THE LIFE AND
PROPHECIES OF HOSEA
By
Rev. John T. S. White, D.D.
PUBLISHED BY H. T. KEALING
A. M. E. BOOK CONCERN
631 PINK STREET,
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
In the hope that it will stimulate interest in
one of the most unique characters of Sacred
Writ, and that it will lead to powerful sermons
from this Prophet's suggestive texts, this little
volume is presented to laymen and clergymen
alike. H. T. KEALING.
THE LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF
HOSEA.
By Rev. John T. S. White, D. D.
I.
Hosea stands first m
Hosea's Place the book of the Minor
in the Canon. Prophets,' which the
uninitiated would sup¬
pose to be arranged in chronological
order. That Hosea exercised the pro¬
phetic office longer than either Joel or
Amos may account for his being placed
first in the canon. Biblical criticism, the
subjects treated, and the nature of their
treatment make it clear that the Biblical
order of the Twelve Prophets is no more
than a rough approximation of their real
dates. Amos antedates Hosea by at least
five or ten years. He (Amos) is the first
of the new order of Prophets, and makes
its first literature.
While we may not be able to affirm
that Hosea quotes from Amos, it is clear
that his historical allusions are of a later
date, and that the dissolution of the king¬
dom of Israel and its threatened doom
8
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
were closer at hand than when Amos
wrote. Perhaps we may affirm with a de¬
gree of certainty that the early part of
Hosea's ministry was contemporary with
the close of that of Amos.
Amos exercises the office during the
prosperous reign of Jeroboam II. Evi¬
dences of prosperity and luxury are every
where to be seen; as yet no clouds are vis¬
ible to the eyes of the uninspired, or
thoughtless pleasure seekers; but when
Hosea writes, clouds have begun to gather
upon Israel's horizon: they thicken and
lower into a threatening storm. Israel
sees the storm, and for help cries not to
God—"They call to Egypt, they go to As¬
syria" "they strike a bargain with Assyria,
and carry oil to Egypt." (Isa. 30:6.)
Hosea and Amos rep-
Amos and Hosea resent the opposite
Compared, extremes of the same
order of prophecy.
Amos is the prophet of Law; Hosea the
prophet of Love. Religion ever moves be¬
tween these two—Law and Love. Amos
sees God's will worked out regardless of
the disposition and tricks of the people. His
climaxes all end in doom. Cause and ef¬
fect are the guides of his inspired pen,
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSEA.
9
"Violated law reasserts itself in punish¬
ment; the people have violated law, there¬
fore they must suffer," is the essence of his
doctrine.
Hosea is better conversant with the tem¬
perament of his fickle and unstable people.
Moreover, he has had a taste of love and
knows what it is. His great swelling heart
of love prompts the hope of repentance by
which redemption would be sure.
He had learned how to forgive: that ex¬
perience becomes the basis of his gospel. He
recognizes the reign of law; but it is not
supreme. With him love is supreme—
rules the world. Love forms the climax of
his speeches. Aimos preaches to the con¬
science. He makes out a terrible bill of in¬
dictment against the people; but makes lit¬
tle effort to lead them to repentance. Grace,
love and mercy appear in his prophecy, it is
true; but with the belief that they have al¬
ready been exhausted: "You, alone, have I
known of all the families of the earth, there¬
fore will I visit upon you your iniquities."
Hosea is the preacher of repentance. He,
too, indicts the nations, accuses the people
of the terriblest of sins,—sin against love;
yet there is hope; grace and pardon are still
to be found. "Come and let us return to
Jehovah " "O Israel, thou hast destroyed
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
thyself, but in me is thy help." "I will be
thy king." "I will ransom them from the
power of the grave; I will redeem them
from death."
Amos had shocked
Hosea Grapples and awed the na~
With the Problems tion by his rugged
left by Amos, daring and bold ef¬
frontery. It was
the mission of Hosea to be "the persuasive
preacher of righteousness." The Do^mster
of Israel had spoken and disappeared. His
proclamation hung threatening over the na¬
tion,—a sphinx, a riddle that would only
yield its tale to love. Hosea furnished this
element. He affirmed that Love was su¬
perior to Law; he assured them that,
though the people were doomed by reason
of their immoralities, yet redemption could
be worked out by a process just as reason¬
able as that by which their doom had been
made imminent, repentance and leal love. He
is the evangelical prophet; indeedl, liis
teachings form the basis of the New Testa¬
ment doctrine of grace.
Though Amos and Hosea
Points of are unlike in many things,
Similarity, still there are many strik¬
ing points of likeness in
their writings, notably, their aversion for
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSBA.
cheap sentimentality and their hatred for
religious ecstacy. Unbridled ecstacy is al¬
ways dangerous to the moral and intellect¬
ual sides of religion. This element predomi¬
nated in the false hireling prophets who
toadied to the fancy of the king and peo¬
ple. Remembering this, we can under¬
stand why Amos cut himself off from the
regulation prophetic rank, and inaugurated
a new order of prophecy. When ordered
to leave Israel and go prophesy in Judah
and earn his bread, he retorted, "No pro¬
phet I, nor a prophet's son." This will also
help us to understand why Hosea placed
such stress upon the moral and intellectual
sides of religion, "My people perish for
lack of knowledge," etc.
Prediction of the future is the subordi¬
nate element in all prophecy. Its mission
is to declare tne will and character of God
in connection with some occasion or crisis
iij the history of the people. This charac¬
teristic of prophecy is striki ngly emphasized
by the two prophets under consideration.
Moses prayed, "Would God that all the
Lord's people were prophets, and that the
Lord would put his spirit upon them"
(Num. 11:29). I* *s this spirit that
they prophesy: that any righteous, spirit¬
ual, manly man could see the doom of Is-
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
rael and should warn them of that doom,—
that the message is laid upon them by God's
Spirit. "The Lord has spoken, I can but
prophesy." "No prophet I, nor a prophet's
son;" yet I must speak out, because the
Lord has spoken from His holy mountain.
It is only in this spirit that mortal man
should take upon himself the office of the
ministry. He should not enter the minis¬
terial rank unless he feels "Woe is me if I
preach not the gospel of Christ."
II.
The Story of the Faithless Wife.
♦ Hosea I :iii.
This is a strange, blunt
A Strange story of a tragedy in a
Story, home, and of its bearing
upon the life of a na¬
tion. We marvel at the faithfulness
with which it is recorded by the
very individual who suffered the agony,
humiliation and shame. While it is
exceedingly plain in its narration of horrible
facts, yet the purest maiden and most mod¬
est matron need not blush at its startling
revelations. It is a way the Bible has of
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
exposing the terrible hatefulness of sin, and
of magnifying the power of God's love to
redeem. The Bible never shuns realism
nor eschews the plainest, bluntest figure
if the sinfulness of sin may be made known,
or the power of God's love may be ex¬
alted thereby. Bible pictures are painted
from real life and are true to their original
—scars, wrinkles and all. This is done, not
for the purpose of exposing an ugly pic¬
ture, but that the very ugliness of the pic¬
ture may stand as a warning to others, and
serve the will of God.
The story and its mean-
The Story ing are related in the
Related. first three chapters of
1:1-9 to 111:1-3. Hosea. Plain and
startling is the story.
Deep and pregnasit with providential les¬
sons is the meaning thereof. "The begin¬
ning of the word of the Lord to Hosea.
And the Lord said unto Hosea, Go take
unto thee a wife of harlotry." He obeyed
the command, "and went and took Gomer,
daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived
and bare him a son. And the Lord said
unto him, Call his name Jezreel (My-own,
yet-to-be-scattered), for yet a little while crnd
I tvill avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
house of Jehn." "And she conceived again,
and bare a daughter. And the Lord said
unto him, call her name Loruhamah" (Un¬
loved. Never-knew-a-father's-pity). She
conceived again and bare a son. "Then
said God, call his name Lo-ammi (Not-my-
People)."
The names of the prophet's last two chil¬
dren are names of ill omen. They mark the
rise of domestic suspicion and portend the
dissolution of the home. They also va¬
guely mark the time that elapsed before the
husband discovers his shame, and suggest
the thought that the husband must have
labored zealously to reform the erring wife.
But all efforts at reformation failed and
separation followed (Ch. ii :i~5). How
long they were estranged he does not tell
us; but the woman ran her course of shame
and became a slave. Then came the mes¬
sage of Jehovah once more: "Go love a wife
that is loved of a paramour, and is an adul¬
teress." (Ch. iii). In obedience to the di¬
vine will, Hosea seek a reconciliation with
the erring woman. "So I bought her to me
for fifteen pieces of silver and an homer of
barley cmd an half homer of barley." "And
I said to her, For many days thou shalt
abide alone, thou shalt not play the harlot
and thou shalt not be for any man, and I
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
also shall be so towards thee." These, evi¬
dently, were intended as days of penitence
and discipline, a sort of atonement and puri¬
fication, and to impress her that she could
not yet, if ever, be the same to him that she
was in the days before the jewel of virtue
was destroyed.
It is made clear to the
Meaning of the man of God that recon-
Tragedy—It ciliation is the Divine
Deepens. Will. The evil omen
of their children's names
is eliminated. Loruhamah, Unpitied, be¬
comes Ruhamah, pitied; Loammi, Not-My-
Child, becomes' Ammi, My-Child,—pro¬
phetic of the re-establishment of the home
and of the restoration of the wife to favor
with the husband.
It is here and now thatt the prophet
learns that the tragedy of his home found
its counterpart in the life of the nation, that
his grief over his domestic trouble ex¬
pressed to him in a faint way, at least, the
sorrow of Jehovah over the harlotry of
Israel. The first fruits of Israel, like those
of his wife, had been legitimate apprecia¬
tion and loyal service and devotion. In the
course of time she turned away and sought
the Gods of Egypt, Assyria and Phoenicia.
j 6 LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
The great love of God was grieved and
wounded. In His own way He had pre¬
pared His messenger to deliver the gospel
of His amazing love. No doubt the mes¬
senger had not known the purpose of God
when he was so strangely led into a matri¬
monial alliance with Gomer, who proved so
false and unchaste. But looking about him
mow, he observed that thousands of homes
in Israel were like his own. His domestic
life then partook of a national aspect. Out
of his pain and sorrow he comes to an
appreciation of the pain and sorrow of
Jehovah over the sins of the unfaithful na¬
tion. Then it was that he lost sight of his
own sorrow in the vaster contemplation of
national trouble, and his own grief became
the vehicle to convey his conception of the
grief of Jehovah. He remembered the mar¬
riage of Jehovah and Israel in the wilder¬
ness and that the lapse and declension came
when Israel had settled in the home given
her by God, and that said lapse was due
to the discovery of other gods. Human
logic would next lead to separation and di¬
vorcement of the spouse (Israel) ; but Je¬
hovah is God and not man. God puts into
the mouth of His servant the pathetic
words, "How shall I give thee up, Eph-
rcdm. Hozv shall I surrender thee, O J*
raeir
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
In the light of the fore-
The Time going consideration, it
of the becomes clear that Ho-
"Beginning of sea did not at the time
the Word." time of his marriage in-
Made Known terpret that event to be
to Hosea. the "beginning of the
word of the Lord" to
him, nor had it been made plain to him at
the time of the divorcement. But when Je¬
hovah refused to divorce the nation for her
sins and kept pleading with such passionate
love for her return, the riddle of the proph¬
et's life v/as solved and duty was made
plain. He then sought to redeem his wife,
and made his experience the basis of his
gospel.
How, then, may we reconcile this view
with the command so plainly expressed,
"Go take unto thee a wife of harlotry"
(1:2) ? And how may we make it harmon¬
ize with the reasons recorded immediately
after the command, "For the land has com¬
mitted great harlotry departing from the
Lord" etc? "In this way—When, some
years after his marriage, Hosea at last be¬
gan to be aware of the character of her
whom he had taken to his home, and while
he still brooded upon it, God revealed to
him why He who knoweth all things from
jg LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
the beginning had suffered His servant to
marry such a woman; and Hosea, by a very
natural anticipation, in which he is imi¬
tated by other prophets (Isa. vi. and Jere¬
miah xxxiii:8), pushed back his own
knowledge of God's purpose to the date
when that purpose began actually to be ful¬
filled, the day of his betrothal. This, though
he was all unconscious of its fatal future,
had been to Hosea the beginning of the
word of the Lord. On that uncertain voy¬
age he had sailed with sealed orders."
Thus does Dr. Aldam Smith paraphrase
Robertson Smith.
Or if we may be allowed to state it differ¬
ently, the prophet did not commit his
strange domestic experience to writing
when it actually occurred, but after its
meaning had been made plain to him, and
he and his wife reconciled. So he crowded
the early experiences and later revelations
into one bold statement and labelled it "the
beginning of the word of the Lord to Ho¬
sea."
Different interpretations
True to Life. have been given by
Kuenen, Matthew
Henry and many others of less note; but
the one given above is suported by good au-
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
thority, and is the most natural. It is true
to life, and can be matched from the ex¬
perience of every true Christian. What is
the meaning of sorrow any way? Does it
not always bring to the true child of God
the message of helpfulness to others ? When
we grieve over those who have wronged
and humiliated us, may we not look up and
understand the bleeding hands and heart,
and interpret the great lines of sorrow in
the face of Him who weeps over the sins
of the world. Verily this is true as our
own experience attests. Sorrow sanctified
will make our lives a more potent influence
for good. We cannot give the right ring to
the messages of love and consolation which
the world so much needs until we have test¬
ed and conquered the bitterness of sorrow.
Christ himself was first touched with a feel¬
ing of our infirmities and then His mission
to men was fulfilled.
When and where is "the beginning of
the word of the Lord" to any of His chil¬
dren? Is it at tie time when the meaning
of our sorrow is first made known to us,
or when we first find symbols in which to
express it to others? It lies far behind
that—in mysterious facts, in dark and
deadening experiences which we may now
understand; but which at the time of their
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
visitation formed the enigma of our lives.
This is true of all the relations of life. At
first these strange, unbidden visitations fall
upon our fond hopes and aspirations like
cold clods upon the coffins of those we love;
but at last they are made as clear as the
bright shining of the day, and become the
clarion call of God to our souls. "This is
most true of the love which meets a man
as it met Hosea in his opening manhood/'
How many a mother had never thought of
heaven until her darling babe was taken
to the Savior's arms! How many a re¬
former was never moved to action until the
faces and character of his own loved ones
were stained and blackened by the vice
which he at last opposed! It was the terrible
crucible through which he had passed that
made Hosea the unmatched preacher of re¬
pentance, leal love and righteousness. Sor¬
row and discipline will bring out the best in
man. When anguish gives way to sym¬
pathy and mystery becomes a stimulus to a
mission, the grief has done its perfect work,
and the man is fitted for the duties of life.
The remaining portions
Parallels and of chapters i to iii are
Applications, devoted to sententious
pleadings and applica¬
tions of the lessons learned to the life of
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
Israel. The analogy is very striking and
complete. Hosea, whose name means Sav¬
ior, typifies Jehovah in His grief over His
spouse. Gomer in her domestic infidelity
typifies the nation, Ephraim in her national
idolatry. Gomer's paramour represents
the idol gods which Israel had followed,
and the children represent the result of the
nation's sin, a weak and uiaholy genera¬
tion with the displeasure of Jehovah upon
them. Gomer was redeemed with a price.
God offered His love, yea, His Son as the
price of Israel's redemption. But before
Israel's redemption she must be scattered,
made a slave, and left without a king. So
the parallel runs, "I bought her to me for
fifteen pieces of silver. * * * * * And
I said unto her, Thou shalt abide alone many
days, thou shalt not play the harlot, and
thou shalt not be for any man, and I shall
not be for thee. For the children of Israel
shall abide many days without a king, and
without a prince and without a sacrifice, and
and without a teraphim. Afterward 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."
Thus the first section of this strange book
comes to a close.
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSEA.
III.
Darkness and Gloom, With Here and
There a Ray of Light.
Chapters 4 and 14 cannot be clearly di¬
vided into sections. The mists and shadows
of Israel's threatened doom pass before the
prophet's bewildered vision in panoramic
rapidity.
He gazes in pity and
Difficult to anxiety upon the lurid
Divide, phantoms of despair
] that pass in rapid re¬
view over a leaden sky bedecked only here
and there with a star of hope. He clutches
and welcomes every ray of light that is
thrown upon the horizon of the na¬
tion. Yet, he remains true to his mission
and paints in bold relief the dark side of tne
picture, arching it with the glorious law of
promise, based upon love and righteous
conduct. In these alone is the hope of the
nation to be found. The splendid past of
the nation is fading from view, merging
into a memory, crumbling into chaos and
confusion. "And as decay has no climax
and ruin no rhythm so we may understand
why it is impossible to divide with any
certainty Hosea's record of Israel's fall."
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSEA.
But there are certain leading ideas which
stand out in bold relief. These we shall
attempt to treat in the order in which they
occur in the narration with but little regard
to their logical sequence, grouping around
them some of the minor thoughts, with an
added word upon the more prominent ethi¬
cal and doctrinal points. This will lead us
through devious paths and fetid swamps,
but finally into a gladsome land illumined
by the glorious prophetic light of a nation
reconciled to God. The following themes
and thoughts will pass before us for a brief
review: (i) The Moral and Political De¬
cay of the Nation (iv-x). (2) The Father¬
hood, Love and Humanity of God (xi).
(3) A Catalogue of Crimes (xii). (4)
Threatenings and Promises (xiii-xiv). (5)
Knowledge the Basis of Repentence.
(1)
The Moral and Political Decay of the
Nation.
Hosea iv-x.
Following the plan outlined above, we
now come to that part of the prophet's
treatise which has as its most prominent
thought the moral and political decay of the
nation. The thread of the discourse is bad-
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSEA.
ly broken. Like the mountain stream, short
brooklets run in here and there, but are
all carried forward by the one stream to the
great ocean,—the thought that is upper¬
most in the prophet's mind,—the wreck of
the nation. The story of the faithless wife
served as the symbol and parable. The
symbol is now to be given its literal mean¬
ing, and the parable to be made plain.
Hear the word of the
Jehovah's Con- Lord, children of Israel,
troversy With for Jehovah has a con-
the Inhabitants, troversy with the in¬
habitants of the land.
What is the ground of Jehovah's indict¬
ment? "Because there is no truth, nor
mercy, nor knowledge of God, in the land.
By swearing, and lying, and killing, and
stealing, and committing adultery, they
break out and blood toucheih blood"
Furthermore, the counsel of the priests has
been rejected, knowledge spurned, idol gods
embraced. "You sacrifice upon the tops of
the mountains" to man-made gods, which
are not gods.
We have pictured here a moral, intellect¬
ual and spiritual condition that would prove
to be the gangrene of any race or nation.
Immorality destroys the brain. Intellect-
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
ual ignorance will pollute and fill with the
virus of death and decay the spiritual
streams that form the life blood of any
nation, and nothing so soon begets intel¬
lectual ignorance as immorality and vice.
Whenever a people re-
Priests and jects the priesthood of
Princes Fallen, knowledge "and heaps
unto themselves teach¬
ers, having itching ears," the dissolution
and degradation of that people are not
far distant. It was for lack of knowledge
that Israel was doomed to destruction, and
the priests, whose lips should ever keep wis¬
dom, had been drawn into the great whirl¬
pool of social corruption with the people.
When there were priests who did their
duty, they were rejected by the people; and
now they, with the people, reject the knowl¬
edge of God. So the sentence comes, "Be¬
cause thou hast rejected knowledge I will
also reject thee that thou shalt be no priest
unto me." This is a terrible and hopeless
state of affairs,—when the ecclesiastical and
political rulers have become as the com¬
monest sinners, when they rejoice in the
iniquity of the people and are made glad
with bottles of wine and flattering lies.
There can be no hope for such a social or-
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSBA.
ganism, for there is no basis for reform.
No statesmanship in the land, no preach¬
ers of righteousness.—From whence may
we expect the forces that reform? from
the avenging, purging fires of affliction and
that alone. But even these fail here. De¬
feat and impoverishment had followed in
the wake of their social corruption. The
kingdom was falling apart under the con¬
stant hammering of the enemy. The
death sickness had already set in. Upon
the brow of the nation the beads of a fatal
perspiration could now be seen. "When
Ephraim saw his sickness and ludah scew
his "wound then went Ephraim to the As¬
syrian and sent to King Jareb. Yet could
he not heal you nor cure you of your
wound " What amazing perversity! What
monumental folly that a people whose so¬
cial and political security trad from the
dawn of history rested in their separate-
ness from other nations, should now seek
such entangling alliances!
God entreated, warned,
Light Hearted and threatened the na-
Repentance. tion with terrible ca¬
lamities. He would be
unto Ephraim "as a lion and as a young
Hon to the house of Judah." He would
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
"withdraw himself from them." He would
"return unto His place," retire into His un¬
approachable heavens to make them feel
the need of Him. But these light, silly,
flippant optimistic children do not take it
seriously. They trifle with the Deity. En¬
trenched in egotism and pride and the
memory of so many favors, they reason that
God has only torn them that He may heal
them, and has thrown the mdown that He
may take them up again in a day or two,
"As soon as we seek him we shall find
Him." "It is a very small matter, any
way."
"Come and let us return to Jehovah:
For He hath rent, that he may heal us,
And hath wounded, that he may bind us
up.
He will bring us to life in a couple of
days;
On the third day tie will raise us up agafoi,
That we may live in His presence.
Let us know, let us follow up to know
Jehovah:
As soon as we seek Him we shall find Him.
And He shall come to us like ihe winter-
rain,
Like the spring-rain pouring on the land!"
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
God answers this beautiful prayer, and
assures them that he has no faith in such
idle words. They had made such promises
before and He remembers their backslid-
ings of old. So He cries, "Oh Ephriam,
what shall I do unto thee? * * * for
your goodness is as a morning cloud, and
as the early dew it goeth away." Such
cheap sentimental repentance, such light ap¬
preciation was an unholy odor in the nos¬
trils of Jehovah. For He desireth mercy and
truth and not sacrifice, and the knowledge
of God more than burnt offerings.
There can be no mis-
Israel Doomed. understanding of the
meaning and portent of
the above signs. The reading is plain and
the interpretation sure. It is the Mene
Tekel of the nation. Impurity in "the fam¬
ily, immorality in the priesthood, theft and
murder in society, debauchery on the
throne! No nation can maintain its pres¬
tige abroad with such conditions at home.
The prophet now (vii:9) makes a tran¬
sition, leaves off considering the domestic
condition and proceeds to lay bare the for¬
eign and political condition of the nation.
Verse eight of chapter seven forms the
connecting link between these two thoughts,
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSEA.
the domestic decay and the political decay.
"Ephraim, he mixeth himself among the
people;
Ephraim is a cake not turned."
It is the last clause that satirizes the do¬
mestic condition of the people, while the
first clause with equal force strikes on the
political condition of the nation.
The key, a fitting text for the foregoing
discussion (iv-vii:8), can be found in the
words "Ephraim is a cake not turned"
What more fitting simile could be employed
to express the one-sided immoral life of a
fickle people! "A cake not turned," burned
on one side, raw on the other, hence only
fit to be cast away. Thus it was with Is¬
rael's domestic life. They would strain at
a gnat and swallow a camel. Scrupulous
as to the observance of ritual and fasts, but
lamentably lax as to morals and true re¬
ligion.
"Ephraim, he mixeth
Erring Kings. himself among the peo¬
ple." These words
form the key to that part of the indictment
which follows (vii:8-x), the political
blunders and their consequent punishment.
It is very singular that from the time of
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
the revolt at Shechem Israel was guilty of
one political blunder after another. Dur¬
ing the 250 years of the kingdom's exist¬
ence, not a single good king wielded the
royal scepter. It was conspicuous for its
idolatry and entangling alliances. In the
national life of Israel there are four periods
that stand out clear and plain, each of which
is marked by the strong personality of the
most prominent king of that period. In the
first period the most conspicuous king was
Jeroboam, the revolter; in the second,
Ahab, the wicked king; in the third, Jehu,
somewhat of a reformer, and in the fourth,
Pekah, the royal assassin. During the first
period, idolatry took root, Bethel and Dan
came into prominence; during the second,
it was in full bloom under the furious and
fanatical leading of Jezebel, wife of the
king; during the third, it was held some¬
what in abeyance through the influence of
the prophets. The rugged Elijah flourish¬
ed here. During the fourth period, idola¬
try produced its natural fruit, the utter dis¬
solution and destruction of the kingdom. It
is the political side of this last period that
now passes before us for a brief review.
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSEA.
Political alliances with
Political other nations were for-
Alliances. bidden Israel by the
clear word of God. But
there was no balm in Gilead. Internal cor¬
ruption, the fires of national vitality burning
low, all spelled out to the nation the death
warrant of its existence. They saw the
threatening cloud that lowered and gather-
ered around them. They saw their wound,
the fatal sore of the kingdom; "But when
Ephraim saw his sickness and Juddh saw
his wound, then went Ephraim to the As¬
syrian and sent to King Jareb"
There was no statesmanship nor self-re¬
liance at home, hence the application to
others, for aid. They accepted the prof¬
fered treaties of peace and amity, which in
the long run cost the nation very dearly.
Thus it was said that strangers devoured
their strength and they knew it not; and
grey hairs, the sign of declining life, were
upon them; but they ignored their presence
and the warning which they gave. But
like a silly dove the nation continued to
multiply evil by its alliances with other na¬
tions.
Acknowledged enemies and professing
friends—all preyed upon the confused peo¬
ple. They paid tribute to Assyria, carried
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
oil to Egypt and at the same time fought
their battles at home.
Israel's weakling kings and idol gods.
"They have set up kings but not by me.
Of their silver and their gold have they
made idols that they may be cut off." "Thy
calf, O Samaria, hast cast thee off; mine
anger is kindled against them. * * The
workman made them; therefore they are
not God" (Cn. viii-4-13).
Hosea follows this with a brief state¬
ment of the effects of the exile. During
that dark and terrible time their gods would
be put to the test and would fail them. The
nation would sink deeper and deeper
into the cesspool of sin. Though they had
been like grapes in the wilderness (ix:io),
their glory shall fly away like a bird from
the birth, and from the womb and from the
conception (ix:ii). Indeed, "My God
will" (utterly) "cast them away." In
chapter x the prophet again turns to the
main target of his scorn, the nation's idols
Man-made Kings
and Hand-made
Gods.
Passing over many of
the minor allusions
and complaints of the
prophet, we now come
to the main targets of
his indignant scorn, viz.,
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSEA.
and the people's kings. The nation shall
h&ve no king, and the altars shall be broken
down.
» These must have been
"■Terrible Times, terrible times. There
was no stalk nor fibre
to the nation; There was no national hero
wor towering personality to influence the
ration for good. Those who "rose to prom¬
inence j < rose not upon the nation; but: only
on the fevered and transient impulse of
some faction." Their leaders were not
from God; but were man-made, and soon
man-murdered. It is very singular, as has
been said, that not one of the kings of Is¬
rael was a godly man. Their withdrawal
from Judah was never blessed by God. Few
histories of royal families are more tragic
• than that of Israel, While all of Israel's
kings were more or less wicked, those who
reigned just prior to, during and after
■ Hosea's day were singularly conspicuous
for their reckless wickedness. The prophet
Hosea commenced his ministry just before
the close of Jeroboam's properous reign,
and for more than sixty years he stood as
the great breakwater against the nation's
flood of sin. The history of the kings that
followed Jeroboam is one of murderers and
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
profligates. Zachariah, his son, was openly
assassinated after a reign of six months.
Shallum, his murderer, reigned one month
and was murdered by Menahem, who
reigned ten years in Samaria. Pekohiah
succeeded him, lasted two years, was
stabbed by Pekoh, one of his captains, who
reigned twenty years. He was at last mur¬
dered by Hoshea. Then tumult and an¬
archy let loose, and for ten years there was
a reign of terror. He reigned nine years,
after which the very nation of whom Is¬
rael had sought help came up against Sa¬
maria and carried the ten tribes away. Of
all of this the prophet here warns Israel.
"Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reap¬
ed iniquity, ye have eaten the fruit of lies,
therefore shall a tumult arise among thy
people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled.
* * * * shall Bethel do unto you be¬
cause of your great wickedness', in a morn¬
ing shall the king of Israel utterly be cut
off."
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
00
The Fatherhood and Humanity of God.
Hos. xi.
"As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm,
Though round its breast the rolling clouds may
spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head."
From the crooked paths
A Bright Vision and fetid swamps of Is-
of the Past. rael's benighted life the
eleventh chapter breaks
out clear and sharp like a mountain peak
against the blue. Israel had been slow to
learn that God was human as well as divine.
To them the awfulness and terror of Je¬
hovah was very plain; but the fatherhood,
love and humanity of God had not been
made so clear. This may seem very strange
when we consider the fact that God had
dealt so tenderly with the nation, leading
and cheering them, guiding and conquer¬
ing for them. Such stupidity is only
equalled by the men of to-day who go on
from time to time enjoying the blessings
and providence of life without once think¬
ing to honor the source from whence they
came. But Hosea depicts a Bright vision
of the past in most fervid language to bring
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF IIOSEA.
the nation to a knowledge of the fact that
God loves and pities Israel even as a father
pitieth his children. In this chapter a glo¬
rious and indulgent past looms up before the
nation, and graves itself upon their mem¬
ory as with a pen of iron. It is not only
a reminder of blessings paist, but a prophecy
of favors that would coUie. But the iniqui¬
ties of the nation had separated between
them and their God. Parallel with the
Father's kindness had run the nation's til-
gratitude. Side by side with God's invi¬
tations and monitions through His prophets
stood the nation's estrangement, insensibil¬
ity and thanklessness. The more God?s
messengers called them, the more bad they
turned a deaf ear to those who were their
best advisers and truest friends.
" When Israel was a child, then I loved him
And called him out of Egypt to be my son.
As they, (the prophets), called them, so
■ they
Went from them; they sacrificed unto
. Baalim and burned incense to graven
images."
"J taught Rphraim also to go (to walk),
Taking them by their arms;
But they knew not that I healed them"
(when they fell)
L2JTJS AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
"/ drew them with cords of a man,
With hands of love:
And I was to them as they that take off the
i yoke on their jaws,
And I laid meat unto them." , ->• :r:
But Israel could not say,
"He drew me mid I followed on,
Glad to confess the voice divine"
for they were bent to backsliding from
Hirp, and though the prophets called them
to the Most High, none of them would exalt
Him in their lives.
These are words of ex-
Love Holds ceeding tenderness. In
Debate. them we find discipline
not unmixed with love.
God-is not merely Jehovah, awful and ter¬
rible; He is not man, implacable' and re¬
vengeful . But He is God the Father, keep¬
ing the Divine covenant of everlasting love.
Though the sins of the people were griev¬
ous, He would not come into their city to
■utterly destroy them. But there must be
discipline; punishment must come. Com-
■ptete annihilation is their due and just de¬
sert, but the compassionate and indulgent
PfcHabr wbaders,
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSBA.
"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?
How shall I deliver thee, Israel?"
Love finds an answer, tempered with
mercy,
"I will not execute the -fierceness of mine
anger,
I will not return to destroy Ephraim,
For God am I, and not man,
The Holy One in the midst of thee" (v. 9).
But there must be punishment. The logic
of the situation demands it. Even God's
love cannot ward it off. Crime has been
committed, judgment must follow. But what
will be the sentence, and what the decree
of the court?
"He shall not return in-
The Sentence to the land of Egypt;
Pronounced, but the Assyrian shall
be his king, because
they refused to return."
"And the sword shall abide on his cities,
and shall consume his branches and devour
them, because of their own counsels
This is a much worse penalty than the
one at first pronounced (Ch. viii:i3 and
jx:3), wherein Jehovah decreed that "Ephr
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
raim shall return to Egypt." Since this
first warning, additional crimes had been
committed. The warning had fallen un¬
heeded upon their ears. So God, without
changing his purpose of punishment, just¬
ly changes his mode and will not allow them
to return to Egypt; but sentences them to
a worse bondage under the Assyrians.
Since the days of Menahem they had been
tributary to Assyria; but at last grew res¬
tive under their galling yoke and applied
to Egypt for help, but no help would come.
The power of Assyria would still crush
them; instead, therefore, of Egyptian
masters, which they would much prefer,
they should have no choice in the matter; the
Assyrian iron yoke should crush them.
This poor privilege of returning to Egypt,
rather than going to Assyria shall be de¬
nied them. Why? "Because they refused
to returnThat is, they committed addi¬
tional offences after the first sentence had
been pronounced.
We find the execution
The Sentence of this sentence through
Executed. Tiglath-Pileser, King of
Assyria and ally of
Ahaz, King of Judah, when he came up
against Pekah, King of Israel and Rezin,
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
King of Syria, and carried captive to As¬
syria the inhabitants of Gilead, Galilee and
Naphtali. Nearly twenty years later, Shal-
maneser besieged Samaria and carried off
the remnant of Israel. "Truth is fallen in
the street, and equity cannot enter."
"Mercy and truth are
Glorious tt*ether' ,
. . . Righteousness and peace
Anticipation. have kissed eadl
other.
Truth shall spring out of the earth ;
And righteousness shall look down from
heaven."
—Ps. 85 :10-11.
The remaining verses of the chapter ex¬
cept the last one are filled with glorious an¬
ticipations and glowing hopes of what the
captivity will do for the nation. His pun¬
ishment had been a work of love, inflicted
with a desire to correct and reform the
•erring spouse. In the mind of the opti¬
mistic and indulgent Father punishment
has done its perfect work, and now, "They
shall walk after the Lord. He shall roar,
(call),like a lion; when He shall roar then
the children shall tremble from the west."
Tremble because of their precipitate agita¬
tion and haste to return to God and their
native land.
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
"They shall tremble as a bird out of
Egypt"/ and as a dove out of the land of
Assyria,: and I will place them in their
houses, saith the Lord."
But memory spoils the picture, "Eph-
raim covvipasseth me about with lies and Is¬
rael '■ with deceit!x "All of their ; services,
even when they pretended to compass his,
altar were ' feigned and hypocritical.";
"They lied to him with their mouth and flat--
tered him with their tongue/' This does
not destroy the hope of redemption in the
mind of the Father, but'grieves Him that
they thus slight His love.
This section5 closes with the eleventh
verse of the eleventh chapter. The twelfth:
verse commences another indictment, and
hence belongs to the following section:
; (3)
A Catalogue of Crimes,
xi. 12-xii-xiv.
Hosea is the weeping
The Weeping prophet of Israel. The
Prophet, crowning thought to all
of his climaxes is love.
With him doom has a conspicuous place;
but love'occupies the higher throne. Thus
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
far there have been two main climaxes in
his prophecy: (i) His marriage, the sin
and estrangement, ending in reconciliation
as the climax. (2) The moral and politi¬
cal decay of the nation, and consequent
doom and judgment, followed by the assur¬
ance of the Fatherhood and love of God as
the climax. We now come (3) to the pro¬
phet's recapitulation of the crimes of Israel,
with doom and judgment intertwined; b'rt
the prophet, yet loyal to the ruling passion
of his soul, looks far beyond the doom and
judgment, the captivity and exile, and sees
the sunrise of a brighter day, the day of th'e
nation's restoration to love and favor with
God.
It is evidently the vis-
The Crisis. ion of a brighter day
that stimulates the rhe¬
torical and intellectual powers of this bold
preacher of righteousness. He realizes that
the fatal hour, the hour of the crisis of the
nation, is close at hand. Th'e clouds have
well nigh obscured the light of day. Is the
coming of that hour inevitable? Is there
no hope of staying it? While he debates
these questions, there passes before his pro¬
phetic vision the assurance that though the
light of day may be shut out, it will not be
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
for all time. The dark, thick night of Is¬
rael will be followed by a fair morn of sun¬
shine and gladsome joy. He now gathers
up all of his reserve force and prophetic
fire, and makes one last appeal to the na¬
tion's conscience. Hope lingers still; mercy
has not flown; even now the nation may
repent and turn to God. The trial of argu¬
ment is to him quite familiar now; but with
redoubled earnestness he presses upon the
people the claims of Jehovah. But, alas!
they will not turn: all hope is in vain: Eph-
raim is wedded to his idols: like a stupid
runaway ass he goes to Assyria. So the
faithful prophet to an obstinate people pro¬
nounces upon them a doom more awful and
blighting than was ever before announced.
But doom is never final with him. Judg¬
ment is never the last word of Jehovah to
his people. Out of discipline and judg¬
ment will come joy and gladness. Out of
the grave of death will spring a renewed
life.
"I will ransom them from the power of the
grave;
I will redeem them from death:
O death, I will be thy plagues
0 grave, I will be thy destruction
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
This section, which we
A Graphic have entitled "A Cata-
Enumeration. logue of Crimes," com¬
mences with the last
verse of the eleventh chapter, "Ephraim
compasseth me about with lies and the house
of Israel with deceit." This doubtless refers
to their half-hearted religious worship.: An
attempt to provoke them to jealousy follows,
"But Judah yet ruleth with God, and is
faithful with the saintsJudah, though
sinful, was never so wicked and idolatrous
as Israel.
Now comes a more detailed enumeration
of the crimes of the nation,—the following
of vain and fleeting hopes, (given in the
figure of the wind) ; covenant relations with
Assyria and Egypt; Judah likewise cen¬
sured.
For a moment the scene changes and the
nation is referred to their father Jacob who
sinned as they had sinned; but he, unlike
them,, "wept and made supplication unto
Him and prevailed." The Lord is his me¬
morial, and stands ready to forgive, even
now, on terms as reasonable as those upon
which Jacob found pardon. "Therefore,
turn thou unto thy God: Keep mercy and
judgment." The prophet again returns to
his former task of enumerating the crimes
of the,nation, which are as follows: loye of
oppression; t(se of false balances; boast of
\vealtK—all unmindful of the fact that
weafth h^s."'wings,''for Jehovah saith, "I
will' yet make thee dwell' in' tabernacles as
iii 'the' days of the solemn feast." They
would not hear the prophets, but kept sacri¬
ficing in Gilgal, "But I shall make their al¬
tars like hdaps in the furrows 6f the field."
Here once again the prophet goes back
and gathers: the' olid truths and runs along
the old .lines,—the glorious past when Eph-
rai;ji .was a power. But idolatry dethroned
.their reason, and luxury sapped the" vital¬
ity, of the tribe as well as of the nation.
. From a literary and rhetorical point of
view ■ the two closing chapters are fitting
words for the epilogue of a treatise of this
character. What delightful ease, and play¬
ful yet earnest sarcasm, what force and pas¬
sion are exhibited here. With what per¬
sistence does he ply "the self-willed _ people.
Their pride, immoralities and irreligion,
their senseless political entanglements, their
icjql gods and puppet kings, all mark the
nation as rotten to the core. These form
the targets of his scorn and contempt:
pierced by the shafts of, ridicule shot by
the nimble wits of tliis veteran marksman,
the nation is made ridiculous in the eyes of
4 6 LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSBA.
civilization. Not one event of history
aione, but in one bold statement he sum¬
marizes the whole history of the tribe which
found its counterpart in that of the nation.
Dr. Smith's translation of this statement is
as follows: "Whenever Ephraim spake
there was trembling: Prince was he in Is¬
rael ; but he fell into guilt through Ba'al
and so—died."
Threatenings and Promises.
The foregoing state-
Basis of ment is a brief philoso-
The Doom. phy of the rise and fall
of the nation, and forms
the basis of the doom that is to follow. It
states the cause of which the verses to fol¬
low will give the effect. There is nothing
more pitiable than the sight of a great man
fallen from a high pedestal of prestige and
power. As with a man, so with a nation,—
the depth of the fall can only be measured
by the height of former glory. Others had
trembled when Ephraim spake; but their
irrational and God-dishonoring conduct has
now placed them at the feet of their ene¬
mies. Four figures are employed by the
prophet to exhibit their destruction: (i)
The morning cloud and (2) early dew
(J3:3) characterize the transient and eva-
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
nescent character of their goodness and
high resolves. (3) The chaff which is
whirled away from the threshing floor by
the wind, and (4) the smoke which speed¬
ily vanishes so soon as it escapes from the
chimney, figure the scattering and destruc¬
tion of the nation.
The sentence will be
the Final Doom, just, for God had made
Preparation for ample provision for
their happiness and to
prevent them from stumbling. He had been
their friend since they left Egypt (v:4).
In the wilderness He had known them and
furnished them with green pasture (v:5-6).
But the bread from heaven and water from
the smitten rock had 'only tilled their sto¬
machs and satisfied their hunger; they had
left no thanksgiving in their hearts, nor
memory of God in their conscience.
"Therefore will I be un~
The Sentence to them as the Hon, as
Pronounced, a leopard by the way
will I observe them: I
will meet them as a bear that is bereaved
of her whelps, and I will rend the caul of
their hearts and there will I devour them
like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
0, Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself. I
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
gave thee a king in my anger and took him
away in my wrath." (Fit statement of the
bloody reigns of Israel's shortlived. puppet
kings.) "The iniquity of Ephraimis bound
up : his sin is hid. The sorrows of as- tra¬
vailing woman shall come upon him: he
is an unwise son. ***** Samaria
shall become desolate, for she hath rebelled
against her God: they shall fall' by' the
szvord; their infants shall he dashed' in
pieces, and their women with child shall be
ripped up."
While Jehovah threat-
Judgment ens to make war, he
Accompanied by still holds out the olive
Offers of Mercy, branch of peace and the
myrtle leaf of friend¬
ship.
"In me is thy help: I zvill be thy king.
Where is any other that may save thee in
all thy cities?" "I zvill ransom,thee"- ev.eri
now "from the power of the gmye; I will
redeem thee from death"
The condition is easy and simple: "Oh
Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for
thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take
with you words (instead of sacrifices), and
turn to the Lord." Words are signs of
ideas and emotions that struggle in the
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
soul Take words, and in the true spirit
say, "Take away all iniquity and receive us
graciously." .. ; -
Now comes the practical side of Israel's
repentance,, the fruits.meet for repentance,
—the renunciation of all hope of safety
through Assyria and Egypt. Jehovah asks
them tO-^naket.th^ proniise th^t,they w^ould
ne^er again have- repqurss, to ^.^yria , for
help, nor to, Egypt, for, horses, nor. confide
again,in their man-fnade gods. This is the-
confession and renimpiati^n that Efe .puts
intq sth^ir ,sh$l nplsave
wti) we wi\h not,ri$e ufton, horses■; neither
will , we ^qy ,mpX& M the; workt of ouft
hands, ye are our gods". ,
Do this, O Israel; come
Jehovaii's in the spirit of these
Answer, words and the ariswer
' of JehdvaH will he after
this wise': : " '* ' ' :
"i will hecil- their hqfksliding,
I will love them freely:
For mine anger is turned away from him.
/ will be as the dpw unto Israel:
fierfh^l gfow as thejily, 7 ,t.
n4tfd C0t forthJiis roatf as Lebanon. .
^ranches shall spread,
And his beauty shall be as the olive tree,
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OP HOSEA.
And his smell as Lebanon.
They that dwell under his shadow shall
return;
They shall revive as the corn,
And grow as the vine;
The scent thereof shall be as the wine of
Lebanon."
Then will they be completely cured of
their idolatry, for they shall say: "What
have I to do any more with idols f I have
heard Him and observed Him and hence,
"I am like a green Hr tree''
"Some one has added a summons to later
generations to lay this book to heart in the
face of their own problems and sins. May
we do so for ourselves!"
"Who is wise, that he understands these
things.
Intelligent that he knows them?
Yea, straight are the ways of Jehovah,
And the righteous shall walk therein,
But sinners shall stumble upon them."
—xiv :g.
That the glorious words
Two Fold that close the book ot
Significance. Hosea have a two-fold
meaning is -cry evident.
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
It is a characteristic of sacred prophecy
that while it may refer primarily to some
moral condition or immediate event in the
life of the tribe or nation, it also refers to
an event farther away, an event of which
the former is the shadow, or type. Almost
all of the Messianic prophecies can be in¬
terpreted in this way. Where deliverance
is predicted it may refer to a deliverance
close at hand; but its complete consumma¬
tion is to be found in the Christ that is to
come. So in this case, God promises to
ransom them from the grave upon certain
conditions, upon their repentance and re¬
turn to Him. They failed to repent, failed
to meet the. conditions, hence the deliver¬
ance would have to come at a more dis¬
tant date and in some other way. So while
Ch. xiv. refers primarily to a conditional
immediate redemption, ultimately it refers
to the restoration after tha captivity.
(5)
Knowledge the Basis.
* Knowledge of God forms the key to Ho-
sea's prophecy. It was the fatal lack of Is¬
rael. Ignorance was the cause of their sin.
Knowledge is the basis
LIFE ANP PROPHECIES OF HQSEA.
Basi«i nf Mora? of correct moral living.
Basis of Moral peopie are destroy-
a e(i for lack of knowl-
Religious Life, edge." "Cray hairs are
upon them and they
know it not."
"I desired mercy and not sacrifice;
And the knowledge of God morp than
burnt offerings."
Mercy to our fellow man is the- effect of
..wibi'cii' Knowledge is 'the cause. Reasonable
'service to God in the way , of sacrifices and
burnt offerings can only spring out of an
enlightened conscience. These standing in
the relation of cause and effect, produce the
highest type of moral and religious man¬
hood.
The laws of civil society enjoin justice
to oui; fellowman, without which communi¬
ties could not be held together. The laws
of our religious being enjoin sacrifices to
God and for Godj without which our re¬
ligious nature is stunted -and warped. But
the well-spring of civic justice and the
fountain from which reasonable service
flows are rooted in knowledge v©f God, the
Father of the race and Great Architect of
our lives. . '
Mercy to man represents the right state
of the heart, and manifests itself in the prac-
LIFE A#D , OF, HOSBA.
53
£^x>f d^edsjpf charity, justice, and benevo-
ience.
Religious services are our offerings to
Go#; in 'ritual,.money, time and spng. Thesp
tnree|—Knowledge,'' Mercy arid" Offerings
to God form the basis of true religion.
,>u ! t¥hat is the summum
The'Highest tidfmin of human exist-
' Good. ' ence ? What is the chief
11 ; end of manJs being?
\Vlikt"i.s the1 thing* that should be his chief
cdricefn ? Td sudh' questions" various' ari-
SMrs will be given according to the' tastes,
tr^iriing, h'abits and capacity of the indiL
vfdual." A iriari represehtirig the lowest type
of liviii^ would say that life itself and its
preservation should be his great concern;
others might say health of body and health
of Mind ;s still othfers that the advancement
of brie's faifrily and the security of their iri-
teVests 'are the chief things to be sought.
T*her£' he some truth iri these' answers,—
there may be much truth in them. But
there is something higher and holier, nobler
and; better than these. The * glory of,, the
Qjeajor ajid the good pf tlje .creature must
he . placed above ail else. But to carry out
this .pl^n we must know God, through the
open book . of nature, the volume of His
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSfiA.
Word and his providential dealings with
the race.
Hosea, the greatest
Basis of Love. prophet of love, places
great stress upon
knowledge as its basis. The greatest pain
of the human heart is that of not being un¬
derstood by the object of its love. It si¬
lences argument, paralyzes influence and
stifles love. No man can reason or plead
with another who will not come to quarters
with his real self. Who can do his best
for one who is blind to his best? How can
love speak when she is not known as love?
God could not successfully reason With Is¬
rael, for Israel did not know Him, He could
not save Israel, for Israel was blind to the
salvation He offered. He could no longer
speak with Israel, for Israel misunderstood
His love. Hence, the final sentence came:
"My God will cast them away." Love re¬
tired defeated from the field. Sin had con¬
quered love.
Love has its terrors as
The Basis dti well as its blessings.
Repentance. Defeated and denied
the privilege of bestow¬
ing the latter, it tesorts to the former to
bring men to repentance. When love bad
LIFE AND PROPHECIES OF HOSEA.
ened to reinforce and clothe herself in ter¬
ror and return to the issue, and when the
retired wounded from the field she threat-
stupid nation had been sufficiently humbled
she would again hold out the olive branch
of peace. lhe prophet reasons that the
errant people would then say, "Come let us
return unto the Lord," for now they have
come to a knowledge of God's love. With
Hosea, to return is to repent, and to know
is to return. Knowledge, repentance and
service go hand in hand.
But as Isaiah has said,
No Mere such knowledge does
Memory of not come by mere hear-
Facts. ing without understand¬
ing, or seeing without
perceiving. But it comes as the result of
deep ponderings in heart and soul.
Religiously speaking, to knew is not sim¬
ply to see but to perceive and understand,
to be apprehended as well as to apprehend.
It is not only an effort of the mind, but an
effect upon the mind that makes for right¬
eousness. Such knowledge starts a moral
echo in the soul, and is followed by deep¬
est feelings of shame for sins committed,
or reverence for goodness known. It is
wisdom in the higher affairs of life.
life And prophecies of hosea.
To know another perfectly, and in the
highest sense is to hate or love the person
known. It was no mere ignorance of facts
that beclouded Israel's mind and seared the
nation's conscience. They were well ac¬
quainted with their past providential his¬
tory, the events of which were kept green
in their memory.
These they had Crowned, immortalized
at Bethel ahd Gilgal, at Dan and Beershe-
ba.; But Israel was ignorant of the char¬
acter and purpose of God which s'hoile
through these facts with, an ever increasing
lustre. The bitterest weeping of the proph¬
et was over this fact—ignorance of . the
real character of God. No mere memory of
the past could bring this knowledge to them.
The prophet had tried it and failed. Hence
Jehovah must desert His faithless spouse
and let her feel the harlot's shame and bit¬
ter memories of the better past. When
this is done He will return and lead her up
out of tfie wilderness and "they shall re¬
vive as the corn and grow as the vine" and
"Ephraim shall say;, What have I to do any
more with idols?"
"Who is wise, and he shall understand
these things, prudent and he shall know
them? for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the just shall walk in them; but the
transgressors shall fall therein "
iUMK. t AND PftQ^IJEfCIES OF Hp?EA.
QUESTIONS FOR' SELF-EXAMINATION
,, iTROJVI THE BOOK OF, HOSEA,
(The reader who can answer all these ques-
ti6ris Will'; be as thoroughly grounded in the
Book of Hosea, in all essential /points, as if he
had studied the Book in a theological school.
Hfe will' also be 'surprised to find* what a clear
insight he gains into the mysteries of other
prophecy.) < ;
1.—What is I-to sea's ,'ptacp- in t^e cation? His
,relation to Amos? : :
2.—Compare Hosea, arid Amos. In what do
:ji t,hey di^er? 'In w^hat are they alike?
3-—£s, prediction the chief or subordinate ele-
^e^t in 'prophecy ?'
,4.—'Relate, tne storyof the faithless wife. The
meaning of her children's nafrtes.
5.—What was the meaning of, this Story?
;,6.T7D}d,Hpsea know the character of his wife
,when he ma^rried her?1/'If riot, how came
he to state at the first bf his book that
.. . : ,, this was "the begmning of word of the
Lord,'* etc,? ' r
7.—Describe tHe meaning arid purpose of sor¬
row in our lives.
. 8.-rrT&fo HP {he,story of HoSek's marriage and
.trace i,ts analogy to the life df Israel.
9.—Why is it difficult to divide chapters 4 to 14
into sections? , What diyisioris/'does the
,,author make? ' "v.
10.—State some things going to show the moral
and political decay of the nation.
111 .—What four periods stand out distinctly, and
t what kings, reigried in each? 1
12.—What was the effect of alliances with other
nations?
LIFE AND PROPHECIES ©F HOSEA.
13.—Describe the times that succeeded the reign
of Jeroboam.
14.—What change of view does chapter 11 give?
15.—Could God's, love avert Israel's punishment?
16.—What was the sentence pronounced? Hpw
was it executed?
17.—What is the general tone of the last part
oi chapter 11? What verse is an excep¬
tion to this?
18.—What is the crowning thought in all Hosea's
climaxes? State the three climaxes in
his prophecy.
19.—Enumerate the crimes of the nation as men¬
tioned by Hosea.
20.—Discuss the literary and historical beauty
of the last two chapters of Hosea.
21.—Under what four figures does the prophet
exhibit the destruction of the nation?
22.—What is the sentence pronounced?
23.—Is any mercy offered? If so, on what con¬
dition?
24.—What two-fold significance have the clos¬
ing promises of Hosea? Is this in ac¬
cord with the characteristics of sacred
prophecy?
25.—What is the basis of moral and religious
life? Quote some confirmatory Scrip¬
ture.
2,6.—Define summum bonum.
27.—What is the summum bonum of human ex¬
istence? Upon what is it based?
28.-~What is the basis of love? Show this.
29.—What is t|he basis of repentance?
30.—What is meant, religiously speaking, by
knowing?
31.—Prove this in Israel's case.
32.—Write an essay on the Book of Hosea, or
a sermon on some passage from the
B©ok.