy law of God; but must be very dishonourable to the prophet, and render
him contemptible to the people; and, besides, would not answer the end
proposed, to reprove the spiritual adultery or idolatry of Israel, but rather
serve to confirm in it; for how should that appear criminal and abominable to
them, which was commanded the prophet by the Lord? others think that the woman
he is bid to marry, though before marriage a harlot, was afterwards reformed;
but this is directly contrary to Hosea 3:1 and
besides, the children born of her, whether reformed or not, yet in lawful
wedlock could not be called children of whoredom; nor would the above end be
answered by it, since such a person would be no fit representative of Israel committing
spiritual adultery or idolatry, and continuing in it; and moreover, whether
this or the former was the case, the prophecy must be many years delivering; it
must be near a year before the first child was born, and the same space must be
between the birth of each; so that here must be a long and frequent
interruption of the prophecy, which does not seem likely: nor is it probable
that he took his own wife, which is the opinion of others, and gave her the
character of a whore, and his children with her, and called them children of
whoredom, in order to represent and reprove the idolatry of Israel: what
MaimonidesF11Moreh Nevochim, par. 2. 46. Aben Ezra & Kimchi in
loc. , and the Jewish writers in general, give into, is more agreeable, that
this was all done in the vision of prophecy; that it so seemed to the prophet
in vision to be really done, and so he related it to the people; but this is
liable to objection, that such an impure scene of things should be represented
to the mind of the prophet by the Holy Spirit of God; nor can the relation of
it be thought to have any good effect upon the people, who would be ready to
mock at him, and reproach him for it. It seems best therefore to understand the
whole as a parable, and that the prophet, in a parabolical way, is bid to
represent the treachery, unfaithfulness, and spiritual adultery of the people
of Israel, under the feigned name of an unchaste woman, and of children
begotten in fornication; and to show unto them that their case was as if he had
taken a woman out of the stews, and her bastards with her; or as if a wife
married by him had defiled his bed, and brought him a spurious brood of
children. So the Targum interprets it,
"go,
prophesy a prophecy against the inhabitants of the idolatrous city, who add to
sin:'
for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the
Lord; or
"for
the inhabitants of the land erring, erred from the worship of the Lord,'
as
the Targum; that is, the inhabitants of the land of Israel have committed
idolatry, which is often in Scripture signified by adultery and whoredom; as an
adulterous woman deals treacherously with her husband, so these people had
dealt with God, who stood in such a relation to them; see Jeremiah 3:1, this
interprets the parable, and shows the reason of using the following symbols and
emblems.
Hosea 1:3 3 So
he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him
a son.
YLT 3And he goeth and taketh
Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceiveth and beareth to him a son;
So he went and took Gomer
the daughter of Diblaim,.... In the course of prophesying he made mention of this person,
who was a notorious common strumpet; and suggested hereby that they were just
like her; or these were fictitious names he used to represent their case by
Gomer signifies both "consummation" and "consumption"F12A
rad. גמר "perfecit, desiit", Gussetius. ;
and this harlot is so called, because of her consummate beauty, and her being
completely mistress of all the tricks of one; or, being consummately wicked, a
perfect whore, common to all; and because her ruin and destruction, persisting
in such practices, were inevitable, and so a fit emblem of the present and
future condition of Israel. Diblaim may be considered either as the name of a
man, a word of the same form with Ephraim; or of a woman, the mother of Gomer;
or else of a place, the wilderness of Diblath, Ezekiel 6:14 and
signifies "a cake of dried figs"F13Vox דבלים
"significat massas ficuum compressarum et siccatarum", Rivetus,
Tarnovius. ; which, in that country, was reckoned delicious eating; and so
denotes, either that both the sin and ruin of this people were owing to their
luxury, or indulging themselves in carnal pleasures, through the great
affluence they were possessed of; or that their original was from a wilderness,
and for their sins should be reduced to a desolate state again:
which conceived and bare him a son; whose name, and what he
was an emblem of, are declared in the following verse. The Targum is,
"and
he went and prophesied over them, that if they returned, it should be forgiven them:
but, if not, as fig tree leaves drop off, so should they; but they added, and
did evil works.'
Hosea 1:4 4 Then
the Lord
said to him: “Call his name Jezreel, For in a little while I will avenge
the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, And bring an end to the kingdom
of the house of Israel.
YLT 4and Jehovah saith unto him,
`Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little, and I have charged the blood of
Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and have caused to cease the kingdom of the house
of Israel;
And the Lord said unto him
call his name Jezreel,.... Which some interpret the "seed of God", as Jerom;
or "arm of God", as others; and Kimchi applies it to Jeroboam the son
of Joash, who was strong, and prospered in his kingdom; but it rather signifies
"God will sow", or "scatter"F14A rad. זרע "seminavit, disseminavit", Schmidt. ;
denoting either their dissension among themselves; or their dispersion among
the nations, which afterwards came to pass; and so the Targum, "call their
name scattered"; and alluding also to the city of Jezreel, where some of
the idolatrous kings of Israel lived, and where much blood had been shed, which
should be avenged, as follows:
for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel
upon the house of Jehu; not the blood of Naboth the Jezreelite, that was shed by Ahab;
but the blood of Joram the son of Ahab, and seventy other sons of his, and all
his great men, kinsfolks and priests, shed by Jehu in this place; and though
this was done according to the will of God, and for which he received the
kingdom, and it was continued in his family to the fourth generation; yet,
inasmuch as this was not done by him from a pure and hearty zeal for the Lord
and his worship, and with a sincere view to his glory, but in order to gain the
kingdom, increase his power, and satiate his tyranny and lust; and because,
though he destroyed one species of idolatry, the worship of Baal, yet he
continued another, the worshipping of the calves at Dan and Bethel, and
regarded not the law of the Lord, and so his successors after him; and were the
means of causing many to sin, and so consequently of the ruin of many souls,
whose blood would be required of them, which some take to be the meaning here;
this is threatened; see 2 Kings 9:24. It
may be observed, that God sometimes punishes the instruments he makes use of in
doing his work; they either over doing it, exercising too much cruelty; and not
doing it upon right principles, and with right views, as the kings of Assyria
and Babylon, Isaiah 10:5. It is
here said to be but a little while ere this vengeance would be taken, it being
at the latter end of Jeroboam's reign when this prophecy was delivered out; and
his son Zachariah, in whom the kingdom as in his family ceased, reigned but six
months, being conspired against and slain by Shallum, who reigned in his stead,
2 Kings 15:8. The
Targum is,
"for
yet a little while I will avenge the blood of those that worship idols which
Jehu shed in Jezreel, whom he slew because they served Baal; but they turned to
err after the calves which were in Bethel; therefore I will reckon that
innocent blood upon the house of Jehu:'
and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel; that is, in
the family of Jehu; Zachariah the son of the then reigning prince being the
last, and his reign only the short reign of six months; unless this has
reference to the utter cessation of this kingdom as such in the times of Hoshea
by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, 2 Kings 17:6.
Hosea 1:5 5 It
shall come to pass in that day That I will break the bow of Israel in the
Valley of Jezreel.”
YLT 5and it hath come to pass in
that day that I have broken the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.'
And it shall come to pass
at that day,.... When the Lord shall take vengeance on the family of Jehu,
and deprive them of the kingdom of Israel, and shall punish the idolatrous
kings that succeed:
that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel; of which
valley see Joshua 17:16. It is
now called the plain of Esdraelon; as it is in the Apocrypha:
"And
to those among the nations that were of Carmel, and Galaad, and the higher
Galilee, and the great plain of Esdrelom,' (Judith 1:8)
the
great plain of Esdraelon; according to Adrichomius,F15Theatrum
Terrae Sanctae, p. 35, 37. it is two miles broad, and ten miles long; its soil
exceeding rich and fruitful, and abounding with grain, wine, and oil; all
travellers agree they never saw the like: one saysF16Dr. Shaw's
Travels, tom. 2. c. 1. p. 275. Ed. 2. of this plain or valley, formerly the lot
of the tribe of Issachar, this is the most fertile portion of the land of
Canaan, where that tribe might well be supposed to have "rejoiced in their
tents", Deuteronomy 33:18,
at present, indeed, it is not manured, as another travellerF17Maundrell's
Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 57. Ed. 7. observes, and yet very fruitful; who
says, it is of a vast extent, and very fertile, but uncultivated, only serving
the Arabs for pasturage; and, according to the same writer, the ancient river
Kishon runs through the middle of it: from the largeness of it, it is
frequently called by writers the great plain or valley; and sometimes, from the
places near it, or on it, the great plain of Legio, the great plain of Samaria,
the great plain or valley of Megiddo, 2 Chronicles 35:22,
and the great plain of Esdraelon, and here the valley of Jezreel; Jezreel or
Esdraela being situated in this great plain or valley between Scythopolis and
Legio, a very large village, as Jerom saysF18De locis Hebraicis,
fol. 92. I. it was in his days; and also on this passage observes, that
Jezreel, from whence this valley had its name, is now near Maximianopolis, and
was the metropolis of the kingdom of Samaria, near which were very large
plains, and a valley of a very great length, extending more than ten miles:
here Ahab had a palace in his days, near to which was Naboth's vineyard, and
where God revenged his blood: this city is called by JosephusF19Antiqu.
l. 8. c. 13. sect. 6, 8. Azare and Azarus, or Izarus; and in the times of
Gulielmus TyriusF20Tyr. Hist. l. 22. c. 26. it went by the name of
Little Gerinum. The "bow" is put for all instruments of war, and
everything in which confidence was put, which was weakened or removed from
them: this refers either to Menhchem's slaughter of Shallum, and wasting some
parts of the land of Israel, 2 Kings 15:14, or
rather it may be to a battle fought between Hoshea king of Israel and
Shalmaneser king of Assyria in this valley, which was not far from Samaria; in
which the former was defeated, and the latter, having the victory, proceeded to
Samaria, besieged and took it, 2 Kings 17:6 though
of the action the Scripture is silent; but it is not improbable. The Targum is,
"I
will break the strength of the warriors of Israel in the valley of Jezreel;'
which
seems to confirm the same conjecture. Some render it, "because of the
valley of Jezreel"F21בעמק יזרעאל "propter vallem Jisreelis", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, ; that is, because of the idolatry, bloodshed, and other
sins, committed there.
Hosea 1:6 6 And
she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: “Call her
name Lo-Ruhamah,[a] For I will
no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, But I will utterly take them away.[b]
YLT 6And she conceiveth again,
and beareth a daughter, and He saith to him, `Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, for I
add no more to pity the house of Israel, for I do utterly take them away;
And she conceived again,
and bare a daughter,.... One of the weaker sex; denoting the weaker state of the
kingdom of Israel after Jeroboam, as Kimchi thinks; Zachariah his son reigning
but six months, and Shallum the son of Jabesh, his successor, reigned but one
month, 2 Kings 15:8,
and God said unto him, call her name Loruhamah; which
signifies, "she hath not obtained mercy": and what follows explains
it to the same sense. The Targum is,
"and
they added and did evil works; and he said unto him call their name, who
obtained not mercy by their works:'
for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; as he had
heretofore, sparing them time after time, though they continued to sin against
him; but now he would spare them no longer, but deliver them up into the hands
of their enemies, as he did a part of them, first into the hands of
Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and then to Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 15:29,
otherwise, in the latter day, mercy will be shown them again, especially in a
spiritual way, when they shall be converted, and believe in Christ, and all
Israel shall be saved, as well as possess their own land again; see Hosea 1:10,
but I will utterly take them away; out of their land, from
being a kingdom and nation, which was done by Shalmaneser, another king of
Assyria, 2 Kings 17:6, or,
"bringing I will bring into them", or "against them"F23נשא אשא להם
"adducendo adducam contra cos", Munster; "importando importabo
eis", Drusius; so Kimchi and Ben Melech. ; that is, an enemy, the same
king of Assyria: or, "but forgetting I will forget them"F24"Obliviscendo
obliviscar eorum", V. L. Pagninus. , as some render it, and remember them
no more, till the fulness of time comes: or, "through pardoning I have
pardoned", or "spared them"F25"Quamvis omnino
condonaverim eis", Piscator; "quamvis haetenus condonando
condonaverim eis", so some in Drusius. ; that is, in times past. The
Targum is,
"but
if they return, pardoning I will pardon them;'
which
will be done in the latter day.
Hosea 1:7 7 Yet
I will have mercy on the house of Judah, Will save them by the Lord their God, And
will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen.”
YLT 7and the house of Judah I
pity, and have saved them by Jehovah their God, and do not save them by bow,
and by sword, and by battle, by horses, and by horsemen.'
But I will have mercy on
the house of Judah,.... The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which retained the
true worship of God among them; see Hosea 11:12 and
though they often sinned against the Lord, he showed them mercy, and spared
them longer than the ten tribes; and though he suffered them to be carried
captive into Babylon, he returned them again after seventy years: this is
mentioned as an aggravation of the punishment of Israel, that Judah was spared,
when they were not; and to show that God will have a people to seek and serve
him, and, when he rejects some, he will make a reserve of others:
and will save them by the Lord their God; by his own
arm and power, and not theirs, or any creature's; nor by any warlike means or
instruments whatever, as follows:
and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by
horses, nor by horsemen: which may respect either the deliverance of the Jews from the
invasion and siege of Sennacherib's army; which was done without shooting an
arrow, or drawing the sword, or engaging in a pitched battle, or by a cavalry
rushing into his camp, discomfiting his army, and pursuing them; but by an
angel sent from heaven, which in one night destroyed a hundred and fourscore
and five thousand, 2 Kings 19:35 or
else refers to Cyrus being stirred up by the Lord to issue forth a
proclamation, giving liberty to the Jewish captives to go free, without price
or reward; and so was brought about, not by the might and power of man, but by
the Spirit of the Lord; see Ezra 1:1 though a
greater salvation is pointed at, or at least shadowed forth, by this, even the
spiritual and eternal salvation of God's elect by Christ; which is the fruit of
mercy, and not the effect of the merits of men; is obtained not by human power,
or by man's righteousness; but by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah our
righteousness, the Lord God of his people; who stands in a relation to them
prior to his being the Saviour of them; to which work and office he is equal,
being the eternal Jehovah, and the true and living God. So the Targum,
"and
I will save them by the Word of the Lord their God;'
the
eternal Word, that was with God, is God, and became incarnate, God in our
nature.
Hosea 1:8 8 Now
when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.
YLT 8And she weaneth Lo-Ruhamah,
and conceiveth, and beareth a son;
Now when she had weaned
Loruhamah,.... That is, when Gomer had weaned her daughter of this name, Hosea 1:6. This some
interpret of the people of Israel being deprived of the word and ordinances,
compared to milk and breasts, having a famine of them; and so were like
children weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts; though others think
this is expressive of the patience of God in bearing with this people, after he
had before threatened them with the subversion of their kingdom and state; and
even after the prophecy had took place in part, in causing the kingdom to cease
in the house of Jehu, he bore with them about forty years before they were
entirely carried captive; suckling and weaning, before the conception and birth
of another child, denoting some stop and stay; but rather this intends the
taking away some part of the land of Israel, as a child when weaning is taken
away from its mother; and may respect the carrying captive many of the
Israelites in divers parts, particularly out of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali,
by Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, 2 Kings 15:29. This
cannot be understood of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, as Cocceius; for
this is a resumption and continuation of the prophecy concerning the ten
tribes, after inserting a promise of the salvation of Judah, in the preceding
verse:
she conceived and bare a son: according to Kimchi, as
the weaning of Loruhamah points at the times of weakness, from Zachariah the
son of Jeroboam to the times of Pekahiah, when the reigns were short and
troublesome; so this son conceived and born represents the state of the nation
in the times of Pekah; who reigned twenty years, and was too powerful for the
kingdom of Judah, slew multitudes of them, and carried others captive, and
assisted Rezin king of Syria against Ahaz king of Judah: but, according to the
series of the prophecy, it seems best to agree with the times of Hoshea king of
Israel, who was not so bad as some of his predecessors; was a man of spirit and
courage; cast off the Assyrian yoke, and neglected to give presents to the king
of Assyria; and Samaria in his time held out a three years' siege against that
king, 2 Kings 17:1. The
Targum is,
"and
the generation of them who are carried captive among the nations are found not
to have obtained mercy by their works, but they added and did evil works.'
Hosea 1:9 9 Then
God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi,[c] For you are
not My people, And I will not be your God.
YLT 9and He saith, `Call his
name Lo-Ammi, for ye [are] not My people, and I am not for you;
Then said God, call his
name Loammi,.... Which Aben Ezra interprets of the children of the ten tribes
horn in captivity, who never returned; but it rather signifies the ten tribes
themselves, who were carried captive and had this name given them for the
reason following:
for ye are not my people; though he had chosen
them to be his people above all people, and had distinguished them from others
by various blessings and privileges; yet they did not behave as such to him;
they did not serve, obey, and worship him, but the calves at Dan and Bethel; and
therefore did not deserve the name of his people: hence he says,
and I will not be your or "yours"F1לא אהיה לכם
"non ero vester", Pagninus; "nec ego sum futurus vester",
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; that is, as we supply it, and so Aben
Ezra, "your God"; will not behave toward you as such; will not take
you under my care and protection, or continue you in your land, and in the
enjoyment of the blessings of it; will not be your King, patron, and defender,
but give you up into the hands of your enemies. This respects the captivity of
the ten tribes by Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 17:6. The
Targum is,
"for
ye are not my people; because ye do not confirm the words of my law, my word
shall not be your help.'
Hosea 1:10 10 “Yet
the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which
cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it
was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’[d] There
it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’
YLT 10and the number of the sons
of Israel hath been as the sand of the sea, that is not measured nor numbered,
and it hath come to pass in the place where it is said to them, Ye [are] not My
people, it is said to them, Sons of the Living God;
Yet the number of the
children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured
nor numbered,.... Though called Loammi, and rejected from being the people of
God; yet there is a time when their number, according to the promise made to
Abraham, shall be as the sand of the sea, and the stars of heaven; which, as
the one cannot be measured, the other cannot be numbered; which was to be not
at the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, when some of the ten
tribes of Israel returned with them, as Theodoret and others think; for they
were but few that then returned: but rather at the first times of the Gospel,
when multitudes that came from various parts of the world were converted at the
day of Pentecost, and greater numbers; who were met with in the ministry of the
word, in the various parts of the world, where they were dispersed, and the
Gospel came, to whom Peter and James wrote their epistles; and not these only
are meant, but the vast numbers of Gentiles, who were effectually called by
grace everywhere, and were true Israelites, the spiritual seed of Abraham; and
to whom the Apostle Paul applies these words, producing them as a testimony of
the election and calling, not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also, Romans 9:24, and
which will have a further accomplishment in the latter day, when the fulness of
the Gentiles will be brought in, the Jews will be converted, and all Israel
saved, Romans 11:25, then
the numbers of the Israel of God, both of Jews and Gentiles, will be as the
sand of the sea indeed!
and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said
unto them, ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, ye are the
sons of the living God; that is, in such places where it used to be said, here live
Pagans, Turks, or Jews, who worship not the true God, or at lease not aright,
nor believe in Christ, and profess his name; "there it shall be said to
them", by the Lord himself, by his Spirit witnessing their relation to
them, and by all good men, and even by the world in general; not only that they
are "the people of God", but have a superior privilege, a greater
character, and a higher relation, the sons of the living God; the sons of God,
not by nature, as Christ; nor by creation, as angels; nor by office, as civil
magistrates; or by profession merely, as nominal Christians; but by adopting
grace; which exceeds all other blessings, even of sanctification and
justification; makes men honourable; is attended with various privileges, and always
continues. The epithet "of the living God" is not without cause put;
it stands in opposition to dead idols before worshipped by some who will now be
the children of God; and who, as he has life in himself, gives it to others; to
all natural life and breath, and to his children spiritual and eternal life;
and, as he lives forever, so shall they his sons likewise. The Targum is,
"and
it shall be in the place where they have been carried captive, when they
transgressed the law; and it was said to them, ye are not my people; there they
shall be converted and increased (or made great); and it shall be said to them,
O ye people of the living God.'
Hosea 1:11 11 Then
the children of Judah and the children of Israel Shall be gathered together, And
appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the land, For
great will be the day of Jezreel!
YLT 11and gathered have been the
sons of Judah and the sons of Israel together, and they have appointed to
themselves one head, and have gone up from the land, for great [is] the day of
Jezreel.
Then shall the children of
Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together,.... Not at
the return from the Babylonish captivity; for, though some of the ten tribes
might be mixed with the Jews when they went into captivity, and came out with
them, and others might join them from the various nations where they had been
dispersed; yet they did not gather together with them in a body, only the
tribes of Judah and Benjamin, those were the chief; of the children of Israel,
but few, Ezra 1:5. Some
refer this to the first times of the Gospel, when the Galileans were gathered
to Christ by his ministry, who inhabited the countries where some of the tribes
of Israel dwelt; and who might, at least some of them, descend from them: and
when those in Jerusalem and in Judea, who also believed in Christ, united with
them in their profession of him, and in affection to one another; or to the
time of Christ's death, by which the whole Israel of God, who were scattered
abroad, were gathered together in one; and even Jews and Gentiles were made one
body, and one new man in Christ, the partition wall being broken down: or to
the times of the apostles, who were successful in the conversion and gathering
of many of the Jewish nation, and also of the Samaritans; and of forming
churches in Judea and Samaria under one head, in whom they agreed; and likewise
of many others, both Jews and Israelites, in the various parts of the world,
where they carried the Gospel; and who coalesced with the believing Gentiles in
one church state, under Christ their head: though it seems best to interpret
this of the latter day, when the children of Israel and Judah shall join
together in seeking the Lord their God, and the true Messiah, and shall be
turned, and gathered to him; when they shall be no more two kingdoms or two
nations, but be one under the Messiah, who shall he their King and Prince; when
all their animosities shall be laid aside, and they shall no more envy or vex
one another; but shall meet together in the same church state, and worship the
Lord with one shoulder and consent, being of one mind and sentiment in
religious things, and when all Israel shall be saved, Jeremiah 1:4 Isaiah 11:13
and appoint themselves one head; not Sennacherib, as Aben
Ezra, very absurdly; nor Hezekiah, nor Josiah, as others; nor Elijah the
prophet, as some in Kimchi; nor Zerubbabel, to which the Targum seems to
incline, paraphrasing it,
"one
head of the house of David;'
but
better, as Jarchi, David their King; that is, the Messiah, as Kimchi and Ben
Melech expressly interpret it; and so AbarbinelF2Mashmiah Jeshuah,
fol. 53. 3. , though he understands it of the Messiah the son of Joseph; and
undoubtedly the same is meant by the one head, as David their King and Prince, Hosea 3:5 even
Christ, who is the Head of angels, yea, the Head of every man, but in a special
and peculiar sense the head of the body, the church; he is the federal and
representative Head of his people, both in eternity and in time; and in such
sense a Head to them, as a king is head of his subjects, a husband of his wife,
a father of his family, and a master of his servants; and also as a natural
head is to its body, of the same nature with it; in union to it; lives the same
life; is above it, and more excellent than it: a perfect Head Christ is, there
being nothing wanting in him as such; he has his eyes set upon his people; his
ears are open to their cries; he smells a sweet saviour of rest in their
persons and services; he tastes and eats their pleasant fruits, and feels all
their infirmities, troubles and afflictions; and has a tongue to speak a word
in season for them: there are no vicious humours in this Head to affect the
body; no deformity in it, and all fulness therein to supply its wants; he is an
everliving and everlasting Head, and the one, and only one; there is no other,
neither the pope of Rome, nor any other; nor will true Israelites acknowledge
any other: and though this Head is of God the Father's appointing, who has
given him to be the Head; set him as King over Sion; raised him up to be a
Prince and a Saviour; yet he is also of the saints' choosing and appointing;
they approve of him as such, embrace him, own him, and submit to him, as the
Jews will at the last day, though their forefathers have rejected him:
and they shall come up out of the land; not of
Israel, as Schmidt, who interprets this of the apostles going out from thence,
and spreading the Gospel in the world; but out of each of the lands and
countries where Israel and Judah have been dispersed, and return to their own
land; see Jeremiah 3:18. So
the Targum,
"and
they shall come up out of the land of their captivity:'
or
it may be understood, figuratively and spiritually, of their coming up out of
their captivity to sin, Satan, the law, and the world, as well as out of their
present temporal captivity:
and out of the earthF3מן הארץ "e terra". , as it were,
as it may be rendered; out of their earthly state, from the graves of sin,
leaving their earthly affections, and becoming spiritual and heavenly minded;
willing to quit all that is dear unto them, even the country in which they were
born and long lived, to follow Christ their Head and King:
for great shall be the day of Jezreel; or, though
great has been or is the day of JezreelF4כי
"quamvis"; so some in Drusius, Rivet. ; though it has been a great
and long day of trouble and affliction to them, signified by Jezreel; see Hosea 1:4, yet all
these good things promised shall surely be accomplished: indeed the day of
Jezreel may be taken in a good sense, not for a time of dispersion and
distress, but of great comfort, joy, and happiness; the word signifying,
according to some, the seed of God, or the arm of God: and Jerom applies it to
Christ, the seed of God; and the whole Gospel dispensation may be called his
day, the day of salvation, the joyful day the Lord has made: or rather by
Jezreel, the seed of God, are meant his spiritual offspring, the children of
Judah and Israel; who shall now be gathered, by the arm of God, his powerful
and efficacious grace, and that in large numbers, so that great will be their
day; so the Targum paraphrases it,
"for
great will be the day of their gathering.'
It
respects the latter day glory, when will be the conversion of the Jews, and the
bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles; when there will be great peace and
prosperity; great love and unity; great holiness and purity; great light and
knowledge; great enjoyment of God, and of the presence of the Redeemer great
glory upon the churches, and upon that a defence: in short, all the great and
glorious things spoken of will now be completed; perfect deliverance from all
afflictions and troubles; an entire destruction of all enemies; and a full enjoyment
of the word and ordinances, in the purity of them, and large conversions
everywhere.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)