NOTES for Hos 9:1-17
1 Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor. |
2 The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. |
3 They shall not dwell in the LORD's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria. |
4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD. |
5 What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD? |
6 For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles. |
7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. |
8 The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God. |
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins. |
10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved. |
11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception. |
12 Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them! |
13 Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer. |
14 Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. |
15 All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters. |
16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. |
17 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations. |
Hide
At first glance, today's reading contains reproaches against the people for ingratitude, for turning away from God after receiving everything from Him and forgetting Him in the end (v. 10). But a more attentive reading makes it clear that everything is not so simple. It is no accident that Israel is contrasted here with other nations (v. 1). It would seem that these others also do not know God and do not worship Him, just as Israel, having forgotten its God, does not worship Him. But those other nations had never known Him.
With Israel the situation is different: the very existence of the Jewish people is connected with God's direct intervention in history. Indeed, the Jewish nation was formed in the process of the Exodus, which would not have happened if God had not arranged it. With other nations everything was different; their existence was conditioned by natural causes, to the extent that social processes can be called natural. Of course, God does not abandon them either, but in general the history of these nations proceeds naturally. The history of the people of God, however, was conceived by God from the very beginning as a supernatural history, one conditioned not by social causes but by spiritual ones.
Of course, this would be possible only if the people agreed to it and allowed God to direct their life. Unlike natural processes, which proceed without asking for human consent, spiritual action always presupposes human participation, and, when we are speaking of God's action, voluntary participation. Therefore the people of God always have the possibility of refusing the path offered by God. But in that case their historical future disappears as well. The people of God were not meant to exist according to natural laws; in God's plans they were never one nation among many existing by such laws. They can exist only in the way God offers them to exist. The people of God are not adapted to any other existence; they cannot and must not exist otherwise, and there is no place for them in natural history. Every attempt to live "like everyone else" leads them only to spiritual degeneration, moral decay, and national catastrophe.
But, alas, in every age there have been people among the Jewish people who did not understand this. In Hosea's day they were the majority in the North. And God does not simply reproach His people for ingratitude: He warns them that they have only one possibility for surviving spiritually and physically: to turn to their God and remain faithful to Him. The same is true for everyone who has set out on God's path. It is a path one cannot leave without losing both God and oneself.
Readings for 18 June 2025
After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free. | ||
