Chapter XLVIII (continued, part 6)
fiin Israel latterly was guilty of. separated themselves —consecrated themselves, unto that shame— to that sh.imeful or foul idol (Jeremiah 11. 13). their abomlna- ;ttous were according as they loved—rather, as Vulgate,
off the victims' heads, shall be themselves cut off. 3. now, &c.—soon they, deprived of their king, shall be reduired to say, We have no king (v. 7, 15), for Jehovah deprived us of him, because of our not fearing God. What then (seeing God is against us) should a king be able to do for us, if we had one? As they rejected the heavenly King, they were deprived of their earthly king. 4. word» —mere empty words, swearing falsely In making covenant—breaking their engagement to Shalmaneser
" they became abominable like the object of their love" (Deuteronomy 7.26; Psalm 115.8). English Version gives good sense, "their abominable idols they followed after,
a(;c(>rdiiig as their lusts prompted them" (Margin, Amos
4. 5). 11. tlicir glory shall fly away—fit retribution to those who " separated themselves unto that shame" (v. 10). Cliildren were accounted the glory of parents; sterility, a reproach. " Ephraim" means fruUfulness (Genesis 41. 52); this its name ehall cease to be Its characteristic, from
(2 Kings 17. 4), and making a covenant with So, though covenants with foreigners were forbidden. Judgment ... as hemlock i.e.. Divine Judgment shall spring up as rank, and as deadly, as hemlock In the furrows (Deuteronomy 29. 18; Amos 5.7; 6. 12). GeseniuS translatea, "poppy.'' Grotius, "darnel." 5. fear because of tlM
tlie birth . . . womb . . . conception-Ephraim's children shall perish in a threefold gradation; (1.) From the birth. (2.) From the time of pregnancy. (3.) From the 658
RefnDofi and Threatenings for Idolatry. HOSEA XI. TJie Inyralitudt of TsracL
cnlves—i. e., shall fear /or them. Beth-aven—substituted
Israel's freedom, prosperity, and self-indulgence heretofore. But now God will put the Assyrian yoke upon l.er, instead of freedom, putting her to servile work. I passed over upon—I put the yoke upon, make ... to ride—as in Job 30. 22; t. e., hurry Kpliraim away to a distant region. [Calvin.] Lyra translates, "I will make (tlie Assyrian) to ride upon Kpliraim." Maurer, "I will make Ephraim to carry," viz., a charioteer, his clotls—" the clods before him." 13. Continuation of the image in v. 11 (Proverbs
for Bi^tli-el In contempt (ch. 4. 15). it singular, the one in Beth-el; after the pattern of whicli the other "calves"
(7)f«ra/) were made. "Calves" in the Hebrew is feminine, to express contempt, priests—the Hebrew Is only used of idolatrous priests (2 Kings 23. 5; Zephaniah 1. 4), from a root meaning either the black garment in which they were attired ; or, to resound, referring to their howling cries in their sacred rites. [Calvin.] t?iat rejoiced on It—because it was a source of gain to them. Maurer translates, "Shall leap in trepidation on account of it;" as Baal's priests did (1 Kings 18. 26). the glory thereof—the magnificence of its ornaments and its worship. 6. It . . . also—The calf, so far from saving its worshippers from deportation, Itself shall be carried off; hence "Israel shall be asliamed" of it. Jareb (Note, ch. 5. 13.) "A present to the king (whom they looked to as) their defender," or else avenger, whose wratli thej' wished to appease, viz., Shalmaneser. The minor states applied this title to the Great King, as tiie avenging Protector, his own counsel —the calves, which Jeroboam set up as a stroke of policy to detach Israel from Judah. Their severance from Judah and Jehovah proved now to be not politic, but fatal to them. 7. (Ver. 3,15.) foam—denoting sliort-lived existence, and speedy dissolution. As the foam though seeming to be eminent, raised on the top of the water, yet has no solidity, such is the throne of Samaria. Maurer translates, " a chip" or broken branch that cannot resist the current. 8. Aven—i. e., Beth-aven. the sin—i. e., the occasion of sin (Deuteronomy 9.21; 1 Kings 12.30). they shaU say to . . . mountains, Cover us—so terril)le shall be tlie calamity, that men sliall prefer death to life {Luke
11. 18). Act righteously and ye shall reap the reward; a reward not of debt, but of grace, in mercy-according to the measure of the Divine " mercy," wliicli over and above repays the goodness or "mercy" which we show to our fellow-man (Luke 6. 38). break . . . falloiv ground—remove your superstitions and vices, and be renewed, seek . . . Lord, till he come—though not answered immediately, persevere unceasingly "till He come." rain send down as a copious shower, righteousness i. e., tlie reward of rigliteousness, i. e., salvation, temporal and spiritual (1 Samuel 20.23; cf. Joel 2.23). 13. reaped iniquity— )'. e., the fruit of iniquity; as "righteousness" {v.
12) is "the fruit of righteousness" (Job 4. 8; Proverlis 22. 8; Galatians 6. 7, 8). lies—false and spurious worship, trust in thy way—thy perverse way (Isaiali 57. 10; Jeremiah
2. '£i), thy woi-sliip of false gods. This was tlieir internal safeguard, as their external was "the multitude of tlieir mighty men." I*, tumult—a tumultuous war. among thy people—<t<., peoples: the war shall extend to the whole people of Israel, through all the tribes, and the peoples allied to her. Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel i. e., .Shalmaneser, a compound name, In which the part conimon to it, with the names of three otlier Assyrian kings, is omitted; Tiglath-pileser, Esar-haddon, Shar-ezer. So Jeconiah is abbreviated to Conlah. Arbel was situated in Naphtali in Galilee, on the border nearest Assyria; against it Shalmaneser, at his first Invasion of Israel (2 Kings 17.3), vented his chief rage. God threatens Israel's fortresses with the same fate as Arbel suffered "in the day (on the occasion) of the battle" then well known, though not mentioned elsewhere (cf. 2 Kings 18. 34). This event, close on the reign of Hezekiah, shows the inscription of Hosea (ch. 1. 1) to be correct. 15. So shall Betli-el do onto you i. e.. Your idolatrous calf at Beth-el shall be the cause of a like calamity befalling you. your great wickedness lit., the wickedness of your wicked7iess. in a morning i. e., speedily, as quickly as the dawn is put to flight by the rising sun (ch. 6. 4; 13. 3 ; Psalm 30. 5). king —Hoshea.
2.3. .30; Revelation 6. 16; 9. 6). Those very hills on which were their Idolatrous altars, one source of their confidence, as tlieir "king" (v. 7) was the other, so far from helping them, shall be called on by them to overwhelm them. 9. Gibeah—(Ch. 9. 9; Judges 19. and 20.) They are singled out as a specimen of the whole nation, there they stood—t. e., tlie Israelites have, as there and then, so evt r since, persisted in their sin. [Calvin.] Or, better, "they stood their ground," t. e., did not perish then. [Maurer.] the battle . . . did not overtake them though God spared you then. He will not do so now; nay, the battle whereby God punished the Gibeonite " cliildren of iniquity," shall the more heavily visit you for your continued Impenitence. Though "they stood" then, it ehall not be so now. The change from "tliou" to "they" marks God's alienation from them ; they are, by the use »f tlie tliird person, put to a greater distance from God. 10. my desire . . . chastise—expressing God's strong intlination to vindicate His justice against sin, as being the Infinitely holy God (Deuteronomy 28. 63). the people foreign invaders " sliall be gathered against them." when they sliall bind themselves In their two furrows Image from two oxen ploughing together side by side, In two contiguous furrows: so the Israelites shall join themlelves, to unite their powers against all dangers, but it
Ver. 1-12. God's Former Benefits, and Israel's Ingratitude RESULTING IN PUNISHMENT, YET JeHOVAH PROMISES Restoration at last. Ver. 5 shows this prophecy was uttered after the league made with Egypt
(2 Kings 17. 4). 1. Israel . . . called my son out of £gypt —Bengel translates, " I<Yom the time that he (Israel; was in Egypt, I called him my son," whicli the parallelism proves. So ch. 12. 9, and 13. 4, use " from . . . Egypt," for "from the time that thou didst sojourn in Egypt." Exodus 4. 22 also shows that Israel was called by God, " My son," from the time of Ills Egyptian sojourn (Isaiah 43. 1). God is always said to have led or brought forth, not to have "called," Israel from Egypt. Matthew 2. 15, therefore, In quoting this prophecy, typically and primarily referring to Israel, antitypically and fully to Messiah, applies it to Jesus' sojourn in Egypt, not His return from it. Even from His infancy, partly spent in Egypt, God called Him His son. God included Messiah, and Israel for Messiah's sake, in one common love, and therefore in one common prophecy. Messiah's people and Himself are one, as the Head and the body. Isaiah 49. 3 calls Him " Israel." The same general reason, danger of extinction, caused the infant Jesus, and Israel in its national infancy (cf. Genesis 42.; 43.; 45. 18; 46. 3, 4; Ezekiel 16. 4-6; Jeremiah
iirill not save them from my destroying them. [Calvin.] Their " two furrows" may refer to their tivo places of setting up the calves, tlieir ground of confidence, Dan and Beth-el. Or, the two divisions of the n.ation, Israel and Judah, "in their two furrows," i.e., in their respective two places of habitation; v. 11, which specifies the two, favours this view. Hexderson prefers the Kerl {Hebrew Margin) reading, "for their two iniquities and translates, "when they are bound" In captivity. English Version is best, as the image Is carried out in v. 11 ; only it is perhaps better to translate, "tlie people (the Invaders) binding them," &c.,
i. e., making them captives; and so v. 11 alludes to the yoke being put on the neck of Ephraim and Judah. H. tanght—». e., accu.itomed. loveth t« tread o«it . . . corn —a far easier and more self-indulgent work than ploughing; in treading corn, cattle were not bound together under a yoke, but either trod It singly with their feet, or drew a threshing sledge over it (Isaiah 28.27,28): they ware free to eat some of the corn from time to time, as the law required they should be unmuzzled (Deuteronomy
31. 20) to sojourn in Egypt. So He, and His spiritual Is-
rael, are already called "God's sons" whilst yet in the Egypt of the world, a. As they called them—" they,"
i), NO that they grew fat in this work. An image of
viz., monitors sent by me. "Called," in v. 1, suggests ttie
Oo<Ts Judgment upon Israel. HOSEA XII. Reproof of Ephraiin and Judah.
Idea of the many subsequent calls by the prophets, went from tliem—turneci away in contempt (Jeremiah 2. 27). Baalim—images of Baal, set up In various places. 3. taught ... to go lit., to use his feet. Cf. a similar image, Deuteronomy 1. 31; 8. 2, 5, 15; 32. 10, 11; Nehemiah 9. 21 ; Isrtiali 6S. 9; Amos 2. 10. God bore them as a parent does an infant, unable to supply itself, so that It has no anxiety about food, raiment, and its going forth. Acts 13. 18, which probably refers to this passage of Hosea; He took them by the arms, to guide them that they might not stray, and to hold them up that they might not stumble, knew not tliat I Iiealed tliem i.e., that my design was to restore them spiritually and temporally (Exodus 15. 26). 4. cords of a man—parallel to " bands of love;" not such cords as oxen are led by, but humane methods, such as men employ when Inducing others, as for instance, a father drawing his child, by leadingstrings, teacliing him to go (f. 1). I was . . . astlieytliat take off tile yoke on tlielr jaws . . , I laid meat—Astlie humane husbandman occasionally loosens the straps under the jaws by which the yoke is bound on tlie neck of oxen, and lays food before them to eat. An appropriate image of God's deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian yoke, and of His feeding them in the wilderness. 5. He eliall not return into . . . Egypt—tnz., to seek help against Assyria (cf. ch. 7. 11), as Israel lately had done (2 Kings 17. 4), after having revolted from the Assyrian, to whom they had been tributary from the times of Meuahem (2 Kings 15. 19). In a figurative sense, " he shall return to Egypt" (ch. 9.3), i.e., to Egypt-like bondage; also many Jewish fugitives were literally to re^jtm to Egypt, when the Holy Land was to be in Assyrian and Chaldean hands. Assyrian shall be his king—instead of having kings of their own, and Egypt as their auxiliary, toecause they refused to return—just retribution. They would not return (spiritually) to God, therefore they shall not return (corporally) to Egypt, the object of their desire. 6. abide—or, " fall upon." [Calvin.] branches i.e., his
mah, Zeboim. and Sodom, utterly destroying them, wliereas I will not utterly destroy thee. Somewiiat similarly Jerome : " I am not one such as human dwellers in a city, who take cruel vengeance ; I save those whom 1 correct." Thus "not man," and "in the midst of thee," are parallel to " into the city." Though I am in the midst of thee, it is not as man entering a rebellious city to destroy utterly. Maurek needlessly translates, " I will not come in wrath." 10. he sliall roar like a lion—by awful judgments on their foes (Isaiah 31.4; Jeremiali 25.26-30; Joel 3. 16), calling his dispersed " children " from the various lands of their dispersion, sliall tremble—shall flock in eager agitation of haste, from the west—(Zechariali
8. 7.) Lit., the sea. Probably the Mediterranean, including its "isles of the sea," and maritime coast. Thus as v.
11 specifies regions of Africa and Asia, so here Europe. Isaiah 11. 11-16, is parallel, referring to the very same regions. On " children," see ch. 1. 10. 11. tremble—fluttei in haste, dove—no longer "a silly dove" (ch. 7. 11), but as "doves fl^'ing to their windows" (Isaiah 60.8). In tlieir lionses—(Ezekiel 28. 26.) Lit., upon, for the Orientals live almost as much upon tlieir flat-roofed houses as in them. 13. MAtTRER joins this verse witli ch. 12. Butasthis verse praises Judah, whereas ch. 12. 2 censures him, it must belong rather to ch. 11., and a new prophecy begins at ch.
12. To avoid this, Maxjrer translates this verse as a censure, "Judah wanders witli God," i. e., though having the true God, he wanders after false gods, ruletli with God —to serve God is to reign. Epliraim wished to rule without God (cf. 1 Corinthians 4. 8) ; nay, even, in order to rule, cast off God's worship. [Rivetus.] In Judah was the legitimate succession of kings and priests, witli tlie saints—tlie holy priests and Levites. [Rivetus.] With the fathers and propliets who handed down the pure worship of God. Israel's apostasy Is the more culpable, as he had before him the good example of Judah, which he set at naught. The parallelism ("with God") favours Margin, " With THE Most Holy One."
villages, which are the branches or dependencies of the
cities. [Calvin.] Grotius translates, " his bars " (so Lamentations 2, 9), t. e., the warriors who were the bulwarks of
Ver. 1-14. Reproof OF Ephraim and Judah : theib Father Jacob ought to be a Pattern to them. Thia prophecy was delivered about the time of Israel's seeking the aid of the Egyptian king So, In violation of their covenant with Assyria (seen. 1). He exhorts them to follow their father Jacob's persevering prayerfulness, which brought God's favour upon him. As God Is unchangeable. He will show the same favour to Jacob's posterity as He did to Jacob, if, like him, they seek God. 1. feedeth on wind—(Proverbs 15. 14 ; Isaiah 44. 20.) Polloweth after vain objects, such as alliances with Idolaters and their idols (cf. ch. 8. 7). east wind—the Simoom, blowing from the desert east of Palestine, which not only does not benefit, but does injury. Israel follows not only things vain, but things pernicious (cf. .lob 15. 2). Increaseth lies —accumulates lie upon lie, i. e.. Impostures wherewith they deceive tliemselves, forsaking the truth of God. desolation violent oppressions practised by Israel. [MauRER.] Acts which would prove the cause of Israel's own desolation. [Calvin.] covenant with . . . Assyrians (Ch. 5. 13; 7. 11.) oil . . . into Egypt—as a present from Israel to secure Egypt's alliance (Isaiah 30. 6; 57. 9; cf. 2 Kings 17. 4). Palestine was famed for oil (Ezekiel 27. 17). 3. controversy with Judah—(Ch.4. 1; Mlcah6. '2.) Judah, under Aliaz, had fallen into idolatry (2 Kings 16.3, Ac). Jacol) i. e., tlie ten tribes. If Judah, the favored portion of tlie nation, shall not be spared, much less degenerate Israel. 3. He—Jacob, contrasted with his degenerate descendants, called by his name, Jacob {v. 2; cf. Micall 2. 7). He took Esau by the lieel in the womb in order to olitain,
t he state. Cf. ch. 4. 18, " rulers," Margin, " shields " (Psalm
47.9). because of their own counsels—in worshipping
idols, and relying on Egypt (cf. ch. 10. 6). 7. bent to backsliding—not only do they backslide, and that too from me, their " chief good," but they are bent upon it. Though they (the prophets) called them (the Israelites) to the Most High (from their idols), "none would exalt (i.e., extol or honour) Him." To exalt God, they must cease to be "bent on backsliding," and must lift themselves upwards. 8, as Admah . . . Zeboim—among the cities. Including Sodom and Gomorrah, irretrievably overthrown (Deuteronomy 29. 23). heart . . . turned -within me—with the deepest compassion, so as not to execute my threat (Lamentations 1.20; cf. Genesis 43.30; 1 Kings 3. 26). So the phrase is used of a new turn given to the feeling (Psalm
105. 25). repentlngs—God speaks according to human modes of thouglit (Numbers 23. 19). God's seeming change
Is in accordance witli His secret everlasting purpose of love to His people, to magnify His grace after their desperate rebellion. 9. I will not return to destroy Kphralm —t. e., I will no more, as in past times, destroy Ephraim. The destruction primarily meant is probably that by Tiglath-pileser, who, as the Jewish king Ahaz's ally against Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria, deprived Israel of Gilead, Galilee, and Naplitall (2 Kings 15.29). The ulterior reference is to the long dispersibn hereafter, to be ended by God's covenant-mercy restoring his people, not for their merits, but of His grace. God, . . . not man not dealing as man would, witli implacable wratli under awful provo('ation (Isaiali 55. 7-9; Malachl 3. 6). I do not,
lilie man, change wiicn once I have made a covenant of everlasting love, as witli Isrjiel (Numbers 2;!. 19). We measure God by tiie human standard, and hence are slow lo credit fully liis promises; these, however, belong to the
if possible, the iirivlleges of the first-born (Genesis 25. 2*2-
20), whence lie took his name, Jacob, meaning supplanter ; and again, by his strength, prevailed in wrestling with God for a blessing (Genesis 32. 24-29) ; whereas ye disregard my promises, putting your confidence in idols and foreign alliances. He conquered God,j/e are the slaves of idols. Only hav« Jehfvah on your side, and ye are stronger lUao
faitliful remnant, not to the obstinately Impenitent, in
• Ite mt<clst of tliee—as peculiarly thy God (Exodus 19. 5, 6). not enter into the city—as an enemy: as I entered Ad-
G6U
Ephraim and Judah exhorted to Repent. HOSEA XIII. Ephraim'n Sina Provoke God.
of their impenitence (cf. Ecclesiastes 8.11-13). 9. And— rather, "And yet." Though Israel deserves to be cast oil for ever, yet I am still what I have been from, the time of my delivering them out of Eyypl, their covenant God; therefore, "I will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles,"
Edom, or even Assyria. So the spiritual Israel lays hold
of llie lu'el ol' Josus, " tlio Kirst-boni of luuny brethren,"
iKMiig bora again ol tlie Holy Spirit. Having no riglit iu themselves to tlie inlierituuce, tlie^lay hoUl of tlie bruised
heel, the huiaanily of C'iu ist crucitied, and let not go their Hold of Him wlio is not, as Esau, a curse (Hebrews 12. Iti,
i. e., to keep the feast of tabernacles again in remembrance of a new deliverance out of bondage. Fulfilled primarily at the return from liabylou (Nehemiah 8. 17). Fully and antitypically to be fulfilled at the final restoration from the present dispersion (Zechariah 14. 16; cf. Leviticus 23. 42, 43). 10. by . . . the prophets lit., upon, i. e., my spirit resting on them. I deposited u»ii/i. i/ieji* niy instructions which ought to have brought you to the right way. An aggravation of your guilt, that it was not through ignorance you erred, but in defiance of God aud His prophets. [Calvin.] Ahijah the Shilonite, Shemaiah, Iddo, Azariah, Hanani, Jehu, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, Joel aud Amos were " the pi-ophets" Ijefore Hosea. visions . . . similitudes—I adopted such modes of communication, adapted to man's capacities, as were calculated to arouse attention : I left Ao means untried to reform you. Ch. 1., 2., 3. contain examples of "similitudes." 11. Is tliere lni<iuity in Gilead 1—He asks the question, not as if the answer was doubtful, but to strengthen the affirmation: "Surely they are vanity;" or as Maukjek translates, " They are nothing but iniquity." Iniquity, especially idolatry, iu Scripture is often termed " vanity." Proverbs 13.11: "Wealth gotten by vanity," i. e., iniquity. Isaiah 41. 29: " They are all uarai^j/ . . . images." "Gilead" refers to Mizpah-gilead, a city representing the region beyond Jordan (cli. U. 8; Judges 11.29); as "Gilgal," the region on this side of Jordan (cli. 4. 15). In all quarters alike they are utterly vile, their altars are as heaps in tlie furrows i.e., as numerous as such heaps: viz., the heaps of stones cleared out of a stony field. An appropriate image, as at a distance they look like altars (cf. cii.
17), but, by becoming a curse lor us, is a blessing to us. power wltit CJod—referring to iris name, " Israel," prince
atf GoU, acquired on that occasion (cf. Matthew 11. 12;. As the promised Canaan had to be gained forcibly by Israel, so heaven by the faithful (llevelalion 3. 21; cf. Luke 13. 24). "Strive," lit., "as iu tiie agony of a contest." So the Canaanitess iMatthew 15. 22). liis streiigtU—which lay iu his conscious weakness, whence, when his thigh was put out of joint by God, he hany upon Him. To seek strengtli Was his object; to grant it, (jod's. Yet God's mode of procedure was strange. In human form He tries as it were to throw Jacob down. When simple wrestling was not enough, He does what seems to ensure Jacob's fall, dislocating Ills tiiigh joint, so that he could no longer stand. Yet it was then that Jacob prevailed. Thus God teaches us Ihe irresistible might of conscious weakness. For when weak in ourselves, we are strong by His strength put in us (Job 23. U; Isaiah 27. 5; 2 Corinthians 12. 9. 10). 4. tlie angel—the uncreated Angel of the Covenant, as God the Sou appears in the Old Testament (Malachi 3. 1). made SRi>i>llvatiou—Genesis 32. 2li: "1 will not let thee go, except thou bless me." Ite fouuil liim—the angel found Jacob, when he was fleeing from Esau into Syria: tlie Lord appearing to him " in lieth-el " (Genesis 28. 11-19 ; 3j.
1). What a sad contrast, that in this same Beth-el now Israel worships tlie golden calves ! tliere lie spake wltU us—"witli as being in the loins of our progenitor Jacob (cf. Psalm 06. 6, "They . . . we;" Hebrews 7. 9, 10). What God there spake to Jacob appertains to us. God's promises to him belong to all his posterity wlio follow iu the steps of his prayerful faith. 5. ILord Oiod Jehovah, a name implying His immutable eomiaacy to His promines. From the Hebrew vool meaning existence. "He that is, was, and is to be," always the same. (Hebrews 13. 8; Revelation
lU. 1, 4, and 8. 11). As the third member in the parallelism aasvcers to the first, Gilgal to Gilead, so the fourth to the second, " altars" to " vanity." The word " heaps" alludes to the name " Gilgal," meaning a heap of stones. The very scene o! the general circumcision of the people, and of the solemji passover kept after crossing Jordan, is now the stroughuid of Israel's idolatry, l^i. Jacob fled . . . served —Thou-^li ye jiride yourselves on the great name of " Israel," forget not that your progenitor was the same Jacob who wail a fugitive, aud who served for Racnel fourteen years. He forgat not me who delivered him when fleeing from Esuu, and when oppressed by Laban (Genesis 28.5;
1. 1,8; cf. Exodus 3. 1-1,15; 6.3.) As He was unchangeable in His favour to Jacob, so will He be to His believing posterity, of liosts—which Israel foolisiily worshipped. Jehovah has all the hosts (Saba) or powers of heaven and earth at command, so that He is as all-powerful, as He is faithful, to fultil His promises (Psalm 135. (i; Amos 5. 27). memorial—the name expressive of the character iu whieli God was ever to be remembered (Psalm 135. 13). 6. tliou —who dost wish to be a true descendant of Jacob, to TUY God—who is tlierefore bound by covenant to hear thy prayers, keep mercy aud Judgment—(Micah 6. 8.) These two include the second-table commandments, duty towards one's neighbor, tire most visible test of the sincer-
23. 20, 28 ; Deuteronomy 26. 5). Ye, though delivered from Egypt (v. 13), and loaded with my favours, are yet unwilling to return to me. country of Syria—the champaign region of Syria, i. e., the portion lying between the Tigris and Euphrates, hence called Mesopotamia. Padau-aram means the same, i. e.. Low Syria, as opposed to Aramea (meaning the high country) or Syria (Genesis 48. 7). 13. by a pi-ophet—Moses (Numbers 12.6-8; Deuteronomy 18.15,
ity of one's repenlance. wait on tliy God—alone, not on thy idols. Including all the dutiesof the first table (Psalm
87. 3,5,7; fU. 1). 7. mercliant—a play on the double sense Of the Hebrew, "Canaan," t. e.,a Cauaanite and a "merchant." Ezekiel 16.3: "Thy birth is . . . of Canaan." They who naturally were descendants of pio»»s Jacob had become virtually Canaaniles, who were proverbial as cheating merchants (cf. Isaiah 23. 11, Margin), the greatest reproach to Israel, who despised Canaan. The Phoenicians CiUled tliemselves Canaaiiites or merchants (Isaiah 23. 8). oppress open violence : as the " balances of deceit " imply fraud. 8. And—t. e., Notwitlislauding. Yet I am . . . rlcU i. e., I regard not what the propliets say: I am content with my state, as I am rich (Kevelation 3. 17). There-
18). preserved translate, "kept;" there is an allusion to the same Hebrew word In v. 12, " kept sheep ;" Israel was kept by God as His flock, even as Jacob kept sheep (Psalm SO.
1 ; Isaiah 63. 11). 14. provoked him i. e., God. leave his blood upon Iiim—not take away the guilt and penalty of the innocent blood shed by Ephraim in general, and to Moleoh in particular, his reproach shall Iiis l<ord return unto him—Ephraim's dishonour to God in v orstiipping idols, God will repay to him. That God is " his Lord " by right of redemption and special revelation
to Ephraim only aggravates his guilt, instead of giving him hope of escape. God does not give up His claim to them as His, however they set aside His dominion.
fore, in just retribution, this is the very language of the enemy lu being tlie instrument of Israel's punishment. Zechariah 11.5: "They that sell them say . . . / am rich." Better far poverty with honesty, than riches gained by sin. i«y labours—my gaius by labour. tUey shall flnd none i. e., none shall flud any. iniquity . . . that were sin — iniquity that would bring down the penally of sin. Ephraim argues. My Buccess in my labours proves that I am not a guilty sinner as the prophets assert. Thus sinners pervert God's
Ver. 1-16. Ephbaim's sinful Ingratitude to God, an d ITS fatal Consequence ; God's Promise at Last. This chapter and 14. probably belong to the troubled times thai followed Pekah's murder by Hoshea (cf. ch. 13. 11 ; 2 Kings
15.30). The subject is, the idolatry of Ephraim, notwithstandiug God's past beuefits, destined to be his ruin. 1. 661
long-sufleriug goodness (Matthew 5.45)inlo a justification
God'g Anrjer agiiimt Ephraim HOSEA XIV. A Judgment for Rebellion.
When ILpliraiin e]ii«ke trfinbling— rather, "When Ephiiiim (,llie tribe must, powerlul amoDg the twelve in Israel's early liisloryj spake (authoritatively) there was trembling;" all reverentially feaied him (jEKOME](cf. Job
bound up and hidden, i. e., do not flatter yourselves, because of tlie delay, that I have forgotten your sin. Nay
(ch.9. 9), Ephraiin's iniquity is kept as it were safely sealed up, until tliedue timwconies for bringing it forth for punishment (Deuteronomy 32. 3i ; Job 14.17; 21.19; cf. Romans
29.8, 9, 21 J. olt"ende«l in Baal i.e., in respect to Baal, by worshipping liiin (1 Kings l(i. iSl), under Ahab; a more heinous oli'ence tliun even tlie calves. Therefore It is at this climax of guilt that Ephraim "died." Sin has, In the sight of God, within itself the germ of death, though that death may not visibly take effect till long after. Cf. Romans 7.9, "Sin revived, and I died." So Adam in the day of his sin was to die, though the sentence was not visibly executed till long after (Genesis 2. 17; 5.5). Israel is sirai-
2.5). Opposed to "blotting out the handwriting against" the sinner (Colossians 2. 14). 13. sorrows of a travailing woman—calamities sud<len and agonizing (Jeremiah
6). unwise—in not foreseeing the impending judgment, and averting it by penitence (Proverbs 22. 3). he sliould not stay long in tlie place of the breaking forth of children—when Israel might deliver himself from calam-
ity by the pangs of penitence, he brings ruin on himself by so long deferring a new birtli unto repentance, like a
lai ly represented as politically dead in Ezekiel 37. a. aceoriling to tlieir own understanding i. e., their arbitrary devising. Cf. "will-worship," Colossians 2.23. Men are not to be " w -je above that which is written," or to follow their own understanding, but God's command in worship, kiss tlie calves—an act of adoration to the golden calves (cf. 1 Kings 19. IS ; Job 31. 27 ; Psalm 2. 12). 3. tUey .sUall be us tlie morning cloud . . . dew—(Ch. 6. 4.) As their "goodness" soon vanished like the morning cloud and dew, so they shall perish like them, tlie floor —tlie threshing-floor, generally an open area, on a height, exposed to the winds, cliimney—generally in the East an orifice in the wall, at once admitting tlie light, and giving egress to tlie smoke. 4. (Ch. 12.9; Isaiah 43. 11.) no saviour [temporal as well as spiritual] besides me (Isaiah 45. 21.) 5. I did know thee i. e., did acknowledge thee as mine, and so took care of thee (Psalm 144. 3 ; Amos
cliild whose mother has not strenglli to bring 't forth, and which tlierefore remains so long in tlie passage from the womb as to run the risk of death (2 Kings 19. 3; Isaiah
37.3; 60.9). 14. Applying primarily to God's restoration of Israel from Assyria partially, and, in times yet future,
fully, from all the lauds of their present long-continued dispersion, and political death {ci.oXi.fi.i; Isaiah 25. 8; '26.
19; Ezekiel 37. 12). God's power and grace are magiiitied in quickening wliat to the eye of flesh seems dead and hopeless (Romans 4. 17, 19). As Israel's history, past and future, lias a representative character in relation to Iho Church, this verse is expressed in language alluding to Messiali's (who is the ideal Israel) grand victory over the grave and death, the tirst-fruits of His own resurrection, the full harvest to come at the general resurrection ; hence
tlie similarity between this verse and Paul's language as to tlie latter (1 Corinthians 15.55). That similarity becomes more obvious by translating a.s LXX., wliicli Paul plainly quotes from ; and as tlie same Hebrew word is translated in v. 10, " O death, where are thy plagues (paraphrased by LXX., 'thy victory')? O grave, where is thy destruction" (rendered by LXX., ' thy sting')?" The question is that of one triumphing over a foe, once a cruel tyrant, but now robbed of all power to hurt, repentance shall be hid from mine eyes—i. e., I will not change my purpose of fulfilling my promise by delivering Israel, on the condition of their return to me (cf. ch. 14. 2-8; Numbers 23. 19; Romans 11. 29). 15. fruitful—referring to the meaning of " Ephraim," from a Hebrew root, " to be fruitful" (Genesis 41. 52). It was long the most numerous and flourishing of the tribes (Genesis 48. 19). wind of tlio liOfrd—i. e., sent bj' the Lord (cf. Isaiah 40. 7), wlio has His instruments of punishnientalways ready. The Assyrian, Shalmaneser, &c., is meant (Jeremiah 4. 11 ; 18. 17 ; Ezekiel
3.2). As / knew thee as mine, so thou sliouldest know no God but me {v. 4). in . . . land of . . . drought—(Deuteronomy 8.15. ) 6. Image from cattle, waxing wanton in abundant pasture (cf. ch. 2.5,8; Deuteronomy 32.13-15). In proportion as I fed tliem to the full, the.v were so satiated that " their heart was exalted ;" a sad contiast to the time when, by God's blessing, Epliraim truly "exalted himself in Israel" (v. 1). therefore have they forgotten me—the very reason why men should remember God, Vi2., prosperity, which comes from Him, is tlie cause often of their forgetting Him. God had warned them of this danger (Deuteronomy 6.11, 12). 7. (Ch. 5.14; Lamentations
3.10.) leopard—the Hebrew comns from a root meaning tpntted (cl. Jeremiah 13.23). Leopards lurk in tiiicliets, and thence spring on their victims, observe i.e., lie in wait for Ihoni. Several MSS., LXX., Vnlyate, Syriac and A rabic read, liy a slight change of the Hebrew vowel pointing, "by the way o/ Assyria," a region abounding in leopards and lions. Enr/lL^h Version is better. 8. "Writers on tlie natures of beasts say that none is more savage than a she-bear, when bereaved of her whelps." [JeKOME.l caul of . . . heart—the membrane enclosing it; the pericardium, there—" by the way" (v. 7). 9. thou . . . in ine—in contrast, hast destroyed thyself—i. e., thy destruction is of tliyself (Proverbs ti. 32; 8. 3(j). in me is thine help lit., in thine help—(cf. Deuteronomy 33. 26). Hadst thou rested thy hope in me, I would have been always ready at hand /or thy help. [Grotius.1 10. I will be thy king ; where— rather, as Marc/in and LXX., Syriac, Vulgate, "Where now is thy king?" [Maureii.] English Version is, liowever, favoured both by the Hebrew, by the antithesis between Israel's self-chosen and pe^'ishing kings, and God, Israel's abiding King (cf. cli. 3. 4, 5). wlicre . . . Give ine a king—Where now is the king whom ye substituted in my stead ? Neither Saul, whom the whole nation oegged for, not contented with me tlieir true Iting (1 Sam-
19. 1'2). from tl»e wilderness — i^., the desert part of Syria (1 Kings 19. 15), tlie route from Assyria into Israel, lie-the Assyrian invader. Shalmaneser began the siege of Samaria in 723 b. c. Its close was in 721 b. c, the first year of Sargon, who seems to have usurped the throne of Assyria whilst Shalmaneser was at the siege of Samaria. Hence, wliilst 2 Kings 17. 6 states, " the king of Assyria took Samaria," 2 Kings 18. 10 says, "at the end of tliree years they took it." In Sargon's magnillcent palace at Khor.sabad, inscriptions mention tlie number—27,280—of Israelites carried captive by tlie founder of the palace from Samaria and other places of Israel. [G. V. Smitu.] 16. This verse and v. 15 foretell tlie calamities about to
befall Israel before her restoration {v. 14), owing to lier Impenitence, her God—tlie greatest aggravation of her rebellion, tliat it was against her God (v. 4). Infants . . . daslied in pieces, &c.—(2 Kings 8. 12 ; 15. 16 ; Amos 1. 13.)
uel 8. 5, 7, 19, 20; 10. 19), nor Jeroboam, whom subsequently the ten Irilies chose instead of the line of David my anointed, can save thee now. They had expected from
"Ver. 1-9. God's Promise of Blessing, on their Repentance: THEIR Abandonment OF Idolatuy Fouktold: the Conclusion of the Whole, the Just shall Walk in God's Ways, but the TK.\NSfiHii.ssou siialii Pall THEREIN. 1. fallen by til ine initiulty—(Cli. 5. 6;
tlieir kings what is the prerogative of God alone, viz., the power of saving them, judges—including allcivil author-
ities under the king (cf. Amos 2. 3). 11. I gave . . . king In . , . anger . . . took . . . away in . . . wratlx — true both of Saul (1 Samuel 15. 22, 2;<; Ki. 1) and of Jeroboam's
13.9.) 3. Take with you woi-ds-- Instead of sacrifices.
Viz., the words of penitence here put in your mouths by God. " Woi'ds," in Hebrew, ineiin realities, there being tlie same term for iiwris and things; so God implies, He wlU not accept empt^ professions (Psalm 78. 36; Isaiah 29. ISX
line (2 Kings 15. 3(1). Pekah was taken away through Uosliea, as himself to(jk away Pekahiah; and as lloshea was soon to be taken away by the Assyiiian king. VZ. bound up . . . hid—treasures, meant to be kept, are 662
Inl'i-oJutlion, JOEL. Inlroductiftn.
shadow (but who shall have been forced to leave itl, shall return, i. e., be restored (Ezekiel :i5. 9). Others take "Ifii shadow" to moan Jehovah's (cf. Psalm 17. 8; 91. 1; Isaiah 4.
He does not ask costly sacrifices, but words of heartfelt penitence, receive us graclonsly—Hi. (for) j^ootZ. calves of our lips—T. c, instead of sacrifices of calves, wliich we wnnot ofl'er to Thee in exile, we present the praises of our
6), which r. 1, 2, "return unto the ^rd," Ac, favours. Hut the " his" in v. 6 refers to Israel, and therefore must refer to the same here, revive as . . . com—as the corn long buried in the earth springs up, witli an abundant produce, so shall they revive from their calamities, with a great Increase of ofl>ipring (cf. John 12. 24). scent thereof—t. e.,
lips. Thus the exile, wherein the temple service ceased, prepared the way for the gospel time, wlien the types of Uie animal sacrifices of the Old Testament being realized
In Christ's perfect ssicriflce once for all, "the sacrifice of praise to God continually that, is the fruit of our lips" (Hebrews IS. 14) takes their place in the New Testament.
Isi-jLeVs fame, Cf. v. 6, "His smell as Lebanon;" Song of Solomon 1.3: "Thyname is as ointment poured forth." LXX. favour Margin, " memorial." as the wine of Lebanon—which was most celebrated for its aroma, flavour, and medicinal restorative properties. 8. Ephraiin nhall say—being brought to penitence by God's goodness, and confessing and al)horriiig his past madness. I have heard . . . and observed him— I .lehovah have answered and rci/arded him with favour ; the opposite of God's " hiding his face from" one (Deuteronomy 31. 17). It is the experience of God's favour, in contrast to God's wrath heretofore, that leads Ephraim toabhor his past idolatry. Jehovah heard and answered : whereas the idols, as Ephraim now sees, could not fteftr, much less answer. Iain
3. Three Ijesetting sins of Israel are here renounced, trust
In Assyria, application to Egypt for its cavalry (forbidden, Deuteronomy 17. Ifl ; of. ch. 7. 11 ; 11. 5 ; 12. 1 ; 2 Kings 17. i ; Psalm X",. 17; Isaiah 30. 2, 16; 31. I), and idolatry, father-
less—(ifscriptive of the destitute state of Israel, when severed from God, their true Father. We shall henceforth trust in none hut thee, the only Father of the fatherless, and Helper of the destitute (Psalm 10.14; 68.5); our nation has experienced Thee .such in our helpless state in Egj-pt, and now in a like state again our only hope is Thy goodness. 4. God's gracious reply to their self-condemning prayer. backaliiUng apostasy; not merely occasional backslidings. God can heal the most desperate sinfulness. [CaIjVik.] freely—with a gratuitous, unmerited, and abundant love (Ezekiel 16. 60-()3). So as to the spiritual Israel (.lohn 15. 16; Romans 3.2-1; 5. 8; 1 John 4. 10). 5. ag (I>e <leiv—wliich falls copiously in the East, supplying the place of the more frequent rains in other regions. God will not be " as the early dew that goeth away," L)ut constant (ch. 6. 3, 4; Job 20. 19; Proverbs 19. 12). the lUy —no plant is more productive than the lily, one root often producing fifty bulbs [Pliny, H. N. 21. 5]. The common lily is white, consisting of six leaves opening like liells. The ro.yal lily grows to the height of three or four feet; Matthew 6.29 alludes to the beauty of its flowers, roots as Lebanon i. e., as the trees of Lebanon (especially the cedars), which cast down their roots as deeply as is their height upwards; so that they are Immovable [Jerome], (Isaiah 10. 34). Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root which is out of sight. 6. branches—shoots, or suckers, beauty . . . •8 the olive—which never loses its verdure. One plant
. . . a green fir—or cypress; ever gree'n, winter and summer alike; the leaves not falling ofTin winter. From me
Is thy fruit found— "From me," as the root. Thou needest go no lartlier than me for the supply of all thy wants; not merely the protection implied by the sfiadow of the cypress, but that wliich the cypress has not, viz.,
fruit, all spiritual and temporal blessings. It maybe also implied, that whatever spiritual graces Ephraim seeks for or may have, are not of themselves, but of God (Psalm
1. 3; John 15. 4, 5. 8; James 1. 17). God's promises to us are more our security for mortifyingsin than our promises to God (Isaiah 27. 9). 9. Epil,OGUE, summing up the whole previous teaching. Here alone Hosea uses the term " righteous," so rare were such characters in liis day. There is enough of saving truth clear in God's word to guide those humbly seeking salvation, and enough of difficulties to confound those who curiously seek them out, rather than practically seek salvation, fall—stumble and are oS'ended at difficulties opposed to their prejudices and lusts, or above their self-wise understanding (ct Proverbs 10.29; Micah 2.7; Alatthew 11.19; Luke 2.34; John 7. 17; 1 Peter 2. 7,8). To him who sincerely seeks the agenda, God will make plain the credenda. Christ is the foundation-stone to some: a stone of stumbling and rook of offence to others. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. But their fall is the most fatal who fall in the waysof God, split on the Bock of ages, and suck poisou out of the Balm of Gilead.
Is not enough to express the graces of God's elect people. The iiV.!/ depicts its lovely growth ; but as it wants duration and firmness, the deeply-rooted cedars of Lebanon are added ; these, however, are fruitless, therefore the fiuitful, pea'ce-bearing, fragrant, ever-green olive is added, sntell as I>banon—which exhaled from it the fragrance of odoriferous trees and flowers. So Israel's name shall be in gool^savour with all (Genesis 27. 27; Song of Solomon 4. 11). 7. They that used to dwell under Israel's
JOEL. INTRODUCTION.
Joel (meaning " one to whom Jehovah is God," i. e., worshipper of Jehovah) seems to have belonged to Jixdah, as no reference occurs to Israel ; whereas he speaks of Jerusalem, the temple, the priests, and the ceremonies, as if he were Intimately familiar with them (of. ch. 1. 14; 2. 1, 15, 32; 3. 1, 2, 6, 16, 17, 20, 21). His predictions were probably delivered
In the early days of Joash, B. c. 870-865. For no reference is made in them to the Babylonian, Assyrian, or even the Syrian invasion ; and the only enemies mentioned are the Philistines, Phoenicians, Edomites, and Egyptians (ch. 3. 4,
19). Had he lived after Joash, he would doubtless have mentioned the Syrians among the enemies whom he enumer-
ates, since they took Jerusalem, and carried ofl immense spoil to Damascus (2 Chronicles 24. '£\ 24). No idolatry is mentioned; and the temple services, the priesthood, and other institutions of the theocracy, are represented as flour-
ishing. This all answers to the state of things under the high priesthood of Jehoiada, through whom Joash had been placed on tlie throne, and who lived in the early years of Joash (2 Kings H. 17, 18; 12. 2-16; 2 Chronicles 24. 4-14). H« was son of Petliuel.
The first chapter describes the desolation caused by an inroad of locusts—one of the instrumentsof Divine judgment mentioned by Moses (Deuteronomy 28. 38, 39) and by Solomon (1 Kings 8. 37). The second chapter («. 1-11), the appearance of them, under images of a hostile army suggesting that the locusts were symbols and forerunners of a mora
terribia scourge, viz., foreign enemies who would consume all before them. (Tlie absence of mention of personal In-
Jnry to the inhabitants is not a just objection to the figurative interpretationfor the figure is cousi.-^U'nt tluoughoiit
Gtio
Jod Eihorteth to an Observance JOEL I. of Sundry JudymenU of God.
In attributing to the locusts only injury to vegetation, tliereby injuring indirectly man and beast.) Ch. 2. 12-17, exhortation to repentance, the result of which will be, God will deliver His people, the former and latter rains sliall return to fertilize their desolated lands, and sliall be the pledge of the spiritual outpouring of grace beginning with Judah, and thence extending to "all flesh." Ch. 2. 18-32; ch. 3., God's judgments on Judah's enemies, whereas Judah shall be established for ever.
Joel's style is pre-eminently pure. It is characterized by smoothness and fluency in the rhythms, roundness in the sentences, and regularity in the parallelisms. Witli the strength of Micah it combines the tenderness of Jeremiah, the vividness of Nahum, and the sublimity of Isaiah. As a specimen of liis style take ch. 2., wlierein the terrible aspect of the locusts, their rapidity, irresistible progress, noisy din, and instinct-taught power of marshalling their forces for their career of devastation, are painted with grapliic reality.
would have been so devastated were I not pleased to In-
CHAPTER I. Ver 1-20. The Desolate Aspect of the Country THIiOUGH THE PLARUK OF LOCUSTS ; THE PEOPLE ADMONl.SHED TO OFFER SOLEMN PRAYERS IN THE TEMPLE ; FOR THIS Calamity is the Earnest of a still heavier OvE. I.Joel meaning, Je/iovah is God. son of Pethuel —to distinguish Joel tlie prophet from others of the name. Persons of eminence also were noted i)y adding the father's name. 3, 3. Aspirited introduction calling attention, old men—the Ijest juctges in question concerning the past (Deuteronomy 32. 7; Job 32. 7). Hath this been, &c. i.e., Hath any so grievous a calamity as Ons ever been before? No such plague of locusts had been since the ones in
flict punishment (ch. 2. 18; Isaiah 14. 25; Jeremiah 16. 18; Ezekiel 36. 5; 38. 16). strong— as irreslstiljly sweeping away before its compact body the fruits of man's industry, without nnmher—so Judges 6. 5 ; 7. 12, " like grasshoppers (or locusts) for multitude" (Jeremiah 46. 23; Nahum
3. 15). teeth . . . lion i. e., the locusts are as destructive as a lion ; there is no vegetation that can resist their bite
(cf. Revelation 9.8). Pliny says "they gnaw even the doors of houses." 7. barked—Bochart, with LXX. and
S}/riac, translates, from an Arabic root, "hatli broken,"
viz., the topmost shoots, which locusts most feed on. Calvin supports £'n<//i.»/i Version, my vine . . . my tig tree —being in "my hand," i.e., Jehovah's (v. 0). As to the vine-abounding nature of ancient Palestine see Itumliers
Eyi/pt. Exodus 10. H is not at variance with tliis verse, which refers to Jnclea, in which Joel says there had been no such devastation before. 3. tel! ye your chlltli-eit— in order that they may be admonished by the severity of tlie punisliment to fear God (Psalm 78.6-8; cf. Exodus 13. S ; Josliua 4. 7). 4-. This verse states the subject on which lie afterwards expands. Four species or stages of locusts, rather than four difTerent insects, are meant (cf. Leviticrus 11.22X Lit., (I.) tlie gnawing locust; (2.) the DviarmingXncwsit; (.3.) Vae licking \oc\ifi\.\ (4.) the consuming locust; forming a climax to the most destructive kind. The last is often three inches long, and tlie two antennre,
13.23,24. cast it away—down to tlie ground, branches
. . . white — botli from the bark being stripped oft" (Genesis .30. 37), and from the branches drying up through the trunk, botli bark and wood being eaten up below by the locusts. 8. Lament — O "my land" (v. 6; Isaiah 24.4). virgin . . . for the husband—A nVq'in betrothed was regarded as married (Deuteronomy 22. 23; Matthew 1. 19). The Hebrew for "husband" is lord or possessor, the husband being considered the master of the wife in the East, of her youth — when the aflfections are strongest, and when sorrow at bereavement is consequently keenest. Suggesting the thought of what Zion's grief ought to be for iier separation from Jehovah, the betrotlied husband of her early da.vs (.Teremiali 2. 2; Ezekiel 16. 8; Hosea 2.7;
eacli an inch long. The two hinder of its six feet are larger than tlie rest, adapting it for leaping. The first "kind" is tliat of the locust, having just emerged from the egg in spring, and witliout wings. Tlie second is wlien at tlie end of spring, still in their first skin, tliey put forth
of. Proverbs 2.17; Jeremiah 3.4). 9. The greatest sorrow
to the mind of a religious Jew, and what ought to impress the wliole nation with a sense of God's displeasure, is the cess.xtion of the usual temple worship, meat offering— Hebrew, mincha; " meal" not in the English sense "flesh;" but the unblood.y offering made of flour, oil, and frankincense. As It and the drink oftering or libation poured out accompanied every sacrifleial ftkh offering, the latter
little ones witliout legs or wings. Tlie third, when after their third casting of the old skin, tliey get small wings, which enable thorn to leap the better, but not to fly; being not able to go away till their wings are matured, they devour all before them, grass, shrubs, and bark of trees: translated "rough caterpillars" (Jeremiah 51. 27). The fourth kind, the matured winged locust (see JVo/e,Nahum
is included, though not .specified, as l>eing also "cut ofl'," owing to there being no food left for man or beast, priests
3. 16). In ch. 2. 25 they are enumerated in the reverse order, where the restoration of the devastations caused by tliem is promised. The Hebrews make the first species refer to Assyria and Babylon ; tlie second species, to MedoPersia; tlie third, to GrecoMacedonia and Antiochus Epipllanes; the fourth, to the Romans. Though the prirnar.v reference be to literal locusts, the Holy Spirit doubtless had in view the successive empires whicli assailed Judea, each worse than its predecessor, Rome being the climax. 5. Awnkc—out of your ordinary state of drunken stupor, to realize the cutting off from you of your favour-
. . . mourn—not for tlieirown loss of sacrificial perquisites (Numbers IS. 8-15\ but because they can no longer offer the appointed offerings to Jehovah, to whom they minis-
ter. 10. field . . . land—differing in that "field" means the open unenclosed country; "land," the rich red soil (from a root to be red) fit for cultivation. Thus, "a man of the field," in Hebrew, is a hunter ; a man of the ground or land, an agriculturist (Genesis 25.27). Field and land are here personified, new wine—from a Hebrew root implying that it fakes possession of the brain, so that a man
ite drink. Even the drunkards (from a Jlehrew root, any strong drink) shall be forced to "howl," though usually laugliing in the midst of the greatest national calamities, so palpahl.y and universally shall the calamity afl'ect ail. wine . . . new wine 'fioo or fresh wine, in Hebren', is tlie unferniented, and therefore unintoxicating, suieet juice extra(ded liy pressure from grapes or other fruit, as pomegranates (Song of Solomon 8.2). Wine is the protUice of the grape alone, and is intoxicating (see Note, v. 10). 6. nnUon — applied to the locusts, rather than " peoph^"
is not master of himself. So the Arabic term is from a root to hold captive. It is already fermented, and so intox-
icating, unlike the sweet fresh wine, In v. 5, called also "new wine," thongh a different Helrrew word. It and " tlie oil" stand for the vine and the olive tree, from which
tlie " wine" and " oil" aro obtained (d. 12). drle<l up-- not "ashamed," ;is Margin, n?. is proved by the parallelism to " languishetli," i. e., droopeth. 11. Be ... ashamed i.e.. Ye shall have the shame of disappointment on account of the failure of "the wheat" and "barley" "harvest." liowl . . . vine-dressers—the semicolon should follow,
(I'niveriis 30. 26 1, to mark not oul.y their numbers, but also their s/iixige Jiostilily ; and also to prepare the mind of
.IS it is the "husbandmen" who are to be " ashamed" " for the wheat," Ac. The cause of the "vine-dressers" being
tlie hearer for the transition to the figurative locusts In
called to "howl" does not come till v. 12, "The vine U dried up." I'Z. pomegranate—a tree straight In the siem
ch. i., viz., tue notion" or Gentile foe coming against Judea (cf. ell. 2. 2). my land—i. e., Jehovah's ; wlilch never
Gfi4
The Prophet Prescribelh a Fast. JOEL II. The Terribleness of OocCs Judgmentt,
Appropriate here, as the swarms of locusts interceptlnij the sunlight suggested darkness as a tit image of the coming visitation, as tJ»e morning spread upon the mountains: a great people—substitute a comma foi a colon after mountains: As the morning liglit spreads itself over the mountains, so a people numerous [Maubeb] and strong shall spread themselves. The suddenness of the rising of the morning light which gilds tlie mountain tops tirst is less probably thought by others to be the point of comparison to the sudden inroad of the foe. MAtJHEK refers it to the yellow splendour which arises from the reflection of the sunlight on the wings of tlie immense hosts of locusts as they approach. This is likely; understanding, however, that the locusts are only the Images of human foes. The immense Assyrian host ot invaders under Sennacherib (cf. Isaiali 37. 30) destroyed by God {v. 18, 20, 21), may be the primary objects of the prophecy; but ultimately the last Antichristiau confederacy destroyed by special Divine interposition, is meant {Note, ch. 3. 2). there hatli not been ever the like—(Cf. cli. 1. 2 and Exodus 10. 11.) 3. Iieforc . . . behind— (. e., on every side il Chronicles 19. 10). fire . . . flame—destruction . . . desolation (Isaiah 10. 17). us . . . Ediu . . . wilderness conversely (Isaiah 51.3; Ezekiel 33. So*). 4. apx>earauce ... of horses—(Revelation 9. 7.) Not literal, but figurative locusts. The tilth trumpet, or first woe, in the parallel passage (Revelation 9.), cannot be literal: for in Revelation 19. 11 it is said, " they had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit—in the Hebrew, 2\.haAiXon {Destroyer), but in the G'J-ce/:, Apollyon"—and (Revelation 9.7) "on' their heads were as it were crowns lilie gold, anji their faces were as the faces of men." Cf. v. 11, " the day of the Lord . . . great and very terrible;" implying their ultimate reference to be connected with Messiah's second coming in judgment. The locust's hea<Vis so like that of a horse, that tlie Italians call it cavalette. Cf. Job 39. 20, "the horse ... as the grasshopper," or locust, run—the locust bounds, not unlike the horse's gallop, raising and letting down together the two front feet. 5. Like the noise of chariots—referring to the loud sound caused by their wings in motion, or else the movement of their lii nd legs, on the tops of mountains Maubeb connects this with "they," i. e., the locusts, which first occupy the higher places, and thence descend to the lower places.
srrowing twenty feet high ; the fruit is of the size of an orange, with blood-red coloured pulp, palm tree — the dates of I'alestine were famous. The palm is the symbol of Judeaou coins under theRoman emperor Vespasian.
] I often grows a hundred feet liigh. apple tree—tlie Hebrew is gHiieric, including the orange, lemon, and pear
tret joj withered away—such as is felt in the har-
vest and tlic vintage (Psalm 4.7; Isaiah 9. 3). 13. Gird jTOurselvcs-tiz., with sackcloth; as in Isaiah 32. 11, the
ellipsis is supplied (cf. Jeremiah 4. 8). lament, ye priests —as it is your duty to set the example to otheis; also as the guilt was greater, and a greater scandal was occaBloned, by your sin to the cause of God. come—LXX., "enter" the house of Ood (cf. v. 14). He all night in sackcloth—so Ahab (1 Kings 21. 27). ministers of my God
(1 Corintliians S). 13.) Joel claims authority for his doctrine; it is in God's name and by His mission I speak to you. 14. Sanctify ... a fast—Appoint a solemn fast, solemn assembly lit., a day of restraint or cessation from work, so that all might give themselves to supplication (cli. 2. ISJ
16; 1 Samuel 7. 5, 6; 2 Chronicles 20. 3-13). eldersthe opposition to "children" (ch. 2. 16) requires age to be Intended, though probably elders in office are included. Being the people's leaders in guilt, they ought to be their leaders also in repentance. 15. day of the Lord—(Ch.
2. 1, 11); i. e., the day of His anger (Isaiah 13. 9; Obadiah
15; Zephaniah 1. 7, 15). It will be a foretaste of the coming day of the Lord, as Judge of all men, whence
It receives the same name. Here the transition begins from the plague of locusts to the worse calamities (cli. 2.) from invading armies about to come on Judea, of which the locusts were the prelude. 16. Cf. v. 9, and latter part cf V. 12. joy—which prevailed at the annual feasts, as also in theordinury sacrificial oflTerings, which theotferers
lite of bufore the Lord with gladness and thanksgivings (Deuteronomy 12. (i, 7, 12; 16. 11, 14, 15). 17. Is rotten-" is dried up," " vanisiies away," from an Arabic root. [MauKEK.] "Sued," lit., grains. The drought causes the seeds
to lose all their vitality and moisture, gamers—grana-
ries; generally underground, and divided into separate receptacles for the different kinds of grain. 18. cattle
. . . jierplexed-implying the restless gestures of the dumb beasts in their inability to find food. Tliere is a tacit contrast between the sense of the brute creation and the insensibility of tiie people, yea, the . . . sheep—ei'CM
It may refer (as in English Version) to "chariots," wliich make most noise in crossing over rugged heights. 6. much pained— with teri-or. The Arab proverb is, "More terrible than tlie locusts." faces shall gather blackness—(Isaiah 13. 8; Jeremiah 30. 6; Nahum 2.10.) Maureb translates, " withdraw their brightness," i. e., wax pale, lose colour (cf. v. 10 and ch. 3. 15). 7-9. Depicting the regular military order of their advance, "One locust not turning a nail's breadth out of his own place in the march." [Jerome.] Cf. Proverbs 30. 27, " The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands." 8. Neither sitall one tlirust another—t. e., press upon so as to thrust his next neighbour out of his place, as usually occurs in a large multitude, when tliey fall ui>on tlie sword—i.e., among missiles, not be wounded—because they are protected by defensive armour. [Grotius.] Maurer translates, "Their (the locusts') ranks are not broken when they rush among missiles" (cf. Daniel 11. 22). 9. run to and fro in the city—greedily seeking what they can devour, tlie wall—surrounding each house in Easternbuildings, enter in at the windows—though barred, like a thief—(John 10. 1 ; cf. Jeremiah 9. 21.) 10. earth . . . quake before tliem— t. e., tlie inhabitants of the eartli qualie with fear of them, heavens . . . tremble i. e., the powers of heaven (Matthew 21. 29); its illumining powers are disturbed by the locusts which intercept the sunlight with their dense flying swarms, These, however, are but the images of revolutions of states caused by such foes as were to invade Judea. 11. Lord
theslieep, which are content with less rich pasturage, cannot find footl. art made desolate—iiZ., suffer punishment. The innocent brute shares the punishment of guilty man (Exodus 12. 29; Jonah ,3. 7; 4. 11). 19. to thee will I cryJoel here interposes. As this people is insensible to shame or fear and will not hear, I will leave them and address myself directly to thee (cf. Isaiah 15. 5; Jeremiah
23.9). tire i.e., the parching heat, pastures—" grassy places;" from a Hebrew root "to be pleasant." Such places would be selected for "habitations." But the English Version rendering is better than Margin. 30. beasts . . . cry . . . unto thee i. e., look up to heaven
witli heads lilted up, as if their only expectation was from God (Job 38.41; Psalm 104.21; 145.15; 147.9; cf. Psalm 42. 1). They tacitly reprove the deadness of the Jews for not even now invoking God.
Ver. 1-32. The Coming Judgment a Motive to RePEHTAjfCE. Promise of Blessings in the Last Days. A more terrilic judgment than that of the locusts foretold, under Imagery drawn fronr that of the calatnily then engrossing the alHicted nation. He therefore exhorts to repentance, assuring tlie Jews of Jehovah's pity if they would repent. Promise of the Holy Spirit in tlie last days under Messiah, and the deliverance of all believers in H»m. 1. Blow . . . trumpet—to sound an alarm of coming war (Niu.'ibers 10.; Hosea5.8; Amos 3. 6); tlie office of the jiritsls. Cli. 1. 15 is an anticipation of tlie fuller prophecy in tl)is cliapter. 'A. darkness . . . gloominess
. . . his army—so among Mohammedans, "Lord of the locusts" is a title of God. liis voice—His word of command to the locusts, and to the antitypical human foes of Judea, as "His army." strong tliat executeth Ilia word—(Revelation Is. 8.) IS. With such judgments im-
. . clouds . . . thick darkness—accumulation of synonyms, to intensily the picture o' calamity (Isaiah 8. 22j.
6(55
The Prophet Comfortelh Ziov JOEL II. ttnlh Present and Future BLeasinya,
pending over the Jews, Je!i i.^ah Himself urges them to
in his doings. Cf. as to Sennacherib, 2 Kings 19. 11-13, 22, 28, This is quite inapplicable to the locusts, who merely seek food, not self-glorification, in invading a country. ^1-^23. In an ascending gradation, the land destroyed by the enemy, the beasts of the field, and the children of Zion, the land's inliabitunts, are addressed, tlie former two l)y personification. Lord will do great tilings—in contrast to the "great things " done by the hauglily foe {v. 20) to the hurt of Judali stand the "great tilings" to be done by Jehovah for her benefit (cf. Psalm 126. 2, 3). !4'-J. (Zechariah
rep-.-ntauce. also now—evj . noiy, wliat none could have boped or believed possibl-a, Ood still invites you to the hope of salvation, fastiw^ . . weeping . . . mourning—their sin being mosi, '>emou8 needs extraordinary humiliation. The outwarr" marks of repentance are to signify the depth of tb* r sorrow for sin. 13. Let there be the Inward 8orr'>w of heart, and not the mere outward niiinileslaiion o: it by "rending the garment" '.Joshua 7. Uj. t!>c cvU— t ie calamity which He had threatened against the impenitent. 14. leave ... a meat oif'eriug and a cIrinJk offering—t. e., give plentiful har-
8. 12.) As before (ch. 1. 18, 20) he represented the beasts as groaning and crying for want of food in tlie "pastures,'' so now he reassures them by the promise of springing pastures. 23. rejoice In the Lord—not merely in the springing pastures, as the brute "beasts" wliich cannot raise their thoughts higher (Isaiah 01. 10; Habakkuk 3.
vests, out 01 the first-fruits of which we may offer the meat and drink ofl'ering, now "cutoff" through the famine
(ell. 1. 9, 13, l(j). "Leave behind Him:" as God in visiting His people now has left behind Him a curse, so He will, on returniug to visit them, leave behind him a blessing. 15. Blow tUe trumpet—to convene the people (Numbers
18). former rain . . . the rain . . . t!ie former . . . tlie latter rain—the autumnal, or "former rain, ' from the middle of October to the middle of December, is put
10. 3). Oi. ch. 1. 14. The nation was guilty, and therefore
first, as Joel prophesies in summer when the locusts' invasion took place, and therefore looks to the lime of early sowing in autumn, when the autumnal rain was indispensably requii'ed. Next, "the rain," gciuri<y
ther'/ '5".ust be a national humiliation. Cf. Hezekiah's procf? iugs before Sennacherib's invasion, 2 Chronicles
80. 1*.. saiictify tlie congregation viz., by expiatory
rites and purification with water [Calvin] (Exodus 19. 10,
22j. qker Iraymlates, " appoint a solemn assembly," which "«)uld be a tautological repetition of v. 15. elders
ally, lit., the showering or heavy rain. Next, the two species of the latter, "the former and the latter rain" (in March and April). The repetition of the "former rain " implies that He will give it not merely for the exigence of that particular season when Joel spake, but also lor the future in the regular course of nature, the autumn and thcspring rain; the former being put first, in the order of nature, as being required for the sowing in autumn, as the latter
. . . chi'dren—no age T,*as to be excepted (2 Chronicles 20.
13). brl iegroom—ordinarily exempted from public duties (Deute/ jnomy 24. 5 ; cf. 1 Corinthians 7. 5, 29). closet—or, nuptial jcd, from a Heorew root to cover, referring to the canopy ovc-r it. 17. between the porcU and . . . altar— the porch oi Solomon's temple on the east (1 Kings 0. 3). The altar of burrt offerings in the court of the priests, before the porch (2 Chronicles 8. 12; cf. Ezekiel 8. IB; Matthew 23. 35). The suppliants thus were to stand with their backs to the altar on which they had nothing to
is required in spring for maturing the young crop. The Margin, "a teacher of righteousness," is wrong. For the same Hebrew word is translated " former rain " in the next sentence, and cannot therefore be dOTeventiy translated here. Besides Joel begins with the inferior and temporal blessings, and not till v. 28 proceeds to the higher and spiritual ones, of which the former are the pledge, moderately—rather, "in due measure," as much as the land requires; lit., "according toriglit;" neither too mucli nor too little, either of which extremes would hurt the ci'op
offer, their faces towai Js the place of the Shekinah presence. lieatUen should rule over tliem—this shows that not locusts, but human foes, are intended. The Margin
translation, "use a by-word against them," is not supported by the Hebrew, wherefore sliould they say . . . Where Is their God 1—i. e., do not for thine own honour's sake, let the heatlien sneer at the God of Israel, as unable to save His people (Psalm 79. 10 ; 115. 2). 18. Then—When God sees His people penitent, be jealous for his landas a husband jealoiis of any dishonour done to the wife whom he loves, as if done to himself. The Helrrew comes from an Arabic root, to be flushed inface through indigna-
(cf. Deuteronomy 11. 14; Proverbs 16. 15; Jeremiah 5. 24; iVote, Hosea 6. 3). The phrase, "in due mejisure," in this clause is parallel to "in the first month," in the last clause
(i. e., "in the month when first it is needed," each rain in
its proper season). Heretofore the Just or right order of nature has been interrupted througli your sin; now God will restore it. See my /niroduc<(oft to Joel. 'Zi. Tlie ef-
tion. 19. corn . . . wine . . . oil—rather, as Hebrew, "the corn . . . the wine . . . <7ie oil," viz., which the locusts have destroyed. [Henderson.] Maurer not so well explains, "the corn, &c., necessary for your sustenance." "Tlie Lord will answer," viz., the prayers of His people, priests and prophets. Cf. in the case of Sennacherib, 2 Kings 19. 20, 21. !40. the northern army—The Hebrew expresses that the north in relation to Palestine is not merely the quarter whence the invader comes, but Is his native land, "the Northlander ;" viz., the Assyrian or Babylonian (cf. Jeremiah 1. 14, 15; Zephaniah 2. 13). The locust's native country is not the north, but the south, the deserts of Arabia, Egypt and Libya. Assyria and Babylon are the type and forerunner of all Israel's foes, Rome, and
fect of the seasonable rains shall be abundance of all articles of food. 35. locust . . . canker-worm . . . caierpiller . . . palmer-worm—the reverse order from ch. 1.4, where (see Note) God will restore not only what has been lost by the full-grown cotisuming locust, but also what has been lost by the less destructive licking locust, and swarming locust, and gnawing locust. 20. iie>-«r be ashamed—shall no longer endure the " reproach of the heathen (v. 17) [Maurer]; or rather, "shall not bear the shame of disappointed hopes," as the husbandmen had heretofore (ch. 1. 11).'- So spiritually, waiting on God, His people shall not have the shame of disappointment in their expectations from Him (Romans 9. 33). 37. know tliat I am in tlie midst of Israel—as in tlie Old Testament dispensation God was present by the Shekinah, so in the New Testament first, for a brief time by the Word made flesh dwelling among us (John 1. 14), and to the close of this dispensation by the Holy Spirit in the Church (Matthew 28. 20), and probably in a more sensible manner with Israel when restored (Ezekiel 37. 20-28). never be ashamed—not an unmeaning repetition froai