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Hosea Chapter
One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 1
After
the general inscription of the book
in which the author
penman
and time of
this prophecy
are expressed
Hosea 1:1
the
people of Israel are reproved for their idolatry
under the representation of a
harlot the prophet is bid to marry
which he is said to do
Hosea 1:2
and
their ruin and destruction are foretold in the names of the children he had by
her
and by what is said on the occasion of the birth of each
Hosea 1:4
but
mercy and salvation are promised to Judah
Hosea 1:7 and the
chapter is concluded with a glorious prophecy of the conversion of the
Gentiles
and the calling of the Jews in the latter day; and of the union of
Judah and Israel under one Head and Saviour
Christ; and of the greatness and
glory of that day
Hosea 1:10.
Hosea 1:1 The word of the
Lord that came to
Hosea the son of Beeri
in the days of Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
and
Hezekiah
kings of Judah
and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash
king of
Israel.
YLT 1A word of Jehovah that hath
been unto Hosea
son of Beeri
in the days of Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
Hezekiah
kings of Judah
and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash
king of Israel:
The word of the Lord that
came unto Hosea
.... Whose name is the same with Joshua and Jesus
and signifies
a saviour; he was in some things a type of Christ the Saviour
and prophesied
of him
and salvation by him; and was the instrument and means of saving men
as all true prophets were
and faithful ministers of the word are: to him the
word of the Lord
revealing his mind and will
was brought by the Spirit of
God
and impressed upon his mind; and it was committed to him to be delivered
unto others. This is the general title of the whole book
showing the divine
original and authority of it:
the son of Beeri; which is added to distinguish him from another
of the same name; and perhaps his father's name was famous in Israel
and
therefore mentioned. The Jews have a rule
that where a prophet's father's name
is mentioned
it shows that he was the son of a prophet; but this is not to be
depended upon; and some of them say that this is the same with Beerah
a prince
of the Reubenites
who was carried captive by Tiglathpileser king of Assyria
1 Chronicles 5:6
but the name is different; nor does the chronology seem so well to agree with
him; and especially he cannot be the father of Hosea
if he was of the tribe of
Issachar
as some have affirmed:
in the days of Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
and Hezekiah
kings of Judah
and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash
king of Israel; from whence
it appears that Hosea prophesied long
and lived to a great age; for from the
last year of Jeroboam
which was the fifteenth of Uzziah
to the first of
Hezekiah
must be sixty nine years; for Jeroboam reigned forty one years
and
in the twenty seventh of his reign began Uzziah or Azariah to reign over Judah
and he reigned fifty two years
2 Kings 14:23
so
that Uzziah reigned thirty seven years after the death of Jeroboam
through
which time Hosea prophesied; Jotham after him reigned sixteen years
and so
many reigned Ahaz
2 Kings 15:23
so
that without reckoning any part
either of Jeroboam's reign
or Hezekiah's
he
must prophesy sixty nine years
and
no doubt
did upwards of seventy
very
probably eighty
the Jews say ninety; and allowing him to be twenty four or
five years of age when he begun to prophesy
or only twenty (for it is certain
he was at an age fit to marry
as appears by the prophecy)
he: must live to be
upwards of a hundred years; and in all probability he lived to see not only
part of Israel carried captive by Tiglathpileser
which is certain; but the
entire destruction of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser
which he prophesied of.
Jeroboam king of Israel is mentioned last
though prior to these kings of
Judah; because Hosea's prophecy is chiefly against Israel
and began in his
reign
when they were in a flourishing condition. It appears from hence that
Isaiah
Amos
and Micah
were contemporary with him; see Isaiah 1:1
within
this compass of time Hosea prophesied lived Lycurgus the famous lawgiver of the
Lacedemonians
and Hesiod the Greek poet; and Rome began to be built.
Hosea 1:2 2 When
the Lord
began to speak by Hosea
the Lord said to Hosea:
“Go
take yourself a wife of harlotry And
children of harlotry
For the land has committed great harlotry By departing
from the Lord.”
YLT 2The commencement of
Jehovah's speaking by Hosea. And Jehovah saith unto Hosea
`Go
take to thee a
woman of whoredoms
and children of whoredoms
for utterly go a-whoring doth
the land from after Jehovah.'
The beginning of the word
of the Lord by Hosea
.... Or "in Hosea"F9בהושע
εν ωσηε
Sept.; in
Hosea
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius
Tarnovius. ; which was internally
revealed to him
and was inspired into him
by the Holy Ghost
who first spoke
in him
and then by him; not that Hosea was the first of the prophets to whom
the word of the Lord came; for there were Moses
Samuel
David
and others
before him; nor the first of the minor prophets
for Jonah
Joel
and Amos; are
by some thought to be before him; nor the first of those contemporary with him
as the Jewish writers interpret it
which is not certain
at least not all of
them; but the meaning is
that what follows is the first part of his prophecy
or what it began with; by which it appears he was put upon hard service at
first
to prophesy against Israel
an idolatrous people
and to do it in such a
manner as must be disagreeable to a young man:
and the Lord said to Hosea
go
take thee a wife of whoredoms and
children of whoredoms; a woman given to whoredom
a notorious strumpet
one taken out
of the stews
and children that were spurious and illegitimate
not born in
lawful wedlock. Some think this was really done; that the prophet took a whore
and cohabited with her
or married her which
though forbidden a high priest
was not forbid to a prophet; and had it been against a law
yet the Lord
commanding it made it lawful
as in the cases of Abraham's slaying his son
and
the Israelites borrowing jewels of the Egyptians; but this seems not likely
since it would not only look like countenancing whoredom
which is contrary to
the holy law of God; but must be very dishonourable to the prophet
and render
him contemptible to the people; and
besides
would not answer the end
proposed
to reprove the spiritual adultery or idolatry of Israel
but rather
serve to confirm in it; for how should that appear criminal and abominable to
them
which was commanded the prophet by the Lord? others think that the woman
he is bid to marry
though before marriage a harlot
was afterwards reformed;
but this is directly contrary to Hosea 3:1 and
besides
the children born of her
whether reformed or not
yet in lawful
wedlock could not be called children of whoredom; nor would the above end be
answered by it
since such a person would be no fit representative of Israel committing
spiritual adultery or idolatry
and continuing in it; and moreover
whether
this or the former was the case
the prophecy must be many years delivering; it
must be near a year before the first child was born
and the same space must be
between the birth of each; so that here must be a long and frequent
interruption of the prophecy
which does not seem likely: nor is it probable
that he took his own wife
which is the opinion of others
and gave her the
character of a whore
and his children with her
and called them children of
whoredom
in order to represent and reprove the idolatry of Israel: what
MaimonidesF11Moreh Nevochim
par. 2. 46. Aben Ezra & Kimchi in
loc.
and the Jewish writers in general
give into
is more agreeable
that
this was all done in the vision of prophecy; that it so seemed to the prophet
in vision to be really done
and so he related it to the people; but this is
liable to objection
that such an impure scene of things should be represented
to the mind of the prophet by the Holy Spirit of God; nor can the relation of
it be thought to have any good effect upon the people
who would be ready to
mock at him
and reproach him for it. It seems best therefore to understand the
whole as a parable
and that the prophet
in a parabolical way
is bid to
represent the treachery
unfaithfulness
and spiritual adultery of the people
of Israel
under the feigned name of an unchaste woman
and of children
begotten in fornication; and to show unto them that their case was as if he had
taken a woman out of the stews
and her bastards with her; or as if a wife
married by him had defiled his bed
and brought him a spurious brood of
children. So the Targum interprets it
"go
prophesy a prophecy against the inhabitants of the idolatrous city
who add to
sin:'
for the land hath committed great whoredom
departing from the
Lord; or
"for
the inhabitants of the land erring
erred from the worship of the Lord
'
as
the Targum; that is
the inhabitants of the land of Israel have committed
idolatry
which is often in Scripture signified by adultery and whoredom; as an
adulterous woman deals treacherously with her husband
so these people had
dealt with God
who stood in such a relation to them; see Jeremiah 3:1
this
interprets the parable
and shows the reason of using the following symbols and
emblems.
Hosea 1:3 3 So
he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim
and she conceived and bore him
a son.
YLT 3And he goeth and taketh
Gomer daughter of Diblaim
and she conceiveth and beareth to him a son;
So he went and took Gomer
the daughter of Diblaim
.... In the course of prophesying he made mention of this person
who was a notorious common strumpet; and suggested hereby that they were just
like her; or these were fictitious names he used to represent their case by
Gomer signifies both "consummation" and "consumption"F12A
rad. גמר "perfecit
desiit"
Gussetius. ;
and this harlot is so called
because of her consummate beauty
and her being
completely mistress of all the tricks of one; or
being consummately wicked
a
perfect whore
common to all; and because her ruin and destruction
persisting
in such practices
were inevitable
and so a fit emblem of the present and
future condition of Israel. Diblaim may be considered either as the name of a
man
a word of the same form with Ephraim; or of a woman
the mother of Gomer;
or else of a place
the wilderness of Diblath
Ezekiel 6:14 and
signifies "a cake of dried figs"F13Vox דבלים
"significat massas ficuum compressarum et siccatarum"
Rivetus
Tarnovius. ; which
in that country
was reckoned delicious eating; and so
denotes
either that both the sin and ruin of this people were owing to their
luxury
or indulging themselves in carnal pleasures
through the great
affluence they were possessed of; or that their original was from a wilderness
and for their sins should be reduced to a desolate state again:
which conceived and bare him a son; whose name
and what he
was an emblem of
are declared in the following verse. The Targum is
"and
he went and prophesied over them
that if they returned
it should be forgiven them:
but
if not
as fig tree leaves drop off
so should they; but they added
and
did evil works.'
Hosea 1:4 4 Then
the Lord
said to him: “Call his name Jezreel
For in a little while I will avenge
the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu
And bring an end to the kingdom
of the house of Israel.
YLT 4and Jehovah saith unto him
`Call his name Jezreel
for yet a little
and I have charged the blood of
Jezreel on the house of Jehu
and have caused to cease the kingdom of the house
of Israel;
And the Lord said unto him
call his name Jezreel
.... Which some interpret the "seed of God"
as Jerom;
or "arm of God"
as others; and Kimchi applies it to Jeroboam the son
of Joash
who was strong
and prospered in his kingdom; but it rather signifies
"God will sow"
or "scatter"F14A rad. זרע "seminavit
disseminavit"
Schmidt. ;
denoting either their dissension among themselves; or their dispersion among
the nations
which afterwards came to pass; and so the Targum
"call their
name scattered"; and alluding also to the city of Jezreel
where some of
the idolatrous kings of Israel lived
and where much blood had been shed
which
should be avenged
as follows:
for yet a little while
and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel
upon the house of Jehu; not the blood of Naboth the Jezreelite
that was shed by Ahab;
but the blood of Joram the son of Ahab
and seventy other sons of his
and all
his great men
kinsfolks and priests
shed by Jehu in this place; and though
this was done according to the will of God
and for which he received the
kingdom
and it was continued in his family to the fourth generation; yet
inasmuch as this was not done by him from a pure and hearty zeal for the Lord
and his worship
and with a sincere view to his glory
but in order to gain the
kingdom
increase his power
and satiate his tyranny and lust; and because
though he destroyed one species of idolatry
the worship of Baal
yet he
continued another
the worshipping of the calves at Dan and Bethel
and
regarded not the law of the Lord
and so his successors after him; and were the
means of causing many to sin
and so consequently of the ruin of many souls
whose blood would be required of them
which some take to be the meaning here;
this is threatened; see 2 Kings 9:24. It
may be observed
that God sometimes punishes the instruments he makes use of in
doing his work; they either over doing it
exercising too much cruelty; and not
doing it upon right principles
and with right views
as the kings of Assyria
and Babylon
Isaiah 10:5. It is
here said to be but a little while ere this vengeance would be taken
it being
at the latter end of Jeroboam's reign when this prophecy was delivered out; and
his son Zachariah
in whom the kingdom as in his family ceased
reigned but six
months
being conspired against and slain by Shallum
who reigned in his stead
2 Kings 15:8. The
Targum is
"for
yet a little while I will avenge the blood of those that worship idols which
Jehu shed in Jezreel
whom he slew because they served Baal; but they turned to
err after the calves which were in Bethel; therefore I will reckon that
innocent blood upon the house of Jehu:'
and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel; that is
in
the family of Jehu; Zachariah the son of the then reigning prince being the
last
and his reign only the short reign of six months; unless this has
reference to the utter cessation of this kingdom as such in the times of Hoshea
by Shalmaneser king of Assyria
2 Kings 17:6.
Hosea 1:5 5 It
shall come to pass in that day That I will break the bow of Israel in the
Valley of Jezreel.”
YLT 5and it hath come to pass in
that day that I have broken the bow of Israel
in the valley of Jezreel.'
And it shall come to pass
at that day
.... When the Lord shall take vengeance on the family of Jehu
and deprive them of the kingdom of Israel
and shall punish the idolatrous
kings that succeed:
that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel; of which
valley see Joshua 17:16. It is
now called the plain of Esdraelon; as it is in the Apocrypha:
"And
to those among the nations that were of Carmel
and Galaad
and the higher
Galilee
and the great plain of Esdrelom
' (Judith 1:8)
the
great plain of Esdraelon; according to Adrichomius
F15Theatrum
Terrae Sanctae
p. 35
37. it is two miles broad
and ten miles long; its soil
exceeding rich and fruitful
and abounding with grain
wine
and oil; all
travellers agree they never saw the like: one saysF16Dr. Shaw's
Travels
tom. 2. c. 1. p. 275. Ed. 2. of this plain or valley
formerly the lot
of the tribe of Issachar
this is the most fertile portion of the land of
Canaan
where that tribe might well be supposed to have "rejoiced in their
tents"
Deuteronomy 33:18
at present
indeed
it is not manured
as another travellerF17Maundrell's
Journey from Aleppo
&c. p. 57. Ed. 7. observes
and yet very fruitful; who
says
it is of a vast extent
and very fertile
but uncultivated
only serving
the Arabs for pasturage; and
according to the same writer
the ancient river
Kishon runs through the middle of it: from the largeness of it
it is
frequently called by writers the great plain or valley; and sometimes
from the
places near it
or on it
the great plain of Legio
the great plain of Samaria
the great plain or valley of Megiddo
2 Chronicles 35:22
and the great plain of Esdraelon
and here the valley of Jezreel; Jezreel or
Esdraela being situated in this great plain or valley between Scythopolis and
Legio
a very large village
as Jerom saysF18De locis Hebraicis
fol. 92. I. it was in his days; and also on this passage observes
that
Jezreel
from whence this valley had its name
is now near Maximianopolis
and
was the metropolis of the kingdom of Samaria
near which were very large
plains
and a valley of a very great length
extending more than ten miles:
here Ahab had a palace in his days
near to which was Naboth's vineyard
and
where God revenged his blood: this city is called by JosephusF19Antiqu.
l. 8. c. 13. sect. 6
8. Azare and Azarus
or Izarus; and in the times of
Gulielmus TyriusF20Tyr. Hist. l. 22. c. 26. it went by the name of
Little Gerinum. The "bow" is put for all instruments of war
and
everything in which confidence was put
which was weakened or removed from
them: this refers either to Menhchem's slaughter of Shallum
and wasting some
parts of the land of Israel
2 Kings 15:14
or
rather it may be to a battle fought between Hoshea king of Israel and
Shalmaneser king of Assyria in this valley
which was not far from Samaria; in
which the former was defeated
and the latter
having the victory
proceeded to
Samaria
besieged and took it
2 Kings 17:6 though
of the action the Scripture is silent; but it is not improbable. The Targum is
"I
will break the strength of the warriors of Israel in the valley of Jezreel;'
which
seems to confirm the same conjecture. Some render it
"because of the
valley of Jezreel"F21בעמק יזרעאל "propter vallem Jisreelis"
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator
; that is
because of the idolatry
bloodshed
and other
sins
committed there.
Hosea 1:6 6 And
she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: “Call her
name Lo-Ruhamah
[a] For I will
no longer have mercy on the house of Israel
But I will utterly take them away.[b]
YLT 6And she conceiveth again
and beareth a daughter
and He saith to him
`Call her name Lo-Ruhamah
for I
add no more to pity the house of Israel
for I do utterly take them away;
And she conceived again
and bare a daughter
.... One of the weaker sex; denoting the weaker state of the
kingdom of Israel after Jeroboam
as Kimchi thinks; Zachariah his son reigning
but six months
and Shallum the son of Jabesh
his successor
reigned but one
month
2 Kings 15:8
and God said unto him
call her name Loruhamah; which
signifies
"she hath not obtained mercy": and what follows explains
it to the same sense. The Targum is
"and
they added and did evil works; and he said unto him call their name
who
obtained not mercy by their works:'
for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; as he had
heretofore
sparing them time after time
though they continued to sin against
him; but now he would spare them no longer
but deliver them up into the hands
of their enemies
as he did a part of them
first into the hands of
Tiglathpileser king of Assyria
and then to Shalmaneser
2 Kings 15:29
otherwise
in the latter day
mercy will be shown them again
especially in a
spiritual way
when they shall be converted
and believe in Christ
and all
Israel shall be saved
as well as possess their own land again; see Hosea 1:10
but I will utterly take them away; out of their land
from
being a kingdom and nation
which was done by Shalmaneser
another king of
Assyria
2 Kings 17:6
or
"bringing I will bring into them"
or "against them"F23נשא אשא להם
"adducendo adducam contra cos"
Munster; "importando importabo
eis"
Drusius; so Kimchi and Ben Melech. ; that is
an enemy
the same
king of Assyria: or
"but forgetting I will forget them"F24"Obliviscendo
obliviscar eorum"
V. L. Pagninus.
as some render it
and remember them
no more
till the fulness of time comes: or
"through pardoning I have
pardoned"
or "spared them"F25"Quamvis omnino
condonaverim eis"
Piscator; "quamvis haetenus condonando
condonaverim eis"
so some in Drusius. ; that is
in times past. The
Targum is
"but
if they return
pardoning I will pardon them;'
which
will be done in the latter day.
Hosea 1:7 7 Yet
I will have mercy on the house of Judah
Will save them by the Lord their God
And
will not save them by bow
Nor by sword or battle
By horses or horsemen.”
YLT 7and the house of Judah I
pity
and have saved them by Jehovah their God
and do not save them by bow
and by sword
and by battle
by horses
and by horsemen.'
But I will have mercy on
the house of Judah
.... The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin
which retained the
true worship of God among them; see Hosea 11:12 and
though they often sinned against the Lord
he showed them mercy
and spared
them longer than the ten tribes; and though he suffered them to be carried
captive into Babylon
he returned them again after seventy years: this is
mentioned as an aggravation of the punishment of Israel
that Judah was spared
when they were not; and to show that God will have a people to seek and serve
him
and
when he rejects some
he will make a reserve of others:
and will save them by the Lord their God; by his own
arm and power
and not theirs
or any creature's; nor by any warlike means or
instruments whatever
as follows:
and will not save them by bow
nor by sword
nor by battle
by
horses
nor by horsemen: which may respect either the deliverance of the Jews from the
invasion and siege of Sennacherib's army; which was done without shooting an
arrow
or drawing the sword
or engaging in a pitched battle
or by a cavalry
rushing into his camp
discomfiting his army
and pursuing them; but by an
angel sent from heaven
which in one night destroyed a hundred and fourscore
and five thousand
2 Kings 19:35 or
else refers to Cyrus being stirred up by the Lord to issue forth a
proclamation
giving liberty to the Jewish captives to go free
without price
or reward; and so was brought about
not by the might and power of man
but by
the Spirit of the Lord; see Ezra 1:1 though a
greater salvation is pointed at
or at least shadowed forth
by this
even the
spiritual and eternal salvation of God's elect by Christ; which is the fruit of
mercy
and not the effect of the merits of men; is obtained not by human power
or by man's righteousness; but by the Lord Jesus Christ
who is Jehovah our
righteousness
the Lord God of his people; who stands in a relation to them
prior to his being the Saviour of them; to which work and office he is equal
being the eternal Jehovah
and the true and living God. So the Targum
"and
I will save them by the Word of the Lord their God;'
the
eternal Word
that was with God
is God
and became incarnate
God in our
nature.
Hosea 1:8 8 Now
when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah
she conceived and bore a son.
YLT 8And she weaneth Lo-Ruhamah
and conceiveth
and beareth a son;
Now when she had weaned
Loruhamah
.... That is
when Gomer had weaned her daughter of this name
Hosea 1:6. This some
interpret of the people of Israel being deprived of the word and ordinances
compared to milk and breasts
having a famine of them; and so were like
children weaned from the milk
and drawn from the breasts; though others think
this is expressive of the patience of God in bearing with this people
after he
had before threatened them with the subversion of their kingdom and state; and
even after the prophecy had took place in part
in causing the kingdom to cease
in the house of Jehu
he bore with them about forty years before they were
entirely carried captive; suckling and weaning
before the conception and birth
of another child
denoting some stop and stay; but rather this intends the
taking away some part of the land of Israel
as a child when weaning is taken
away from its mother; and may respect the carrying captive many of the
Israelites in divers parts
particularly out of Gilead
Galilee
and Naphtali
by Tiglathpileser king of Assyria
2 Kings 15:29. This
cannot be understood of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon
as Cocceius; for
this is a resumption and continuation of the prophecy concerning the ten
tribes
after inserting a promise of the salvation of Judah
in the preceding
verse:
she conceived and bare a son: according to Kimchi
as
the weaning of Loruhamah points at the times of weakness
from Zachariah the
son of Jeroboam to the times of Pekahiah
when the reigns were short and
troublesome; so this son conceived and born represents the state of the nation
in the times of Pekah; who reigned twenty years
and was too powerful for the
kingdom of Judah
slew multitudes of them
and carried others captive
and
assisted Rezin king of Syria against Ahaz king of Judah: but
according to the
series of the prophecy
it seems best to agree with the times of Hoshea king of
Israel
who was not so bad as some of his predecessors; was a man of spirit and
courage; cast off the Assyrian yoke
and neglected to give presents to the king
of Assyria; and Samaria in his time held out a three years' siege against that
king
2 Kings 17:1. The
Targum is
"and
the generation of them who are carried captive among the nations are found not
to have obtained mercy by their works
but they added and did evil works.'
Hosea 1:9 9 Then
God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi
[c] For you are
not My people
And I will not be your God.
YLT 9and He saith
`Call his
name Lo-Ammi
for ye [are] not My people
and I am not for you;
Then said God
call his
name Loammi
.... Which Aben Ezra interprets of the children of the ten tribes
horn in captivity
who never returned; but it rather signifies the ten tribes
themselves
who were carried captive and had this name given them for the
reason following:
for ye are not my people; though he had chosen
them to be his people above all people
and had distinguished them from others
by various blessings and privileges; yet they did not behave as such to him;
they did not serve
obey
and worship him
but the calves at Dan and Bethel; and
therefore did not deserve the name of his people: hence he says
and I will not be your or "yours"F1לא אהיה לכם
"non ero vester"
Pagninus; "nec ego sum futurus vester"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. ; that is
as we supply it
and so Aben
Ezra
"your God"; will not behave toward you as such; will not take
you under my care and protection
or continue you in your land
and in the
enjoyment of the blessings of it; will not be your King
patron
and defender
but give you up into the hands of your enemies. This respects the captivity of
the ten tribes by Shalmaneser
2 Kings 17:6. The
Targum is
"for
ye are not my people; because ye do not confirm the words of my law
my word
shall not be your help.'
Hosea 1:10 10 “Yet
the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea
Which
cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it
was said to them
‘You are not My people
’[d] There
it shall be said to them
‘You are sons of the living God.’
YLT 10and the number of the sons
of Israel hath been as the sand of the sea
that is not measured nor numbered
and it hath come to pass in the place where it is said to them
Ye [are] not My
people
it is said to them
Sons of the Living God;
Yet the number of the
children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea
which cannot be measured
nor numbered
.... Though called Loammi
and rejected from being the people of
God; yet there is a time when their number
according to the promise made to
Abraham
shall be as the sand of the sea
and the stars of heaven; which
as
the one cannot be measured
the other cannot be numbered; which was to be not
at the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity
when some of the ten
tribes of Israel returned with them
as Theodoret and others think; for they
were but few that then returned: but rather at the first times of the Gospel
when multitudes that came from various parts of the world were converted at the
day of Pentecost
and greater numbers; who were met with in the ministry of the
word
in the various parts of the world
where they were dispersed
and the
Gospel came
to whom Peter and James wrote their epistles; and not these only
are meant
but the vast numbers of Gentiles
who were effectually called by
grace everywhere
and were true Israelites
the spiritual seed of Abraham; and
to whom the Apostle Paul applies these words
producing them as a testimony of
the election and calling
not of the Jews only
but of the Gentiles also
Romans 9:24
and
which will have a further accomplishment in the latter day
when the fulness of
the Gentiles will be brought in
the Jews will be converted
and all Israel
saved
Romans 11:25
then
the numbers of the Israel of God
both of Jews and Gentiles
will be as the
sand of the sea indeed!
and it shall come to pass
that in the place where it was said
unto them
ye are not my people
there it shall be said unto them
ye are the
sons of the living God; that is
in such places where it used to be said
here live
Pagans
Turks
or Jews
who worship not the true God
or at lease not aright
nor believe in Christ
and profess his name; "there it shall be said to
them"
by the Lord himself
by his Spirit witnessing their relation to
them
and by all good men
and even by the world in general; not only that they
are "the people of God"
but have a superior privilege
a greater
character
and a higher relation
the sons of the living God; the sons of God
not by nature
as Christ; nor by creation
as angels; nor by office
as civil
magistrates; or by profession merely
as nominal Christians; but by adopting
grace; which exceeds all other blessings
even of sanctification and
justification; makes men honourable; is attended with various privileges
and always
continues. The epithet "of the living God" is not without cause put;
it stands in opposition to dead idols before worshipped by some who will now be
the children of God; and who
as he has life in himself
gives it to others; to
all natural life and breath
and to his children spiritual and eternal life;
and
as he lives forever
so shall they his sons likewise. The Targum is
"and
it shall be in the place where they have been carried captive
when they
transgressed the law; and it was said to them
ye are not my people; there they
shall be converted and increased (or made great); and it shall be said to them
O ye people of the living God.'
Hosea 1:11 11 Then
the children of Judah and the children of Israel Shall be gathered together
And
appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the land
For
great will be the day of Jezreel!
YLT 11and gathered have been the
sons of Judah and the sons of Israel together
and they have appointed to
themselves one head
and have gone up from the land
for great [is] the day of
Jezreel.
Then shall the children of
Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together
.... Not at
the return from the Babylonish captivity; for
though some of the ten tribes
might be mixed with the Jews when they went into captivity
and came out with
them
and others might join them from the various nations where they had been
dispersed; yet they did not gather together with them in a body
only the
tribes of Judah and Benjamin
those were the chief; of the children of Israel
but few
Ezra 1:5. Some
refer this to the first times of the Gospel
when the Galileans were gathered
to Christ by his ministry
who inhabited the countries where some of the tribes
of Israel dwelt; and who might
at least some of them
descend from them: and
when those in Jerusalem and in Judea
who also believed in Christ
united with
them in their profession of him
and in affection to one another; or to the
time of Christ's death
by which the whole Israel of God
who were scattered
abroad
were gathered together in one; and even Jews and Gentiles were made one
body
and one new man in Christ
the partition wall being broken down: or to
the times of the apostles
who were successful in the conversion and gathering
of many of the Jewish nation
and also of the Samaritans; and of forming
churches in Judea and Samaria under one head
in whom they agreed; and likewise
of many others
both Jews and Israelites
in the various parts of the world
where they carried the Gospel; and who coalesced with the believing Gentiles in
one church state
under Christ their head: though it seems best to interpret
this of the latter day
when the children of Israel and Judah shall join
together in seeking the Lord their God
and the true Messiah
and shall be
turned
and gathered to him; when they shall be no more two kingdoms or two
nations
but be one under the Messiah
who shall he their King and Prince; when
all their animosities shall be laid aside
and they shall no more envy or vex
one another; but shall meet together in the same church state
and worship the
Lord with one shoulder and consent
being of one mind and sentiment in
religious things
and when all Israel shall be saved
Jeremiah 1:4 Isaiah 11:13
and appoint themselves one head; not Sennacherib
as Aben
Ezra
very absurdly; nor Hezekiah
nor Josiah
as others; nor Elijah the
prophet
as some in Kimchi; nor Zerubbabel
to which the Targum seems to
incline
paraphrasing it
"one
head of the house of David;'
but
better
as Jarchi
David their King; that is
the Messiah
as Kimchi and Ben
Melech expressly interpret it; and so AbarbinelF2Mashmiah Jeshuah
fol. 53. 3.
though he understands it of the Messiah the son of Joseph; and
undoubtedly the same is meant by the one head
as David their King and Prince
Hosea 3:5 even
Christ
who is the Head of angels
yea
the Head of every man
but in a special
and peculiar sense the head of the body
the church; he is the federal and
representative Head of his people
both in eternity and in time; and in such
sense a Head to them
as a king is head of his subjects
a husband of his wife
a father of his family
and a master of his servants; and also as a natural
head is to its body
of the same nature with it; in union to it; lives the same
life; is above it
and more excellent than it: a perfect Head Christ is
there
being nothing wanting in him as such; he has his eyes set upon his people; his
ears are open to their cries; he smells a sweet saviour of rest in their
persons and services; he tastes and eats their pleasant fruits
and feels all
their infirmities
troubles and afflictions; and has a tongue to speak a word
in season for them: there are no vicious humours in this Head to affect the
body; no deformity in it
and all fulness therein to supply its wants; he is an
everliving and everlasting Head
and the one
and only one; there is no other
neither the pope of Rome
nor any other; nor will true Israelites acknowledge
any other: and though this Head is of God the Father's appointing
who has
given him to be the Head; set him as King over Sion; raised him up to be a
Prince and a Saviour; yet he is also of the saints' choosing and appointing;
they approve of him as such
embrace him
own him
and submit to him
as the
Jews will at the last day
though their forefathers have rejected him:
and they shall come up out of the land; not of
Israel
as Schmidt
who interprets this of the apostles going out from thence
and spreading the Gospel in the world; but out of each of the lands and
countries where Israel and Judah have been dispersed
and return to their own
land; see Jeremiah 3:18. So
the Targum
"and
they shall come up out of the land of their captivity:'
or
it may be understood
figuratively and spiritually
of their coming up out of
their captivity to sin
Satan
the law
and the world
as well as out of their
present temporal captivity:
and out of the earthF3מן הארץ "e terra".
as it were
as it may be rendered; out of their earthly state
from the graves of sin
leaving their earthly affections
and becoming spiritual and heavenly minded;
willing to quit all that is dear unto them
even the country in which they were
born and long lived
to follow Christ their Head and King:
for great shall be the day of Jezreel; or
though
great has been or is the day of JezreelF4כי
"quamvis"; so some in Drusius
Rivet. ; though it has been a great
and long day of trouble and affliction to them
signified by Jezreel; see Hosea 1:4
yet all
these good things promised shall surely be accomplished: indeed the day of
Jezreel may be taken in a good sense
not for a time of dispersion and
distress
but of great comfort
joy
and happiness; the word signifying
according to some
the seed of God
or the arm of God: and Jerom applies it to
Christ
the seed of God; and the whole Gospel dispensation may be called his
day
the day of salvation
the joyful day the Lord has made: or rather by
Jezreel
the seed of God
are meant his spiritual offspring
the children of
Judah and Israel; who shall now be gathered
by the arm of God
his powerful
and efficacious grace
and that in large numbers
so that great will be their
day; so the Targum paraphrases it
"for
great will be the day of their gathering.'
It
respects the latter day glory
when will be the conversion of the Jews
and the
bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles; when there will be great peace and
prosperity; great love and unity; great holiness and purity; great light and
knowledge; great enjoyment of God
and of the presence of the Redeemer great
glory upon the churches
and upon that a defence: in short
all the great and
glorious things spoken of will now be completed; perfect deliverance from all
afflictions and troubles; an entire destruction of all enemies; and a full enjoyment
of the word and ordinances
in the purity of them
and large conversions
everywhere.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)