Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hosea 1:11
Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.
11. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together ] Thus the schism of north and south shall be healed (comp. Isa 11:13, Eze 37:22) a schism to which by implication Hosea denies the Divine sanction, on the ground (we may suppose) that Jehovah being one, His people must also be one. See on Hos 3:4, and comp. Hos 3:3, Hos 8:4, Hos 13:10-11. In the last passage, however, Jehovah is represented as in a certain sense sanctioning the usurping dynasties of Israel (‘in His anger’), and in the idealizing description which follows (chap. 14) Judah seems to find no place
appoint themselves one head ] The ‘one head’ is doubtless the Davidic king (Hos 3:5).
come up out of the land ] The recruited people, too numerous for ‘the land to bear them’, shall seek to enlarge their territory (comp. Amo 9:12, Isa 11:14, Mic 2:12-13). The ‘land’ spoken of can only be Palestine, since there is nothing in the context to suggest that either the land of captivity (as Kimchi, following the Targum) or the earth in general is intended. ‘Come up’ should rather be go up, i.e. march to battle, as Nah 2:2, Joe 1:6, and often.
for great shall be the day of Jezreel ] The result of the warlike enterprise of Judah and Israel is not expressly mentioned, but the addition of these words permits no doubt of its success. Hosea means by the phrase, not the day on which Jehu’s guilty dynasty shall be cut short; for the name Jezreel has now been freed from all gloomy associations, and become a title of the regenerate people of Israel. Besides, in phrases like ‘the day of Jezreel’, the name is always either that of a person, or of a place, or a city personified.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together – A little image of this union was seen after the captivity in Babylon, when some of the children of Israel, i. e., of the ten tribes, were united to Judah on his return, and the great schism of the two kingdoms came to an end. More fully, both literal Judah and Israel were gathered into one in the one Church of Christ, and all the spiritual Judah and Israel; i. e., as many of the Gentiles as, by following the faith, became the sons of faithful Abraham, and heirs of the promise to him.
And shall make themselves one Head – The act of God is named first, they shall be gathered; for without God we can do nothing. Then follows the act of their own consent, they shall make themselves one Head; for without us God doth nothing in us. God gathereth, by the call of His grace; they make to themselves one Head, by obeying His call, and submitting themselves to Christ, the one Head of the mystical body, the Church, who are His members. In like way, Ezekiel foretells of Christ, of the seed of David, under the name of David; I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David; and I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a Prince among them Eze 34:23-24; and again; I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms anymore at all Eze 37:22. But this was not wholly fulfilled, until Christ came, for after the captivity they were under Zorobabel as chief, and Joshua as high priest.
And shall come up out of the land – To come up or go up is a title of dignity; from where, in our time, people are said to go up to the metropolis, or the University; and in Holy Scripture, to come up, or go up, out of Egypt (Gen 13:1; Gen 45:25, etc.), or Assyria 2Ki 17:3; 2Ki 18:9, 2Ki 18:13; Isa 36:1, Isa 36:10, or Babylon 2Ki 24:1; Ezr 2:1; Ezr 7:6; Neh 7:6; Neh 12:1, to the land of promise, or from the rest of the land to the place which God chose Exo 34:24 to place His name there, Shiloh, 1Sa 1:22, or, afterward, Jerusalem; (2Sa 19:34; 1Ki 12:27-28; Psa 122:4, etc.) and it is foretold that the mountain of the Lords house shall be exalted above the hills; and many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord Isa 2:2-3; Mic 4:1-2. The land from which they should go up is, primarily and in image, Babylon, from where God restored the two tribes; but, in truth and fully, it is the whole aggregate of lands, the earth, the great city of confusion, which Babel designates. Out of which they shall go up, not with their feet but with their affections, to the city set upon a hill Mat 5:14, the heavenly Jerusalem Heb 12:22, and heaven itself, where we are made to sit together with Christ Eph 2:6, and where our conversation is Phi 3:20, that where He is, there may we His servants be Joh 12:26. They ascend in mind above the earth and the things of earth, and the lowness of carnal desires, that so they may, in the end, come up out of the earth, to meet the Lord in the air, and forever be with the Lord 1Th 4:17.
For great is the day of Jezreel – God had denounced woe on Israel, under the names of the three children of the prophet, Jezreel, Lo-Ammi, Lo-Ruhamah; and now, under those three names, He promises the reversal of that sentence, in Christ. He begins with the name, under which he had begun to pronounce the woe, the first son, Jezreel. Jezreel means God shall sow, either for increase, or to scatter. When God threatened, Jezreel necessarily meant, God shall scatter; here, when God reverses His threatening, it means, God shall sow. But the issue of the seed is either single, as in human birth, or manifold, as in the seed-corn. Hence, it is used either of Him who was eminently, the Seed of Abraham, the Seed of the woman, or the manifold harvest, which He, the seed-corn Joh 12:24, should bring forth, when sown in the earth, by His vicarious Death. It means, then, Christ or His Church. Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God before all worlds, was, in time, also conceived by the Holy Spirit, of the Virgin Mary, the Son of God Alone, in a way in which no other man was born of God. Great then should be the day, when God should sow, or give the increase in mercy, as before He scattered them, in His displeasure.
The Great Day wherein God should sow, was, first, the day which the Lord hath made Psa 118:24, the Incarnation, in which God the Son became Man, the seed of the woman; then, it was the Passion, in which, like a seed-corn, He was sown in the earth; then, the Resurrection, when He rose, the Firstborn among many brethren; then, all the days in which He bare much fruit. It is the one day of salvation, in which, generation after generation, a new seed hath been or shall be born unto Him, and shall serve Him Psa 22:30-31. Even unto the end, every time of any special growth of the Church every conversion of Pagan tribe or people, is a day of Jezereel, a day in which the Lord soweth. Great, wonderful, glorious, thrice-blessed is the day of Christ, for in it He hath done great things for us, gathering together under Himself, the Head, those scattered abroad, without hope and without God in the world; making not My people into My people and those not beloved into His beloved, the objects of His tender, yearning compassion, full of His grace and mercy. For so it follows,
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Hos 1:11
Great shall be the day of Jezreel.
The day of Jezreel
Jezreel signifies the arm of the Lord. And it intimates that when He arises to bless the world, the spiritual seed of Messiah shall be numberless. The text may be taken as descriptive of the future triumphs of the Gospel.
I. The day of Jezreel shall be great in the multitudes of converts to the faith of Christ. Hitherto the flock of real believers has been a little flock. The whole world lieth in wickedness. May we not affirm that one-half Of the inhabitants of any city, town, or village possess not the semblance of religion? But painful as the contemplation of this picture is, our eyes look forward to happier days. There are seeds of a glorious harvest springing up.
II. Great in the unanimity of its subjects. The two houses were long divided; but under Zerubbabel they were to return from Babylon, and together rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. Under the mediatorial dominion of Christ, there shall be one fold, one shepherd. Jews and Gentiles shall be united in crowning the Saviour Lord of all. The fair form of Christianity shall be clouded by no stormy contentions–disfigured by no angry disputes–defiled by no human inventions–dishonoured by no unscriptural elements. We may not assume that any one particular form of Divine service will become the only mode of public worship. All will worship in spirit and in truth.
III. Great in the holiness of its friends. There is a threefold departure from the world. The first is by death. This we may call involuntary. The second is by superstition. This we may call voluntary. It is will-worship. The third is the one which grace effects. It is a commendable renunciation of the world. To live in it, while we forsake its spirit.
IV. Great in the glory of its triumphs.
1. In the victories it shall achieve. All false religion shall perish. Idolatry shall be destroyed.
2. Great in the zeal of its subjects. It will no longer be a day of small things. All shall be ready with their offerings, and none shall appear before the Lord empty.
3. The day of Jezreel shall be great for the consummation of the work and glory of the Redeemer. He then will see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. (Anon.)
Mercy in view of the day of Jezreel
Because there will be such a dreadful day of Jezreel, therefore God will make it up by this restitution. Or it may be, albeit there hath been such a great day of Jezreel, yet this mercy shall also come to pass. It teaches–
1. In a time of love, the Lord can and will turn His peoples hardest lots into mercies.
2. Days of the Lords manifesting mercy towards His people are great days, and worth the marking, as affording mercies above any mercies besides.
3. As all the times wherein God is kind to His people are remarkable times, so in particular, a time of love after sad calamities, His bringing forth the fruits of their afflictions, and of His love after a long interruption, will make a refreshful time. (George Hutcheson.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. The children of Judah and the children of Israel] After the return from Babylon, the distinction between Israel and Judah was entirely destroyed; and those of them that did return were all included under one denomination, Jews; and the one head may refer to Zerubbabel their leader, and afterwards under Ezra and Nehemiah. In the more extensive view of the prophet the one Head may mean Jesus Crist, under whom the true Israel, Jews and Gentiles, shall be finally gathered together; so that there shall be one flock, and one Shepherd over that flock.
They shall come up out of the land] Assyria and Chaldea in particular; but also from the various places of their dispersions in general.
Great shall be the day of Jezreel.] He alludes to the meaning of the word, the seed of God. God who has dispersed – sown, them in different lands, shall gather them together; and that day of God’s power shall be great and glorious. It was a wonderful seed time in the Divine justice; it shall then be a wonderful harvest in the Divine mercy. He sowed them among the nations in his wrath; he shall reap them and gather them in his bounty.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This verse without doubt hath in it both an historical sense and a mystical or spiritual sense; it looketh somewhat to the return out of the Babylonish captivity, and to their settling in Canaan; but it looketh further to a more glorious deliverance from a more miserable captivity.
Then; in the type and history, when the Babylonish captivity is dissolved, and the captives are loosed.
The children of Judah; the children of the two tribes, who adhered to the house of David, who were carried captives, but under promise of a redemption from it.
The children of Israel; some of the ten tribes who either went over to and did incorporate with the kingdom of Judah, and so were carried captives with them; or some of the ten tribes which the children of Judah found in the kingdom of Babylon, which having swallowed up the Assyrian monarchy, now the ten tribes were captives to their conquering sword. Thus in type, but it is spiritually and mystically to be understood of the whole Israel of God, Jew and Gentile, redeemed by and converted to Christ, in the day of his power.
Be gathered together, by the power of God, by the decree Of Cyrus, by each other, heartening one another to return; so the type: in the antitype, shall be gathered together by the Spirit of God, the preaching of the gospel, and mutual instruction, exhortation, and encouragements of each other
Appoint themselves one head; Zerubbabel in type, who was appointed by Cyrus, yet with full approbation of the people, putting themselves under his conduct, to carry them up to Jerusalem. But in the antitype Christ, appointed by the Father Head of his church, whom believers, heartily accepting, may in large sense be said to appoint to themselves.
Out of the land; literally, out of Babylon; spiritually, out of captivity of sill and Satan.
For great, good, joyous, and comfortable,
shall be the day of Jezreel; of the seed or people of God, the sons of God once dispersed, but now gathered by the gospel.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. Judah . . . Israel . . .together (Isa 11:12;Isa 11:13; Jer 3:18;Eze 34:23; Eze 37:16-24).
one headZerubbabeltypically; Christ antitypically, under whom alone Israel and Judahare joined, the “Head” of the Church (Eph 1:22;Eph 5:23), and of the hereafterunited kingdom of Judah and Israel (Jer 34:5;Jer 34:6; Eze 34:23).Though “appointed” by the Father (Ps2:6), Christ is in another sense “appointed” as theirHead by His people, when they accept and embrace Him as such.
out of the landof theGentiles among whom they sojourn.
the day of Jezreel“Theday of one” is the time of God’s special visitation of him,either in wrath or in mercy. Here “Jezreel” is in adifferent sense from that in Ho 1:4,”God will sow,” not “God will scatter”; theyshall be the seed of God, planted by God again in their ownland (Jer 24:6; Jer 31:28;Jer 32:41; Amo 9:15).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together,…. Not at the return from the Babylonish captivity; for, though some of the ten tribes might be mixed with the Jews when they went into captivity, and came out with them, and others might join them from the various nations where they had been dispersed; yet they did not gather together with them in a body, only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, those were the chief; of the children of Israel, but few, Ezr 1:5. Some refer this to the first times of the Gospel, when the Galileans were gathered to Christ by his ministry, who inhabited the countries where some of the tribes of Israel dwelt; and who might, at least some of them, descend from them: and when those in Jerusalem and in Judea, who also believed in Christ, united with them in their profession of him, and in affection to one another; or to the time of Christ’s death, by which the whole Israel of God, who were scattered abroad, were gathered together in one; and even Jews and Gentiles were made one body, and one new man in Christ, the partition wall being broken down: or to the times of the apostles, who were successful in the conversion and gathering of many of the Jewish nation, and also of the Samaritans; and of forming churches in Judea and Samaria under one head, in whom they agreed; and likewise of many others, both Jews and Israelites, in the various parts of the world, where they carried the Gospel; and who coalesced with the believing Gentiles in one church state, under Christ their head: though it seems best to interpret this of the latter day, when the children of Israel and Judah shall join together in seeking the Lord their God, and the true Messiah, and shall be turned, and gathered to him; when they shall be no more two kingdoms or two nations, but be one under the Messiah, who shall he their King and Prince; when all their animosities shall be laid aside, and they shall no more envy or vex one another; but shall meet together in the same church state, and worship the Lord with one shoulder and consent, being of one mind and sentiment in religious things, and when all Israel shall be saved, Jer 1:4
Isa 11:13
and appoint themselves one head; not Sennacherib, as Aben Ezra, very absurdly; nor Hezekiah, nor Josiah, as others; nor Elijah the prophet, as some in Kimchi; nor Zerubbabel, to which the Targum seems to incline, paraphrasing it,
“one head of the house of David;”
but better, as Jarchi, David their King; that is, the Messiah, as Kimchi and Ben Melech expressly interpret it; and so Abarbinel b, though he understands it of the Messiah the son of Joseph; and undoubtedly the same is meant by the one head, as David their King and Prince, Ho 3:5 even Christ, who is the Head of angels, yea, the Head of every man, but in a special and peculiar sense the head of the body, the church; he is the federal and representative Head of his people, both in eternity and in time; and in such sense a Head to them, as a king is head of his subjects, a husband of his wife, a father of his family, and a master of his servants; and also as a natural head is to its body, of the same nature with it; in union to it; lives the same life; is above it, and more excellent than it: a perfect Head Christ is, there being nothing wanting in him as such; he has his eyes set upon his people; his ears are open to their cries; he smells a sweet saviour of rest in their persons and services; he tastes and eats their pleasant fruits, and feels all their infirmities, troubles and afflictions; and has a tongue to speak a word in season for them: there are no vicious humours in this Head to affect the body; no deformity in it, and all fulness therein to supply its wants; he is an everliving and everlasting Head, and the one, and only one; there is no other, neither the pope of Rome, nor any other; nor will true Israelites acknowledge any other: and though this Head is of God the Father’s appointing, who has given him to be the Head; set him as King over Sion; raised him up to be a Prince and a Saviour; yet he is also of the saints’ choosing and appointing; they approve of him as such, embrace him, own him, and submit to him, as the Jews will at the last day, though their forefathers have rejected him:
and they shall come up out of the land; not of Israel, as Schmidt, who interprets this of the apostles going out from thence, and spreading the Gospel in the world; but out of each of the lands and countries where Israel and Judah have been dispersed, and return to their own land; see Jer 3:18. So the Targum,
“and they shall come up out of the land of their captivity:”
or it may be understood, figuratively and spiritually, of their coming up out of their captivity to sin, Satan, the law, and the world, as well as out of their present temporal captivity:
and out of the earth c, as it were, as it may be rendered; out of their earthly state, from the graves of sin, leaving their earthly affections, and becoming spiritual and heavenly minded; willing to quit all that is dear unto them, even the country in which they were born and long lived, to follow Christ their Head and King:
for great shall be the day of Jezreel; or, though great has been or is the day of Jezreel d; though it has been a great and long day of trouble and affliction to them, signified by Jezreel; see Ho 1:4, yet all these good things promised shall surely be accomplished: indeed the day of Jezreel may be taken in a good sense, not for a time of dispersion and distress, but of great comfort, joy, and happiness; the word signifying, according to some, the seed of God, or the arm of God: and Jerom applies it to Christ, the seed of God; and the whole Gospel dispensation may be called his day, the day of salvation, the joyful day the Lord has made: or rather by Jezreel, the seed of God, are meant his spiritual offspring, the children of Judah and Israel; who shall now be gathered, by the arm of God, his powerful and efficacious grace, and that in large numbers, so that great will be their day; so the Targum paraphrases it,
“for great will be the day of their gathering.”
It respects the latter day glory, when will be the conversion of the Jews, and the bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles; when there will be great peace and prosperity; great love and unity; great holiness and purity; great light and knowledge; great enjoyment of God, and of the presence of the Redeemer great glory upon the churches, and upon that a defence: in short, all the great and glorious things spoken of will now be completed; perfect deliverance from all afflictions and troubles; an entire destruction of all enemies; and a full enjoyment of the word and ordinances, in the purity of them, and large conversions everywhere.
b Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 53. 3. c “e terra”. d “quamvis”; so some in Drusius, Rivet.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet speaks here peculiarly of the children of Abraham; for though God would make no more account of them than of other nations, he yet wished it to be ascribed to his covenant, that they in honor excelled others; and the right of primogeniture, we know, is everywhere given to them. Then as Abraham’s children were first-begotten in the Church, even after the coming of Christ, God here especially addresses them, Ascend together from the land shall the children of Israel and the children of Judah, and they shall assemble together, and appoint for themselves one head In the last verse, Hosea spoke of the universal gathering of the Church; but now he confines his address to the natural race of Abraham. Why? Because God commenced a restoration with that people, when he extended his hand to the miserable exiles to bring them back from the Babylonian captivity to their own country. As then this was the beginning of the gathering, the Prophet, not without reason, turns his address here to them, and thus sets them in higher honor, not that they were worthy, not that they could by any merit claim this dignity; but because God would not make void his covenant, and because he had chosen them that they might be the first-begotten, as it has been already stated, and as they are also elsewhere called, ‘My first-begotten is Ephraim,’ (Jer 31:9) We now then understand the order and arrangement of the Prophet, which is to be carefully noticed, and the more so, because interpreters confound all these things, and make no distinctions, when yet the Prophet has not here mingled together the children of Israel and the children of Judah with the Gentiles, except for a certain purpose.
Let us now consider the words of the Prophet. Assembled together, he says, shall be the children of Israel and the children of Judah No doubt, the Prophet has in view the scattering, which had now lasted more than two hundred years, when Jeroboam had led away the ten tribes. Inasmuch as the body became then torn asunder, the Prophet says, Together shall be gathered the children of Judah and the children of Israel And designedly does he thus speak, lest the Israelites should felicitate themselves on their own power; since they were a mutilated body without a head; for the king of Israel, properly speaking, was not legitimate. The Lord had indeed anointed Jeroboam; and afterwards Jehu, I admit, had been anointed; but it was done for the sake of executing judgment. For when the Lord intended really to bless the people, he chose David to rule over them; and then he committed the government over all the children of Abraham to the posterity of David. There was therefore no legitimate head over the people of Israel. And the Prophet intended distinctly to express this by saying, Gathered together shall be the children of Judah and the children of Israel; which means this, “Ye are now secure, because fortune smiles on you; because ye are overflowing with money and all good things; because ye are terrible to your neighbors; because ye have cities well fortified; but your safety depends on another thing, even on this, that ye be one body under one head. For ye must be miserable except God rules over you; and the only way in which this can be is, that ye be under the government of David. Your separation, then, proves your state to be accursed; your earthly happiness, in which you felicitate yourselves, is unhappiness before God.” The Prophet then reminded the people of Israel, that God would at last deal kindly with them by restoring them to their first unity. The import of the whole then is, that the children of Abraham shall then at length be blessed, when they shall unite again in one body, and when one head shall rule over them. They shall then be gathered together, and appoint one head. The Prophet shows here also what kind of assembling this will be which he mentions, which was to be this, they shall be gathered under the government of one king. For whenever God speaks of the restoration of the people, he ever calls the attention of the faithful to David: ‘David shall rule, there shall be one shepherd.’ Then one king and one head shall be among them. We now perceive the design of the Prophet.
But this passage clearly teaches, that the unity of men is of no account before God, except it originates from one head. Besides, it is well known that God set David over his ancient people until the coming of Christ. Now, then, the Church of the Lord is only rightly formed, when the true David rules over it; that is, when all with one consent obey Christ, and submit to his bidding, ( pendebunt ab ejus nutu hang on his nod:) and how Christ designs to rule in his Church, we know; for the scepter of his kingdom is the gospel. Hence, when Christ is honored with the obedience of faith, all things are safe; and this is the happy state of the Church, of which the Prophet now speaks. It seems, indeed, strange, that what is peculiar to God should be transferred to men that is, to appoint a king. But the Prophet has, by this expression, characterized the obedience of faith; for it is not enough that Christ should be given as a king, and set over men, unless they also embrace him as their king, and with reverence receive him. We now learn, that when we believe the gospel we choose Christ for our king, as it were, by a voluntary consent.
He afterwards subjoins, They shall ascend from the land. He expresses more than at the beginning of the verse; for he says, that God would restore them from exile to their own country. He then promises what was very necessary, that exile would be no hindrance to God to renew his Church; for it was the people’s ruin to be removed far from their country, and consequently to be deprived of their promised inheritance during their dispersion among heathen nations. The Lord then takes away this difficulty, and distinctly declares, that though for a time they should be as wholly destroyed, they shall yet come again to their own land. They shall, therefore, ascend (this is said with regard to Judea, for it is higher than Chaldea) they shall, therefore, ascend from Chaldea and other places in which they had been dispersed. We now understand what the Prophet means by saying, Gathered together shall be the children of Israel and the children of Judah that is, into one body; and further, they shall appoint for themselves one head. This is the manner of the gathering; and it must be also added, that the Church then obeys God, when all, from the first to the last, consent to one head: for it is not enough to be constrained, unless all willingly offer themselves to Christ; as it is said Psa 110:3, “There shall be a willing people in the day in which the King will call his own.’ Then the Prophet intended to express the obedience of faith, which the faithful will render to Christ, when the Lord shall restore them.
And they shall ascend, he says, from the land; for great shall be the day of Jezreel. It may be asked, why does he here call the day of Jezreel great; for it seems contrary to prophecy? This passage may be explained in two ways. Great shall be the day of Jezreel, some say, because God will sow the people whom he had before scattered. So they think that the Prophet, as in a former instance, alludes to the word, Jezreel. But the sense seems to me to be another. I do not restrict this clause to the last, nor to the promise, but apply it to the slaughter which has been before mentioned; for they correspond with one another. They shall ascend from the land; for great shall be the day of Jezreel. The Israelites were as yet resting in their nests, and thought that they could not by any means be torn away; besides, the kingdom of Judah did not then fear a near destruction. The Prophet, therefore, intimates here, that there would be a need of some signal and extraordinary remedy; for it shall be the severe and dreadful slaughter in the day of Jezreel. We now perceive the real meaning of the Prophet, They shall ascend from the land; for (8) great shall be the day of Jezreel
They might, indeed, have otherwise objected, and said, “Why dost thou thus prophesy to us about ascending? What is this ascending? Do we not rest quietly in the inheritance which God formerly promised to our fathers? What meanest thou, then, by this ascending?” The Prophet here rouses them, and reminds them that they had no reason to trust in their now quiet state, as wine settled on its lees; and this very similitude is even used in another place, (Jer 48:11.) The Prophet here declares, that there would be a most dreadful slaughter, which would call for the signal mercy of God; for he would in a wonderful manner restore the people, and draw them out like the dead from their graves: for great then shall be the day of Jezreel; that is, “As the calamity which the Lord shall bring on you will be grievous and dreadful, I do not in vain promise to you this return and ascending.” This seems to be really the meaning of the Prophet.
(8) If this were rendered ‘though,’ as it is by some, the meaning would be more evident; that is, they shall ascend from the land, notwithstanding the greatness of the slaughter of Jezreel, when they should be led captive. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) Shall come up out of the land.Better, shall go up out of, &c., a phrase frequently occurring in Scripture, to denote the marching forth to war. Israel shall then be united. The envy of Israel and Judah shall cease. (Isa. 11:12-13; Eze. 34:24; Eze. 37:24). A world-wide dominion shall be established under the restored theocracy. Under the word land, no reference is made by the prophet to exile, either in Babylon, Assyria, or Egypt, but Palestine is evidently meant. Then the true Israel, having chosen their true king, shall demonstrate the greatness of the day of Jezreel. The brothers and sisters will then drop the curse involved in their names, and recognise the Divine proprietorship of Jehovah and the abundance of His pity.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And the children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint themselves one head, and will go up from the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.”
This promise would be literally fulfilled in the inter-testamental period. The two nations would come together as one, and would appoint over themselves ‘one head’ (significantly not ‘one king’, giving wider scope to the prophecy; compare Psa 18:43 where the Davidic king is to be ‘the head of the nations’, and Num 14:4 for the Hebrew). What might be seen as lacking would be the large numbers comparable with the stars of Heaven, although Israel might well have seen it in that way, for by the time of Christ Israel would have greatly multiplied. It would find even greater fulfilment in the coming of the King when Jesus Christ came on earth (in 1st century AD), and all who came to Him out of the land would be united in Him, and would become a multitude which could not be numbered (Rev 7:9). This also ties in with the application of Hos 1:10 to the whole church in 1Pe 2:9-10; compare Rom 9:24-27. While it may not appear so to us the early church saw themselves very much as the true Israel, not simply as just a ‘spiritual Israel’. They were the believing remnant, the continuation of believing Israel. It was the unbelieving Jews who had been cast off from Israel (Rom 11:16-24). See Act 4:25-26 where ‘the peoples’ have become ‘unbelieving Israel’; Rom 11:17; Mat 21:43. It may well find its culmination in the conversion to Christ of unbelieving Jews in large numbers at the end of the age, when they are once again incorporated into the true Israel by becoming members of His true church (congregation).
‘Go up from the land’ has a number of possible interpretations.
While we have no historical record of it, they may well at some stage have ‘gone up from the land’ to the valley of Jezreel for great celebrations together, as pictured here.
On the other hand the idea may not be of going to the Valley of Jezreel, but of ‘going up out of the land’ to Jerusalem, ‘the day of Jezreel’ indicating the day when what the name Jezreel (‘God sows’) finally signifies, deliverance and fruitfulness (Hos 2:22), will finally be accomplished (note that it is paralleled in the chiasm with reference to the birth of Jezreel, Hosea’s firstborn).
A third possibility is that ‘out of the land’ has in mind escape from the land of Exile, for the same phrase is found in Exo 1:10 of escaping from Egypt. To Hosea escape ‘from Egypt’ symbolised God’s hope for Israel, whom he sees as never having found release from Egypt’s ensnaring (Hos 11:11).
Jezreel had been the place of death of the tainted monarchy. The day of Jezreel (‘God sows’) might well signify the day when, the bloodshed at Jezreel having been avenged, Jezreel, Hosea’s son, would as it were prophetically see ‘God sowing’ (Jezreel), causing the appointment of an untainted ‘head’ in Jerusalem. This was something which took place to some extent under the governor and son of David Zerubabbel (Hag 2:4-9; Hag 2:21-23; Zec 4:6-10), and would finally be accomplished in much greater measure when the Son of David was named ‘both Lord and Christ’ in Jerusalem (Act 2:36). That would be a great day indeed.
The rapid movement from YHWH’s judgment of His people to their restoration is a feature of the Law of Moses. In both Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28-29 we have the same movement. Curse must be followed by blessing. Hosea is therefore simply following the usual prophetic pattern. It was important that YHWH’s Name and faithfulness be preserved so that all might realise that despite the failure of His people, He Himself would not fail.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Hos 1:11. And appoint themselves one head The Lord Jesus Christ shall become the chief and the king of his church, composed of Judah and Israel, of Jews and Gentiles. This is the primary intention of the prophesy; which, however, (as we observed above,) secondarily may refer to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, and their reunion under one head. We have seen on the fourth verse the meaning of the Word Jezreel. There was a still farther prediction comprehended under it, which regarded the future and remote state of the Jews. The two Hebrew words zerah, to disperse, and zerang. to sow, in order to multiply and gather, are in found nearly the same; and either of them may compound the word Israel or Jezreel. As therefore the prophet declared the dispersion of Israel, when their bow or strength was broken in the valley of Jezreel, so here he comforts them with a promise, implied in another sense of the same name, of their being gathered from the captivity, and increasing like the seed of God. The latter words of this verse, For great, &c. are rendered in the Chaldee, For great is the day of the gathering of Israel: Jarchi, to render the allusion plainer, translates them, Great is the day of gathering the seed of Israel; which Kimchi explains thus: “Israel was typified in the child Jezreel, because God scattered them in his anger, as zerangseed, among the Gentiles; and again, he called Jezreel the seed of God, because in the time of salvation they shall be sown in their own land.” This is similar to the prophet’s own explanation, chap. Hos 2:22-23. See Chandler’s Defence, and Houbigant.
And they shall come up out of the land And come up from the earth. That is, from all parts of the earth to Jerusalem. Jerusalem being situated upon an eminence, and in the heart of a mountainous region, which rose greatly above the general level of the country to a great distance on all sides, the sacred writers always speak of persons going to Jerusalem, as going up.
Great shall be the day of Jezreel Great and happy shall be the day, when the holy seed of both branches of the natural Israel shall be publicly acknowledged of their God; united under one head, their king Messiah; and restored to the possession of the promised land, and to a situation of high pre-eminence among the kingdoms of the earth. Bishop Horsley.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The prophet opens his book with an account of his name and parentage. He was called Hosea, the same as Jesus or Joshua, a Saviour, the great business of his ministry being to promote the salvation of his people. His father’s name is mentioned; but of what tribe or place he was is not said.
He prophesied during the reigns of four kings of Judah, and their cotemporaries who ruled in Israel, though but one of them is mentioned. Perhaps their lives were so bad, that their very names were odious.
2nd, The first revelation of God’s will to Hosea, was a fearful threatening against a rebellious people, under the figure of a man taking a wife of whoredoms. In the names of the children born of this marriage, the prophet is commissioned to foretel the approaching ruin of that devoted people.
1. In the name of the first son, who is called Jezreel, God shews Jeroboam the destruction determined against his family, and the cause of it. Jezreel signifies the seed of God, or scattered of God; and this is explained, for yet a little while, in a few years, under his son Jeconiah, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu; the blood of Ahab, and his sons and relations, which Jehu shed; for though the action was right, and God commended it, 2Ki 10:30 yet the temper with which Jehu did it was evil, intending not God’s glory, but the gratification of his own pride, ambition, and cruelty, as afterwards evidently appeared; for though he pretended zeal for God when he seized the throne, he still kept the calves in Dan and Bethel. Thus many of the good works of pride and self-righteousness become evil from the temper with which they are done, and bring down a curse instead of a blessing. And I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel, in the family of Jehu, as was soon fulfilled, 2Ki 15:8-10. Or this may relate to the destruction of the ten tribes by Salmaneser, 2Ki 17:6-23. And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel; which may refer to Menahem’s slaughter of Shallum, 2Ki 15:14-16 or to some battle fought there with Salmaneser, before he subdued the country, 2Ki 17:6. See the Annotations. Note; They who depart from God weaken their own arms; and sin brings certain ruin in its train.
2. In the name of the second child, Lo-ruhamah, God foretels his entire rejection of the whole nation. The word signifies without mercy; intimating, as the prophet from God explains it, that God would have no more mercy on the Israelites, but would utterly take them away, as was done by the king of Assyria, 2 Kings 17. Woe to the sinner with whom God’s mercies are at an end!
3. A promise of mercy is made to the house of Judah, which had preserved the true worship of God. I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, not by any human power or weapons; which may refer to the deliverance of the Jews from Sennacherib’s army, 2Ki 19:35 or rather to the greater salvation which the Lord Jesus should accomplish, subduing all the spiritual foes of his faithful people, and by his own arm making them more than conquerors. Note; (1.) All our salvation comes not from any merit in us, but the mere mercy of our God. (2.) They who cleave to God as their God, shall find that he will own them in the day of trouble, and interpose for their rescue.
3rdly, The decree gone forth against this wicked nation is confirmed in the name of a son, the third child, called Lo-ammi, after Lo-ruhamah was weaned; which may signify the patience of God for a while bearing with them; or that first captivity, when many of Gilead and Galilee were carried away by Tiglath-pileser, 2Ki 15:29.
1. God rejects Israel from being his people, as the name Lo-ammi signifies, Ye are no longer my people; have cast off my government and worship: and I will not be your God, to bless, protect, and save you. Note; (1.) They who revolt from God, are justly rejected by him. (2.) Many claim a relation to God in name, whose works deny him, and whom he will therefore disown.
2. In wrath God remembers mercy; and a gracious promise is made of their restoration. He that wounds, is willing to heal. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; which prophesy, whatever primary respect it might have to the return of the Israelites from their captivity with their brethren; or whatever ground of comfort it might afford to the pious captives there; yet we are assured, Rom 9:24-26 was to have its glorious accomplishment when Jews and Gentiles should be converted to the faith of Christ; as was eminently the case, when, by the preaching of the gospel at the first, multitudes were added to the church; and daily we observe the innumerable host increasing, till the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in at the last day, and so all Israel shall be saved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God; adopted into the family, and admitted to all the great and distinguished privileges of the children of God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together; which some interpret of the union of these divided kingdoms, on their return from Babylon; but it rather respects the times of the gospel, when Galileans, Samaritans, and Jews, converted by the preaching of Christ and his apostles, were joined in one Christian church, and the Gentiles afterwards incorporated therein. But particular respect is had to the times when the Jews shall be collected from their present dispersion, and be universally turned to the Lord, and appoint themselves one head, the Divine Messiah, to whom they shall be gathered at the last, willingly submitting themselves to his blessed government: and they shall come up out of the land, or the earth, collected from all parts of it; or as experiencing a kind of resurrection from the state of misery, like death, in which they lay, for great shall be the day of Jezreel; after all the afflictions that they have endured, their latter end shall be full of glory. Note; (1.) Every believer is distinguished with the eminent dignity of being a child of the living God; and, however he may be despised of men, is glorious in the eyes of the Most High and Most Holy, and, persevering in faith and love and holy obedience, shall be acknowledged by him in the last great day. (2.) The people of God have Christ for their living head, deriving from him all vital influence; yielding themselves up to him, to be directed and governed; and through him maintaining mutual communion with each other, being all one in Christ Jesus. (3.) They who have Christ for their head, must come up from the earth, and set their affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
READER! We may truly say, with one of the Sacred Writers, in reference to the Church in her latter-day glory; glorious things are spoken of thee thou city of God! For to behold, as this Chapter relates, the low and impoverished state of the Church; and God putting away, as it were, his people, and yet recovering them by the riches and sovereignty of his grace, all of himself, and from himself, and his own purpose, counsel, and will; surely we are constrained to exclaim, what hath God wrought?
Reader! is it so, that we are by nature, and by practice, like the children of whoredoms, and richly deserve to be forever called, Lo Ruhamah, and Lo ammi; but yet by the infinite grace of adoption, brought into acceptance by Christ, our spiritual Head? Is it in Jesus, and by Jesus, the one glorious Head of his body the Church, the whole of Judah and Israel are gathered; and when not a people are made the sons of the living God; oh! for grace to admire and adore these high privileges, and ascribe all the glory, and the praise, to whom alone it is all due. Precious Jesus! let my soul henceforth be forever eyeing thee, as the cause, the whole means, the whole end. Earnestly as my soul desires to love thee, let not my love to thee be made anymore the standard of my safety in thee, but let me consider thy love as the whole sum and substance of all my safety and my joy. Oh! for grace to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. In heaven itself, the full and clear apprehension of thy love, constitutes the chief happiness of the place. Give me then, dearest Lord, by thy Spirit, to be able to comprehend with all saints, the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of thy love, that I may be filled with all the fulness of God!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Hos 1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.
Ver. 11. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together ] i.e. they shall unite into one body, and one religion, and shall all make one entire kingdom, Eze 37:22 ; Eze 37:24 . Christ once lifted up, shall draw all things to himself, Joh 12:32 : and wherever this carcase is, there will the spiritual eagles be also, Mat 24:28 . Caiaphas, like another Balaam, prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation: and not for that nation only, but that also he “should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad,” Joh 11:51-52 . This is the gathering together here mentioned: Christ shall be one among his people, and his name one, Zec 14:9 . See Trapp on “ Zec 14:9 “ They shall serve the Lord with one shoulder, Zep 3:9 . It seems to be a metaphor taken from oxen that are yoked together, and that set their shoulders jointly to the work. Surely, the more the gospel prevaileth, the more peace there will be. They shall be gathered together in that day. So when Christ shall be preached, and obedience yielded to his government, Isa 9:7 , then shall there be a blessed harmony of hearts: then shall they fly in flocks to the ordinances, as the doves to their windows: then shall they come to the Lord’s house upon “horses, and in chariots, and in litters,” Isa 66:20 .
And appoint themselves one head
And they shall come up out of the land
For great is the day of Jezreel be gathered together = be gathered out. See Isa 11:12, Isa 11:13. Jer 3:18. Eze 37:16-24.
one head. Zerubbabel was only a typical anticipation, for under him only Judah returned. This refers to a future reunion (Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6. Eze 34:23).
one. Hebrew. ‘echad. See note on Deu 6:4.
the land. Supply the Ellipsis: “the land [of their dispersion ]. “
Jezreel. Here used in the sense: “GOD will sow”. See note on Hos 1:4; and Compare Hos 2:23. Referring to the day of Israel’s restoration as being “life from the dead” (Rom 11:15). Compare Jer 24:6; Jer 31:28; Jer 32:41. Amo 9:15.
Then shall: This seems to refer to the future conversion and restoration of the Jews and Israelites, under on head, Jesus Christ; so that there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
the children of Judah: Hos 3:5, Isa 11:12, Isa 11:13, Jer 3:18, Jer 3:19, Jer 23:5-8, Jer 30:3, Jer 31:1-9, Jer 33:15-26, Jer 50:4, Jer 50:5, Jer 50:19, Eze 16:60-63, Eze 34:23, Eze 34:24, Eze 37:16-25, Mic 2:12, Mic 2:13, Zec 10:6-9, Rom 11:25, Rom 11:26
for: An allusion to the word Jezreel. God who sowed them among the nations in His wrath, shall reap and gather them in His mercy. See Hos 2:22, Hos 2:23, Psa 22:27-30, Psa 110:3, Rom 11:15
Reciprocal: Psa 68:22 – the depths Psa 126:4 – Turn again Isa 11:11 – set his hand Isa 32:15 – wilderness Isa 35:7 – in the Isa 43:6 – bring Isa 49:19 – thy waste Isa 56:8 – which Isa 60:5 – thou shalt see Jer 3:16 – when Jer 12:14 – and pluck Jer 30:7 – for Jer 31:6 – Arise Jer 31:16 – they Jer 32:37 – I will gather Eze 11:17 – General Eze 28:25 – When Eze 36:24 – General Eze 37:11 – whole house Eze 37:17 – General Eze 37:22 – I will make Eze 39:25 – the whole Eze 48:21 – the residue Oba 1:20 – the captivity of this Zep 3:18 – gather Mat 12:30 – gathereth
Hos 1:11. The prediction of this verse was fulfilled literally and spiritually. The former was fulfilled by the return of all the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. Israel, the 10-tribe kingdom, went into exile under the Assyrian Empire, and Judah, the 2- tribe kingdom, went into exile under the Babylonian Empire. The two events were a century apart, in the course of which time the Babylonians had taken over the Assyrian Empire with all its “holdings, and that virtually threw all of the Jews together. When the Persians overthrew the Babylonians, they released all of the Jew’s which permitted them to return to Palestine as one nation. The prediction was fulfilled spiritually when the distinction between Jew and Gentile was removed, and both were brought together under one head. Jesus is that head and His fold or kingdom is the place where God’s people are together as under one shepherd (Joh 10:16).
Hos 1:11. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together When the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, this will be a means of converting the Jews, and bringing them into the church. And when converts of the house of Judah shall have obtained a resettlement in the holy land, then a general conversion shall take place of the race of Judah, and the race of the ten tribes. They shall unite in one confession, and in one polity; and appoint themselves one head The Lord Christ, called David their king, (Hos 3:5,) shall become the chief and head of his church, composed of Judah and Israel, of Jews and Gentiles. This head is indeed appointed and set up over the church by God, Psa 2:6; Eph 1:22. But the saints are said to appoint Christ their head, when they choose him and embrace him for their sovereign; when, with the highest estimation, most vigorous affections, and utmost endeavours of unfeigned obedience, they set him up in their hearts, and serve him in their lives, giving him the pre-eminence in all things. And they shall come up out of the land, &c. That is, from all parts of the earth, to Jerusalem, there to join in the same way of worship (as once the twelve tribes did, before the schism under Jeroboam) with the Christian Church, and so proceed on the way to the kingdom of heaven. Jerusalem being situated upon an eminence, and in the heart of a mountainous region, which rose greatly above the general level of the country to a great distance on all sides, the sacred writers always speak of persons going to Jerusalem, as going up. For great shall be the day of Jezreel That is, of the seed of God: see note on Hos 1:4. Great and happy shall be the day, when the holy seed of both branches of the natural Israel shall be publicly acknowledged of their God, united under one head, their King Messiah, and restored to the possession of the promised land, and to a situation of high pre-eminence among the kingdoms of the earth. It must be observed here, that although this is an express prophecy of the final conversion and restoration of the Jews, it contains also a manifest allusion to the call of the Gentiles. For, the word Jezreel, though applied in this passage to the devout part of the natural Israel, by its etymology is capable of a larger meaning, comprehending all, of every race and nation, who, by the preaching of the gospel, are made members of Christ, and the children of God. All these are a seed of God, begotten of him by the Spirit to a holy life, and to the inheritance of immortality. The words Ammi and Ruhamah, (my people and beloved,) and their opposites, Lo-ammi and Lo- ruhamah, (not my people and not beloved,) are capable of the same extension; the two former to comprehend the converted, the two latter the unconverted, Gentiles. In this extent they seem to be used chap. Hos 2:23, which appears to be a prophecy of the call of the Gentiles, with manifest allusion to the restoration of the Jews. Accordingly we find these prophecies of Hosea cited by St. Paul, to prove the indiscriminate call to salvation both of Gentiles and Jews. He affirms, that God has called us [that is, Christians] vessels of mercy afore prepared unto glory,
, not of the Jews only, but moreover of the Gentiles too, Rom 9:24. The allusion which is made to these prophecies by St. Peter, in his first epistle, (1Pe 2:10,) is not properly a citation of any part of them, but merely an accommodation of the expressions, not my people, my people, not having obtained mercy, having obtained mercy, to the case of the Hebrews of the Asiatic dispersion, before and after their conversion. Bishop Horsley, who adds, it is surprising that the return of Judah from the Babylonian captivity should ever have been considered, by any Christian divine, as the principal object of this prophecy, and an event in which it has received its full accomplishment. The fact is, that this prophecy has no relation to the return from Babylon in a single circumstance. What was the number of the returned captives, that it should be compared to that of the sands upon the sea-shore? The number of the returned, in comparison of the whole captivity, was nothing. And how was Zorobabel (under whom the Jews returned from Babylon) one head of the rest of Israel, as well as of Judah? To interpret the prophecy in this manner is to make it little better than a paltry quibble; more worthy of the Delphic tripod, than of the Scripture of truth. Very judicious, upon this subject, are the remarks of the learned Houbigant, The prophet, in the tenth verse, passes from threatenings to promises, which is the manner of the prophets, that the Jews might not think that, after the accomplishment of the threatenings, God would concern himself no more about their nation. Those promises seem to respect the final condition of the Jews, when they should collect under one head, the Messiah; that it might properly be said of them, Ye are children of the living God. It is difficult to accommodate the words of this passage to the return from the Babylonian captivity. Those Jews, who returned from Babylon, were not so much as one-hundredth part of the whole Jewish race; so little were they to be compared with the sands of the sea: nor did they appoint themselves one head. Zorobabel was indeed their leader, but not their single leader; and their form of government henceforward was not monarchical, but an aristocracy. Nor had they kings till the very last, when they were become unworthy to be called children of the living God.
1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be {n} gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.
(n) That is, after the captivity of Babylon, when the Jews were restored: but chiefly this refers to the time of Christ, who would be the head both of the Jews and Gentiles.
(o) The calamity and destruction of Israel will be so great, that to restore them will be a miracle.
The Northern and Southern Kingdoms would reunite, and they would have only one king instead of two (cf. Hos 3:5; 2Sa 7:11-16; Isa 9:6-7; Eze 37:22; Amo 9:11; Mic 5:2). They would also go up from the land, probably in the sense of growing strong in the land, as a plant. [Note: See Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Hosea," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, pp. 1381-82.] When this happens it will be a great day for Jezree. As Jezreel was a place of former victory for Israel (Judges 7), so it would be again in the future (cf. Isa 9:4-7; Isa 41:8-16; Joe 3:9-17; Amo 9:11-12; Rev 19:11-21). The leader in view is probably Jesus Christ (cf. Hos 3:5; Jer 30:21), so this is probably a messianic prophecy.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)