An Exposition of Hosea 11-13, Exposition · Chapter 13 · Verse 8
VER. 8.
I will meet with them as a Bear bereaved of her whelps, and will rent the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a Lyon: the wildbeaſt ſhall tear them.
THE Third Creature is the Bear: I will meet with them as a Bear bereaved of her whelps, &c.Aelian. lib. 5. cap. 14. Plin. l. 8. c. 36
This Creature (you know) is very fierce and terrible too; therefore we reade in the 2d of Kings, that there were two ſhe Bears came out of the wood and tore in pieces forty two Children. Prov. 17. 12. Let a Bear robbed of her whelps meat a man, rather than a fool in his folly: She is fierce at all times, but above all if ſhe be robbed of her whelps: As it is obſerved that there's no Creature loves her yong ones more than the Bear, and yet the mo… deformed of any; and an emblem it may be of a man that loves his own deformed fancies, it's a Note that one Interpreter Note.hath upon it: Oh how will the Lord be in an holy rage, if his Children be wronged! if you do any hurt to his own Children, that hath his Image in them, when the inſtinct of Nature is ſo in this Creature, the Bear, to be in ſuch a rage when ſhe is robbed of ſuch ugly things as her whelps are. 2 Sam. 17. 8. ſaith Huſhai to Abſalom, Thou knoweſt thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their fury, as a Bear robbed of her whelps in the field. Thus the Scripture often diſcribes exceeding fierceneſs, and rage, to the fierceneſs of a Bear bereaved of her whelps, therefore ſaith he here, I will rend the very caul of their bearts, and there will I devour them like a Lyon. Here Verſ. y. foreign Verſ. S. foreignhe mentions the Lyon the ſecond time: The word in your Books is the ſame, but in the Original it is ſomewhat different.
It is obſerved of the Lyon when he comes upon the prey (becauſe it's named here the ſecond time) that it The Lyon's property.rends the body aſunder, and loves to ſuck the blood and the fat that is about the heart, and as for other parts of the body, except it be in very great hunger, it leaves them for other beaſts to prey upon, but the heart, and the blood and the fat that is about the heart that the Lyon loves to ſuck: and therefore ſaith God here, I will rent the caul of their heart, and there will I devour like a Lyon.
Luther hath an excellent Note upon this, ſaith he, The Lord here will do as a Lyon doth, he more immediately Luthers Obſervation on the place.will ſtrike out their hearts, and puniſh them with ſpiritual Plagues and Judgments, and as for their eſtates and bodies he will leave them to other beaſts and they ſhall plague them and puniſh them that way: they had a film upon their hearts (ſaith he) and inſtructions could not get to their hearts; but God will tear that caul, will tear that film from off their hearts that kept off inſtructions. Oh! let us take heed of this film of our hearts that keeps out the Word of God, take heed of that for ever, for God hath waies to tear this film from off thy heart.
As I remember Bernard ſaith concerning his Brother, when he gave him many good inſtructions and admonitions, and his brother was a Soldier and did not mind Bernard his ſpeech to his Brother.them; he puts his fingers to his ſides, and ſaith he, Oh! one day a ſpeer ſhall make way to this heart for inſtructions and admonitions to enter. So I may ſay to ſuch whoſe hearts have a film upon them, that whatſoever the Preacher ſaith, it cannot get in, God may juſtly come and tear the film from off thy heart that keeps out the Inſtructions of God. And Arias Montanus hath a Arias Montan.Note further upon this, of ſending the Plague upon their hearts, and to leave their eſtates and comforts to the Aſſyrians. And the wild Beaſts ſhall tear them.
Why? Did he not name wild beaſts enough before? There was the Lyon, and the Leopard, and the Bear, and Expoſ.the Lyon again, and yet he comes over again with wild Beaſts; as if he ſhould ſay, if there by any terror, any dreadfulneſs in any wild Beaſts whatſoever, there is that in my wrath, if you eſcape one wild beaſt another ſhall tear you, and that's the reaſon that the Bear is added to The Bear,the Lyon and the Leopard, becauſe the Bear runs up a tree ſo much, which the others do not; and now he comes to all wild Beaſts, put them all together and my wrath is as fierce as them. And this is one excellent meditation from hence, That put all the dreadfulneſs of all Obſ.creatures in the world together, and all that, it is in the wrath of God. As put all the good things that are in all creatures together, all this is in the Love and Mercy of God; ſo put al things that any way may bring any torments or tortor to us, and the quinteſſence of all this is in Gods wrath, The wild Beaſts ſhall tear them.
Lyra thinks that this Propheſie was fulfill'd when they were carried captive, and in their journey many Lyra.died, and ſo they were caſt into fields and devoured by wild Beaſts: and it's likely it may be fulfill'd in part ſo: as uſually when Soldiers carry an Enemy captive, Why if they be ſick, let them die, and if they die, throw them into a ditch, there's all they care for them: and ſo it was with this people, that the Lord though he knew them in the wilderneſs, and his protection was over them, yet now to forget them, and lets them be carried into captivity and caſt to wild beaſts, and ſo their carkaſſes was torn.
And ſome think that the expreſſion of Gods wrath by theſe Beaſts, hath reference to the four Monarchies, Other Interpreters upon the place.which God would make uſe of to be very terrible to his Saints. In Dan. 7. you ſhall find the four Monarchies of the world, the Babylonian, the Perſian, the Grecian, and Roman Monarchies ſet forth in the ſame manner, as here the holy Ghoſt ſets out the wrath of God againſt Iſrael; for the truth is, Thoſe things that we have here in Hoſea were to ſet forth Gods waies to his people in after-times, not only when they were to be carried captive. In Dan. 7. 3. there appeared four great Beaſts, the firſt li… Lyon, by which was ſignified the Babyloniſh The Text parelleld with Dan. 7, 3.Empire, the ſecond like a Bear, by that the Perſian, the third like a Leopard, and that's the Graecian, for Alexander was as a Leopard, exceeding ſwift, all his exploits he did in twelve yeers: he was but thirty three yeers old when he died.
And moreover, they obſerve of the Leopard (which hath the name from a Panther) that it ſmels exceedingly, Panthera, hinc Leopardus. Ariſt. Hiſtor. Animal. lib. 9. cap. 6.the very body of it ſmels ſweet above all Beaſts, and ſo it doth invite the Beaſts to it; and ſo it was ſaid of Alexanders body, that it had a ſweet ſmell with it: And then the fourth being the Roman Empire, mark how that's ſet out, juſt as Gods ſets out his wrath, he doth not Note.name any particular Beaſt, but the wild Beaſt, this is dreadful, terrible, and ſtrong, exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth, it devoured. and broke in pieces, and ſtamped the reſidue with the feet of it, and it was diverſe from al the beaſts that was before it, and it had ten horns: you know now that that was divided into ten Sleid. de 4. Imperijs lib. 3.Kingdoms, or ten ſorts of Civil Governments at ſeveral times.
This is the Roman Empire, the power of whom Antichriſt was to have, by both whom the Lord would exerciſe his people, and be very terrible to his people, eſpecially thoſe people of his that were Apoſtatizing people, that would worſhip him according to their own waies, God would be thus terrible to them where ever they lived, under any of the former Empires, they ſhould have God either as a Lyon, a Leopard, a Bear, or like this dreadful Creature at the laſt unto them.
Oh but you will ſay, Why do you ſpeak thus? Or it Object.may be people would ſpeak thus to the Prophet, Oh why do you ſpeak of God in this terrible manner? Is not our God a gracious God, and a merciful God? why then will you render God thus terrible?
Why ſaith the Prophet, then comes in,Anſw.