Hosea 1:1–3:5
Sources
Reformation Study BibleCalvin (1560)Geneva Bible Notes (1599)John Trapp (1647)John Gill (1748)Matthew Henry (1714)Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBarnes (1832)Cross-References (TSK)Reformation Study Bible
Hosea introduces his prophecy, naming himself as God's messenger. His name probably means “He [God] has saved.” Uzziah . .. Jeroboam, Whereas four kings of Judah are named, Uzziah (also called Azariah, 792-740 8.c,), Jotham (750-735 B.c,), Ahaz (735-715 8.c.), and Hezekiah (715-686 8.c.), the only northern king recorded is Jeroboam II (c. 793-753 B.C). Perhaps the writer thought that the northern kings who reigned between Jeroboam Il and the fall of the north in 722 (four were assassins) were not worthy of mention. | a wife of whoredom. See Introduction: Interpretive Difficulties. On the theme of marital and covenantal unfaithfulness, see Introduction: Characteristics and Themes. the land commits great whoredom. Hosea's wife and children, togeth- er with all the inhabitants of the land, are deemed unfaithful. | Gomer. Her name has no symbolic significance, unlike the names of her children. him. This pronoun is omitted in wv. 6, 8, but its absence does not neces- sarily imply that Hosea was not the father there also, since the indirect object may be implied. | Jezreel. Lit. “God sows” or “plants.” This is the name of a beautiful and fertile valley between the mountain ranges of Samaria and Galilee (the site of Gideon's victory over the Midianites, Judg. 6:33), and of a town at the val- ley's southern end, where Jehu came to power through violence (1 Kin. 21:1; 2 Kin. 9; 10). This valley became the place of judgment in 733 8.c. (2 Kin. 15:29). This punishment through military defeat suggests the theme of covenant breaking since it reflects the curses recorded in Lev. 26:17; Deut. 28:25, 49-57. Yet Jezreel is also a sign of blessing and fertility in Hos. 2:22. the house of Jehu. Jeroboam II was from the house of Jehu, a dynasty established through the bloodbath at Jezreel (2 Kin. 9:14-37; cf. 1 Kin. 19:16, 17) and ending with the murder of Zechariah (2 Kin. 15:8-10). | bow of Israel. Israel's military strength, symbolized by the bow (Gen. 49:24; 1 Sam. 2:4; Ezek. 39:3), was broken by the Assyrian army under Tiglath-pileser III, who conquered the northern territories of Israel, | No Mercy, Hebrew “Lo-ruhama." Lit. “she has not received mercy.” The child's name signifies the imminent withdrawal of the compassion God had shown to Israel in spite of her covenant unfaithfulness. | | will have mercy. A reference to Jerusalem's miraculous deliverance from the Assyrians in 701 a.c. (Is. 37:14, 33-38; 2 Kin. 19:32-37). | Not My People. Hebrew “Lo-ammi.” The name of the third child marks the high point of God's judgment, as God cancels the ancient covenantal formula (Ex. 6:7; Lev. 26:12; Deut. 26:17-19) and declares that the covenant is not in effect (v. 10 notes). | am not your God. Lit. “| am not ‘I am’ to you,” a reference to the divine name for God used in Ex. 3:14. | The increasingly severe prophecies of judgment symbolized in the names of the three children are now dramatically reversed. | sand of the sea. A clear reference to the ancient patriarchal prom- ise of innumerable descendants (Gen. 22:17; 32:12; cf. Gen. 13:16; 15:5; 26:24; 28:14). You are not my people. The promise of restoration to these people was fulfilled at least in part when remnants of the north were joined with the south during the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 30:11, 18) and after the Exile (1 Chr. 9:3; Ezra 8:35). The New Testament applies this promise to the church, the true Israel, composed of both Jews and Gentiles (Rom. 9:24--26; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10). For the apostles, the remnant of ethnic Israel was evidently a model for the remnant of the nations: what applied to the former applied to the latter. Children of the living God, This unique expression suggests the kind of intimate relationship God desires with Israel, in which God gives life (as opposed to the lifeless relationship Israel had with Baal). In Is. 40:18-20; 44:9-20; 46:5-11, dead idols are contrasted with the living God. The liv- ing relationship is now provided in Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:1 6; Rom: 9:26). | one head. This reveals the completeness of reconciliation between both kingdoms and the Lord. Ultimately, this reunion takes place under Christ, the son of David (Matt. 1:23; 2:6, 15). they shall go up from the land. Israel's restoration began in the return from exile. The phrase may also refer to resurrection from death (Ps. 71:20; Is. 43:6). the day of Jezreel, See note 1:4. | brothers... sisters. The hostile siblings, Israel and Judah, will be fully reconciled, and the horrible indictments contained in the names Lo- ammi and Lo-ruhama will be reversed. | Plead. God brings a case against Israel in which the children are to accuse their mother. she put away. Repentance and reconciliation are the final goals of God's judgment (vv. 9-23). | strip her naked. If repentance does not take place, the unfaithful wife (Gomer/Israel) will be publicly exposed (v. 10) and left destitute, punishments traditional for an.adulteress (Ezek. 16:37-39; Nah. 3:5-7), though less severe than the death penalty (Deut. 22:22). | children of whoredom. God's love and mercy (1:6) will also be with- drawn from the children who, like their mother, are charged with promis- cuity. | their mother has played the whore. The unfaithful mother (Israel) looked to Canaanite fertility religion and not to the Lord (v. 8) to provide the staples of life. | | She shall pursue... seek. The woman's active initiative, represent- ing all Israel, is stressed. my first husband, The early period of intimacy is remembered fondly (cf. 11:1-4). | grain, the wine ... silver and gold. The Lord's agricultural and commercial gifts (Deut. 7:13; 11:14; 28:1-12) were credited to Baal. In texts discovered at the ancient north Syrian city of Ugarit, Baal is seen as the god of the storm and worshiped as the provider of rain and fertility. | Therefore. Though not punished with death (v. 3 note; cf. Ezek. 16:37-40), the unfaithful and forgetful lover is severely chastised through a series of dramatic reversals in which God's gifts are withdrawn: failed harvests, exposure, and the end of festivals. | take back. The Hebrew indicates a forceful, snatching action. | Sabbaths. The Hebrew shabbat is derived from the verb meaning “stop” or “cease,’ making a sarcastic pun. appointed feasts. The festivals had become occasions for religious syn- cretism, in which the worship of the Lord and Baal were intermingled. See Introduction: Date and Occasion. | wages ... lovers have given. The prostitute’s wages, which were in fact gifts from the Lord (v. 8), were to be destroyed. | jewelry. On pagan goddesses, jewelry emphasized erotic areas of the anatomy. her lovers. In wv. 7, 10, 12 these are probably synonymous with the Baals. The essence of the charge against Israel was that she had forgotten the Lord, whom she should have loved (cf. 4:6; 13:4-6). See theological note “Syncretism and Idolatry.” | into the wilderness. There Israel is to love God alone (v. 16; cf. Jer. 2:2). speak tenderly to her. Lit. “speak to the heart,’ an idiom used elsewhere for wooing, speaking kindly, and coaxing (Gen. 34:3; Judg. 19:3; Ruth 2:13). | Valley of Achor. Lit. “Valley of Trouble’ this area was located near Jericho and was the site of the stoning of Achan (Josh. 7:24-26). Though associated with sin and death, this valley was to be transformed into a “door of hope.’ | XEx. return to me. ta | © /The sword shall rage against their aa cites 3a consume the bars of their gates, Debehaa and devour them "because of their hoe own counsels. Uohnet4, | 7 My people are bent 'on turning away ae from me, See and Wiese et call out to the 78:24-29 ost righ, Anarea he shall not raise them up at all. h vasa | ® .HowcanI give you up, O Ephraim? ich. 6 How can I hand you over, O Israel? Sich IP Al "How can I make you °like Admah? Teh. 144 How can I treat you °like Zeboiim? oe ? My heart recoils within me; bea my compassion grows warm and 50:40; Amos tender. nat ° I will not execute my burning anger; alga I will not again destroy Ephraim; P[Deut. ‘for Iam God and not a man, pee ‘the Holy One in your midst, a and I will not come in wrath.’ 126 1 Or humaneness; Hebrew man 2 Or surely 3 Or into the city | My Baal. The Hebrew word ba‘al can mean “master” or “husband,’ as well as refer to the pagan god Baal. In the future, Israel will be so zeal- ous to stamp out anything associated with Baal worship that the word ba‘al itself, in all its senses, will be avoided (v. 17). | | will make for them a covenant. Taking up the same theme in a later time, Jeremiah explains the covenant as entailing a new heart (Jer. 31:31-34). with the beasts. The future kingdom is secure and peaceful, free from the threat of wild animals (Is. 11:6-9) and invasions (Ps. 46:9; Is, 2:4; Mic. 4:3). Wild animals were a threat, particularly after invading armies ravaged the land. The language may be figurative for a transformed humanity, with the resulting peace and security attending the renew- al inaugurated by Christ at His First Advent and completed at His return. | betroth. Betrothal was the final step in the courtship process and involved paying a bride-price to the bride's father. Here the qualities of righteousness, justice, love, mercy, and faithfulness are a sort of bride- price that guarantees the permanence of the relationship. righteousness. God's righteousness is expressed both in His fairness and in the salvation He bestows on His people (10:12; Amos 5:7). justice. This term can denote the legal decisions ana relationships by which justice and fairness are established and restored (5:11; 6:5; 10:4; Amos 5:15, 24; Mic. 6:8). steadfast love. See note Ex. 15:13. mercy. The term can refer to compassion, heartfelt sensitivity, and love (1:6; Gen, 43:14; Deut. 13:17; 2 Sam. 24:14). | faithfulness. This quality includes dependability, truthfulness, and steadfastness in relationships (Ps. 88:11; 89:1, 2, 5, 8, 24; 92:2; 98:3). Christ, by His active obedience, provided these covenant virtues for His people. By the Holy Spirit He inscribes His own nature on their hearts (2 Cor. 3:3), know. The essence of the new covenant relationship involves knowing the Lord intimately (Jer. 31:34). Today Christ mediates this new covenant and renders the old covenant relationship obsolete (Heb. 8:7-13). | answer. The Lord will graciously answer Israel’s cry, as she learns again to answer His appeals (v. 15 note). the heavens. The Lord will show that He, not the storm-god Baal, com- mands the cycles of nature whereby the land becomes fertile and pro- duces the crops that were earlier withheld (v. 9). See Introduction: Date and Occasion. | Jezreel. See note 1:4. | The promises of restoration come to a climax as Jezreel is redeemed (v. 22; cf. 1:4, 5), Lo-ruhama is shown God’s love (1:6), and Lo-ammi becomes God's people (1:9). You are my God. See Rom. 9:23-26 and 1 Pet. 2:9, 10 regarding the ful- fillment of these promises. | Hosea recounts his reconciliation with his wife Gomer as an antic- ipation of God's reconciliation with Israel. | love .. . even as the LorD loves; God's apparently unreasonable request is patterned after His own loyal, protective, and bountiful love for undeserving Israel. cakes of raisins. These delicacies, made from raisins pressed together, were associated with special occasions (2 Sam. 6:19), and may have been used in Baal worship as an aphrodisiac (cf. Song 2:5). | bought. Christ similarly fulfilled this picture of love in action when He redeemed His saints from the slave market of sin. shekels, The payment, roughly half in silver and half in produce, amounted to about thirty shekels and approximated the price of a slave in Ex. 21:32. The New Testament teaches that the actual cost of redemp- tion was Christ's blood (1 Pet. 1:18). | many days. The waiting period until the coming of Christ, the great and final King of the Davidic dynasty (v. 5). without king ... household gods, Israel's basic political and religious institutions, both legitimate (sacrifice and ephod, Ex. 28:31) and illegiti- mate (sacred stones or pillars, Deut. 16:21-22; idols or teraphim, Zech. 10:2), were going to be removed as punishment. | return and seek. Many Israelites repented with a full desire for inti- macy with God at Pentecost (Acts 2:38-41). David. This reference points to Jesus Christ, Son of David (1:11 note; 2 Sam. 7:12-16; Matt. 1:1; Rom. 1:3). the latter days. See note Mic. 4:1.
Calvin (1560)
Hosea 1:1 1. The word of the LORD that came unto 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. 1. Sermo Jehovae-- qui fuit ad Hoseam filium Beri-- diebus Uzia-- Jotham-- Achaz-- Ezechiae-- regum Jehuda-- et diebus Jarobeam filii Joas regis Israel. This first verse shows the time in which Hosea prophesied. He names four kings of Judah, -- Uzziah, Jotham, Ahab, Hezekiah. Uzziah, called also Azariah, reigned fifty-two years; but after having been smitten with leprosy, he did not associate with men, and abdicated his royal dignity. Jotham, his son, succeeded him. The years of Jotham were about sixteen, and about as many were those of king Ahab, the father of Hezekiah; and it was under king Hezekiah that Hosea died. If we now wish to ascertain how long he discharged his office of teaching, we must take notice of what sacred history says, -- Uzziah began to reign in the twenty seventh year of Jeroboam, the son of Joash. By supposing that Hosea performed his duties as a teacher, excepting a few years during the reign of Jeroboam, that is, the sixteen years which passed from the beginning of Uzziah's reign to the death of Jeroboam, he must have prophesied thirty-six years under the reign of Uzziah. There is, however, no doubt but that he began to execute his office some years before the end of Jeroboam's reign. Here, then, there appear to be at least forty years. Jotham succeeded his father, and reigned sixteen years; and though it be a probable conjecture, that the beginning of his reign is to be counted from the time he undertook the government, after his father, being smitten with leprosy, was ejected from the society of men, it is yet probable that the remaining time to the death of his father ought to come to our reckoning. When however, we take for granted a few years, it must be that Hosea had prophesied more than forty-five years before Ahab began to reign. Add now the sixteen years in which Ahab reigned and the number will amount to sixty-one. There remain the years in which he prophesied under the reign of Hezekiah. It cannot, then, be otherwise but that he had followed his office more than sixty years, and probably continued beyond the seventieth year. It hence appears with how great and with how invincible courage and perseverance he was endued by the Holy Spirit. But when God employs our service for twenty or thirty years we think it very wearisome, especially when we have to contend with wicked men, and those who do not willingly undertake the yoke, but pertinaciously resist us; we then instantly desire to be set free, and wish to become like soldiers who have completed their time. When therefore, we see that this Prophet persevered for so long a time, let him be to us an example of patience so that we may not despond, though the Lord may not immediately free us from our burden. Thus much of the four kings whom he names. He must indeed have prophesied (as I have just shown) for nearly forty years under the king Uzziah or Azariah, and then for some years under the king Ahab, (to omit now the reign of Jotham, which was concurrent with that of his father,) and he continued to the time of Hezekiah: but why has he particularly mentioned Jeroboam the son of Joash, since he could not have prophesied under him except for a short time? His son Zachariah succeeded him; there arose afterward the conspiracy of Shallum, who was soon destroyed; then the kingdom became involved in great confusion; and at length the Assyrian, by means of Shalmanazar, led away captive the ten tribes, which became dispersed among the Medes. As this was the case, why does the Prophet here mention only one king of Israel? This seems strange; for he continued his office of teaching to the end of his reign and to his death. But an answer may be easily given: He wished distinctly to express, that he began to teach while the state was entire; for, had he prophesied after the death of Jeroboam, he might have seemed to conjecture some great calamity from the then present view of things: thus it would not have been prophecy, or, at least, this credit would have been much less. "He now, forsooth! divines what is, evident to the eyes of all." For Zachariah flourished but a short time; and the conspiracy alluded to before was a certain presage of an approaching destruction, and the kingdom became soon dissolved. Hence the Prophet testifies here in express words, that he had already threatened future vengeance to the people, even when the kingdom of Israel flourished in wealth and power, when Jeroboam was enjoying his triumphs, and when prosperity inebriated the whole land. This, then, was the reason why the Prophet mentioned only this one king; for under him the kingdom of Israel became strong, and was fortified by many strongholds and a large army, and abounded also in great riches. Indeed, sacred history tells us, that God had by Jeroboam delivered the kingdom of Israel, though he himself was unworthy, and that he had recovered many cities and a very wide extent of country. As, then, he had increased the kingdom, as he had become formidable to all his neighbours, as he had collected great riches, and as the people lived in ease and luxury, what the Prophet declared seemed incredible. "Ye are not," he said, "the people of the Lord; ye are adulterous children, ye are born of fornication." Such a reproof certainly seemed not seasonable. Then he said, "The kingdom shall be taken from you, destruction is nigh to you." "What, to us? and yet our king has now obtained so many victories, and has struck terror into other kings." The kingdom of Judah, which was a rival, being then nearly broken down, there was no one who could have ventured to suspect such an event. We now, then, perceive why the Prophet here says expressly that he had prophesied under Jeroboam. He indeed prophesied after his death, and followed his office even after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, but he began to teach at a time when he was a sport to the ungodly, who exalted themselves against God, and boldly despised his threatening as long as he spared and bore with them; which is ever the case, as proved by the constant experience of all ages. We hence see more clearly with what power of the Spirit God had endued the Prophet, who dared to rise up against so powerful a king, and to reprove his wickedness, and also to summon his subjects to the same judgement. When, therefore, the Prophet conducted himself so boldly, at a time when the Israelites were not only sottish on account of their great success, but also wholly insane, it was certainly nothing short of a miracle; and this ought to avail much to establish his authority. We now then, see the design of the inscription contained in the first verse. It follows --
Geneva Bible Notes (1599)
The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days {a} of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, {b} kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. The Argument - After the ten tribes had fallen away from God by the wicked and subtle counsel of Jeroboam, the son of Neba, and instead of his true service commanded by his word, worshipped him according to their own imaginings and traditions of men, giving themselves to most vile idolatry and superstition, the Lord from time to time sent them Prophets to call them to repentance. But they grew even worse and worse, and still abused God's benefits. Therefore now when their prosperity was at the highest under Jeroboam, the son of Joash, God sent Hosea and Amos to the Israelites (as he did at the same time send Isaiah and Micah to those of Judah) to condemn them for their ingratitude. And whereas they thought themselves to be greatly in the favour of God, and to be his people, the Prophet calls them bastards and children born in adultery: and therefore shows them that God would take away their kingdom, and give them to the Assyrians to be led away captives. Thus Hosea faithfully executed his office for the space of seventy years, though they remained still in their vices and wickedness and derided the Prophets, and condemned God's judgments. And because they would neither be discouraged with threatening only, nor should they flatter themselves by the sweetness of God's promises, he sets before them the two principal parts of the Law, which are the promise of salvation, and the doctrine of life. For the first part he directs the faithful to the Messiah, by whom alone they would have true deliverance: and for the second, he uses threatenings and menaces to bring them from their wicked manners and vices: and this is the chief scope of all the Prophets, either by God's promises to allure them to be godly, or else by threatenings of his judgments to scare them from vice. And even though the whole Law contains these two points, yet the Prophets moreover note distinctly both the time of God's judgments and the manner. (a) Also called Azariah, who being a leper was disposed from his kingdom. (b) So that it may be gathered by the reign of these four kings that he preached about eighty years.
John Trapp (1647)
The word of the LORD that came unto 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. The word of the Lord — Not "cunningly devised fables," 2 Peter 1:16 , or human testimonies, that can make but a human faith; but the "word of the ever living God," 1 Thessalonians 2:13 , the "Scripture that cannot be broken," John 10:35 , the very heart and soul of God ( cor et anima Dei ), as Gregory calls it. That came unto Hosea — The Lord is said to come to Laban, Abimelech, Balaam, … But he never concredited his word to any such profane wretches, as he did to the holy prophets which have "been since the world began"; of whom it is said, as here, "The word of the Lord came to Hosea." His name signifieth a Saviour, Matthew 1:21 : a fit name for a minister, whose work is to "save himself and them that hear him," 1 Timothy 4:16 . To save them if he can, Obadiah 1:21 ; to deliver their souls from going into the pit, Job 33:24 ; to pull them, if possible, out of the fire, Judges 1:23 ; to "give them the knowledge of salvation by the remission of sin," Luke 1:77 : to give it, I say, not by infusion (for that he cannot do), but by instruction; and that he must endeavour to do, as this prophet did: than whom few ministers ever ran so long a race without cessation, or cespitation, so constantly, so courageously, so unweariably. For he continued prophesying sixty-five years at least, saith Pareus; seventy, saith Oecolampadius; it is very probable fourscore years, saith Mr Burroughes. The Hebrews say ninety years, quibus multa dixit quae non scripsit, wherein he uttered much more than he wrote. This we may easily believe: for we have but the short notes or heads of his sermons and larger discourses, which he seems also to have set down for the use of the Church in his extreme old age, whereof they carry a smatch in the shortness of his speech, applied, as much as might be, to the measure of his breath. Hence Jerome fitly called him, Commaticum et quasi per sententias loquentem, concise and sententious. Amputatas loquitur sententias et verba ante expectatum cadentia, as one saith of Sallust; Multo est verbis quam sensu restrictior atque concisior, as another saith of Livy: he speaketh much in few; and seems to have more sentences than sayings. The more often you read him the more you may get by him: et nunquam tamen dimittat te sine siti; and yet the more you get the more you covet (Lips. de Thucyd.). Obscure he is (as delivering things briefly), and such as will not be easily acquainted with you but upon further suit: hence that Epiphonema An exclamatory sentence or striking reflection, which sums up or concludes a discourse or a passage in the discourse. ŒD in the perclose of his prophecy, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them?" But this must waken and not weaken our more diligent search, not being content with the first ore that offereth itself to our view, but digging deeper and deeper, till we become owner of the whole treasure, which will sufficiently pay for the pains. Wherefore "search the Scripture," "follow on to know the Lord"; get all the dimensions of knowledge, which (now in the great abundance of the means we have) doth even bow down to us, as trees do that are laden with fruit, so that a child may gather from them. The son of Beeri — That is, of a well that hath pure and clear water in it, and that never faileth; living water, as the Scripture calleth it, and not mixed with mud. Ministers should be children of Beeri, of a well digged by the direction of the lawgiver, Numbers 21:17 , whence people should draw waters with joy, the pure waters of life, the unadulterated milk of God’s word; not troubled, brackish, and sourish doctrines, such as the Popish clergy (called therefore "the sea," Revelation 12:12 ) do set abroach which rather bring barrenness to their hearers and gnaw their entrails, than quench their thirst or cause fruit. These and all false teachers make God’s flock drink that which they have fouled with their feet, Ezekiel 34:19 , yea, impoisoned with their hands: as the malicious Jews once cast bags of poison into many wells here, to do mischief, and were therefore banished the country. False doctrine is like a filthy pond, wherein fish die soon and frogs live long: it is like the Dead Sea, or the great falling star, called Wormwood, Revelation 8:10-11 , which made "the third part of the waters become wormwood," so that "many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter" by that son of perdition, who was himself the "gall of bitterness, and bond of perdition." Who this Beeri was it appears not in Scripture. It seems he was a man famous in those days among the Israelites (and is here named honoris gratia, for honour’s sake to the prophet), as Alexander and Rufus, the sons of Simon the Cyrenian, were men famously known in the Church of the New Testament; and are therefore but named only by Mark. Mark 15:21 The Jews have a tradition, that whensoever a prophet’s father is named, that father was likewise a prophet as well as the son. And Beeri might be binominis, and have some other name of more note: like as Pethuel, the father of the prophet Joel, is thought by some to have been Samuel, and to have been called Pethuel, that is, a persuader of God, because what he asked of God he obtained. In the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, … — A young prophet he must needs be (especially if he prophesied fourscore years. See the note above). Haply he began as early as did Samuel, Jeremiah, Timothy, Origen, or Cornelius Mus; of whom Sixtus Senensis testifieth, that he was an admirable preacher at twelve years old. Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah — The throne of Judah had some interchanges of good princes: Israel none at all. The same justice therefore that made Israel a scourge to Judah, made Assyria a scorpion to Israel; as is here set forth under the type of Hosea’s two last children, Loruhamah and Loammi; whereof in their place, Meanwhile this prophet went through variety of conditions under so many different kings’ reigns (as did likewise Athanasius and Latimer), Jeroboam’s (especially), the second of that name, and here only named, when six other kings of Israel (in whose time Hosea prophesied) are not once mentioned, but lie wrapt up in the sheet of shame, because wicked idolaters, such as God took no delight in, and hath therefore written them in the earth. And in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash — Not the son of Nebat, that ringleader of the ten tribes’ revolt from the house of David; but another, little better, and yet very prosperous aud victorious, 2 Kings 14:25 ; 2 Kings 14:28 . He reigned also forty-one years, and did great exploits: yet is Hosea sent to contest with him, to declaim against his sin and wickedness, and to proclaim heavy judgments against him and his people. This the prophet did for a long while together with all fidelity and fortitude; when the king was triumphing over his enemies, and the people were not only drunk, but even mad again, by reason of their extraordinary prosperity ( non tantum temulenti erant sed etiam prorsus insani ), as Calvin expresseth it. Now that so young a prophet should so sharply contend with so fierce a people, in the ruff of their pride and jollity; that he should so rouse and ripple up these drunkards of Ephraim with their crown of pride, Isaiah 28:1 ; this shows him to have been of a heroic spirit. Jonah, his contemporary, flinched when sent against Nineveh. "Micah the Morasthite" (another of Hosea’s contemporaries) "prophesied in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be ploughed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. Yet did not Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah, put him at all to death," …, Jeremiah 26:18-19 . He and Hosea, though they prevailed little with the people they preached to, yet they were better dealt with than the prophet Isaiah (their contemporary too), of whom Jerome tells us, out of the Rabbis, that he was sawn asunder, because he said he had seen the Lord: and, secondly, because he called the great ones of Judah, princes of Sodom, and rulers of Gomorrah, Isaiah 1:10 .
John Gill (1748)
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. (h) Shalsheleth Hakabala, fol. 12. 1.
Matthew Henry (1714)
Israel was prosperous, yet then Hosea boldly tells them of their sins, and foretells their destruction. Men are not to be flattered in sinful ways because they prosper in the world; nor will it last long if they go on still in their trespasses. The prophet must show Israel their sin; show it to be exceedingly hateful. Their idolatry is the sin they are here charged with. Giving that glory to any creature which is due to God alone, is an injury and affront to God; such as for a wife to take a stranger, is to her husband. The Lord, doubtless, had good reasons for giving such a command to the prophet; it would form an affecting picture of the Lord's unmerited goodness and unwearied patience, and of the perverseness and ingratitude of Israel. We should be broken and wearied with half that perverseness from others, with which we try the patience and grieve the Spirit of our God. Let us also be ready to bear any cross the Lord appoints. The prophet must show the ruin of the people, in the names given to his children. He foretells the fall of the royal family in the name of his first child: call his name Jezreel, which signifies dispersion. He foretells God's abandoning the nation in the name of the second child; Lo-ruhamah, not beloved, or not having obtained mercy. God showed great mercy, but Israel abused his favours. Sin turns away the mercy of God, even from Israel, his own professing people. If pardoning mercy is denied, no other mercy can be expected. Though some, through unbelief, are broken off, yet God will have a church in this world till the end of time. Our salvation is owing to God's mercy, not to any merit of our own. That salvation is sure, of which he is the Author; and if he will work, none shall hinder.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
THE BOOK OF HOSEA Commentary by A. R. Faussett INTRODUCTION The first of the twelve minor prophets in the order of the canon (called "minor," not as less in point of inspired authority, but simply in point of size). The twelve are first mentioned by Jesus, the son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus 49:10). St. Stephen, in Ac 7:42 (in referring to Am 5:27), quotes them as forming one collective body of writings, "the book of the prophets." So Jerome and Melito, the first Greek father who has left us a catalogue of these books. The collection of the sacred books is by Jewish tradition attributed to the great synagogue of learned scribes formed by Ezra. Many think Nehemiah completed this collection by adding to the books already in the canon those of his own times. Malachi, the last in the series, probably aided him in determining with infallible authority what books were entitled to be ranked in the inspired canon. The chronological order differs from the canonical. Joel, about 810 B.C.; Jonah, about 810 B.C., or, as others, first, 862 B.C.; Amos, about 790 B.C.; Hosea, about 784 B.C. Hosea, the contemporary of Isaiah, Micah, and Amos, seems to have entered on his prophetical office in the last years of Jeroboam (contemporary in part with Uzziah), and to have ended it in the beginning of Hezekiah's reign, 722 B.C., that is, about sixty years in all, from 784 B.C. to 722 B.C. The prophets, however, were not uninterruptedly engaged in prophesying. Considerable intervals elapsed, though their office as divinely commissioned public teachers was never wholly laid aside. The Book of Hosea which we have constitutes only that portion of his public teachings which the Holy Spirit saw fit to preserve for the benefit of the Church. The cause of his being placed first of the twelve was, probably, the length, the vivid earnestness, and patriotism of his prophecies, as well as their closer resemblance to those of the greater prophets. His style is abrupt, sententious, and unrounded; the connecting particles are few; there are changes of person, and anomalies of gender, number, and construction. His name means Salvation. He was son of Beeri, of the tribe of Issachar, born in Beth-shemesh [Jerome]. His mention, in the inscription, of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, is no proof that he belonged to Judah: for the prophets in Israel regarded its separation from Judah, civil as well as religious, as an apostasy from God, who promised the dominion of the theocracy to the line of David. Hence Elijah in Israel took twelve stones to represent Judah, as well as Israel (1Ki 18:31). Hence Hosea dates from Judah's kings, as well as from Jeroboam of Israel, though he belonged to Israel, with whose sins and fate his book is chiefly occupied. He, however, makes incidental references to Judah. His first prophecy foretells the overthrow of Jehu's house, fulfilled on the death of Jeroboam, Jehu's great-grandson (2Ki 15:12), in Zachariah, Jeroboam's son, the fourth and last from Jehu, conspired against by Shallum. This first prediction was doubtless in Jeroboam's life, as Zachariah, his son, was only suffered to reign six months; thus the inscription is verified that "the word of the Lord came unto him in the days of Jeroboam" (Ho 1:1). Again, in Ho 10:14, Shalmaneser's expedition against Israel is alluded to as past, that is, the first inroad against King Hoshea, who began to reign in the twelfth year of Ahaz; so that as Ahaz' whole reign was sixteen years, the prophecy seems to have been given about the beginning of Hezekiah's reign. Thus the inscription is confirmed that the exercise of his prophetical functions was of such a protracted duration. Hosea (Ho 11:1) is quoted in Mt 2:15; also Ho 6:6 in Mt 9:13; 12:7; compare Ro 9:25, 26, quoting Ho 1:10; 2:1, 23; 1Co 15:55, quoting Ho 13:14; 1Pe 2:10, quoting Ho 1:9, 10; 2:23. Messianic references are not frequent; but the predictions of the future conversion of Israel to the Lord their God, and David their king, and of the fulfilment of the promise to Abraham that his spiritual seed should be as the sand of the sea (Ho 1:10; 3:5), clearly refer to the New Testament dispensation. The first and third chapters are in prose, the rest of the book is rhythmical. CHAPTER 1 Ho 1:1-11. Inscription. Spiritual whoredom of Israel set forth by symbolical acts; Gomer taken to wife at God's command: Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi, the children. Yet a promise of Judah and Israel's restoration. 1. The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea—See [1115]Introduction. Jeroboam—the second; who died in the fifteenth year of Uzziah's forty-one years' reign. From his time forth all Israel's kings worshipped false gods: Zachariah (2Ki 15:9), Menahem (2Ki 15:18), Pekahiah (2Ki 15:24), Pekah (2Ki 15:28), Hoshea (2Ki 17:2). As Israel was most flourishing externally under Jeroboam II, who recovered the possessions seized on by Syria, Hosea's prophecy of its downfall at that time was the more striking as it could not have been foreseen by mere human sagacity. Jonah the prophet had promised success to Jeroboam II from God, not for the king's merit, but from God's mercy to Israel; so the coast of Israel was restored by Jeroboam II from the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain (2Ki 14:23-27).The times in which Hosea prophesied, Hos 1:1 . To show the idolatrous whoredoms of the land, he marrieth a wife of whoredom, and hath by her Jezreel, Hos 1:2-5 , Lo-ruhamah, Hos 1:6,7 , and Lo-ammi, Hos 1:8,9 . The restoration of Judah and Israel under one head, Hos 1:10,11 . The word, or the command, and the thing commanded; or the prediction expressed in the very words God suggested by his Spirit to the prophet, and the things too which are now foretold; for holy men of God spake as they were moved, &c., 2Pe 1:21 , and the things that were shortly to come to pass were revealed also, in the words of Rev 1:1 . Hosea shows the things, and speaks them in words which God hath suggested to him. The Lord ; the Eternal , as the French, Jehovah, Heb., which expresseth the eternity and infinite being of our God, together with his sovereignty and absolute authority over all. This is expressly added, to give warning to the prophet, to command audience, attention, reverence, and submission in the hearers, and to intimate to them the certainty of execution if they repent not, and the certainty of performance of promise if they believe; for it is Jehovah who changeth not that speakest both. Came to Hosea; or was with him; as it came to him, so it did abide with him, made a deep impression upon his mind. Prophets were too backward, rather than overforward, to publish sad tidings to sinning people. Moses was unwilling to go to Pharaoh; Jeremiah pent up the word till it grew like fire in his bowels, too hot, and he could have no ease till he gave it vent. It is not unlikely the prophet Hosea intimates by this expression some such effect the word of God had on him; he was full of the prophetic Spirit, its motions were ever with him, and stirring within him. Hosea; a name that carrieth most comfortable news in the letter and signification of it, being the same with Joshua or Jesus; and his word or message from God to the good was comfortable, it was assurance both of preservation and salvation, as will appear in process of his prophecy. The son of Beeri: though some would have this Beeri to be the same with Beerah, 1Ch 5:6 , it hath no probability, the names being different; beside that Beerah was carried captive by Tilgath-pilneser, and it is probable his family was carried away with him; or if Hosea had escaped his father's mishap, he would have given us at least some ground to believe by his words that he resented the unhappiness of his family in that respect; but we know the name of the prophet's father, we know not his tribe or country, or of what quality he was, where he lived, or when be died. In the days, i.e. during the reign, in the times; it is a Scripture expression of times. Of Uzziah, called Azariah, 2Ki 14:21 , and Ozias, Mat 1:8 ; the beginning of whose reign is very variously guessed at, and after all is left uncertain; but this is clear, that Jeroboam was contemporary with Uzziah, who began to reign in the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam: reckoning thence to the forty-first year of his reign, which was the last of Jeroboam, there will be fourteen years of Uzziah's reign in which Hosea prophesied; but if there was (as for aught I find there might be) some years of viceroyship in which Amaziah reigned with his father Joash, and the like between Jeroboam and his father, then a longer synchronism ariseth between Uzziah and Jeroboam, and a larger space of time for Hosea to prophesy in their days, which I search not into. Jotham; who succeeded Uzziah as governor, and judged the people while Uzziah, being a leper, was, according to the law, retired from conversing with men, and dwelt in a separate house, but retained the royal title and authority; but it is uncertain how many years this was. Some say fifteen years, others say four years (for we read, 2Ki 15:33 , that he reigned sixteen years; and in 2Ki 15:30 we have his twentieth year. Now the four here mentioned seem to be those years of his viceroyship, or government for Uzziah); yet others say his governor's power was of shorter date, and that Uzziah was struck with the plague of leprosy in the last year of his age and reign. This seems scarce consistent with the report of Jotham's being over the house of the king, judging the people; and the leper king dwelling in a separate house till the day of his death, 2Ki 15:5 2Ch 26:21 . They mistake, I think, who place this stroke of leprosy so late; and they do as much mistake who place it at the twenty-fifth of Uzziah, and make him a leper and seclude him twenty-seven years. Jotham hath the character of a good king, 1Ch 27:2,6 ; but he could not make his subjects good, 2Ch 27:2 . Ahaz; the worst son of a good father, yet the father of one of the best of kings. He sinned more in his distress, 2Ch 28:22 , and hastened God's judgments on him and his. Hezekiah; who reformed Judah, and walked so with God, that above any of the kings of Judah he was protected and rescued by the immediate hand of Heaven. How long Hosea prophesied in this king's reign appears not; but that he did prophesy a great while is most apparent, whether fifty, or sixty-five, or seventy, or seventy-five, or ninety years, which different computations have some to assert them, I determine not. Jeroboam; the great-grandson of Jehu, of whose greatness and sins you read 2Ki 14:24,25 ; he was of the religion of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Joash; whose story you meet with 2Ki 13:10 : though a great idolater, and reproved for it no doubt by Elisha, yet he gave a visit to the dying prophet, and with tears bewailed the public loss by Elisha's death, and by the prophet had a legacy given him, three victories over the Syrians; and more they should have been, had not Joash been sparing too much to his own great loss. I remember not any single visit so nobly and magnificently repaid. Israel; kingdom of the ten tribes, contradistinguished to Judah. By this then it appears Hosea was sent to prophesy against the sins of Israel, or the ten tribes, as well as against the sins of Judah; against Israel he prophesied during Jeroboam's times, (and afterward left them to their obstinacy,) but he continued to prophesy to Judah until his death.
Barnes (1832)
The word of the Lord, that came unto Hosea - Hosea, at the very beginning of his prophecy, declares that all this, which he delivered, came, not from his own mind but from God. As Paul says, "Paul an Apostle, not of men neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father." He refers all to God, and claims all obedience to Him. That word came to him; it existed then before, in the mind of God. It was first God's, then it became the prophet's, receiving it from God. So it is said, "the word of God came to John" Luke 3:2 . Hosea - i. e., "Salvation, or, the Lord saveth." The prophet bare the name of our Lord Jesus, whom he foretold and of whom he was a type. "Son of Beeri, i. e., my well or welling-forth." God ordained that the name of his father too should signify truth. From God, as from the fountain of life, Hosea drew the living waters, which he poured out to the people. "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation" Isaiah 12:3 . In the days of Uzziah ... - Hosea, although a prophet of Israel, marks his prophecy by the names of the kings of Judah, because the kingdom of Judah was the kingdom of the theocracy, the line of David to which the promises of God were made. As Elisha, to whose office he succeeded, turned away from Jehoram 2 Kings 3:13-14 , saying, "get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother," and owned Jehoshaphat king of Judah only, so, in the title of his prophecy, Hosea at once expresses that the kingdom of Judah alone was legitimate. He adds the name of Jeroboam, partly as the last king of Israel whom, by virtue of His promise to Jehu, God helped; partly to show that God never left Israel unwarned. Jeroboam I was warned first by the prophet 1 Kings 13 , who by his own untimely death, as well as in his prophecy, was a witness to the strictness of God's judgments, and then by Ahijah 1 Kings 14 ; Baasha by Jehu, son of Hanani 1 Kings 16 ; Ahab, by Elijah and Micaiah son of Imla; Ahaziah by Elijah 2 Kings 1 ; Jehoram by Elisha who exercised his office until the days of Joash 2 Kings 13:14 . So, in the days of Jeroboam II, God raised up Hosea, Amos and Jonah. "The kings and people of Israel then were without excuse, since God never ceased to send His prophets among them; in no reign did the voice of the prophets fail, warning of the coming wrath of God, until it came." While Jeroboam was recovering to Israel a larger rule than it had ever had since it separated from Judah, annexing to it Damascus 2 Kings 14:28 which had been lost to Judah even in the days of Solomon, and from which Israel had of late so greatly suffered, Hosea was sent to forewarn it of its destruction. God alone could utter "such a voice of thunder out of the midst of such a cloudless sky." Jeroboam doubtless thought that his house would, through its own strength, survive the period which God had pledged to it. "But temporal prosperity is no proof either of stability or of the favor of God. Where the law of God is observed, there, even amid the pressure of outward calamity, is the assurance of ultimate prosperity. Where God is disobeyed, there is the pledge of coming destruction. The seasons when men feel most secure against future chastisement, are often the preludes of the most signal revolutions."
Cross-References (TSK)
Jeremiah 1:2; Ezekiel 1:3; Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Zechariah 1:1; John 10:35; 2 Peter 1:21; Romans 9:25; Isaiah 1:1; Micah 1:1; 2 Kings 14:16; 2 Kings 15:1; 2 Kings 16:1; 2 Kings 18:1; 2 Chronicles 26:1