That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is
so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed.
But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a
fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God
out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great
confidence by _Maurer_, among others, in his _Observ. in Hos._, in the
_Commentat. Theol._ ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments by which he
supports this view will not stand the test. He appeals (1) to the
inscription. The circumstance that, in this, there is mention made of
the kings of Judah under whom Hosea exercised his ministry,--that they
are mentioned _at all_,--and that they are mentioned _first_ and
_completely_, while only one of the kings of Israel is named, [Pg 166]
proves, according to him--especially on a comparison with the
inscription of Amos--that the prophet acknowledged the kings of Judah
as his superiors. But this mode of argumentation entirely overlooks the
position which the pious in Israel generally, and the prophets
especially, occupied in reference to Judah. They considered the whole
separation--the civil as well as the religious--as an apostasy from
God. And how could they do otherwise, since the eternal dominion over
the people of God had been granted, by God, to the house of David? The
closeness of the connection between the religious and the civil
sufficiently appears from the fact, that Jeroboam and all his
successors despaired of being able to maintain their power, unless they
made the breach, in religious matters also, as wide as possible. The
chief of the prophets in the kingdom of the ten tribes--Elijah--by
taking twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel (1
Kings xviii. 31), plainly enough declared, that he considered the
separation as one not consistent with the idea of the Jewish kingdom,
and that therefore, in reality, it must at some future period be done
away with; that he considered the government in Israel as existing _de
facto_, but not _de jure_.
By none do we find this view so distinctly brought out as by Hosea.
"They have set up kings, and not by Me"--says the Lord by him, chap.
viii. 4--"they have made princes, and I knew it not." In his view,
then, the whole basis of the government in Israel is ungodliness.
Because they have chosen kings and princes without God, and against the
will of God, they shall be taken from them by God, chap. iii. 4.
Salvation cannot come to the people until Israel and, Judah set over
themselves one head, ii. 2 (i. 11), until the children of Israel seek
Jehovah their Lord, and David their king, iii. 5. These two things are,
in his view, intimately connected; no true return to the invisible head
of the Theocracy is possible without, at the same time, a return to the
visible one--the house of David. What, at some future time, the mass of
the people, when converted, were to do, the converted individual must
do even now. He even now recognised the kings of the tribe of Judah as
truly his sovereigns, although he yielded civil obedience to the rulers
of Israel, until God should again abolish the government which He gave
to the people in wrath, and set [Pg 167] up in opposition to the
government of the house of David in His anger, on account of their
apostasy. From all this, it clearly appears that, in order to account
for the peculiarity of the inscription, we need not have recourse to
the conjecture, that Hosea was a native of Judah. One might, with as
much reason, maintain that all the prophets in the kingdom of Israel,
who rejected the worship of the calves--and hence all the prophets
without exception--were natives of the kingdom of Judah. For the
worship of the calves is quite on a par with the apostasy from the
anointed of God. Hosea mentions, first and completely, the kings of the
legitimate family. He then further adds the name of one of the rulers
of the kingdom of Israel, under whom his ministry began, because it was
of importance to fix precisely the time of its commencement. Uzziah,
the first in the series of the kings of Judah mentioned by him,
survived Jeroboam nearly twenty-six years; compare _Maurer_, l. c. p.
284. Now, had the latter not been mentioned along with him, the thought
might easily have suggested itself, that it was only during the latter
period of Uzziah's reign that the prophet entered upon his office; in
which case all that he said about the overthrow of Jeroboam's family
would have appeared to be a _vaticinium post eventum_, inasmuch as it
took place very soon after Jeroboam's death. The same applies to what
was said by him regarding the total decay of the kingdom which was so
flourishing under Jeroboam; for, from the moment of Jeroboam's death,
it hastened with rapid strides towards its destruction. If, therefore,
it was to be seen that future things lie open before God and His
servants "before they spring forth" (Is. xlii. 9), it was necessary
that the commencement of the prophet's ministry should be the more
accurately determined; and this is effected by the statement, that it
happened within the period of the fourteen years during which Uzziah
and Jeroboam reigned contemporaneously. That this is the main reason
for mentioning Jeroboam's name, is seen from the relation of ver. 2 to
ver. 1. The remark there made,--that Hosea received the subsequent
revelation at the very beginning of his prophetic ministry, corresponds
with the mention of Jeroboam's name in ver. 1. But this is not all; nor
can we say that, had it not been for this reason, Hosea would not have
mentioned any king of Israel at all, in order that, from the outset, he
might exhibit [Pg 168] his disposition. There was a considerable
difference between Jeroboam and the subsequent kings. _Cocceius_
remarked very strikingly: "The other kings of Israel are not considered
as kings, but as robbers." Jeroboam possessed a _quasi_ legitimacy. The
house of Jehu, to which he belonged, had opposed the extreme of
religious apostasy. It was, to a certain degree, acknowledged, even by
the prophets. Jeroboam had obtained the throne, not by usurpation, but
by birth. He was the last king by whom the Lord sent deliverance to the
people of the ten tribes; compare 2 Kings xiv. 27: "And the Lord would
not blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; and He saved them by
the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash." (2.) The _internal_ reason
adduced by _Maurer_ (S. 294) is equally insignificant. "The _morum
magistri_," he says, "are wont more slightly to reprove, in the case of
strangers, that which they severely condemn in their own people; but
Hosea rebukes with as much severity the inhabitants of Judah, when he
comes to speak of them, as he does the Israelites." But no certain
inferences can be drawn from such commonplaces; for, in this way we
might as reasonably infer, that Isaiah and the writer of the Books of
Kings were natives of the kingdom of the ten tribes, because they
censure the sins of the Israelites as severely as they do those of the
inhabitants of Judah. To this commonplace we might as easily oppose
another equally true, viz., the "_morum magistri_, from a partiality
for their own people, are wont to judge more leniently of their faults
than of those of strangers." Such maxims require to be applied with the
utmost caution, even in the territory to which they belong, because one
consideration may be so easily outweighed by another. Here, however,
its application is altogether out of the question. The prophets, as the
instruments of the Spirit, spoke pure and plain truth without any
regard to persons. Whether Hosea was a native of Judah or of Israel, he
would express himself in the same way concerning the inhabitants of
Judah. He would severely rebuke their sins, and at the same time
readily acknowledge, as he does, their advantages,--for "Salvation
cometh of the Jews."
If, then, these be the arguments in favour of the Judean origin of
Hosea, it readily appears that the probabilities of such an origin,
compared with that of his Israelitish descent, are not [Pg 169] even in
the proportion of one to a hundred. The prophets were almost more
numerous in the kingdom of Israel than in that of Judah; and yet the
entire history knows of only two instances of prophets being sent from
the kingdom of Judah to that of Israel, viz., the prophet spoken of in
1 Kings xiii. and Amos. And the former of these even scarcely belongs
to this class, inasmuch as he received only a single mission into the
kingdom of Israel, and _that_, at a time when the prophetic institution
was not as yet organized there. In the case of Amos likewise, it is
manifest not only that he was only an exception to the rule,--as
appears from the transactions with the priest Amaziah, reported in Amos
vii. (compare especially ver. 12),--but still more plainly, from the
mention in the inscription of his having been a native of Judah.
With regard to the _time_ of the prophet, the inscription places his
ministry in the reigns of the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
A long period is, no doubt, thus assigned to it,--a period embracing at
least twenty-six years of Uzziah's reign, and, in addition, the sixteen
years of that of Jotham, the sixteen years during which Ahaz reigned,
and at least one or two years of the reign of Hezekiah, making, at the
lowest calculation, a period of sixty years in all.
This exceedingly long duration of the prophet's ministry might easily
excite suspicion regarding the genuineness and correctness of the
inscription; but such suspicion is at once set at rest by the fact,
that the statements contained in the book itself lead us to assume a
period equally extended. The _beginning_ of the prophet's ministry
cannot be assigned to any _later_ period; for, in chap. i. 4, the fall
of Jeroboam's house, which took place soon after his death, is
announced as a future event. _Moreover_, the condition of the kingdom
appears still, throughout the whole first discourse, as a very
flourishing one. Nor can the end of his ministry be assigned to any
earlier period. For in chap. x. 14, an expedition of Shalman or
Shalmaneser against the kingdom of Israel (_Vitringa_, _Proleg. in Is._
p. 6) is described as being already past, and a second invasion is
threatened. But the first expedition of Shalmaneser, reported in 2
Kings xvii. 1 seqq., is almost contemporaneous with the beginning of
Hezekiah's reign. For it was directed against Hoshea, king of Israel,
who began his reign in the twelfth [Pg 170] year of that of Ahaz, which
lasted sixteen years. The exact harmony of the passage in Hosea with
that in 2 Kings xvii. is very evident. In 2 Kings xvii. 3, it is said:
"Against him came up Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and Hoshea became
his servant and gave him tribute." This was the first expedition of
Shalmaneser. Then followed the second expedition, which was caused by
the rebellion of Hoshea,--in consequence of which Samaria was taken and
the people carried away. In Hos. x. 14, 15, it is said: "And tumult
ariseth against thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as
Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle; the mother was dashed
in pieces upon (her) children. So shall he do unto you, Bethel, because
of your great wickedness in the dawn of the morning, destroyed,
destroyed shall be the king of Israel." Hosea here declares that the
beginning of the destruction by Shalmaneser is the prophecy of the end
of the kingdom of Israel. The "morning dawn" is the time of apparently
reappearing prosperity, when, according to _Cocceius_, a time of peace
begins to shine. In Amos iv. 13, v. 8, the prosperity again dawning
upon the kingdom of Israel is likewise expressed by "morning" and
"morning dawn." The identity of Beth-arbel and Arbelah in Galilee can
the less be doubted, because recent researches have rendered it certain
that this place, now called _Irbid_, was an important fortress.
(Compare _Münchener gelehrte Anzeigen_ 1836, S. 870 ff.; _Robinson_,
iii. 2, p. 534; _v. Raumer_, S. 108.) The use of Beth-arbel, instead of
the more common Arbelah, as well as that of Shalman instead of
Shalmaneser, belongs to the higher style. At the first expedition, the
decisive battle had, no doubt, taken place at Arbelah. They who
disconnect this passage from 2 Kings xvii. do not know what to make of
it. _Simson_ complains of the darkness resting on the passage under
consideration.--But Hos. xii. 2 (1) likewise leads us to the very last
times of the kingdom of Israel,--those times when Hoshea endeavoured to
free himself from the Assyrian servitude by the help of Egypt. "Ephraim
feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east-wind; he daily increaseth
lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with Assyria, and oil
is carried into Egypt." Their sending oil to Egypt, notwithstanding the
covenant made with Assyria, is the lie, which goes hand in hand with
desolation, while they imagine thereby to [Pg 171] work deliverance.
This explanation has been already given by _J. H. Manger_, of whose
_Commentarius in Hoseam_, _Campen_, 1782--a commentary in many respects
excellent--most of the recent commentators, and, lastly, _Simson_,
have, to their great disadvantage, not availed themselves. _Manger_
says: "These words refer to the ambassadors who were sent with splendid
presents by king Hoshea to the king of Egypt, in order to win him over
to himself, and induce him to assist him against the Assyrians, to whom
he had become subject by a solemn treaty."--To the last times of the
kingdom of Israel we are likewise led by what occurs in other passages
concerning the relation of Israel to Egypt and Asshur. The matter has
been falsely represented by very many as if two parties among the
people were spoken of,--an Assyrian and an Egyptian party. Nor is it
so, that the whole people turn at one time to Egypt in order to free
themselves from the Assyrians, and at another time to Assyria to assist
them against Egypt. The position is rather thus: The people, heavily
oppressed by Asshur, at one time seek help from Egypt against Asshur,
and, at another, attempt to conciliate the latter. Precisely thus is
the situation described in vii. 11: "They call to Egypt, they go to
Asshur." That by which Israel was threatened, was, according to viii.
10, "the burden of the king of princes, the king of Asshur," ver. 9.
This they seek to turn off, partly by artifices, and partly by calling
to their help the king of Egypt. Asshur alone is the king "warrior"
(_Jareb_), v. 13, x. 6; he only has received the divine mission to
execute judgment; compare xi. 5: "He, _i.e._, Israel, shall not return
to the land of Egypt, and Asshur, he is his king." As an ally not to be
trusted, Egypt is described in vii. 16, where, after the announcement
of their destruction on account of their rebellion against the Lord, it
is said: "This shall be their derision on account of the land of
Egypt," _i.e._, thus they shall be put to shame in the hope which they
place on Egypt. Is. xxx. 1-5 is quite analogous. In that passage the
prophet announces that Judah's attempt to protect themselves against
Asshur by means of Egypt would be vain; compare, especially, ver. 3:
"And the fortress of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and the trust in the
shadow of Egypt, your confusion;" and ver. 5: "Not for help nor for
profit, but for shame and for reproach." Such historical circumstances,
[Pg 172] however, had not yet occurred under Menahem. At that time,
Israel was not yet placed in the midst betwixt Asshur and Egypt. It is
expressly mentioned in 2 Kings xv. 20, that the invasion of Pul was
only transitory, and that not conquest, but spoil, was its aim. The
real commencement of the Assyrian oppression is formed by the invasion
of Tiglathpileser at the time of Ahaz. Isaiah, in chap. vii., points
out the pernicious consequences of Ahaz's calling the Assyrians to his
assistance against Syria and Israel. The very fact of this war carried
on against Judah by Syria and Ephraim shows, that up to that time,
Asshur had not laid his hand upon these regions. It was only with the
invasion under Ahaz that there was any display of Asshur's tendency to
make permanent conquests on the other side of Euphrates, which could
not fail to bring about the conflict with the Egyptian power.--"King
Jareb,"--such had already become the historical character of the king
of Asshur, at the time when Hosea wrote; but prior to the times of Ahaz
and Hezekiah, he did not stand out as such.
There is no decisive weight to be attached to what _Simson_ advances in
order to prove that we must fix an earlier date. He argues thus:
"Gilead, which, according to 2 Kings xv. 29, was taken and depopulated
by Tiglathpileser, whom Ahaz had called to his assistance, appears in
vi. 8, xii. 12 (11) to be still in the possession of Israel. Hence, the
ministry of the prophet cannot have extended beyond the invasion of
Judah by the Syrians and Ephraim." But since the book gives the sum and
substance of Hosea's prophecies during a prolonged period, there must
necessarily occur in it references to events which already belonged to
the past, at the time when the prophet wrote. In chap. i. 4, even the
overthrow of the house of Jeroboam appears as being still future.
But even although we could not establish, from other sources, the
statement contained in the inscription, the inscription itself would
nevertheless be a guarantee for it; and the more so, because there are
other analogies in favour of so long a duration of the prophetic
office, which was sometimes entered upon even in early youth. The
inscription has the same authority in its favour as every other part of
the book; and it is hardly possible to understand the levity with which
it has, in recent times, been pretty generally designated as spurious,
or, at least, suspicious. [Pg 173] It is altogether impossible to sever
it from the other parts of the book. There must certainly have been
some object in view when, in ver. 2, it is expressly remarked, that
what follows took place at the _beginning_ of Hosea's ministry. But
such an object it will be possible to point out, only in the event of
its being more accurately determined at what time this beginning took
place--viz., still under the reign of Jeroboam, when the state of
things as it appeared to the eye did not yet offer any occasion for
such views of the future as are opened up in the first three chapters.
Ver. 1 cannot, therefore, be regarded as an addition subsequently made,
unless the words in ver. 2, from תחלת to בהושע be so likewise. But
these again are most closely connected with what follows by the
_Future_ with _Vav convers._, which never can begin a narrative. There
remains, therefore, only this alternative:--either to regard the whole
as having been written at a later period, or to claim for Hosea the
inscription also. We cannot agree with the view of _Simson_, that the
remark by which the beginning of the book is assigned to the beginning
of the prophet's ministry, originated from a chronological interest
only; and we can the less do so, because the prophet does not pay any
attention to chronology in any other place, but is anxious to give only
the sum and substance of what he had prophesied during a series of
years. The only exception which he makes in this respect must have
originated from strong reasons; and such do not exist, if the
inscription in ver. 1, or the mention of the kings in it, be spurious.
The mention of the beginning in ver. 2 would, in that case, be so much
the more groundless, as we could know nothing at all regarding the
length of his ministry.
Much more fruitful, certainly, than all such vain doubts, are the
reflections of Calvin on the long duration of the prophet's ministry:
"How grievous is it to us when God requires our services for twenty or
thirty years; and, especially, when we have to contend with ungodly
people, who would not willingly take upon them the yoke, yea, who even
obstinately resist us! we then wish to be freed at once, and to become
pensioned soldiers. But, seeing this prophet's long protracted
ministry, let us take from it an example of patience, that we may not
despair although the Lord should not at once free us from our burden."
Many interpreters have zealously attempted to determine the [Pg 174]
particular portions of this lengthened period to which the particular
portions of this book belong. But such an undertaking is wholly vain in
the case before us, as well as in that of Micah, and most of the minor
prophets generally. The supposition upon which it rests is false--viz.,
that the collection consists of a number of single, detached portions.
We do not possess the whole of Hosea's prophecies, but only the
substance of their essential contents,--a survey which he himself gave
towards the end of his ministry. This appears (1) from the דבר יהוה in
the inscription. In itself, this would not be a decisive argument, as
the prophet might also have comprehended in an _ideal_ unity,
discourses outwardly distinct; but, nevertheless, as long as no reason
appears for the contrary, it is more naturally referred to a continuous
discourse with an external unity also. (2.) It appears from the entire
omission of all chronological data. The only exception is in ver. 2;
but this exception serves only to strengthen the argument drawn from
the omission everywhere else. (3.) It is proved by the absence of all
certain indications about the beginning and ending of the particular
portions. There occur, just as in the second part of Isaiah, new
starting points only; but, with these exceptions, the discourse always
moves on in the same manner. (4.) It is seen from the indefiniteness
and generality of the historical references, which must necessarily
arise if the prophet referred, in like manner, to the whole of this
lengthened period. That the facts, upon which the last two arguments
rest, really exist, is made sufficiently apparent from the immense
diversity of opinions as to the number and extent of the particular
portions, and as to the time of their composition. There are not even
two of the more important interpreters who agree in the main points
alone. Such a diversity does not exist in reference to any of the
prophetical books which actually consist of detached prophecies. (5.)
The style and language are too much the same throughout the whole, to
admit of the idea that any long period could have elapsed between the
particular prophecies. This, indeed, is only a subordinate argument;
but it acquires its full importance, when connected with the foundation
of the third and fourth proofs.
It now only remains to give a survey of the historical circumstances at
the time of the prophet. This is the more necessary, as a knowledge of
these is required for the exposition of [Pg 175] the Messianic
prophecies, not only of Hosea, but also of Amos, his contemporary.
The kingdom of Israel carried within it, from its very commencement, a
twofold element of destruction--viz., the establishment of the worship
of the calves, and the rebellion against the dynasty of David. With
regard to the former,--the consequence of this apparently so much
isolated transgression of a Mosaic ordinance extended much further than
would appear upon a superficial view. In this case also it was seen
that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Of far higher importance
than the low conceptions of God produced by this symbolical
representation of Him, was another aspect of the transaction. The
prohibition of image-worship in the Pentateuch was as distinct and
clear as it was possible to make it. The kings of Israel were far from
rejecting it; but still, how difficult soever it may appear, they found
out an interpretation by which they evaded the application of it to
their institution. Such a course once entered upon, could only lead
them further and further astray. As, in so important a case, they
had, in opposition to their own better convictions, allowed themselves
to pervert and explain away the law--asserting, probably, that
it was given only on account of the coarse sensuality of former
generations--the same was done in other things also, as often as it
was called for by the disposition of the corrupted heart. All
unfaithfulness which is known to be so, and yet is cherished, and
excused to the conscience and before men, must draw after it entire
ruin, in a community, not less than in an individual. As a reason for
this ruin, it is very strikingly said in 2 Kings xvii. 9: "And they
_covered_ (this is the only ascertained signification of חפא) words
that were not so, over the Lord their God;" _i.e._, they ventured, by a
number of perversions and false interpretations of His word, to
veil its true form. To this, the following consideration must be
added:--That first change of the religious institutions proceeded from
the political power which secured to itself, for the future, an
absolute influence upon the religious affairs, by subjecting to its
control the ecclesiastical power, which had hitherto been independent
of it. Those Levites who, having no regard to the miserable sophisms
invented by the king as an excuse, declared against the worship of
calves, were expelled, and, in their stead, creatures of the king [Pg
176] were made ministers of the sanctuary. This became now the king's
sanctuary (compare the remarkable passage, Amos vii. 13), and all the
ecclesiastical affairs were, in strict contradiction to the Mosaic law,
submitted to his arbitrary power. The consequences of this must
necessarily have been all the sadder, the worse the kings were; and
they must inevitably have become so, because of the bad foundation on
which the royal power rested.
Image-worship was very speedily followed by idolatry,--which is,
however, in like manner, not to be looked upon in the light of an
undisguised opposition to the true God. Such an opposition took place
during the reign of only one king--Ahab--under whom the matter was
carried to an extreme. Holy Scripture, however, with a total disregard
of the whole multitude of miserable excuses ordinarily made, designates
as _direct_ apostasy from God, everything which was substantially such,
although it did not outwardly manifest itself as such. Externally, they
remained faithful to Jehovah; they celebrated His feasts,--they offered
the sacrifices prescribed in the Pentateuch,--they regulated, in
general, all the religious institutions according to the requirements
there laid down, as may be proved from the Books of Kings, and, still
more plainly, from Amos and Hosea. But in all this they discovered a
method by which light and darkness, the worship of idols with that of
the Lord, might be combined. Nor was this discovery so very difficult,
since their eye was not single. They had before them the examples of
heathen nations, who were quite prepared reciprocally to acknowledge
their deities, in all of whom they recognised only different forms of
manifestation of one and the same divine being; and they were quite
willing to extend this acknowledgment even to the God of Israel also,
as long as they did not meet with intolerance on the part of those who
professed to worship Him, and were therefore not roused to the practice
of intolerance in return. This reciprocal recognition of their deities
by the nations in the midst of whom the Israelites lived, is
sufficiently evident from the circumstance, that they all called their
highest deity by the same name--Baal--and expressed, by some epithet,
only the form of manifestation peculiar to each. Now, the Israelites
imagined that they might be able, at one and the same time, to satisfy
the demands of their God, and to propitiate [Pg 177] the idols of the
neighbouring mighty nations--especially of the Phœnicians--if they
removed the wall of separation betwixt the two. Jehovah and Baal were,
in their view, identical as to their essence. The former was that mode
of manifestation peculiar to them, and the main object of their worship
according to the method prescribed by Himself in His revelation. But
the latter was not to be neglected; inasmuch as they imagined that they
might thereby become partakers of the blessings which this form of
manifestation of the deity was able to bestow. And thus to Jehovah they
gave the name of Baal also, Hos. ii. 18 (16); they celebrated the days
appointed by Jehovah, ver. 13 (11), but those also devoted to Baalim,
ver. 15 (13). In this way we receive an explanation of the fact which,
at first sight, is so startling, viz., that according to Hosea and
Amos, all is filled with the service of Baal; while the Books of Kings
would lead us to think that, with the reign of Ahab, the dominion of
this worship had ceased. But it was only its hostile opposition to the
worship of Jehovah that had disappeared, while a far more dangerous
religious compromise took its place. No doubt can be entertained as to
the party on whose side lay the advantage in this compromise. It was
plainly on that side on which it always lies, whensoever the heart is
divided betwixt truth and falsehood. Externally, the worship of Jehovah
remained the prevailing one; but, inwardly, idolatry obtained
almost the sole dominion. If only the limits betwixt the two religions
were removed, that religion would of course come with the highest
recommendation, the spirit of which was most in accordance with
the spirit of the people. But, owing to the corrupt condition of
human nature, this would not be the strict religion of Jehovah,
which, as coming from God, did not bring God down to the level of
human debasement, but demanded that man should be raised to His
elevation,--which placed the holiness of God in the centre, and founded
upon it the requirement that its possessors should be holy;--but it
would be the soft, sensual, idolatrous doctrine which flattered human
corruption, because from that it had its origin. Thus the Jehovah of
the Israelites became in reality what they sometimes called Him by way
of alternation--a Baal. And the matter was now much more dangerous
than if they had deserted Him [Pg 178] externally also, inasmuch as
they now continued to trust in His covenant and promises, and to boast
of their external services,--thus strengthening themselves in their
false security.
The _natural_ consequence of this apostasy from the Lord was a
frightful corruption of manners. The next result of spiritual
adultery was the carnal one. Voluptuousness formed the fundamental
characteristic of the Asiatic religions in general, and, in particular,
of those with which the Israelites came in contact. But the pernicious
influence extended still further over the whole moral territory. Where
there is no holy God, neither will there be any effort of man after
holiness. All divine and human laws will be trampled under foot. All
the bonds of love, law, and order, will be broken. And, as such, the
condition of the country in a moral point of view is described by its
two prophets throughout. Compare, _e.g._, Hosea iv. 1, 2: "There is no
truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Swearing, and
lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery--they break
through, and blood toucheth blood." There then followed, from the moral
corruption, the internal dissolution of the state, and its external
weakness.
The _supernatural_ consequences of the apostasy from the Lord, were the
severe punishments which He inflicted upon the people. With whomsoever
God has entered into a closer connection, whomsoever He thinks worthy
of His grace, in him the Lord will be glorified by the infliction of
punishment upon him, if, through his own guilt. He has not been
glorified by sanctification in him. Just because Israel formed part of
the Covenant-people, they could not be allowed to continue to retain
the outward appearance of it, when, inwardly, they did not retain a
vestige.
As the second element of the ruin, we mentioned the rebellion against
the dynasty of David. Their dominion rested on divine right, while the
new Israelitish kingdom rested upon the sandy foundation of human
caprice. The first king had raised himself to the throne by his own
power and prudence, and through the favour of the people. Whosoever had
the same means at his disposal, imagined that these gave him the right
to do likewise. And thus dynasty supplanted dynasty, regicide followed
regicide. In the bloody struggles thereby occasioned, the people became
more and more lawless. Sometimes interregna, [Pg 179] and periods of
total anarchy took place; and by these internal struggles the power to
resist external enemies was more and more broken. No king was able to
stop this source of mischief, for such an effort would have required
him to lay aside his position as a king. And as little was any one able
to put a stop to that source of evil formerly mentioned: for, if the
religious wall of partition which was erected between Israel and Judah
were once removed, the civil one likewise threatened to fall.
Such were, in general, the circumstances under which Hosea, like the
other prophets of the kingdom of Israel, appeared. There cannot be any
doubt that these were much more difficult than those of the kingdom
of Judah. There, too, the corruption was indeed very great; but it
was not so firmly intertwined with the foundation of the whole state.
Thorough-going reforms, like those under Hezekiah and Josiah, were
possible. The interest of a whole tribe was closely bound up with the
preservation of true religion.
The reign of Jeroboam II., which was externally so prosperous, and in
which Hosea entered upon his prophetic ministry, had still more
increased the apostasy from the Lord, and the corruption of manners,
and thus laid the foundation for the series of disastrous events which
began soon after his death, and which, in quick succession, brought
the people to total ruin. The prosperity only confirmed them still
more in their security. Instead of being led to repentance by the
unmerited mercy of God (compare 2 Kings xiv. 26, 27), they considered
this prosperity as a reward of their apostasy, as the seal by which
Jehovah-Baal confirmed the rectitude of their ways. The false prophets,
too, did what was in their power to strengthen them in their delusion,
whilst the true prophets preached to deaf ears.
Immediately after the death of Jeroboam, it soon became apparent on
which side the truth lay. There followed an interregnum of from eleven
to twelve years.[1] After the termination [Pg 180] of it, Zachariah,
the son of Jeroboam, succeeded to the throne; but he was murdered by
Shallum, after a short reign of six months, 2 Kings xv. 10. Shallum,
after he had reigned only one month, was slain by Menahem, ver. 14.
Menahem reigned ten years at Samaria. Under him, the catastrophe was
already preparing which brought the kingdom to utter destruction. He
became tributary to the Assyrian king Pul, vers. 19-21. He was
succeeded by his son Pekahiah, in the fiftieth year of Uzziah. After a
reign of two months, he was slain by Pekah, the son of Remaliah, who
held the government for twenty years (ver. 27), and, by his alliance
with the kings of Syria against his brethren the people of Judah (comp.
Is. vii.), hastened on the destruction of Israel. The Assyrians, under
Tiglathpileser, called to his assistance by Ahaz, even at that time
carried away into captivity part of its citizens,--the tribes who lived
on the other side of the Jordan. In the fourth year of Ahaz, Pekah was
slain by Hoshea, who, after an interregnum of eight years, began to
reign in the twelfth year of Ahaz, xvii. 1. He became tributary to
Shalmaneser; and the end of his government of nine years was also the
end of the kingdom of the ten tribes. His having sought for an alliance
with Egypt drew down, upon himself and his people, the vengeance of the
king of Assyria.
We have already proved that the historical references in the prophecies
of Hosea extend to the time when the last king of Israel attempted to
secure himself against Asshur, by the alliance with Egypt. It is very
probable that the book was written at [Pg 181] that time. At the time
when the sword of the Lord was just being raised to inflict upon Israel
the death-blow, Hosea wrote down the sum and substance of what he had
prophesied during a long series of years, beginning in the last times
of Jeroboam, when, to a superficial view, the people were in the
enjoyment of the fullest prosperity. When at the threshold of their
final fulfilment, he condensed and wrote down his prophecies, just as,
in the _annus fatalis_, the fourth year of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah,
according to chap. xxv., gave a survey of what he had prophesied over
Judah during twenty-three years.
In the prophecies of Hosea, as in those of Amos, the _threatening_
character prevails. The number of the elect in Israel was small, and
the judgment was at hand. In Jeremiah and Ezekiel, too, the prophecies,
previous to the destruction, are mainly minatory. It was only after the
wrath of God had been manifested in deeds, that the stream of promise
brake forth without hindrance. Hosea, nevertheless, does not belie his
name, by which he had been dedicated to the helping and saving God, and
which he had received, _non sine numine_. (הושע, properly the Inf. Abs.
of ישע, is, in substance, equivalent to Joshua, _i.e._, the Lord is
help.) Zeal for the Lord fills and animates him, not only in the energy
of his threatenings, but also in the intensity and strength of his
conviction of the pardoning mercy and healing love of the Lord, which
will, in the end, prevail. In this respect, Hosea is closely connected
with the Song of Solomon--that link in the chain of Holy Scripture into
which he had, in the first instance, to fit. There are in Hosea
undeniable references to the Song of Solomon. (Compare my Comment. on
the Song of Solomon, on chap. i. 4, ii. 3.) It is certainly not by
accident that the brighter views appear with special clearness at the
beginning, in chap. i. 3 (compare ii. 1-3, 16-25 [i. 10, ii. 1, 14-23],
iii. 5), and at the close, xiv. 2-10 (1-9), where the fundamental
thought is expressed in ver. 4 (3): "For in Thee the fatherless findeth
mercy." But even in the darker middle portions, they sometimes suddenly
break through; compare v. 15, vi. 3, where the subject is: "He teareth
and He healeth us; He smiteth and He bindeth up;" vi. 11, where, after
the threatening against Israel, we suddenly find the words:
"Nevertheless, O Judah! He grants thee a harvest, when I (_i.e._, the
Lord) return to the prison of My people." (Judah is [Pg 182] here
mentioned as the main portion of the people, in whom mercy is bestowed
upon the whole, and in whose salvation the other tribes also share.)
Compare also xi. 8-11, where we have this thought: After wrath, mercy;
the Covenant-people can never, like the world, be altogether borne down
by destructive judgments; xiii. 14, where the strong conviction of the
absolutely imperishable nature of the Congregation of the Lord finds
utterance in the words, "I will ransom them from the hand of hell; I
will redeem them from death: O death! where is thy plague? O hell!
where is thy pestilence? repentance is hid from Mine eyes." _Simson_ is
perplexed "by the sudden transition of the discourse, in this passage,
from threatening to promise,--and this without even any particle to
indicate the mutual relation of the sentences and thoughts." But the
same phenomenon occurs also in vi. 11 (compare Micah ii. 12, 13),
where, likewise, several expositors are perplexed by the suddenness and
abruptness of the transition. It is explained from the circumstance,
that behind even the darkest clouds of wrath which have gathered over
the Congregation of the Lord, there is, nevertheless, concealed the sun
of mercy. In the prophets, it sometimes breaks through suddenly and
abruptly; but in this they are at one with history, in which the
deepest darkness of the night is oftentimes suddenly illuminated by the
shining of the Lord: "And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold, the
bridegroom cometh."
The sum and substance of Hosea's prophetic announcement is the
following:--Israel falls, through Asshur: Judah, the main tribe, shall
be preserved from destruction in this catastrophe. (The prophet's
tender care for Judah is strikingly brought out in his exhortation to
Israel, in iv. 15, that they should desist from their compromises in
religion, and that, if they chose to commit sin, they should rather
desert the Lord altogether, lest by their hypocrisy Judah also should
be seduced and infected.) But at a later period, Judah too is to fall
under the divine judgment (ii. 2 [i. 11], where it is supposed that
Judah shall also be carried away into captivity; v. 5: "Israel and
Ephraim fall by their iniquity, Judah also falleth with them;" v. 12:
"I am unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness;"
compare also xii. 1, 3), although the immediate instruments of the
judgment upon Judah are not mentioned [Pg 183] by Hosea. But the
judgments which the two houses of Israel draw upon themselves by their
works (ii. 2 [i. 11], iii. 5, indicate that even Judah will, at some
future time, rebel against the house of David) shall be followed by the
deliverance to be accomplished by grace. Judah and Israel shall, in the
future, be again gathered together under one head, ii. 2 (i. 11); a
glorious king out of David's house not only restores what was lost, but
also raises the Congregation of the Lord to a decree of glory never
before conceived of, iii. 5: "Afterwards shall the children of Israel
return and seek the Lord their God, and David their King, and shall
fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days."
The peculiarity of the Messianic prophecies of Hosea, as compared with
those of the time of David and Solomon, consists in the connection of
the promise with threatenings of judgments, and in the Messiah's
appearing as the light of those who walk in the deepest darkness of the
divine judgments. It was necessary that this progress should have been
made in the Messianic announcements, before the breaking in of the
divine judgments; for, otherwise, the hope of the Messiah would have
been extinguished by them, because it was but too natural to consider
the former as, _in fact_, an annihilation of these dreamy hopes. But
now there was offered to the elect a staff on which they might support
themselves, and walk with confidence through the dark valley of the
shadow of death.
The Book of Hosea may be divided into two parts, according to the two
principal periods of the prophet's ministry,--under Jeroboam, when the
external condition was as yet prosperous, and the bodily eye did not as
yet perceive anything of the storms of divine wrath which were
gathering,--and under the following kings, down to Hosea, when the
punishment had already begun, and was hastening, by rapid strides,
towards its consummation.--Another difference, although a subordinate
one, is this:--that the first part, which comprehends the first three
chapters, contains prophecies connected with a symbol, while the second
part contains direct prophecies which have no such connection. A
similar division occurs in Amos also,--with this difference, that
there, the symbolical prophecies form the conclusion. The first part
may be considered as a kind of outline, which all the subsequent
prophecies served to fill up; just [Pg 184] as may the 6th chapter in
Isaiah, and the first and second in Ezekiel. We shall give a complete
exposition of this section, as it will afford us a vivid view of the
whole position of Hosea, and as it is just there that the Messianic
announcement meets us in its most developed form.
Footnote 1: _Ewald_, _Thenius_, and others, will not grant that such an
interregnum took place. As numbers were originally expressed by
letters, in which an interchange might easily happen, we cannot deny
the possibility of such an error having occurred in 2 Kings xiv. 23. It
is quite possible that the duration of Jeroboam's reign was there
originally stated at fifty-two or fifty-three, instead of forty-one
years. But strong reasons would be required for rendering such a
supposition admissible,--the more so, as the interchange would not have
been limited to one letter, as _Thenius_ supposes, but must have
extended to both. But no such reasons exist. The silence of the Books
of Kings upon the subject of this interregnum cannot be urged as a
reason, since these books are so exceedingly short as regards the
history of the last times of the kingdom of Israel. Sacred
historiography has no interest in the details of this process of decay,
which began with the death of Jeroboam,--which also is represented by
Amos as if it were the day of Israel's death (Amos vii. 11: "Jeroboam
shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be led away captive out of
their own land"), although bare existence is still, for some time,
spared. By the rejection of this interregnum, Hosea's ministry would be
shortened by twelve years; but this gain--if such it be--can be
purchased only at the expense of a most improbable extension of the
duration of Jeroboam's reign. _Simson_, S. 201, has defended the
interregnum.