Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · minor prophets · Hosea · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
COme let us turn to the Lord, for he hath torn and he will heal us; Because he had said v. 14. ch. 5. I will be as a Lion, now lest the faithfull should despaire of V. 1.ever being restored again, seeing Lions tear and so leave such as are torn and destroyed in that lamentable case, never looking back unto them any more to restore them to sanity, neither can they if they would: the Lord here comforteth his by his Prophet, by promising if they turn that they shall be restored again. And it is to be noted, that he saith not Turn ye, but Let us turn, making himself one amongst others, and a leader to them, that no preacher may think he acquits himself well when he preacheth repentance to others, himself living in sin, but when he joineth to his teaching his own example of 1 Tim. 3. 1.holy and unblameable living.
After two dayes he will revive us, and the third he will raise us up, and we shal live in V. 2.his sight: Here according to the common exposition of all Ancients the Prophet passeth from the delivering of the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity, and bringing them out of their power, whom he had used as a Lion to tear them, to the most famous deliverance from the roaring Lion the Devill, and deadnesse in sin, by Christ rising again the third day and triumphing over principalities and powers. For he saith not in two dayes, but from two dayes Col. 2. 15.foreign that is, two dayes being past when the third cometh, and that betimes in the morning, to shew which it is added, v. 3. his going forth is prepared as the morning, as indeed he arose early in the morning at the dawning of the day. Whereas it is said, he will revive, not him, but us, and we shall live in his sight, it is to be understood, that there is so near a union betwixt Christ and the faithfull, that the things done to him being the head, are common to his body the faithfull, God reviving him reviveth us, and making him to stand in his sight makes us to stand also; as it is said, Christ rising and sitting at the right hand of God in heaven, he hath made us sit together with him in heavenly places. And this is not at the first disliked by Calvin, but by and by he censureth it as Calvin.too argute, holding the plain meaning of the place to be nothing else, but that although God doth not presently save and deliver his people out of misery, in which they lye dead, as it were, yet he will certainly, and this he calleth it reviving of them after two dayes, the third day, that is, in a short time to him, however to men it may seem long; according to which Daniel also speaks of a time and times and half a time. Thus I grant it may also be generally applyed for the comfort of the faithfull in misery, but not expunging so famous a prophesie touching the main article of our faith; wherefore he also in fine acknowledgeth this to be meant here: so likewise Gualter, we shall Gualter.not erre if we shall say that the Prophet herein had respect to the mystery of Christs resurrection, although, he also understands it as an answer to a doubt that might trouble the faithfull in the long continuance in their miseries: for although deliverance cometh not the first or second day, yet it shall come at the length, the third day, a time certain being put for an uncertain, dayes for years, and those many, but with God as a day or two.
The Ord. Gloss. by the first understands the first age of the world under the Gloss. Ord.law; by the second day, the time of Christs coming in the flesh; the third, of his glorious coming when we shall be glorified with him, which is not to be disliked: because the promise runneth upon two times, the first being passed over when the law had dominion, that could not revive. Rab. Solomon understandeth R. Solomon.by one day the day of their deliverance out of Egypt, by two, the time of their deliverance from Babylon; by the third, the time of the Messiah yet to come: or by one day the time of building the Temple by Solomon, by two the building thereof by Zerubbabel, by the third, that which shall be built at the coming of the Messiah. But the Messiah being already come, these are vaine speculations.
Then shall we know if we goe on to know the Lord, and his going out shall be prepared V. 3. Lyra.as the morning: that is, when Christ is risen and his resurrection is preached, we shall know, that is, beleeve, if we follow the example of Christ in vertuous living and doing good: for he must thus follow the Lord that will know him to life eternall, as Joh. 17. 3. and then the Lords going out in preaching shall be as the morning for light, in respect of true light and comfort, that shal come to every such beleever, and he shall come to us as the rain, that is, in his heavenly doctrine, whereby we shall be refreshed as the earth by showrs of rain, and made to grow in grace as the grasse when rain falleth, a similitude used before, Deut. 32. 1. & Psal. 72 6. This is not liked by Calvin neither, for he Calvin.saith, some understand a more full knowledge of divine mysteries under the Gospel then formerly: but the meaning is, that if we turn to the Lord in the darknesse of misery, the light of deliverance and prosperity again is prepared as the morning light after a dark night, and then we shall know and find by experience all to be true touching healing and binding up, that he hath promised, and this shall be no lesse refreshing to us, then the rain to the dry and thirsty ground, making the grasse and corn before searing away and dying, to waxe green again. All which is good and true, but not all the truth here set forth, nor the chief comfort which is in knowing God to be the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. And the dew of Christs youth Joh. 17. 3. Psal. 110. 3.is said to be from the womb of the morning, and he is said to come as the rain upon the mown grasse, Psal. 72 6. wherefore the Prophet goeth on in declaring the comforts of the Gospel by the knowledge that should then abound, being as a day to the nightward that went before, Rom. 13. 12. the morning whereof was the first going out of the light in preaching, and the rain the same Christ preached to true beleevers: for although comfort in being delivered from misery be set forth by light sometime, yet not by morning or rain, as in this place.
Therefore I have hewed them by the Prophets and slain them by the words of my mouth, V. 5.and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth: Having comforted the faithful in Israel and Judah, v. 1, 2, 3. he turneth to inveighing against the wicked again, v. 4. what shall I do to thee (O Ephraim?) your goodnesse is like the morning V. 4.dew, wicked hypocrites are so inconstant in a good way, that being now brought into it they soon goe from it again, so that it maketh even the Lord himself to study what to do unto them. Men in whom there be good motions, Note. but vanishing, are so desperately evill, that they are not by any means to be dealt withall for their good, but after all pains, that may be taken with them for their conversion, they must needs be destroyed, as after their horrible sins ripped up, it followeth, ch. 7. 13.
Therefore I have hewed thee by the Prophets, Hebr. I have cut off in the Prophets, the Vulg. Lat. hath it dolare, to plane, expounded by Lyra, I have dealt with thee Lyra.as a Carpenter by a piece of timber that is knotty, by sharp reproofs of the Prophets sought to make thee more smooth, and fit for the spirituall building, and slain thee by the words of my mouth, that is, foretold, and threatned that thou shalt be slain for thy sins by enemies coming against thee; which threatnings my Prophets have uttered as I required them, and so their words were the words of my mouth: thus also other Expositours generally. Only some, saith Calvin, because it is said, I have cut off in the Prophets, understand it as if he had said, I have cut off some of your false Prophets; but he followeth the former, Calvin.which is best; and so the next words, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, are an explication of the first, this hath been my way to smooth them, by sharply threatning them with destruction, being hereunto forced by their intolerable wickednesse, although of my selfe I am mercifull and gracious. From hence note, that the words of God spoken by his Prophets are not a Note. meer wind, as it is of words commonly said, but as a sharp cutting plane to smooth and frame the hearers into square and equall dealing, or if they will not be thus smoothed, they are as a sharp sword to slay them; which all the disobedient shall one day find and fee…, when destruction cometh as hath been threatned, and there is no evasion: and thy judgment is gone out as the light, that is, this destruction to come for sin is not darkly set forth, so that men may excuse themselves, saying, we know not, neither did foresee this great danger, but plainly and evidently as a thing set in the light.
For I desired mercy and not sacrifice, &c. How this is to be understood, see Mat. V. 6.9. 13. 12. 7. in the first of which places it is said, that when Christ sate at meat amongst Publicans, they found fault therefore with him, as being convinced hereby to favour the wicked, and consequently to be one of their number. But against this he saith, the whole need not the Physitian, but the sick; and goe and learn what this is, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, as if he had said, yee think that ye acquit your selves very well in doing sacrifice, although ye goe on still in your sins: but the Lord contrarywise accepteth best of the conversion of sinners, and of those that labour in this work: but of such as duly offer sacrifice, but live still in sin he accepteth not at all, but they are an abomination to him. In the other place his Disciples plucking the ears of corn upon the Sabbath day, and being for this censured, he saith, If yee had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, yee would not have condemned the innocent, that is, I stand not so strictly upon my ceremoniall Laws touching outward performances, but that when the necessity of my creatures requireth it, I would have them give way thereunto, allowing my people rather to work upon my Sabbaths then starve for hunger, or to pull a beast out of a pit, rather then that by lying there it should dye, Sacrifice being put for all externall Service required by Gods Laws. Some understand it as haing reference to vers. 4. Thy mercy is as a morning cloud, for so the word signifieth, and the same word foreign is here used againe, as if the Prophet had in the name of the Lord, said, thou didst sometime shew mercy, but this held but a short time, for which and for thy other sinnes I hewed thee, &c. And wouldst thou know the cause of this my harsh dealing with thee? I will have mercy, I delight more when mercy is constantly shewed, then when sacrifices are duly offered Calvin noteth that two things are here joined together, mercy Calvin.and the knowledge of God preferred before all burnt offerings, by mercy understanding kindenesse towards men, contrary to which is not only hardheartednesse towards the distressed, but also rigid dealing with our brethren, according to which both the writings of this place by our Lord are made: for they were against the Pharisees, who were rigid censurers of Publicans, and then of his Disciples. By the knowledge of God hee understandeth not not onelyonly the theory, but Faith to beleeve in God and in Jesus Christ, so that these two together are here commended unto us, without both which all externall service done to God is vaine, neither must these be disjoined in us, but goe together as inseparable, seeing he doth not know nor love God that 1 Joh. 3.loveth not his brother, neither is mercy to our brethren accepted of without the knowledge of God, which is the same with faith, for which it is said, this Joh. 17. 3. Heb. 11.is life eternall to know thee, &c. as of faith, he that beleeveth hath everlasting life, and without faith it is impossible to please God. But in denying sacrifice, as I have said upon Psal. 41. he meaneth not, that sacrificing might be neglected at the will of men in the time thereof, but onelyonly hee saith thus to drive men living in sinne from all confidence herein, it never being the will of God, that wicked men should thus serve him, but the mercifull and faithfull.
But they like men have transgressed the covenant, Heb. as Adam, whereupon Lyra following the Vulgar that also hath it so, as Adam having received a commandement against eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evill V. 7. Lyra.soon brake it and brought death upon himselfe and his posterity, so Israel and Judah being by Covenant bound from idolatry and all other foul sinnes, begun soon to transgresse it, and therefore the Lord was about to slay them, as vers. 5. I have slain them by the words of my mouth. Calvin counteth this frigid, and therefore saith, that hereby is meant, as men are commonly inconstant, Calvin.how strongly soever they binde themselves by Covenant, and keep it not, so these peoples. But he also mentioneth another of some, yet rejecting it, viz. they have transgressed the Covenant made with me, as if it had beene made with man, neither indeed will the words bear this sense. But as the sense given by him is good, as man, being opposed to God, who is constant and certain for his part in keeping Covenant, so is not the first to be misliked, but rather to be preferred, for so much as it is man in the singular number and not men in the plurall, and the similitude agreeth so aptly, as hath been said and according to this Tossarius in Paraph. expounds it.
Gilead is a City of them that work iniquity. Of the first giving the name Gilead, see Gen. 31. 47. an heap of stones there gathered by Jacobs appointment for V. 8.a witnesse betwixt him and Laban, caused him so to call the place Gilead, as Gilead signifieth an heap, he called it also Mizpeh, a watch; Gilead lay on this side Jordan, where the Tribe of Reuben and Gad, and halfe Tribe of Manasseh had their inheritance, Deut. 3. 12, 13, and Gilead otherwise called Ramath-Gilead, was a City belonging to the Tribe of Gad, and made a city of refuge, Josh. 20. 8. and all the Cities of refuge were assigned to the Priests, Numb. 35. 6. and Levites. So that we may hence gather, that Gilead belonged to the ten Tribes, and was first famous for Levites or Priests, dwelling there, and the Sanctuary had there for such, as having casually killed any man, when they were unjustly persued to be revenged by shedding their bloud. But now it seemeth that the Priests dwelling there, that should most of all others have abhorred bloudshed, and therefore were set to be protectours of the innocent, were turned horrible shedders of the bloud of others, which was a most loud crying sin. And this is here by the Prophet taxed, as a chief cause of Gods wrath, that a City of such note, and consisting of men of so holy an order, was thus greatly degenerated. Gualter saith, that the Priests here inveighed against were not lawfull Priests descended from Aaron, but such as consecrated themselves in Ieroboams time, 1 King. 1. 13. the lawfull Priests being gone, ever since the division of the kingdom in Jeroboams time, to Jerusalem, where the true God was at the first served, but by the kingdome of Israel his golden Calves. And these Priests most probably placed there in stead of them that were gone are here complained of as murtherers, because out of their zeale to idolatry, to which they had dedicated themselves, they treacherously sought to bring to destruction such as they could take going to Jerusalem to worship there at festivall times appointed by God, by accusing them that they might be apprehended and slain: And to this the words agree very well, Gilead is a City of them that work iniquity and is polluted with bloud. V. 9. And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of Priests murther in the way by consent. For polluted with bloud, Heb. is foreign a beguiler or supplanter about bloud, so called because that by all the cunning meanes that they could, the Priests of that City sought the bloud of the true, worshippers of God, and for these words murther by consent, Heb. it is murther to Shechem or the shoulder, as Shechem signifieth. But how to make sense of it so I cannot tell, or how a shoulder should be drawne to signifie consent. There is another signification of the word Mane or diluculo, betimes in the morning, and this agreeth excellently taking the bare word foreign, as it is without supplying to, as they doe that render it to Shechem, or By, as they they that render it by consent; render we it then, they murther in way early, and so their vigilancy to commit this bloudy sin is set forth. Neither were those Priests thus guilty of murther onelyonly, but also of soule murther, as Lyra hath it, many by such means being made for fear to fall to idolatry. Now in naming Gilead when he cometh in particular to charge the Cities of Israel more then any other, except Samaria, chap. 7. he intimateth that place to be the most notorious for wickednesse of all others, when as by setting it apart for a Sanctuary and a City of Priests it was expected, that least wickednesse should there have been committed. But indeed there was most, for which chap. 5. 1. which Mizpeh is the same with Gilead, as appeares Gen. 31. 47. is so accused. The Vulgar renders it Gilead is a City of them that work an idol, because the word foreign signifieth vanity as well as wickednesse, and an idol is vanity, and accordingly Jerome saith, that in Gilead was the first idol set up in Israel. But he Hieron.hath this onelyonly from the Hebrew traditions, and not from Scripture, whereby it appeareth rather, that Ophrah in Abiezri was the place, wherein Gideon the Judge first of all other Judges or Kings set up an Ephod for an Idol, which Judg. 8. 17.was the destruction of his house. For although the people worshipped Baal and Ashteroth before that, yet no Judge or Ruler ever favoured idolatry before but kept the people from it in their times.
I have seen an horrible thing in Ephraim, Israel is defiled: As the wickednesse V. 10.before spoken of was done in Gilead, on the one side of Jordan, so in Ephraim, the principall of the ten Tribes, and indeed in all the kingdome of Israel, on the other side there were no less horrible villanies committed by idolatries and murthers, neither were they hidden, but seen by the Lord.
Also (O Judah) hee hath set an harvest for thee, when I turn the captivity of my people: V. 11.Having inveighed against Israel apart, now he doth the like against Iudah, continuing yet his speech to Israel, and therefore it should not be read (O Iudah) as Calvin noteth, but Iudah hath set an harvest or plant for thee, for the word Calvin. Gualter.foreign signifieth either. And the meaning is best given by Gualter, of all others. When I am thinking to turne away the captivity of my people of the ten Tribes, labouring their conversion from sin, that it may never come, Iudah hath set a plant for thee (O Israel) that is, a plant of idolatry, whereby thou art the more confirmed in the same, and hardened. And if it be rendered harvest it cometh to the same. Iudah hath furthered thee towards an harvest, which will be to thy cost, when for thy sins thou shalt bee cut downe by the Assyrians, wherein thou hast been the more stiffe by reason of Iudahs associating herselfe herein with thee. For to an harvest sometime, and sometime to a vintage is a time of judgement compared. Hereby we may see how Note. dangerous a thing it is, when one Nation or man is incouraged by another in sin by his doing the like, especially from whom it was expected, that a better example should have been given, as it was from Iudah, wherein the Temple and the service of God was setled, the end shall be cutting down, neither shall they have any power to escape any more then the harvest the Sicle of the reaper.