View Hosea 9 in the note window.
God threatens to deprive Israel of all their worldly enjoyments,
ver. 1 - 5.
He dooms them to utter ruin, ver. 6 - 8.
Upbraids them with the wickedness of their fathers, ver. 9, 10.
And threatens to root out their posterity, ver. 11 - 17.
1: As other people - With feastings, triumphs, and sacrifices of
thanksgiving. A reward - Such as is given by adulterers to lewd women;
thou hast loved to see thy floor full, and hast said thy idols gave
thee this plenty.
2: The floor - The corn which is gathered into the floor.
The wine - press - The wine that is prest out in it.
Shall not feed - Shall not nourish and strengthen the idolaters.
Shall fail - Samaria and all Israel expect a full vintage, but they
expect it from their idols, and therefore shall be disappointed.
3: Ephraim - Many of Ephraim shall fly into Egypt.
And they - The residue shall be carried captive into Assyria.
4: Wine - offerings - These were appointed to be offered with the
morning and evening sacrifice, the sacrifice representing Christ, and
pardon by him; the wine - offering, the spirit of grace: the sacrifice
repeated, daily continued their peace and pardon. All this shall be
withheld from these captives. Pleasing - If any should venture to offer.
As the bread of mourners - It shall as much pollute them and displease God
as if one mourning for the dead, and forbidden to sacrifice, should
venture to do it. Their bread - Their bread which they were bound to
offer with their sacrifices, they will now have no opportunity of
bringing to the Lord's house.
5: What will ye do - You will not then be suffered to observe any of
them.
6: They are gone - Some are already withdrawn from the desolation
that cometh. Egypt - In Egypt they hope to be quiet and survive these
desolations, but they shall die in Egypt. The pleasant places - Their
beautiful houses built for keeping their wealth in. Nettles - Shall
be ruined, and lie in rubbish, 'till nettles grow in them.
7: The prophet - The false prophet. The spiritual man - That
pretends to be full of the spirit of prophecy. For thine iniquity - God
began his punishments in giving them over to believe their false prophets.
The great hatred - Which God had against your sins.
8: The watchman - The old true prophets indeed were with God.
My God - The God of Hosea. The prophet - The false prophets have,
as well as the people, left God. Is a snare - Their pretended
predictions are but a snare, such as fowlers lay.
And hatred - Such prophets are full of hatred and malice: yea,
they are hatred itself.
10: I found Israel - The Lord speaks of himself in the person of
a traveller, who unexpectedly in the wilderness finds a vine loaded
with grapes; such love did God bear to Israel. Your fathers - Whom I
brought out of Egypt. As the first - ripe - As the earliest ripe fruit
of the fig - tree, which is most valued and desired.
Separated themselves - Consecrated themselves to that shameful idol.
Their abominations - Their idols, and way of worshipping them.
As they loved - As they fancied.
11: Their glory - Their children or posterity, which was the glory
of Israel. Shall fly - It is proverbial, and speaks a sudden loss of
children. From the birth - As soon as born. From the womb - Their
mothers shall not bring their fruit alive into the world.
The conception - Their wives shall not conceive.
12: Not a man left - There shall be a total extirpation of them.
When I depart - To compleat their misery, I will depart from them.
It is sad to lose our children, but sadder to lose our God.
13: To the murderer - He will send them forth in mighty armies; but
it will be sending them out to the slaughter.
14: Give then - It is an abrupt but pathetic speech of one that shews
his trouble for a sinking, undone nation. A miscarrying womb - It is less
misery to have none, than to have all our children murdered.
15: All their wickedness - The chief or beginning.
There I hated them - As there they began to sin so notoriously,
there I began to shew that I hated them.
