The Prophet Hosea-c Gaebelein

8/9/2019 The Prophet Hosea-c Gaebelein

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THE PROPHET HOSEA

The Annotated Bible

Arno Clement Gaebelein

http://www.biblecentre.org

Introduction

Analysis and Annotations

ntrod!ction

The Minor Prophets begin with the book of Hosea. There are twelve of these bookswhich are called by the name "minor prophets" not because their contents are of less

authority than the preceding prophetic books but on account of their si!e. The ewsconsidered them one book and the Talmud says of them "our fathers made them one

book that they might not perish on account of their littleness."

The term "minor prophets" was used by the church in early days. Augustinus states# "The

prophet Isaiah is not in the books of the twelve prophets who are therefore called minor because their discourses are brief in comparison with those who are called $greater$

because they composed considerable volumes." ewish tradition claims that the present

arrangement was made by the great synagogue formed by %!ra.

This arrangement is not chronological. oel precedes Hosea while Hosea Amos and

onah were nearly contemporary& 'badiah is difficult to place. The introduction to the

book enters into the (uestion of date. Micah the Morasthite ministered between the

years )*) and +,, -.. /ahum the complement and counterpart of the book of onahalso prophesied during the period of Isaiah. Habakkuk is later than the preceding

prophets. He speaks of the invasion of the land by haldeans as imminent& his prophetic

office was probably e0ercised during the second half of Manasseh$s reign. 1ephaniah prophesied under the reign of osiah between +23 and +44 -.. Haggai 1echariah and

Malachi are post5e0ilic.

Ho"ea and Hi" Time"

The first verse of the book determines the period of Hosea. He prophesied while 6!!iah

was reigning in udah and eroboam II in Israel as well as during the time when otham

Aha! and He!ekiah were kings over udah. His whole prophetic ministry covers probablyover seventy years so that he must have reached a very old age. His prophecy is directed

almost e0clusively to the house of Israel which had degenerated in a short time and

Hosea lived during these awful years. eroboam II was almost the last king who ruled by


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the appointment of the 7ord. After him kings made their way to the tottering throne of

Israel by murdering their predecessors. 8hallum slew 1echariah& Menahem slew 8hallum&

Pekah killed the son of Menahem& Hosea killed Pekak. All was anarchy in Israel.

The religious conditions were still worse. /early all these usurpers had made alliances

with foreign powers which resulted in the introduction of the immoral corruptPhoenician and 8yrian idolatry. The first eroboam had set up a rival worship so that the

people would not go to erusalem to worship in the divinely appointed way. eroboamhad been in %gypt 94 :ings 44#2;& 43#3< where he had seen nature worshipped in the

form of a calf This worship he introduced in the identical words which their fathers had

used when they worshiped the golden calf in the wilderness. 98ee %0odus =3#2 and 4:ings 43#3>


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his message there is an e0posure of the people$s moral condition and their impenitent

state.

-ut there is also the message of mercy which is found in the very beginning of the book.Here are a few of these comforting words which still await their fulfillment in the day

when they shall "seek the 7ord their od and @avid their :ing 9the Messiah


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him. The book begins with two symbolical actions commanded by ehovah to illustrate

Israel $s adulterous condition and ehovah$s enduring love for His people in spite of their

faithlessness. This is followed by a terse prophecy as to the condition of the people formany days and their return in the latter days 9chapters 45=54*


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4. The introduction 94#4<

3. The prophet$s marriage and birth of e!reel 94#35*<

=. The birth of 7o5Buhamah 94#+5)<

2. The birth of 7o5ammi 94#>5,<

*. The future restoration 94#4;544<

Eerse 4

This superscription gives the period of Hosea$s ministry. Dirst stands the statement that

the word of the 7ord came to him. Hosea means salvation& his father$s name -eeri

means "my well." -oth are typical names. ritics have pointed out that Hosea wasundoubtedly a resident of the northern kingdom of Israel yet he mentions but one of the

kings of Israel eroboam while four kings of udah are given in this introduction.Inasmuch as Hosea long survived eroboam the king of Israel and the udaic kings

e0tend far beyond the time of the one Israelitish king it has been alleged that the second part of the superscription does not harmoni!e with the first. 8uch is not the case. The

superscription is made in this manner for some purpose. Hosea marks his Prophecy by

the names of the kings of udah because in udah the theocracy remained. He mentionseroboam 9the 8econd


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allegorical meaning is entirely e0cluded by the te0t which speaks of a literal transaction.

All is related as real history the marriage and the birth of the children. Ce (uote first @r.

Pusey$s words in support of the literal meaning of this command by the 7ord.

"Ce must not imagine things to be unworthy of od because they do not commend

themselves to us. od does not dispense with the moral law because the moral law hasits source in the mind of od Himself. To dispense with it would mean to contradict

Himself. -ut od who is absolute 7ord of all things which He made may at Hissovereign will dispose of the lives or things which He created. Thus as sovereign ?udge

He commanded the lives of the anaanites to be taken by Israel as in His ordinary

providence He has ordained that the magistrate should not bear the sword in vain buthas made him His minister a revenger to e0ecute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 8o

again He whose are all things willed to repay to the Israelites their hard and un?ust

servitude by commanding them to spoil the %gyptians. He who created marriagecommanded to Hosea whom he should marry. The prophet was not defiled by taking as

his lawful wife at od$s bidding one defiled however hard a thing this was."

This is the strongest defense of the literal interpretation of this incident. -ut there is

another interpretation possible which we believe is the correct one. As the conte0t showsthe symbolical meaning of Hosea$s marriage is to illustrate Israel $s unfaithfulness. -ut

Israel was not always unfaithful& she played not always the harlot. 'f necessity this had

to be symboli!ed in the case of the prophet$s marriage. The (uestion then arises wasomer the daughter of @iblaim an impure woman when Hosea married her or did she

become unchaste after her marriage to the prophetF Ce believe the latter was the case.

The Hebrew does not re(uire the meaning that she was impure at the time of the

marriage& in fact as already indicated the supposition that omer lived the life of aharlot before her marriage to the godly prophet destroys the parallelism which the

prophet$s message embodies with the relation of od to Israel. The e0pression "a wife ofwhoredoms and children of whoredoms" simply intimated to Hosea what the woman hemarried was going to be. If not taken in this sense it would mean that omer had already

children when Hosea married her.

omer was called "a wife of whoredoms" by the omniscient 7ord in anticipation of her

future conduct. 8he fell and became immoral after her union with Hosea and not before.In this way she became a symbol of Israel married unto the 7ord but afterwards became

the unfaithful wife. Cith this view the entire prophetic message of Hosea in the

beginning of this book harmoni!es. The name of the woman is likewise suggestive.omer the daughter of @iblaim means "ompletion55a double cake of figs." Israel $s

wickedness is symboli!ed as complete and the double cake of figs is symbolical of

sensual pleasures. And the prophet in spite of her unfaithfulness still loved her and didnot abandon her. This illustrates ehovah$s love for Israel.

Then she bore him a son. %0positors have stated "The children were not the prophet$s

own but born of adultery and presented to him as his." -ut that can not be the meaning in

view of the plain statement "she conceived and bare him a son."


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The 7ord commands him to call this son "e!reel." e!reel has likewise a symbolical

meaning. It means "od shall scatter" 9er. =4#4;


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reinstated& but it also means the call and salvation of the entiles and entiles called in

sovereign grace are to be constituted "the sons of the living od." It is a prophetic hint on

the blessing to come to the entiles and that blessing is greater than Israel $s.

The eleventh verse is a great prophecy and remains still unfulfilled. 8ome e0positors

claim that it was fulfilled in the return of the remnant of ews under 1erubbabel. -ut the-abylonian captivity is not in view here at all. The great day of e!reel will come when

:ing Messiah our 7ord returns. Then shall udah and Israel be gathered together underone head and gather once more to their national feasts in the land.

CHAPTER 6

Appeal and Punishment for 6nfaithfulness The Besumed Belationship

4. The appeal and complaint 93#45*<

3. The punishment for 6nfaithfulness 93#+54=<

=. The resumed relationship and its great blessing 93#4253=<

Eerses 45*

Cho is addressed in the first verse of this chapterF 8ome think the children of the prophet

are meant. The godly in Israel those who obtained mercy are addressed for the 7ord

acknowledges such still as "Ammi"5my people. The godly are to plead with the rest of

Israel their mother but who is disowned by ehovah as the wife on account of heradulterous conduct. Then the 7ord threatens her with severe punishment because of her

unfaithfulness. 8he is to be stripped naked and be as in the day she was born 9see %!ek.4+#2


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Immediately after the announcement of her punishment follows the assurance or future

mercy. Israel $s conversion is promised 9verses 4254)< and the great mercies of ehovah$s

covenant are to be renewed 9verses 4>53=


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CHAPTER 0

"rael 8" Pa"t3 Pre"ent3 and )!t!re

4. The past 9=#45=<

3. The present 9=#2<

=. The future 9=#*<

Eerses 45=

The command here is not that the Prophet should enter into relation with another woman

but it concerns the same omer the unfaithful wife. It seems she left the prophet and

lived in adultery with another man. "And ehovah said unto me o again love a wife

who is beloved of her friend and who is an adulteress& ?ust as ehovah loves the children

of Israel who have turned towards other gods and love raisin cakes" 9correct translation&used in the idolatrous worship


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wonderful forecast of the present we have here learly then this describes the present

condition of Israel 55the most anomalous spectacle the world has ever seen55a people who

go on generation after generation without any of those things which are supposed to beessential for keeping a people in e0istence. They have lost their king their prince& they

have neither the true worship nor the worship of idols. They are unable to present a

sacrifice because they have no temple and no more priesthood. Here is an evidence ofthe supernaturalness of the -ible one which no ew nor destructive critic can deny.

Eerse *

Afterward55in the latter days. These two statements open and end the prophecy

concerning their future. The "afterward" is not yet& the latter days are still to come. Theirfuture is returning and seeking the 7ord their od and @avid their king. This is hrist.

/early all the rabbinical writers and e0positors e0plain it in this way. @avid himself this

could not be. It is He who is @avid$s 8on and @avid$s 7ord our 7ord 9%!ek. =)#3= 32


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lying killing stealing committing adultery and abundant shedding of blood. 8uch was

the continued moral condition of the house of Israel the ten tribes. It was all the result of

having re?ected the Cord of the 7ord and having turned away from Him. The result ofunbelief destructive criticism and denial of the truth is today as it was then swearing

lying stealing killing and the immoralities of our times. Therefore ?udgment would

overtake all even the land itself.

Eerses +544

The people were destroyed for lack of knowledge the knowledge of od and His truth.

They had lost their place of nearness to the 7ord their priestly character into which the

7ord had called the nation 9%0od. 4,54*


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=. The future return and the blessing 9+#45=<

Eerses 45)

The first verse shows who is addressed# the priests the house of Israel and the house of

the :ing. udgment was in store for them for Mi!pah and Tabor the places of hallowedmemory had been turned by their idolatrous worship into a snare. An old and interesting

tradition among the ews states that at Mi!pah the apostates waited for those Israelites

who went up to erusalem to worship there to murder them. The ne0t verse seems toindicate something like this tradition.

"And the apostates make slaughter deep& but I am a chastisement to them all." 98ee also

chapter +#,.< And the 7ord saw it all. "I know %phraim and Israel is not hid from Me."

He knew the whoredoms of %phraim and the defilement of Israel. Their evil deeds keptthem from returning to their od for the demon of whoredoms had taken complete

possession of them and it kept them in sin and rebellion. Pride was the leading sin of

%phraim it was to testify against them and both Israel and %phraim would stumble onaccount of their guilt and udah would share the same fate. And though they go with their

flocks of sheep and their herds willing and ready to sacrifice they shall not be able to

find Him for He hath withdrawn Himself.

Eerses >54*

Then follows a vision of ?udgment. The ?udgment is seen as having already fallen uponthe guilty nation. The horn 98hophar< is blown in ibeah and the trumpet in Bamah& the

alarm is sounded. ibeah and Bamah were situated on the northern boundary of

-en?amin. The enemy was behind -en?amin pursuing. There will be no remedy and no

escape 9verse ,


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would withdraw from them leave them and return to His place waiting till their

repentance comes and they seek Him early in their affliction.

The last verse of this chapter has a wider meaning than the past ?udgment which cameupon the house of Israel. The 7ord of glory came to earth and visited His people. He

came with the message and offer of the kingdom to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.He came unto His own but His own received Him not. After they had re?ected Him

delivered Him into the hands of the entiles to be crucified He returned to His place.There He is now at the right hand of od waiting for that day when the remnant of Israel

will repent and seek His face 9Acts =#4,53;


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The 7ord grieves and mourns over the condition of the people whom He loves. After the

brief glimpse given of their great future of glory we are brought back into the days of

Moses. The 7ord grieves and mourns over His people whom He loves who today are still beloved for the Dather$s sake 9 Bom. ,


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The Moral @epravity of Israel

4. Their moral depravity 9)#45)<

3. Mingling with heathen nations 9)#>54+<

Eerses 45)

All the gracious efforts of the 7ord to heal Israel resulted in a greater manifestation of theini(uity of %phraim. Instead of turning to Him in true repentance and self5?udgment their

evil heart turned away from ehovah and they continued in their downward course. They

did not consider that the 7ord would remember all their evil deeds and punish them for it.The king and the princes the political heads were as corrupt as the priests they were

pleased with the impenitence and wickedness of their sub?ects. Then follows a graphic

description of their moral depravity. They were adulterers burning with lust "like an

oven heated by the baker who rests stirring up 9the fire


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7ord could not depend upon Israel. od had to apply the symbol bent Israel as His own

bow against evil and idolatry but they turned themselves against Him.

CHAPTER


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their own security. Their captivity is announced where they would eat things unclean and

feast days will no longer be possible. Then the prophet beholds them as already in the

Assyrian captivity. They went away and turned towards the south to escape the suredestruction. -ut " %gypt will gather them Memphis will bury them." Their precious

things of silver will give way to thistles and thorns. The day of visitation was at hand&

their ini(uities are remembered and their sins will be visited.

CHAPTER =:>:

Retro"pect3 "rael 8" )ail!re and R!in

4. Israel once beloved now fugitive wanderers 9,#4;54)<

3. Their guilt and punishment 94;#4544<

=. %0hortation and rebuke 94;#4354*<

2. The mercy of a merciful od 944#4544<

Eerses 4;54)

7ike a wayfaring man who finds grapes and figs in the desert and delights in them so the7ord found Israel in the desert and they were His pleasure when He led them out of

%gypt. -ut they re(uited His love by going after -aal5peor one of the filthiest gods of

heathendom. To this they consecrated themselves and practiced their vile abominations.Therefore the glory which He had given to His people will fly away like a bird and their

licentious worship of unnatural vices would avenge itself so that there would be no

pregnancy and no birth the promised increase would stop. It seems verses 4254) are anoutburst of the prophet. How literally the sentence has been fulfilled. "They will bewanderers."

hapter 4;#4544

Here is another retrospect Israel once called to be a thriving vine 9not empty


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ibeah is mentioned 9verse ,


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to them to eat" 9verse 2


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-ut while outwardly udah seemed to be all right %phraim fed on wind was occupied

with the vain the empty things increased in lies and desolation and turned to Assyria and

%gypt for help sending as a present olive oil to the latter and making a covenant with theformer 9see 3 :ings 4)#2


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on this passage. -ut what was %phraim$s conditionF Instead of acknowledging all

ehovah had done for acob and his offspring they provoked Him to bitter anger

therefore the 7ord would punish them.

CHAPTER 0

Ephraim8" R!in and ?!dgment

4. Buin and ?udgment 94=#45><

3. It is thy destruction ' Israel 94=#,544<

=. Mercy to follow wrath 94=#43542<

2. The desolation of the nearing ?udgment 94=#4*54+<

Eerses 45>

In the beginning %phraim was humble and knowing his dependence he spoke withtrembling. Then he became puffed up e0alted himself in Israel loving the preeminence

it led on to the schism from udah and the house of @avid. The ne0t step after this

separation from udah was idolatry then the dying of the nation began. This sad historyof %phraim revealing the steps of decline beginning with self5e0altation and ending in

ruin and death has often been repeated in the individual history of countless multitudes

among the professing people of od.

Then they went from sinning to sinning from bad to worse ?ust as in our own days the

apostates in hristendom go from bad to worse in fulfillment of 3 Timothy =#4=. "-utevil men and seducers shall wa0 worse and worse deceiving and being deceived."

Idolatry flourished on all sides. They added idol images in ilgal and -eer5sheba to thegolden calves 9Amos >#42


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are interesting. They are to be rent by wild beasts which symbolically represent the

entiles. The ten tribes were carried away by the Assyrian while later when udah met

its ?udgment the whole land was devastated by the lion5empire 9 -abylonia


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3. The glorious redemption 942#25,<

Eerses 45=

This chapter is a wonderful finale to the messages of Hosea. Chat tender entreaties

Chat gracious assurance Chat glorious promises of a future redemption it is ehovah beseeching His people those who had forsaken Him outraged His character of holiness

and who had despised Him. Dirst is the call to return. od$s hands are tied as long as His

people stay away from Him and do not return to Him in true repentance. /o truesalvation and deliverance for His people is possible without a true heart return unto Him.

It is this for which He looks and waits.

Then the 7ord Himself puts His word and a prayer into their mouth. He loves to provide

all. "Take with you words and turn to ehovah and say unto Him Dorgive all ini(uity andreceive us graciously so will we render the calves of our lips." ould their poor

darkened and mistrusting hearts ever even have imagined to ask thus of HimF Their

consciences were defiled& the burden of guilt was upon them. -ut ehovah does notmention their sins and their guilt but tells them ?ust to pray for forgiveness and for a

gracious reception. And He who tells His wayward people to pray to turn to Him to pray

for forgiveness He who assures them that He hears assures them of a gracious receiving

will never fail. How full of comfort these sentences are to all His people at all times Cecan imagine that in Hosea$s day there were individual Israelites who took these words to

heart. After them generations of ews read them and turned individually to the 7ord

found forgiveness and became the ob?ects of His grace. And we too as His people whenwe have gone back in our spiritual life can find our comfort here and appropriate all this

in faith as we act upon His Cord. In the future the remnant of Israel will take these

gracious e0hortations to heart and before the glorious redemption is given to them return

to the 7ord with this prayer.

"8o will we render the calves of our lips." 7iterally rendered it is "we will pay as young

o0en our lips" i.e. present the prayers of our lips as a thankoffering& we will be

worshippers. 8uch is the result of a real return unto the 7ord with sins forgiven andrestored to His fellowship. The days of singing are coming for Israel in that day when

they return unto Him and He appears in His glory to be enthroned as :ing. It will usher

in the singing times for all the world including groaning creation then delivered. Thenfollows the evidence of their genuine repentance. It is e0pressed in words suited to the

condition of %phraim in Hosea$s day. They repudiate Assyria& they acknowledge that no

salvation is there but only in ehovah. /o longer will they trust in their own strength and

in the strength of their horses& no longer will they turn to idols and call them "'ur od" but they will acknowledge Him in whom the fatherless findeth mercy. Israel od$s

firstborn son had been the prodigal was fatherless though the Dather$s love never gave

them up. -ut now the prodigal returns and knows there is 'ne in whom the fatherlessfindeth abundant mercy. All this true repentance will be manifested at the close of this

age when the remnant of Israel turns to the 7ord.

Eerses 25,


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His gracious answer to such repentance follows. Three times ehovah speaks "I will."

This is the word of sovereign grace. 98ee annotations on %!ekiel.< The three "I wills" are#

94< I will heal their backslidings& 93< I will love them freely& 9=< I will be a dew untoIsrael. They are arranged in a most blessed order. Mercy love and gracious refreshment

resulting in fruitfulness and beauty such is the order. The past is wiped out the present is

love and the future is glory. 7ike the lily like 7ebanon and like the olive5tree Israel is to be. The lily denotes beauty& they will be clad in the beauty of holiness. 7ebanon stands

for strength and stability& they will become the nation of power which can never be

moved. Then they shall be once more the olive tree& the broken off branches will be put back 9Bom. 44#4+ etc.. "%phraim 9shall say

Documents

The Prophet Hosea-c Gaebelein