{"id":22171,"date":"2022-09-24T09:23:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T14:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-hosea-58\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T09:23:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T14:23:05","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-hosea-58","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-hosea-58\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hosea 5:8"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud [at] Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

8<\/strong>. Blow ye the cornet the trumpet<\/em> ] A usual direction on the approach of an invading army; see Hos 8:1<\/span>; Jer 4:5<\/span>; Jer 6:1<\/span>. Previously to the captivity the cornet and the trumpet were probably different names for the same instrument, as the Law (Num 10:1-10<\/span>; Num 31:6<\/span>) prescribes the use of the silver trumpet ( khaerah<\/em>) in cases when, according to the prophetic and historical books, the cornet or shfr<\/em> was used. In writings of post-Captivity origin ( Psa 98:6 ; 1Ch 15:28<\/span>; 2Ch 15:14<\/span>) they appear to represent different instruments, or rather slightly different varieties of the same instrument. The Mishna tells us that the shfr<\/em> was sometimes straight, sometimes curved, and this difference would of course involve a difference of note. We may help ourselves to form an idea of the Hebrew trumpets by representations of the Egyptian (see Wilkinson, Manners and Customs<\/em>, 11. 260, &c.).<\/p>\n

Gibeah Ramah<\/em> ] Both towns were situated on eminences, and therefore well adapted for signals of alarm; both apparently belonged to Judah. Gibeah (lit. ‘a hill’) is ‘Gibeah of Benjamin’ (1Sa 13:2<\/span>; 1Sa 14:16<\/span>), or ‘Gibeah of Saul’ (1Sa 11:4<\/span>); the Ramah (lit. ‘height’) is the same where Samuel dwelt (1Sa 15:34<\/span>). Both probably belonged at this time to Judah (see 1Ki 15:21<\/span>; Isa 10:29<\/span>). Taking in Bethel, the cities are those from which the signal of alarm could be heard in both kingdoms.<\/p>\n

after thee, O Benjamin<\/em> ] Rather, behind thee, O Benjamin;<\/strong> this is the cry of warning which the men of Beth-aven or Bethel (a border-town between Benjamin and Ephraim) are to send on to the Benjamites. Understand either ‘the sword rages’, or more simply ‘be on thy guard.’ Sept. however renders (from a different text?), , ‘Benjamin is distraught.’<\/p>\n

It is worth noticing that Hosea (the prophet of the tribes which proudly claimed the name of Israel) does not mention Jerusalem. To have mentioned the capital of Judah would perhaps have led him to widen his range of thought too much. But under the name ‘Benjamin’ he has been thought to hint obscurely at Jerusalem, for ‘the boundary between Judah and Benjamin ran at the foot of the hill on which the city stands, so that the city itself was actually in Benjamin’ (Fergusson, in Smith’s Bible-Dictionary<\/em>, 1. 983).<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

8 15<\/strong>. The prophet ‘in the spirit’ sees the threatened trouble bursting upon both the separated kingdoms. In vain will Ephraim seek help from Assyria; there is no deliverance from Jehovah’s hand until Ephraim repents.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah – <\/B>The evil day and destruction, denounced, is now vividly pictured, as actually come. All is in confusion, hurry, alarm, because the enemy was in the midst of them. The cornet, an instrument made of horn, was to be blown as the alarm, when the enemy was at hand. The trumpet was especially used for the worship of God. Gibeah and Ramah were cities of Benjamin, on the borders of Ephraim, where the enemy, who had possessed himself of Israel, would burst in upon Judah. From Bethaven or Bethel, the seat of Ephraims idolatry, on the border of Benjamin, was to break forth the outcry of destruction, after thee, O Benjamin; the enemy is upon thee, just behind thee, pursuing thee. God had promised His people, if they would serve Him, I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee Exo 23:27<\/span>, and had threatened the contrary, if they should walk contrary to Him. Now that threat was to be fulfilled to the uttermost. The ten tribes are spoken of, as already in possession of the enemy, and he was upon Benjamin fleeing before them.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Hos 5:8<\/span><\/p>\n

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

An earnest ministry<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea of the passage is, Give an earnest warning of the judgment about to break on the people, sound the alarm and startle the population.<\/p>\n


I. <\/strong>The nature of an earnest ministry. Cry aloud. Let the whole soul go forth in the work. Earnestness is not noise. A celebrated preacher, distinguished for the eloquence of his pulpit preparations, exclaimed on his death-bed, Speak not to me of my sermons: alas! I Was fiddling whilst Rome was burning:<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>It is not frightening people.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>It is not bustle. He is always on the go. Genuine earnestness is foreign to all these things. It has nothing in it of the noise and rattle of the fussy brook, it is like the deep stream rolling its current silently, resistlessly, and without pause.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>An earnest ministry is living. It is the influence of the whole man.<\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>Such a ministry is a matter of necessity. The Divine thing in the man becomes irrepressible, it breaks out as sunbeams through the clouds.<\/p>\n

5. <\/strong>Such a ministry is constant. It is not a professional service; it is as regular as the functions of life.<\/p>\n

6. <\/strong>Such a ministry is mighty.<\/p>\n


II. <\/strong>The need of an earnest ministry. Why was the cornet to be now blown in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah? Because there was danger.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>The moral danger to which souls around us are exposed is great.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>It is near. It is not the danger of an invading army heard in the distance. The enemy has entered the soul and the work of devastating has commenced.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>It is increasing. The condition of the unregenerate soul gets worse and worse every hour. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Cry aloud<\/strong><\/p>\n

But after much observation and many deep yearnings over those who are going astray as sheep without a shepherd, it is my firm conviction that here is at least one key to the situation. This was the method of the great evangelical revival of the last century. Whitefield took his place on Kensington Common; where the bodies of executed criminals were left dangling on the gallows, and there, with twenty or thirty thousand of the lowest rabble before him, he would point to the gallows, and, with that voice which was like the sound of many waters, exclaim: If you want to know what wages the devil pays his servants, look yonder. Such methods at first grated on the fine sensibilities of Wesley. He says: I could scarce reconcile myself at first to this strange way of preaching in the fields, having been till lately so tenacious of every point relating to decency and order that I should have thought the saving of souls a sin if it had not been done in a Church. Can we reconcile ourselves to such irregular methods? Can we accept the twofold requirement and preach the Gospel not only in season but in season, out of season? (A. J. Gordon, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Earnest Christian effort<\/strong><\/p>\n

Godly Baxter says of himself, I confess, to my shame, that I remember no one sin that my conscience doth so much accuse and judge me for, as for doing so little for the salvation of men s souls, and dealing no more earnestly and fervently with them for their conversion. I confess that, when I am alone, and think of the ease of poor ignorant, worldly, earthly, unconverted sinners, that live not to God, nor set their hearts on the life to come, my conscience telleth me that I should go to as many of them as I can, and tell them plainly what will become of them if they do not turn, and beseech them, with all the earnestness that I can, to come to Christ, and change their course, and make no delay. And though I have many excuses, from other business and from disability and want of time, yet none of them all do satisfy my own conscience when I consider what heaven and hell are, which will one of them be the end of every mans life. My conscience telleth me that I should follow them with all possible earnestness night and day, and take no denial till they return to God.<\/p>\n

After thee, O Benjamin<\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Front-rank men<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is good reason to believe that this was the tribal battle-cry. The R.V., in its margin, favours this idea It there reads, After thee, Benjamin! (see Jdg 5:14<\/span>). The reference is to the passage in the Song of Deborah: After thee, Benjamin, among thy people. Many commentators interpret this as addressed to Ephraim; e.g<\/em>., Delitzsch: Behind thee,! i<\/em>.e., <\/em>Ephraim, there followed Benjamin among thy (Ephraims) people (hosts). On the other hand, the Pulpit Commentary reads, Following thee, O Benjamin, with thy people; and Dean Stanley (Jewish Church, vol. 1.) renders, After thee, Benjamin, in thy people. Psa 68:1-35<\/span>, seems to corroborate this interpretation. This psalm is a glorious song of triumph. It refers to past history; it recalls to mind Gods wondrous dealings with His favoured people; the miracles He had wrought for them, the victories He had enabled them to win. The allusion to Zebulun and Naphtali in verse 27 seems to be a direct reference to the Song of Deborah, where these two tribes receive honourable mention (verse 18): Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field. But first among the four tribes mentioned in the psalm we have Benjamin: There is little Benjamin, their ruler, or leader; i<\/em>.e., <\/em>ruling or leading the procession. But why thus ruling or leading the festal procession? Perhaps with some reference to the fact that the first judge and the first king had sprung from their tribe. But also, no doubt, because this was the position that its warriors had taken on many a hard-fought field. Though a small tribe, it was famous for its warlike character, and bore out the prediction of <\/strong>Jacob: Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil (Gen 49:27<\/span>).<\/p>\n


I. <\/strong>A noble motto. Lead the way. To be among the first in things that are good is a grand ambition. Emulation is praiseworthy if a man strive lawfully. It is not to be confounded with envy, which seeks to outstrip another from mere jealousy; nor with self-exaltation, which springs from vanity; nor with that meanness which seeks to make ones self great by lowering or debasing another. It is the desire to be in the front rank in what is good; to be zealous and active for the right. After thee, then, O my soul, let others be, in striving to do good. After thee, in helping the oppressed, in succouring the needy. Not holding back, but pressing to the front. After thee, in time of danger and difficulty. Lead the way; join the forlorn hope.<\/p>\n


II. <\/strong>A noble motto, without Gods blessing, is unavailing. Hosea depicts the invading hosts in the midst of Benjamin. The evil day and destruction denounced, is now vividly pictured as actually come. All is confusion, hurry, alarm, because the enemy was in the midst of them. The cornet, an instrument made of horn, was to be blown as an alarm, when the enemy was at hand. The trumpet was especially used for the worship of God. Gibeah and Ramah were cities of Benjamin, on the borders of Ephraim, where the enemy, who had possessed himself of Israel, would burst in upon Judah. (Pusey). Then in this supreme moment of danger and anxiety an endeavour is made to rally the warriors of the tribe; their battle-cry is raised, After thee, O Benjamin. But in vain. The hand of the Lord is against them (verses 9, 10). Without God no effort can be successful. He alone <\/strong>can give the strength. The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich. Without it there is no true prosperity; high aspirations cannot be reached; lofty ideals, great efforts will not avail. Against God who can be successful? Learn–We must have Gods blessing on our efforts, otherwise they are in vain. Therefore, Seek ye the Lord.<\/p>\n


III. <\/strong>A noble motto, when transferred to the cause of sin, becomes doubly disastrous. It is very sad to see splendid opportunities wasted. This is sad. But it <\/strong>is more sad to see noble abilities, precious opportunities, large means used for evil purposes, against God and what is good. To sin is bad enough; but to be a leader and teacher of sin is satanic. The right use of the noble Benjamite motto demands, therefore, the preliminary inquiry in the council chamber of the soul, In what direction am I going? In what things do I desire to be found amongst the first? (J. S. S. Sheilds, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Verse 8<\/span>. Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah<\/B><\/I>] Gibeah and Ramah were cities of Judah, in the tribe of Benjamin.<\/P>

<\/P>

After thee, O Benjamin<\/B><\/I>] An abrupt call of warning. “Benjamin, fly for thy life! The enemy is just behind thee!” This is a prediction of the invasion of the Assyrians, and the captivity of the ten<\/I> tribes.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Blow ye the cornet; ye watchmen, or whoever have the care and custody of these fortified towns, sound the alarm, for the enemy cometh. <\/P>

In Gibeah; a town of Benjamin situate on a hill, built by Asa, 1Ki 15:22<\/span>; made by him a frontier, and likely always garrisoned against the incursion of the ten tribes. <\/P>

And the trumpet; add to the sound of the cornet the trumpet also, which is proper for war, and will be best understood by the people; lest they mistake the meaning of the cornet, which is, say some, a pastoral instrument, proper for shepherds, sound the trumpet. <\/P>

In Ramah; of which there were three, one in Naphtali, and Rama-sophim, and this of Benjamin near Gibeah, and was an inlet into Judah, of great importance, as appears 1Ki 15:17<\/span>,21<\/span>; a town of strength, built on a high hill, and fit to be as a watchtower. Be you upon your guard when the invader is so near. <\/P>

Cry aloud at Beth-aven; as more concerned, cry out with more vehemency, awaken all to prepare for defence; or, howl and lament for the things that are come upon thee, O Beth-aven. The Assyrians march will alarm thy neighbours, but their success against thee will ruin thee utterly. Let thine inhabitants therefore cry and howl. If that Beth-aven situate in the wilderness, this passage foretells the destruction of it by the Assyrians, probably in the beginning of their invasion; if it were Beth-el, it was the chief seat of idolatry, and first or chief in miseries. <\/P>

After thee, O Benjamin: <\/P>

thee referred to Beth-aven speaks thus; after thy cries, when thou hast howled, let Benjamin and Judah too begin theirs, for they shall also fall for their sin. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

8.<\/B> The arrival of the enemy isannounced in the form of an injunction to blow an alarm.<\/I> <\/P>

cornet . . . trumpet<\/B>The”cornet” was made of the curved horn of animals and wasused by shepherds. The “trumpet” was of brass or silver,straight, and used in wars and on solemn occasions. The Hebrew<\/I>is hatzotzerah,<\/I> the sound imitating the trumpet note (Hos 8:1<\/span>;Num 10:2<\/span>; Jer 4:5<\/span>;Joe 2:1<\/span>). <\/P>

Gibeah . . . Ramah<\/B>bothin Benjamin (Isa 10:29<\/span>). <\/P>

Beth-aven<\/B>in Benjamin;not as in Ho 4:15<\/span>; Beth-el,<\/I>but a town east of it (Jos 7:2<\/span>).”Cry aloud,” namely, to raise the alarm. “Benjamin”is put for the whole southern kingdom of Judah (compare Ho5:5<\/span>), being the first part of it which would meet the foeadvancing from the north. “After thee, O Benjamin,” impliesthe position of Beth-aven, behind<\/I> Benjamin, at the borders ofEphraim. When the foe is at Beth-aven, he is at Benjamin’s rear,close upon thee, O Benjamin (Jud5:14<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah<\/strong>,…. As an alarm of war, to give notice that the enemy is at hand, just ready to invade the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and bring destruction upon them; according to the Targum, the words are directed to the prophets,<\/p>\n

“O ye prophets, lift up your voice like a trumpet;”<\/p>\n

to declare to the people of Judah their sins and transgressions, and the punishment that would be inflicted on them for them; or it may be, this is a call of the people to fasting, mounting, and lamentation, as in Joe 2:1<\/span>. Gibeah is the same which is called “Gibeah of Saul”,<\/p>\n

1Sa 11:4<\/span>; it being the birth place of that prince; and which Josephus i calls Gabathsaoule, and interprets it the hill of Saul, and says it was distant from Jerusalem about four miles; though elsewhere k he represents it as but two and a half miles; perhaps in the latter place there is a corruption in the number; for, according to Jerom, it was near Ramah, which was seven miles from Jerusalem; he says it is called also “Gibeah of Benjamin”, 1Sa 13:2<\/span>; because it was in that tribe, as was also Ramah; which, according to Eusebius l, was six miles from Jerusalem; these were near to each other; see Jud 19:13<\/span>; so that the calamity threatened is what respects the two tribes:<\/p>\n

cry aloud [at] Bethaven<\/strong>; the same with Bethel, or a place near unto it, in the tribe of Benjamin, or on the borders of Ephraim; see Ho 4:15<\/span>. According to the above writer m, it lay about twelve miles from Jerusalem; in the way to Sichem; and being upon the borders both of Benjamin and Ephraim, it sometimes belonged to Israel, and sometimes to Judah; see 2Ch 13:19<\/span>; and seeing, as Jerom observes, that Benjamin was at the back of it (for where the tribe of Benjamin ended, not far in the tribe of Ephraim, according to him, was this city built), it therefore very beautifully follows,<\/p>\n

after thee, O Benjamin<\/strong>; that is, either the enemy is after thee, O Benjamin, is just at hand, ready to fall upon thee, and destroy thee, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or rather, after the trumpet is blown in Gibeah and Ramah, cities which belonged to Benjamin, let it he blown, either in Bethaven, on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim; or let it be blown in the tribe of Judah, so that all the twelve tribes may have notice, and prepare for what is coming upon them.<\/p>\n

i De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 1. k Antiqu. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 8. l Apud Reland Palestina Illustrata, l. 3. tom. 2. p. 963. m Apud Reland. ib. p. 637.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The prophet sees in spirit the judgment already falling upon the rebellious nation, and therefore addresses the following appeal to the people. Hos 5:8<\/span>. “Blow ye the horn at Gibeah, the trumpet at Ramah! Raise the cry at Bethaven, Behind thee, Benjamin!” <\/em> The blowing of the shophar <\/em>, a far-sounding horn, or of the trumpet<\/p>\n

(Note: “The sophar<\/em> was a shepherd’s horn, and was made of a carved horn; the tuba<\/em> ( chatsots e rah <\/em>) was made of brass or silver, and sounded either in the time of war or at festivals.” – Jerome.)<\/p>\n

( chatsots e rah <\/em>), was a signal by which the invasion of foes (Hos 8:1<\/span>; Jer 4:5<\/span>; Jer 6:1<\/span>) and other calamities (Joe 2:1<\/span>, cf. Amo 3:6<\/span>) were announced, to give the inhabitants warning of the danger that threatened them. The words therefore imply that foes had invaded the land. Gibeah<\/em> (of Saul; see at Jos 18:28<\/span>) and Ramah<\/em> (of Samuel; see at Jos 18:25<\/span>) were two elevated places on the northern boundary of the tribe of Benjamin, which were well adapted for signals, on account of their lofty situation. The introduction of these particular towns, which did not belong to the tribe of Israel, but to that of Judah, is intended to intimate that the enemy has already conquered the kingdom of the ten tribes, and has advanced to the border of that of Judah. , to make a noise, is to be understood here as relating to the alarm given by the war-signals already mentioned, as in Joe 2:1<\/span>, cf. Num 10:9<\/span>. Bethaven<\/em> is Bethel (Beitin), as in Hos 4:15<\/span>, the seat of the idolatrous worship of the calves; and is to be taken in the sense of (according to Ges. 118, 1). The difficult words, “behind thee, Benjamin,” cannot indicate the situation or attitude of Benjamin, in relation to Bethel or the kingdom of Israel, or show that “the invasion is to be expected to start from Benjamin,” as Simson supposes. For the latter is no more appropriate in this train of thought than a merely geographical or historical notice. The words are taken from the ancient war-song of Deborah (Jdg 5:14<\/span>), but in a different sense from that in which they are used there. There they mean that Benjamin marched behind Ephraim, or joined it in attacking the foe; here, on the contrary, they mean that the foe is coming behind Benjamin – that the judgment announced has already broken out in the rear of Benjamin. There is no necessity to supply “the enemy rises” behind thee, O Benjamin, as Jerome proposes, or “the sword rages,” as Hitzig suggests; but what comes behind Benjamin is implied in the words, “Blow ye the horn,” etc. What these signals announce is coming after Benjamin; there is no necessity, therefore, to supply anything more than “it is,” or “it comes.” The prophet, for example, not only announces in Hos 5:8<\/span> that enemies will invade Israel, but that the hosts by which God will punish His rebellious people have already overflowed the kingdom of Israel, and are now standing upon the border of Judah, to punish this kingdom also for its sins. This is evident from Hos 5:9<\/span>, Hos 5:10<\/span>, which contain the practical explanation of Hos 5:8<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Threatenings of Judgment.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD>

B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 758.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE>

      8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and<\/I> the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at<\/I> Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin.   9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.   10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore<\/I> I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.   11 Ephraim is<\/I> oppressed and<\/I> broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.   12 Therefore will<\/I> I be<\/I> unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.   13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw<\/I> his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.   14 For I will be<\/I> unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even<\/I> I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.<\/I>   15 I will go and<\/I> return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.<\/P>

      Here is, I. A loud alarm sounded, giving notice of judgments coming (v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>): Blow you the cornet in Gibeah<\/I> and in Ramah,<\/I> two cities near together in the confines of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel, Gibeah a frontier-town of the kingdom of Judah, Ramah of Israel; so that the warning is hereby sent into both kingdoms. “Cry aloud at Beth-aven,<\/I> or Bethel, which place seems to be already seized upon by the enemy, and therefore the trumpet is not sounded there, but you hear the outcries of those that shout for mastery, mixed with theirs that are overcome.” Let them cry aloud, “After thee, O Benjamin!<\/I> comes the enemy. The tribe of Ephraim is already vanquished, and the enemy will be upon thy back, O Benjamin! in a little time; thy turn comes next. The cup of trembling shall go round.” The prophet had described God’s controversy with them as a trial at law (ch.<\/I><\/span> iv. 1<\/span>); here he describes it as a trial by battle; and here also when he judges he will overcome.<\/I> Let all therefore prepare to meet their God. He had before spoken of the judgments as certain; here he speaks of them as near; and, when they are apprehended as just at the door, they are very startling and awakening. The blowing of this cornet is explained, v.<\/I><\/span> 9<\/span>. Among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be,<\/I> that which is true<\/I> or certain,<\/I> so the word is. Note, The destruction of impenitent sinners is a thing which shall surely be; it is not mere talk, to frighten them, but it is an irrevocable sentence. And it is a mercy to us that it is made known<\/I> to us, that we have timely warning given us of it, that we may flee from the wrath to come.<\/I> It is the privilege of the tribes of Israel that, as they are told their duty, so they are told their danger, by the oracles of God committed to them.<\/P>

      II. The ground of God’s controversy with them. 1. He has a quarrel with the princes of Judah,<\/I> because they were daring leaders in sin, v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>. They are like those that remove the bound,<\/I> or the ancient land-marks. God has given them his law, to be a fence about his own property; but they have sacrilegiously broken through it, and set it aside; they have encroached even upon God’s rights, have trampled upon the distinctions between good and evil, and the most sacred obligations of reason and equity, thinking, because they were princes, that they might do any thing, Quicquid libet, licet–Their will was a law.<\/I> Or it may be understood of their invading the liberty and property of the subject for the advancing of the prerogative, which was like removing the ancient land-marks. Some have observed that the princes of Judah were more absolute, and assumed a more arbitrary power, than the princes of Israel did; now, for this, God has a controversy with them: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water,<\/I> in great abundance, like the waters of the flood, which were poured upon the giants<\/I> of the old world,<\/I> for the violence which the earth was filled with through them, Gen. vi. 13<\/span>. Note, There are bounds<\/I> which even princes themselves must not remove, bounds both of religion and justice, which they are limited by, and, if they break through them, they must know that there is a God above them that will call them to account for it. 2. He has a quarrel with the people of Ephraim,<\/I> because they were sneaking followers in sin (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>): He willingly walked after the commandment,<\/I> that is, the commandment of Jeroboam and the succeeding kings of Israel, who obliged all their subjects by a law to worship the calves at Dan and Bethel, and never to go up to Jerusalem to worship. This was the commandment;<\/I> it was the law of the land, and backed with reasons of state; and the people not only walked after it in a blind implicit obedience to authority, but they willingly walked after it, from a secret antipathy they had to the worship of idols. Note, An easy compliance with the commandments of men that thwart the commandments of God ripens a people for ruin as much as any thing. And the punishment of the sequacious disobedience (if I may so call it) answers to the sin; for it is for this that Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment,<\/I> has all his civil rights and liberties broken in upon and trodden down; and, (1.) It is just with God that it should be so, that those who betray God’s property should lose their own, that those who subject their consciences to an infallible judge, and an arbitrary power, should have enough of both. (2.) There is a natural tendency in the thing itself towards it. Those<\/I> that willingly walk after the commandment,<\/I> even when it walks contrary to the command of God, will find the commandment an encroaching thing, and that the more power is given it the more it will claim. Note, Nothing gives greater advantage to a mastiff-like tyranny, that is fierce and furious, than a spaniel-like submission, that is fawning and flattering. Thus is Ephraim oppressed and broken in judgment,<\/I> that is, he is wronged under a face and colour of right. Note, It is a sad and sore judgment upon any people to be oppressed under pretence of having justice done them. This explains the threatening v.<\/I><\/span> 9<\/span>, Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke.<\/I> Note, Daring sinners must expect that a day of rebuke will come, and such a day of rebuke as will make them desolate, will deprive them of the comfort of all they have and all they hope for.<\/P>

      III. The different methods that God would take both with Judah and Ephraim, sometimes one method and sometimes the other, and sometimes both together, or rather by which, first the one and then the other, he would advance towards their complete ruin.<\/P>

      1. He would begin with less judgments, which should sometimes work silently and insensibly (v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>): I will be<\/I> (that is, my providences shall be) unto Ephraim as a moth;<\/I> nay (as it might better be supplied), they are unto Ephraim as a moth,<\/I> for it is such a sickness<\/I> as Ephraim now sees, v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>. Note, The judgments of God are sometimes to a sinful people as a moth,<\/I> and as rottenness,<\/I> or as a worm.<\/I> The former signifies the little animals that breed in clothes, the latter those that breed in wood; as these consume the clothes and the wood, so shall the judgments of God consume them. (1.) Silently, so as not to make any noise in the world, nay, so as they themselves shall not be sensible of it; they shall think themselves safe and thriving, but, when they come to look more narrowly into their state, shall find themselves wasting and decaying. (2.) Slowly, and with long delays and intervals, that he may give them space to repent.<\/I> Many a nation, as well as many a person, in the prime of its time, dies of a consumption. (3.) Gradually. God comes upon sinners with less judgments, so to prevent greater, if they will be wise and take warning; he comes upon them step by step, to show he is not willing that they should perish. (4.) The moth breeds in the clothes, and the worm or rottenness in the wood; thus sinners are consumed by a fire of their own kindling.<\/P>

      2. When it appeared that those had not done their work he would come upon them with greater (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>): I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and to the house of Judah as a young lion,<\/I> though Judah is himself, in Jacob’s blessing, a lion’s whelp.<\/I> Lest any should think his power weakened, because he was said to be as a moth<\/I> to them, he says that he will now be as a lion<\/I> to them, not only to frighten them with his roaring, but to pull them to pieces. Note, If less judgments prevail not to do their work, it may be expected that God will send greater. Christ<\/I> is sometimes a lion of the tribe of Judah, here he is a lion against that tribe. See what God will do to a people that are secure in sin: Even I will tear.<\/I> He seems to glory in it, as his prerogative, to be able to destroy,<\/I> as the alone lawgiver,<\/I> Jam. iv. 12<\/I><\/span>. “I, even I,<\/I> will take the work into my own hands; I say it<\/I> that will do it.<\/I>” There is a more immediate work of God in some judgments than in others. I will tear, and go away.<\/I> He will go away, (1.) As not fearing them; he will go away in state, and with a majestic face, as the lion from his prey. (2.) As not helping them. If God tear by afflicting providences, and yet by his graces and comforts stays with us, it is well enough; but our condition is sad indeed if he tear<\/I> and go away,<\/I> if, when he deprives us of our creature comforts, he does himself depart from us. When he goes away he will take away all that is valuable and dear, for, when God goes, all good goes along with him. He will take away, and none shall rescue him,<\/I> as the prey cannot be rescued from the lion, Mic. v. 8<\/span>. Note, None can be delivered out of the hands of God’s justice but those that are delivered into the hands of his grace. It is in vain for a man to strive with his Maker.<\/P>

      IV. The different effects of those different methods. 1. When God contended with them by less judgments they neglected him, and sought to creatures for relief, but sought in vain, v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>. When God was to them as a moth,<\/I> and as rottenness,<\/I> they perceived their sickness<\/I> and their wound;<\/I> after a while they found themselves going down the hill, and that they were behind–hand in their affairs, their estate was sensibly decaying, and then they sent to the Assyrian,<\/I> to come in to their assistance, made their court to king Jareb, which some think, was one of the names of Pul, or Tiglathpileser, kings of Assyria, to whom both Israel and Judah applied for relief in their distress, hoping by an alliance with them to repair and re-establish their declining interests. Note, Carnal hearts, in time of trouble, see their sickness and see their wound, but do not see the sin that is the cause of it, nor will be brought to acknowledge that, no, nor to acknowledge the hand of God, his mighty hand,<\/I> much less his righteous hand, in their trouble; and therefore, instead of going the next way to the Creator, who could relieve them, they take a great deal of pains to go about to creatures, who can do them no service. Those who repent not that they have offended God by their sins are loth to be beholden to him in their afflictions, but would rather seek relief any where than with him. And what is the consequence? Yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.<\/I> Note, Those who neglect God, and seek to creatures for help, will certainly be disappointed; those who depend upon them for support will find them, not foundations,<\/I> but broken reeds;<\/I> those who depend upon them for supply will find them, not fountains,<\/I> but broken cisterns;<\/I> those who depend upon them for comfort and a cure will find them miserable comforters,<\/I> and physicians of no value.<\/I> The kings of Assyria, whom Judah and Israel sought unto, distressed them<\/I> and helped them not,<\/I>2Ch 28:16<\/span>; 2Ch 28:28<\/span>. Some make king Jareb<\/I> to signify the great, potent,<\/I> or magnificent king,<\/I> for they built much upon his power; others the king that will plead,<\/I> or should plead,<\/I> for they built much upon his wisdom and eloquence, and in his interesting himself in their affairs. They had sent him a present<\/I> (ch.<\/I><\/span> x. 6<\/span>), a good fee, and, having so retained him of counsel for them, they doubted not of his fidelity to them; but he deceived them, as an arm of flesh does those that trust in it, Jer 17:5<\/span>; Jer 17:6<\/span>. 2. When, to convince them of their folly, God brought greater judgments upon them, then they would at length be forced to apply to him, v.<\/I><\/span> 15<\/span>. When he has torn<\/I> as a lion,<\/I> (1.) He will leave them: I will go and return to my place,<\/I> to heaven, or to the mercy-seat, the throne of grace, which is his glory. When God punishes sinners he comes out of his place<\/I> (Isa. xxvi. 21<\/span>); but, when he designs them favour, he returns to his place,<\/I> where he waits to be gracious,<\/I> upon their submission. Or he will return to his place<\/I> when he has corrected them, as not regarding them, hiding his face from them, and not taking notice of their troubles or prayers; and this for their further humiliation, till they are qualified in some measure for the returns of his favour. (2.) He will at length work upon them, and bring them home to himself, by their afflictions, which is the thing he waits for; and then he will no longer withdraw from them. Two things are here mentioned as instances of their return:– [1.] Their penitent confession of sin: Till they acknowledge their offence;<\/I> marg. Till they be guilty,<\/I> that is, till they be sensible of their guilt, and be brought to own it, and humble themselves before God for it. Note, When men begin to complain more of their sins than of their afflictions then there begins to be some hope of them; and this is that which God requires of us, when we are under his correcting hand, that we own ourselves in a fault and justly corrected. [2.] Their humble petition for the favour of God: Till they seek my face,<\/I> which, it may be expected, they will do when they are brought to the last extremity, and they have tried other helpers in vain. In their affliction they will seek me early,<\/I> that is, diligently and earnestly, and with great importunity; and if they seek him thus, and be sincere in it, though it might be called seeking him late, because it was long ere they were brought to it, yet it is not too late, nay, he is pleased to call it seeking him early, so willing is he to make the best of true penitents in their return to him. Note, When we are under the convictions of sin, and the corrections of the rod, our business is to seek God’s face; we must desire the knowledge of him, and an acquaintance with him, that he may manifest himself to us, and for us, in token of his being at peace with us. And it may reasonably be expected that affliction will bring those to God that had long gone astray from him, and kept at a distance. Therefore<\/I> God for a time turns away from us, that he may turn us to himself, and then return to us. Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray.<\/I><\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Prophet speaks here more emphatically, and there is in these words a certain lively representation; for the Prophet assumes here the character of a herald, or he introduces heralds who declare and proclaim war. The truth itself ought indeed to storm not only our ears, but also our hearts, and be more powerful than any trumpet: but we yet see how unconcerned we are. Hence the Lord is constrained here to clothe his servant with the character of a herald, or at least he bids his servant to send forth heralds to proclaim war everywhere throughout the whole kingdom of Israel. This was not, properly speaking, the office of a Prophet; but we see that Ezekiel was ordered by the Lord to besiege Jerusalem for a time, — and why? Because his whole teaching, after the Jews had been a thousand times threatened, became frigid: God then added visions, which more effectually roused torpid men. So also does Hosea in this place, Shout with the trumpet in Gibeah, blow the cornet in Ramah, and sound the horn in Beth-aven; for God, as we have said, is pursuing Israel, and will not suffer them to rest; so that the Israelites might know that God threatens not in vain, that his reproofs are not bugbears, but that he deals in earnest when he reproves the ungodly, and that execution, as they say, will follow what he teaches. In the same manner does Paul also say, <\/p>\n

‘<\/p>\n

Vengeance is prepared by us, and is in readiness against all those who extol themselves against the greatness of Christ, how great soever they may be,’ (2Co 10:5<\/span>.) <\/p>\n

As, then, the ungodly are wont to make this objection, that the Prophets preach nothing but words, Hosea here testifies that he did not in vain terrify men, but that the effect, as they say, would immediately follow, unless they reconciled themselves to God. <\/p>\n

Now, as we perceive the Prophet’s purpose, let us take care to receive by faith that peace which the Lord daily proclaims to us by his messengers. For what is the Gospel but what Paul declares it to be? <\/p>\n

‘<\/p>\n

We discharge the office of ambassadors,’ he says, ‘for Christ, that ye may be reconciled to God, and in Christ’s name we exhort you to return into favor with God,’ (2Co 5:20<\/span>.) <\/p>\n

We then see that all the ministers of the Gospel are God’s heralds, who invite us to peace, and promise that God is ready to grant us pardon, if with the heart we seek him. But if we receive not this message and this embassy, there will remain for us the dreadful judgment, of which the Prophet now speaks, and our impiety will procure for us this awful doom. As though God then were now declaring war against all the ungodly and the despisers of his grace, the Prophet says that they shall find that God is armed for vengeance. <\/p>\n

Moreover, the Prophet doubtless has here mentioned Gibeah, Ramah, and “Beth-aven”, because in these places great assemblies usually met; and it may be also that they were strong fortresses. Since then the Israelites thought themselves unconquerable, because they had invincible strongholds against their enemies, the Prophet here expressly declares war against them. Everywhere then sound ye the trumpet, or blow the horn, or blow the cornet, especially in the chief places of the kingdom. <\/p>\n

After thee, O Benjamin. Benjamin is here to be taken, by a figure of speech, for the whole of Israel, because he was a brother of Joseph by the same mother: the tribe of Benjamin is therefore everywhere joined with Ephraim. It is at the same time certain, that the Prophet confines not here his address to one tribe, but includes, under one tribe or one part, the whole kingdom of Israel. It follows — <\/p>\n

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CRITICAL NOTES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Hos. 5:8<\/span><\/strong>. The evil denounced is vividly described as actually come. <\/p>\n

Hos. 5:9<\/span><\/strong>. Shall surely be]<\/strong> Lit. established or well grounded in Gods purpose. On lofty summits the invasion of the enemy is announced, Jud. is menaced, and Isa. is occupied, destruction is sure and permanent. The kingdom shall be overcome and for ever laid waste. <\/p>\n

Hos. 5:10<\/span><\/strong>. Bound]<\/strong> Removers of land-marks were to be cursed (Deu. 19:14<\/span>; Deu. 27:17<\/span>). Princes of Jud. had removed the boundaries of truth between Jehovah and Baal, the worship of God and idolatry. If he who removes his neighbours boundary is cursed, how much more he who removes the border of his God [Hengsten<\/em>.]. Gods anger would fall upon them like water in full stream (Psa. 69:25<\/span>; Jer. 10:25<\/span>). <\/p>\n

Hos. 5:11<\/span><\/strong>. Oppressed]<\/strong> with heavy calamity. Broken]<\/strong> Crushed in contest with God. Command.]<\/strong> The statutes of Jeroboam and Omri (1Ki. 12:28<\/span>; Mic. 6:16<\/span>). <\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n

AN EARNEST MINISTRY THE WANT OF THE TIMES.Hos. 5:8-11<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The prophet is now commanded to warn the peopleto sound the horn, and stand upon the most prominent places on the borders of Benjamin. The judgment is certain; the enemy is near, and the nation must be roused from its slumbers. With intense feeling and earnestness the alarm is given. Hence the title of our subject borrowed from Angell James.<\/p>\n

I. The nature of an earnest ministry<\/strong>. Life is earnest and happy only in the degree in which it is consecrated to action. Action and enjoyment are contingent upon each other. When we are unfit for work we are incapable of pleasure and success. Hence the advice, Be in earnest. Earnestness in the Christian ministry is not mere activity, noise, and bustle. It is the pursuit of a certain object, and the determination to accomplish it; an endeavour to realize our aspirations. This one thing I do. <\/p>\n

1. It is specific in design<\/em>. One thing filled and fired the mind of Hosea. He saw the danger, and longed to deliver his people from it. Amid many inferior designs, the preacher has one chiefly in view. His mind is not intently employed nor his heart deeply engaged on a multiplicity of objects. He has not energy and time thus to divide. He has selected his object, made up his mind, and cannot be driven from it. His sermons are preached and his efforts directed to the conversion of sinners. When a few friends stood round the bed of Dr Beecher, one put the question, Dr B., you know a great many things, tell us which is the greatest of all things. In a moment he brightened up and replied, It is not theology, it is not controversy, but it is to save souls. No earnest minister will be satisfied without this. Applause, honour, and position sink into insignificance. He cries out, My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you. <\/p>\n

2. It is enthusiastic in feeling<\/em>. O Benjamin, cried the prophet. The heart yearns when thought is enkindled to a high degree. The abstractions of the intellect kindle the affections of the heart. Where there is no feeling, there can be no fervour of spirit. We want men with burning hearts, said a heathen to a missionary. Ministers are the best orators when they feel. The spring of power is within, and the life that quickens dwells in the soul. Feeble preachers result from feeble Christians. There is often cold orthodoxy without fire. The soul is not poured into duty, and all is routine and form. The wildest enthusiasm is more rational than indifference, says Paley. It is said of Baxter when he preached, you might find his very spirit drenched therein. Noise and display may attract attention, just as Eastern mourners wailing for the dead stir the sympathies of the multitude. But the man whose soul is profoundly moved is pressed in spirit and often of silent tears. He speaks in words that burn and thoughts that breathe. O that I was all heart and soul and spirit, said Rowland Hill, to tell the glorious gospel of Christ to perishing multitudes. <\/p>\n

3. It is conducted under Divine guidance<\/em>. We all feel the need of direction in the choice of a sphere and the discharge of duty. But in the ordinary and the special work, in the cottage and in the pulpit, the minister must seek Divine aid. In the study of the word and the discovery of truth: in matter, manner, and results, our sufficiency must come from God. God directed the prophet to speak. The Spirit guided the apostles to persons and places, and in public and private efforts the hand of the Lord was with them. We must not only recognize, but honour the Holy Spirit by seeking his direction and speaking under his inspiration. If Pericles never ascended the rostrum without imploring a blessing from the gods, does he not condemn many Christian ministers? I forgot explicitly and expressly, when I began, to crave help from God, and the chariot-wheels drove accordingly. Lord, forgive my omissions, and keep me in the way of duty, wrote Philip Henry. In a large town or a country village, in the beginning and at the end of our ministry, we must stand and wait, eager for work<\/p>\n

Ready to run at his command;
At his command stand still.<\/p>\n

4. It is characterized by constant activity<\/em>. Work is the law of our being, the living principle that carries men and nations onward. Nothing but constant toil maintains their authority and extends their dominion. We must work (Laboremus<\/em>), said the Emperor Severus on his death-bed at York, where he had been carried on a litter from the foot of the Grampians. A fervent spirit will prompt to active life. Hearty relish for our work, and a sense of its importance, will inspire with ardour. The nation requires a living ministry, earnest men, men that will pray and labour, watch and weep for souls. Oh that I were a flame of fire in my Masters cause, cried Brainerd.<\/p>\n

Wake, ere the earthly charm unnerve thee quite,
And be thy thoughts to work Divine addrest:
Do something, do it soonwith all thy might!
An angels wing would droop if long at rest,
And God himself inactive were no longer blest.<\/p>\n

III. The necessity of an earnest ministry<\/strong>. Ephraim was not merely to be chastised, wasted by famine, but destroyed; to become a desolation, an entire waste. When Judah had removed the bounds, broken through all restraints human and Divine, then destruction like a flood would overwhelm the land. Yet they were careless and insensible to danger. Men now are asleep in sin, heedless of Divine warning. Ministers must cry aloud and spare not. I love those that thunder out the word, said Whitfield. The Christian world is in a deep sleep. Nothing but a loud voice can awaken them out of it. <\/p>\n

1. Earnestness is demanded by the spiritual condition of men<\/em>. Ephraim shall be desolate; I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. God rebuked, judgments were threatened, but they were impenitent and presumptuous. <\/p>\n

(1) The danger is real<\/em>. It is not imaginative, not an alarm to frighten. Sin and punishment, heaven and hell, are awful realities. The truth must be told. Without Christ the sinner cannot escapewill be lost, eternally lost. <\/p>\n

(2) The danger is near<\/em>: Not like an enemy afar off, but on the borders, in the land, spreading desolation on every hand. Sin enters the heart, exposes to present danger and eternal death. <\/p>\n

(3) The danger is overwhelming<\/em>. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, crushed by his own folly and oppressed by captivity. Danger within and without, nothing but danger! Who can withstand when God pours out his wrath like a deep and irresistible flood? (a<\/em>) It was severe<\/em>a flood. (b<\/em>) It was fixed<\/em>which shall surely be. (c<\/em>) It was perpetual<\/em>the desolation was for ever, the grandeur of the nation was never restored. Flee from the wrath to come. <\/p>\n

2. Earnestness is demanded by the activity of the age<\/em>. The features of the age are peculiar and not a little hostile to the gospel, notwithstanding great revivals. Earnestness marks every department of life. Restlessness and energy are found in trade and commerce, science and literature. Rationalism, Ritualism, and Scepticism are seen in battle arrayed. We must meet this activity, which is the boast, before it becomes the bane, of the age; direct it to its proper ends; and turn its turbid currents into streams of life. What but an earnest ministry can intone society, rouse and help Gods people to bear up against Mammon and the selfish spirit of the day? Energy in politics, education, and philanthropy necessitate deeper feeling in the preacher. Tame and spiritless sermons, common-place performances on Sunday, will not break the spell of six days excitement and influence. We require a Whitfield and a Wesley, sons of thunder, the spirit of Luther, to rebuke this material and utilitarian age. Nothing is more indecent, says Baxter, than a dead preacher speaking to dead sinners the living truth of the living God. The earnestness of this holy man was exemplified in his own lines<\/p>\n

Ill preach as though I neer should preach again;
And as a dying man to dying men!<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES<\/em><\/p>\n

Hos. 5:9<\/span>. I. Days of rebuke<\/em>. <\/p>\n

1. Days of solemn warning;
2. Days of grievous affliction;
3. Days of actual calamities, to individuals and families, churches and nations. II. Days of rebuke unheeded<\/em>. Followed by<\/p>\n

1. Severer threatening
2. Awful destruction. The scattered sons of Israel were made preachers to the nations around, Divine warnings to all people. Or, I. The cause of rebuke<\/em>iniquity (Hos. 5:5<\/span>). God pronounced sentence upon the nation; individuals contribute to national guilt, and must feel their responsibility. God is angry with sin, and seeks to purge his people from it, to take away the evils, not the comforts of life; the dross, not the gold. II. The design of rebuke<\/em>. Trials are not penal afflictions to Gods people, but fatherly corrections, friendly rebukes. III. The effect of rebuke<\/em>desolate in the day of rebuke. Ephraim was not restored. The wicked are consumed, utterly destroyed, when rebuked in wrath and hot displeasure. The believer is chastened, but not destroyed; treated not as an enemy, but as an erring child. God may rebuke when he is angry, and yet restrain in his anger; but to rebuke in his anger, is to let loose the reins to his anger, and to make it outrun his mercy. Then what a miserable case to be in! to have his anger assault me and not his mercy relieve me.<\/p>\n

Hos. 5:10<\/span>. Bounds<\/em>. The land-mark was a memorial of antiquity and the rights of man (Pro. 22:28<\/span>). Its removal was forbidden as selfish and unjust invasion of property (Deu. 19:4<\/span>); irreverence for well-established principles; love for rash innovation; branded with a curse (Deu. 27:17<\/span>); and regarded as the cause of national provocation. The heathen admitted the sanctity of land-marks, and honoured them as gods, without which every field would be subject to contention. God himself has set bounds in the physical and moral world; locating each nation; restraining each part; and governing the whole. Hence removal of bounds is<\/p>\n

1. Encroachment upon Divine authority;
2. Destruction of moral distinctions; <\/p>\n

3. Exposure to moral guilt. Some remove, bounds and set up others. Israel removed the law of God and set up their own will (Hos. 5:11<\/span>). Rome takes away Scripture and sets up tradition. Philosophy rejects the gospel and substitutes science. The application must not be absolute and universal. We are not to be too conservative in politics and religion, nor yet too rash with innovations; but seek the mean between blind reverence for antiquity and love of novelties.<\/p>\n

Hos. 5:11<\/span>. NoticeI. The object of pursuitthe commandment<\/em>. An object sinful, ensnaring, and dangerous. II. The method of pursuitwillingly<\/em>. A method easy to comply with, fashionable, and upheld by State authority. III. The results of pursuitoppressed<\/em> from without, broken in judgment<\/em>. from within, (a<\/em>) A natural result; (b<\/em>) A just result. Ephraim preferred mans commands and laws to Gods; they obeyed man and set God at nought, therefore they should suffer at mans hands, who, while he equally neglected Gods will, enforced his own. For this sin God judged them justly, even through the unjust judgment of man. God mostly punishes, thro their own choice, those who choose against his. The Jews said, We have no king but Csar, and Csar destroyed them [Pusey<\/em>].<\/p>\n

The commandment of men, though enforced by authority, terror, and danger, is no excuse for sin. Sin does not cease to be voluntary, inexcusable, and aggravating on that account. Oppressors corrupt the worship of God, flatter and carry away the people, till their own ends be accomplished, but they will crush them in the long run. Jeroboam carried on the rent under pretence of ridding the people of great oppressions, and invented a way of religion pretending the peoples ease, yet by him and his successors Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment;<\/em> not only in the righteous judgment of God, but in the administration of justice they were crushed by corrupt rulers, who were great bribers (ch. Hos. 4:18<\/span>) [Hutcheson<\/em>].<\/p>\n

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Hos. 5:8-11<\/span>. Brainerd had such intense compassion for souls, and was so earnest for their salvation, that he said, I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls to Christ. While I was asleep I dreamed of these things, and when I awoke the first thing I thought of was this great work. All my desire was for the conversion of the heathen, and all my hope was in God. It is amazing what difference heat makes on both mental and material objects. The only difference between ice and steam is, that the one has less and the other more heat. Now earnestness converts ordinary qualities into powerful and elastic forces. It enhances everything it touches, turns bricks to marble, and copper into gold. It changes liking into love, joy into ecstasy, and expectation into hope. It stamps on every virtue its currency, whether in heaven or in earth. Love, pity, kindness are all cold and worthless unless they bear the impress of a fervent spirit [Dulce Domum<\/em>].<\/p>\n

Hos. 5:11-14<\/span>. Vice is sometimes punished instantly and sometimes gradually. This seems to be the method of Divine procedure. We have slow and rapid consumption in the bodies of men. We have the gradual decay and the sudden overthrow of empires, the seed-time of evil and the harvest of judgment. The changes of circumstances are so various and frequent, so great and sudden, that the same person, the same people, afford an example of the greatest prosperity and the greatest misery. Henry the Fourth of France was despatched by a sacrilegious hand in his carriage, in the midst of popular applause and the triumphs of peace. Like Herod, the grandson of Herod the Great, he found but one step between adoration and oblivion. The ruin which God inflicts upon the impenitent and presumptuous sinners is often beyond precedent most sudden and most fearful. What folly, then, to trust in man, when God can easily destroy him!<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

ISRAELS INGRATITUDEREBELLION AND TRANSGRESSION<\/p>\n

TEXT: Hos. 5:8-15<\/span><\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: sound an alarm at Beth-aven, behind thee, O Benjamin.<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.<\/p>\n

11<\/p>\n

Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; because he was content to walk after mans command.<\/p>\n

12<\/p>\n

Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.<\/p>\n

13.<\/p>\n

When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly.<\/p>\n

QUERIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

a.<\/p>\n

Why is Benjamin to sound an alarm behind himself?<\/p>\n

b.<\/p>\n

How are the princes of Judah like those who remove landmarks?<\/p>\n

c.<\/p>\n

Who is king Jareb?<\/p>\n

PARAPHRASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sound the invasion alarm on the far-sounding horn and let it ring from the lofty citadels of Gibeah and Ramah. Sound the warning, O Benjamin, that the judgment announced by God is knocking already on your rear door. The northern kingdom has been completely destroyed, and made desolate. The princes of Judah, by indulging in idolatry, have transgressed the spiritual boundaries God made, and have become like those who remove the land-marks of fields. Therefore, My wrath will be like a downpour, a cloudburst, and a deluge, upon these people. The northern kingdom is conquered and oppressed because it fulfilled its unholy desire to keep the commandment of Jeroboam to worship the idols he set up for it. On account of this the destruction prophesied in My word, which is intended to call Israel and Judah to repentance, is going to slowly, but surely, be fulfilled and these two nations will be destroyed because they have not repented but hardened their hearts against the purpose of this word. When these two nations became aware of their predicament, instead of taking heed to My word and trusting in Me, they attempted to get help from that Warrior the king of Assyria who is, in reality, their enemy! But he will be of no help to either of you when I, Jehovah, act to carry out promises of judgment, I will be like the king of beasts, the lion, toward Israel and Judah. I will attack them and tear them asunder and there will be none to stop Me. I will come against them when it pleases Me and I will withdraw when it pleases Me; I will carry them away into captivity when it pleases Me and no one will stop Me! I am going to withdraw My protecting, sustaining Presence from them until they come with dependence once again seeking Me. I know that the affliction they suffer in captivity is the only thing that will move them to earnestly seek Me,<\/p>\n

SUMMARY<\/strong><\/p>\n

First Israel, then Judah, because they have broken spiritual boundaries of Gods law, must be afflicted in captivity in order that they will repent and seek Gods face.<\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hos. 5:8<\/span> BLOW YE THE CORNET IN GIBEAH . . . AT BETH-AVEN; BEHIND THEE . . . BENJAMIN, The cornet here is the shophar, far-sounding horn used to warn of war (cf. Joe. 2:1<\/span>; Amo. 3:6<\/span>). It signaled invasion by enemies or attack by foes. Gibeah and Ramah were cities, about 3 and 8 miles north of Jerusalem, situated on higher terrain than Jerusalem and thus well adapted for sounding such signals to the countryside. Furthermore, since they are near the southern broders of the northern kingdom, Israel, we may infer that the enemy (Assyria) has already conquered the northern kingdom or is at least pressing upon its border. The phrase, behind thee, O Benjamin, means that Assyria is knocking on the rear doors of Benjamin (northern most territory of Judah). The judgment of God (to be administered through Assyriacf. Isaiah 10<\/span>) has already broken out in the rear of Benjamin.<\/p>\n

Hos. 5:9-10<\/span> EPHRAIM SHALL BECOME A DESOLATION . . . THE PRINCES OF JUDAH ARE LIKE THEM THAT REMOVE THE LANDMARK . . . The Hebrew word which is here translated desolation is the same word found in Deu. 28:59<\/span> where it is translated afflictions severe and lasting . . . Some commentators say the word means literally, lasting, enduring. Others (Lange, esp.) say it means . . . true, what will surely be fulfilled, certain. Gods judgment upon Israel is certain and complete. The kingdom of Israel will disappear forever. And this sentence of God has been abundantly advertised and preached by one prophet of God after another.<\/p>\n

The cause for this severe and lasting judgment upon both Israel and Judah, is that Judah, like Israel before her, is ruled by princes and kings who are like those who remove the landmark . . . For the Mosaic legislation against removing landmarks see Deu. 27:17<\/span>. God set the boundaries of the tribes in the land of promisethey were not to be moved. But the princes of Judah are like those who remove boundaries. Evidently the princes of Judah were violating the spiritual, moral boundaries of Gods law. By going after idols (like Israel had) they transgressed, broke and set-aside the boundaries or marks of spiritual relationship to Jehovah-God. There is no saving relationship or covenant relationship when Gods revealed boundaries are set aside. Those today who would set aside the boundaries of New Testament covenant relationship are as guilty as the princes of Judah. There is salvation in none other . . . (Act. 4:12<\/span>); . . . no one comes unto the Father except through Jesus Christ (Joh. 14:6<\/span>); . . . whoever abides not in the doctrine of Christ but goes beyond it . . . (2Jn. 1:9-10<\/span>) is a boundry-breaker. Any attempt to syncretize Christianity with all the other isms of the world religions, or any attempt to built an ecumenical church by taking away the revealed and absolute boundaries of God is judged by God! God will empty the bowls of His wrath upon such boundary-breakersHe will pour out his wrath like a cloudburst and they will be drowned in the flood of His vengeance.<\/p>\n

Hos. 5:11-12<\/span> EPHRAIM IS OPPRESSED . . . BECAUSE HE WAS CONTENT TO WALK AFTER MANS COMMAND . . . I AM TO EPHRAIM AS A MOTH . . . TO JUDAH . . . AS ROTTENNESS. Moth and rottenness are symbols of destroying influences. Those influences are, of course, the absolute Promises of God which pronounce either blessing or curse depending upon the free-willed response of His creatures. If man responds to the Word of God by obedience and faith, God becomes to man a blessing, a glory, a hope; but if man responds to the warnings of God by rebellion, God becomes to man a destroyer, avenger and judge. So, God directs the oppression and destruction of Israel and Judah because they were content to fulfill their desires and worship the idols Jeroboam and his successors commanded should be worshipped. The people exchanged the truth of God for the commandment of lying kings and priests, and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator. They taught for the commandments of God the traditions of men (cf. Isa. 29:13<\/span>; Mat. 15:8-9<\/span>). How shall peoples and nations today escape the judgment of God when their leaders lead them to be content to walk after mans commandment and set aside the boundaries of God!?<\/p>\n

Hos. 5:13<\/span> WHEN EPHRAIM SAW HIS SICKNESS . . . THEN WENT EPHRAIM TO ASSYRIA . . . Both Israel and Judah are denounced for making alliances with Assyria. It is not so much that alliances or agreements among nations, per se, are displeasing to God, but the motive which prompts them. In the case of Israel and Judah the alliances were an affront to God because they were motivated by an almost complete rejection of Him. Israel and Judah, having enjoyed special revelation, privilege, protection and sustenance from God, now spurned and haughtily disregarded any notion of dependence upon Jehovah. They persuaded themselves that protection, economic prosperity and cultural development could not be found by international cooperation in commerce, politics and, most ruinous of all, religion. See Special Study Five of this commentary for a history of the politics of the divided kingdoms.<\/p>\n

When any nation exchanges trust in God for trust in man-made treaties, it only exhibits its ignorance and foolhardiness. In the first place, Gods word condemns such misplaced trust (cf. Psa. 118:8-9<\/span>; Hos. 7:11<\/span>; Psa. 146:3<\/span>; Pro. 14:34<\/span>, etc.). In the second place, history proves that international treaties are hardly worth the paper they are written uponand they will always be that way because of the unregenerate hearts of world leaders! General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur, a spiritually-minded man, perhaps the greatest American (both soldier and statesman) who ever lived, said, in his address before joint session of Congress, April 19, 1951:<\/p>\n

Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Various methods through the ages have been attempted to devise an international process to prevent or settle disputes between nations. From the very start, workable methods were found insofar as individual citizens were concerned; but the mechanics of an instrumentality of larger international scope have never been successful. Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. The utter destructiveness of war now blots out this alternative. We have had our last chance. If we will not devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at the door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past 2,000 years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.<\/p>\n

But once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. Wars very object is victorynot prolonged indecision. In war, indeed, there can be no substitute for victory. (emphasis our).<\/p>\n

This same God-fearing man, who served for over half a century, through three major world conflicts and scores of minor ones, who displayed a statesmanship as great as any the world has ever known in rebuilding the nation of Japan, allowed himself to be guided by this philosophy: . . . men may be destroyed by what they have, and what they know, but they may be saved by what they are . . .<\/p>\n

America, so fond of boasting of her economic and military strengththe greatest, most powerful nation on earth, needs to heed the word of God and learn from MacArthur, a great student of history, that greatness comes, not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord (Zec. 4:6<\/span>).<\/p>\n

The word Jareb means literally, contender and was probably an epithet devised by Hosea to denote the warrior-like nature of the king of Assyria (see our Paraphrase).<\/p>\n

Hos. 5:14-15<\/span> . . . I WILL BE UNTO EPHRAIM AS A LION . . . I WILL GO AND RETURN TO MY PLACE, TILL THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR OFFENCE, AND SEEK MY FACE . . . The figure of God behaving like a lion toward Israel is to depict His ferocity and invincibility. God will be irresistiblelike the king of beasts. God rules the universe with an invincible hand. He goes and comes as He pleasesand there are none to gainsay Him or stop Him! He is preparing to carry both Israel and Judah into captivity and all the alliances in the world will not stop Him, (cf. Deu. 32:39<\/span>; Hos. 13:7-11<\/span>, etc.).<\/p>\n

God is withdrawing His Presence (Shekinah-glory), His protecting, sustaining Presence, from the covenant people. In so doing it is His purpose to discipline them into a humble, penitent, faithful dependence upon Himself. Such action by God always has as its end His perfect love and blessing, in restoring man to his proper relation to Godof sweet communion, fellowship, dominion and glory (cf. Heb. 2:1-18<\/span>; Heb. 12:1-29<\/span>; Heb. 10:32-39<\/span>; 2Co. 1:3-11<\/span>; 2Co. 4:16<\/span> to 2Co. 5:21<\/span>, etc.).<\/p>\n

The prophet Ezekiel pictured the Presence of God departing from Judah, In Ezekiel chapters 810 we see God preparing to forsake the Temple because of the abominations being practiced there, Then, in Eze. 11:22-25<\/span>, God forsakes the Temple, not to return until the Messianic kingdom (the church) is depicted in Ezekiel, chapters 4048. Ichabod means the glory has departed from Israel (cf. 1Sa. 4:21<\/span>) and this might be the name emblazoned over the gates of Samaria, Jerusalem and the Temple in the days of Hosea. The condition upon which God promises His return is acknowledge your offence, and seek my face, and the method by which God plans to bring about this condition is in their affliction they will seek me earnestly. So, Christian, Count it all joy . . . when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. (Jas. 1:2<\/span>; Jas. 1:12<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

QUIZ<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

What does the far-sounding horn signal? Why warn Judah?<\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

How were the princes of Judah breaking Gods boundaries?<\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

In what way was Israel content to walk after mans command?<\/p>\n

4.<\/p>\n

What warning did Hosea give Israel and Judah about international alliances?<\/p>\n

5.<\/p>\n

What have great leaders of our own country said about alliances?<\/p>\n

6.<\/p>\n

How is God like a lion in His actions toward Israel and Judah?<\/p>\n

7.<\/p>\n

When did God withdraw from Israel? When did His Presence return?<\/p>\n

8.<\/p>\n

What are the conditions and what is the method God uses to restore His Presence?<\/p>\n

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

(8) Cornet<\/strong> . . . trumpet.<\/strong>The two kinds of trumpet mentioned here are the cornet,<\/em> made like the bent horn of an animal, and the long, straight metallic trumpet,<\/em> used for sounding an alarm and convoking the congregation (Num. 10:2<\/span>). Gibeah and Ramah were lofty hills on the northern boundary of Benjamin. From the parallel passage, Isa. 10:29<\/span>, we conclude that Gibeah lay between Jerusalem and Ramah (the modern Er Ram<\/em>),<\/em> not far from the road which passes in a northern direction from Jerusalem to Mount Ephraim. A lofty hill, which satisfies these conditions (Tel el Ful<\/em>),<\/em> has been discovered by Robinson, where there is a prospect over almost the whole tribal region of Benjamin, and with this spot Gibeah is probably to be identified. Hosea does not mention the metropolis, but he reveals the imminent peril of Jerusalem if these high towers, within sight of her defenders, were giving the alarm at the approach of the Assyrian king.<\/p>\n

After thee<\/strong> is obscure. Translate, He <\/em>(the enemy<\/em>) is behind thee, O Benjamin,<\/em> the tribe in which the metropolis was situated. This combined disaster for both Israel and Judah is reiterated in a variety of ways. The tribes of Israel are in parallelism with Ephraim.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The time of mercy is past, Hos 5:8-15<\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The hopelessness of the situation is manifest: Jehovah can show mercy no longer, judgment is inevitable; it is about to break upon the sinful nations. The prophet, summons them to prepare for it, and declares that Assyria and Egypt can offer no effective help; there can be no salvation until the people with heartfelt repentance return to Jehovah.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

8<\/strong>. <\/strong> The danger signal is to be given. Cornet <\/strong> (or, horn<\/em>) trumpet <\/strong> The two words are synonymous here; ordinarily they designate two different instruments. The former is the curved <\/em> horn of a cow or ram which seems to have been used in early Israel chiefly, if not exclusively, for secular purposes: to give signals in war, to warn of approaching danger, to announce important public events, etc. When its sound was heard everyone was expected to drop work and take his place in the ranks. In later times it appears to have been used also for sacred purposes. The trumpet <\/em> is long and straight, made of metal; it is rarely mentioned as being used for secular purposes, and seems to have been primarily a sacred instrument; it is pictured on Jewish coins, and representations of it were placed on the Arch of Titus. (Compare article “Trumpet” in Hastings’s Dictionary of the Bible, <\/em> and the richly illustrated article “Music” in the Encyclopaedia Biblica.<\/em>) <\/p>\n

Gibeah Ramah Beth-aven <\/strong> On the last see Hos 4:15<\/span>. As a religious center, to which people crowded in great numbers, Beth-el would be a most appropriate place in which to sound the warning. The two other places, as their names indicate Gibeah, hill; <\/em> Ramah, height <\/em> were situated on elevations, and for this reason were well adapted for giving signals. The former is Gibeah of Benjamin or of Saul (1Sa 13:2<\/span>; 1Sa 11:4<\/span>), now Tel-el-Ful; <\/em> the latter, a little to the north, was the home of Samuel (1Sa 15:34<\/span>), now er-Ram. <\/em> His summons to sound the alarm would seem to indicate that the prophet expected a foreign invasion, but the literal interpretation must not be pressed. <\/p>\n

After thee, O Benjamin <\/strong> As in Jdg 5:14<\/span>, where LXX. reads a different text, G.A. Smith suggests that this may have been an ancient battle cry of Benjamin, and he renders 8b, “Raise the slogan, Beth-aven: ‘After thee, Benjamin!’” R.V., by rendering “behind thee,” seems to imply another conception, that of a call of warning to Benjamin: “The enemy is already behind thee.” LXX. reads, “Let Benjamin tremble,” which gives excellent sense and is probably original.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

‘Blow you the ram’s horn in Gibeah,<\/p>\n

And the trumpet in Ramah,<\/p>\n

Sound an alarm at Beth-aven.<\/p>\n

Behind you, O Benjamin.’<\/p>\n

The picture is vivid. The call is to the watchmen on the watchtowers to sound the alarm at the sight of invading armies, using both ram’s horn and metal trumpet, and is made to the area of Benjamin (in which Gibeah and Ramah were situated), indicating that they were to ‘watch their backs’. All are to be on the alert for invasion. The order of the cities appears to indicate that the invasion will be taking place from the south.<\/p>\n

For the order of the cities is given moving northwards on the road to Bethel through Gibeah and Ramah, and as a result has been seen as indicating an invasion by Judah, coming after Israel had been seriously weakened by the Assyrians, with the aim of regaining land which had been annexed by Israel in the days of Jehoash and Jeroboam II (2Ki 13:12<\/span>; 2Ki 14:11-14<\/span>; 2Ki 14:28<\/span>), or even during the war with the Syro-Ephraimite coalition. Gibeah and Ramah were in Benjamite territory which had once belonged to Judah. On the other hand the order may simply illustrate the call going out from the border cities right up to the central sanctuary at Bethel (Bethaven) in terms of the area best known to Hosea. The call is certainly in readiness for an invasion, and Benjamin are told to watch their backs, a suggestion that the invasion will come from an unexpected direction.<\/p>\n

But under Ahaz Judah was occupied by Assyrian troops, who may well therefore have made an incursion into Israelite territory from the south, in combination with another invasion from the west and north, whilst if the Assyrians were approaching from the direction, say, of Gaza, as at times they did, they might well have taken a route through Judah (they would not consider it necessary to ask permission). And as already mentioned, Hosea may simply have been picturing the event in terms of the cities with which he was familiar. In our view the foe in mind could only be Assyria, because the impression given is that both Israel and Judah are suffering. But whichever way it was Hosea was not really interested in the detail, only in the fact that it was evidence that YHWH was carrying out His judgments. And that because it was ‘the day of rebuke’.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Ephraim Are To Prepare For An Invasion Which Will Lead To Their Desolation Whilst Judah Will Be Punished For Taking Advantage Of The Situation To Seize Land. Both Will Suffer As A Consequence. Meanwhile A Plea From Ephraim To Assyria Will Not Solve Her Problems, Whilst YHWH Will Be Waiting For Their Repentance ( Hos 5:8-15<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the first indication of invasion actually taking place against Israel. The secure (even though sinful) days of Jeroboam II are now clearly over. The question is as to whether this is describing a retaliatory attack by Judah when seeking to seize land after Israel had been sorely weakened by Assyrian invasion, or whether it actually has the Assyrian invasion in mind as a result of Ahaz’s appeal to Assyria for help, or possibly an earlier one. If Assyria had first attacked Philistia they would then approach Israel from the south, and Judah could do nothing to prevent it. The order in Hos 5:8<\/span> might suggest the former, and that might be seen as supported by Hos 5:11<\/span> where the removal of the landmark might indicate annexation of territory. On the other hand it may be that in mind is the earlier Assyrian invasion that caused Ephraim (Israel) to seek to make peace with Assyria (Hos 5:13<\/span>) in the first place, something supported by the mention of the ‘day of rebuke’ in Hos 5:9<\/span>. Whichever way it is both Ephraim and Judah would suffer under the Assyrian response to the situation for it was YHWH’s purpose to chasten them by means of that invasion, and after that to wait until they truly repented and sought His face. This was because He knew that eventually such affliction would turn their thoughts towards Him in earnest, a hope which will be expressed by Hosea in Hos 6:1-3<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Analysis of Hos 5:8-15<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> .<\/p>\n

a <\/strong> Blow you the ram’s horn in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah, sound an alarm at Beth-aven. Behind you, O Benjamin (Hos 5:8<\/span>).<\/p>\n

b <\/strong> Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke, among the tribes of Israel have I made known what will surely be (Hos 5:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

c <\/strong> The princes of Judah are like those who remove the landmark, I will pour out my wrath on them like water. Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment, because he was content to walk after man’s command (Hos 5:10-11<\/span>).<\/p>\n

d <\/strong> Therefore am I to Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness (Hos 5:12<\/span>).<\/p>\n

c <\/strong> When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king, but he is not able to heal you, nor will he cure you of your wound (Hos 5:13<\/span>).<\/p>\n

b <\/strong> For I will be to Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away, I will carry off, and there will be none to deliver (Hos 5:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n

a<\/strong> I will go and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly (Hos 5:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Note than in ‘a’ the call to face an invasion is made, and in the parallel they will seek YHWH in their affliction. In ‘b’ Ephraim’s desolation is described, and the same in the parallel. In ‘c’ both Judah and Ephraim face God’s anger and are to suffer, and in the parallel both recognise that they have been wounded and we have the response of Ephraim to the situation. Centrally in ‘d’ YHWH reveals what He will do to both.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/strong> The Threat of Punishment<\/p>\n

v. 8. Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah,<\/strong> the ancient city of Saul, and the trumpet in Ramah,<\/strong> another city located on an eminence, both of them most suitable for giving signals on account of their lofty situation; cry aloud at Bethaven,<\/strong> or Bethel, on the border of the northern kingdom. After thee, O Benjamin!<\/strong> that is, the danger is coming, the enemy is close behind. <\/p>\n

v. 9. Ephraim,<\/strong> the entire country of the ten tribes, shall be desolate in the day of rebuke,<\/strong> namely, when the Lord’s punishment would strike them; among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be,<\/strong> continuous plagues, a lasting punishment. Cf Deu 28:59<\/span>. <\/p>\n

v. 10. The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound,<\/strong> Cf Deu 19:14<\/span>, namely, by removing the boundary between the worship of the true God and idolatry, which should have been kept apart forever; therefore I will pour out My wrath upon them like water,<\/strong> in an overwhelming degree, in proportion to the greatness of their offense. <\/p>\n

v. 11. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment,<\/strong> cut to pieces by the punishment of the Lord, because he willingly walked after the commandment,<\/strong> it thought good to follow idol-images, it clung to the calf-worship of Jeroboam throughout its existence. <\/p>\n

v. 12. Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth and to the house of Judah as rottenness,<\/strong> both of these being figurative of destructive powers, which steadily eat into the very marrow of things. <\/p>\n

v. 13. When Ephraim saw his sickness,<\/strong> becoming aware of the illness of the body politic, and. Judah saw his wound,<\/strong> realizing that something was rotten in the nation, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian,<\/strong> looking for assistance from the heathen instead of consulting the Lord, and sent to King Jareb,<\/strong> to the warlike monarch through whose intervention the kingdom hoped to recover; yet could he not heal you nor cure you of your wound,<\/strong> for the help of men is vain in such cases. <\/p>\n

v. 14. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion and as a young lion to the house of Judah,<\/strong> who takes hold of his prey and tears it to pieces; I, even I, will tear and go away,<\/strong> as a lion withdrawing to his den; I will take away, and none shall rescue him,<\/strong> for with the Lord’s merciful presence removed, there is no hope of deliverance. <\/p>\n

v. 15. I will go and return to My place,<\/strong> as though shutting Himself up in heaven and withdrawing His favor entirely, till they acknowledge their offense and seek My face,<\/strong> this being the hope which is held before them. In their affliction they will seek Me early. <\/strong> This is a truth which is found also in other passages of the Bible, namely, that men seek out the Lord when they are in trouble, they pour out a prayer when His chastening is upon them. Cf Isa 26:16<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Hos 5:8<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> Lo! the cornet is sounded in Gibeah; and the trumpet in Ramah: howlings are heard at Beth-aven, behind thee, O Benjamin. <\/em>Houbigant. The prophet here declares the approach of the Assyrian, in the same animated style and manner as Isaiah, chap. Isa 10:28<\/span>, &c. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Hos 5:8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud [at] Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.<\/p>\n

Ver. 8. Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah<\/strong> ] Clangite, clamate,<\/em> not with the inverse trumpets of Furius Fulvius, which sounded a retreat when they should have sounded an alarm. But blow ye the cornet; give notice to all the country, that Hannibal est ad portas,<\/em> the enemy is at the very gates, sending a summons, and sounding for a surrender. The desolation of war had been denounced in the former verse; here it is proclaimed, as it were, by sound of trumpet; the prophet acting the part of a herald; and, by a rhetorical hypotyposis, representing the enemies’ approach, as if it were already under view; and not foretold, but acted before their eyes. Rhetoric, we see here, is an art sanctified by God’s Spirit; and may lawfully be used in handling of God’s word. The Scripture is full of it in every part; and happy is that minister that thereby can make himself master of his hearers’ affections; as potent in his Divine rhetoric as Pericles or Cicero were in their human. Let him (by our prophet’s example) strive to make the things whereof he preacheth to the people as real before their eyes as possibly he can. The power of a ministry consisteth much in this: to set forth sin, Christ, heaven, hell, in such lively colours that the hearer (though unlearned) may be convinced of all, judged of all, and having the secrets of his heart made manifest, he may fall down on his face, worship God, and report that God is in the minister of a truth, 1Co 14:24-25<\/span> ; lo, this is preaching indeed. For as every sound is not music, so neither is every pulpit discourse preaching. Nihil frigidius est doctore verbis solummode philosophante<\/em> (Chrysostom). Ezekiel must lay siege to Jerusalem, portraying it upon a tile, Eze 4:1<\/span> . So did Jeremiah and other prophets use signs and similitudes. St Paul’s speech and preaching was not indeed with enticing words of man’s wisdom (he did not so paint the window as to keep out the light), but yet in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power, close to the conscience, 1Co 2:4<\/span> . <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah<\/strong> ] That is, in the bounds of the kingdom of Judah, Gibeah of Benjamin, Gibeah of Saul. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And the trumpet in Ramah<\/strong> ] Samuel’s country, afterward called Arimathaea, Joseph’s country: this is said to be in the borders of Israel. Strong garrisons they were both, and places of great resort: they are now alarmed, and bidden to prepare for the approach of the Assyrian. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cry aloud at Bethaven<\/strong> ] Or Bethel, as Hos 10:15<\/span> , a city (as it is said of Athens, , Act 17:16 ) wholly given to idolatry; and therefore more stupid and stubborn than the rest. Here, therefore, the prophet cries louder than ordinary, classicum canit, sic clamat ut stentora vincere possit,<\/em> he sets up his note, that he may the sooner awaken them, and cause them to apprehend their danger, as present and real. Bethaven was the great place of superstition, and now Rome is the nest of Antichrist, “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird”: therefore the angel crieth mightily with a strong voice, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen,” certo, cito, penitus,<\/em> surely, suddenly, utterly, Rev 18:2<\/span> . <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After thee, O Benjamin<\/strong> ] Who art at the back of Bethaven, and farest the worse for her neighbourhood: like as Hamath did for Damascus, Zec 9:2<\/span> . See Trapp on “<\/em> Zec 9:2 “<\/em> Some understand Hostis adest,<\/em> the enemy is at thy heels; make away, or stand upon thy guard; for thou art like to be put to it. And this concise kind of warning here given implies a mind moved and disturbed, either with fear or anger.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Hos 5:8-15<\/p>\n

8Blow the horn in Gibeah,<\/p>\n

The trumpet in Ramah.<\/p>\n

Sound an alarm at Beth-aven:<\/p>\n

Behind you, Benjamin!<\/p>\n

9Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke;<\/p>\n

Among the tribes of Israel I declare what is sure.<\/p>\n

10The princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary;<\/p>\n

On them I will pour out My wrath like water.<\/p>\n

11Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,<\/p>\n

Because he was determined to follow man’s command.<\/p>\n

12Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim<\/p>\n

And like rottenness to the house of Judah.<\/p>\n

13When Ephraim saw his sickness,<\/p>\n

And Judah his wound,<\/p>\n

Then Ephraim went to Assyria<\/p>\n

And sent to King Jareb.<\/p>\n

But he is unable to heal you,<\/p>\n

Or to cure you of your wound.<\/p>\n

14For I will be like a lion to Ephraim<\/p>\n

And like a young lion to the house of Judah.<\/p>\n

I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver.<\/p>\n

15I will go away and return to My place<\/p>\n

Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;<\/p>\n

In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.<\/p>\n

Hos 5:8-15 This seems to refer to the Syro-Israeli war, 735-732 B.C. Israel and Syria rebelled against Assyria and wanted Judah to join in their rebellion. Judah would not, so they attacked her in order to force her to join (cf. 2Ki 16:1 ff and Isa 7:1 ff.).<\/p>\n

The problem with assuming that the background to these war poems is the Syro-Ephraimatic War is that Assyria mentioned in Hos 5:13 is sought after by Israel. This does not fit the situation of an Assyrian attack based on a rebellion by Syria and Israel.<\/p>\n

Hos 5:8 This verse announces the invasion of Israel. God’s judgment has come in the form of a foreign pagan nation (Assyria) being His instrument in cleansing the land!<\/p>\n

The three cities of Hos 5:8 (Gibeah, Ramah, and Beth-aven) are to be annexed by Judah (i.e., Benjamin). This may be an allusion to those who move a boundary in Hos 5:10. These cities were possibly taken from Judah by Jehoash (Joash) king of Israel (cf. 2Ki 14:8-14; 2Ch 25:17-24).<\/p>\n

Hos 5:8 Blow the horn This VERB (BDB 1075, KB 1785, Qal IMPERATIVE) refers to the shophar (ram’s left horn, BDB 1051). It was not used in conjunction with other musical instruments. It was used for<\/p>\n

1. cultic events<\/p>\n

a. movement of the Ark<\/p>\n

b. feast days<\/p>\n

c. end-time events<\/p>\n

2. military events<\/p>\n

a. approach of an invader<\/p>\n

b. summoning troops<\/p>\n

c. call off an attack<\/p>\n

In this context #2.a. fits best (e.g., Jer 4:5; Jer 6:1; Joe 2:1; Joe 2:15). See Special Topic: Horns Used By Israel .<\/p>\n

The trumpet This (BDB 348) is a straight trumpet of bronze. It was<\/p>\n

1. used with other instruments for worship<\/p>\n

2. used to call assemblies<\/p>\n

3. used at coronations of the king<\/p>\n

4. used to start festivals<\/p>\n

5. used for military functions<\/p>\n

This context fits #5 best.<\/p>\n

Sound the alarm in Beth-aven The VERB (BDB 929, KB 1206, Hiphil IMPERATIVE) was used of a war cry, a victory shout, and a horn blast. Here a warning shout fits best.<\/p>\n

Beth-aven means house of wickedness (cf. Hos 4:15; Hos 5:8; Hos 10:5). It refers to Bethel (house of God), where one of the golden calves set by Jeroboam I was worshiped as an image of YHWH (cf. Amo 5:5).<\/p>\n

NASBBehind you, Benjamin<\/p>\n

NKJV, NRSVlook behind you, O Benjamin<\/p>\n

TEVinto battle, men of Benjamin<\/p>\n

NJBwe are behind you, Benjamin<\/p>\n

This does not fit the context so many translators follow the Septuagint, which might reflect a different Hebrew tradition, tremble in fear, O Benjamin.<\/p>\n

Hos 5:9<\/p>\n

NASBAmong the tribes of Israel I declare what is sure<\/p>\n

NKJV, NRSVAmong the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure<\/p>\n

TEVPeople of Israel, this will surely happen<\/p>\n

NJBon the tribes of Israel I have pronounced certain doom<\/p>\n

This reflects the certainty of God’s judgment coming to pass (e.g., Isa 14:24; Isa 14:20-27; Isa 25:1; Isa 46:10).<\/p>\n

Hos 5:10 The princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary Judah took advantage of a time of weakness in Israel and annexed some of Israel’s southern territory. The moving of the boundary is an ancient atrocity (cf. Deu 19:14; Deu 27:17; Pro 22:28; Pro 23:10; Job 24:2).<\/p>\n

Hos 5:11 oppressed, crushed These are both Qal PASSIVE PARTICIPLES (#1 BDB 1075, KB 1785; #2 BDB 929, KB 1206). Here they are used of foreign invaders (cf. Isa 52:4; Jer 50:33). These same two terms are used of the economic exploitation of the wealthy (e.g., Hos 12:7; Deu 24:14; Jer 7:6; Amo 4:1).<\/p>\n

NASBBecause he was determined to follow man’s command<\/p>\n

NKJVBecause he willingly walked by human precept<\/p>\n

NRSVbecause he was determined to go after vanity<\/p>\n

TEVbecause she insisted on going for help to those who had none to give<\/p>\n

NJBfor having deliberately followed a lie<\/p>\n

The problem term is command (BDB 846), which is used only here and in Isa 28:10 (cf. Hos 5:13). The NIV takes it from another Hebrew root and translates it as idols (TEV, NJB), which follows the Targums, Septuagint, and Syriac versions.<\/p>\n

Much of the religiosity of our own day is simply tradition and not God’s Word (cf. Isa 29:13; Col 2:16-23).<\/p>\n

Hos 5:12<\/p>\n

NASB, NKJVmoth<\/p>\n

NRSVmaggots<\/p>\n

TEVdestruction<\/p>\n

NJBringworm<\/p>\n

Literally this is gnawing worm or moth larvae (BDB 799, cf. Psa 39:11; Isa 50:9; Isa 51:8). It was a metaphor of destruction (cf. TEV). God would judge Israel and Judah with worms and rot (BDB 955).<\/p>\n

It is possible that the word for moth (BDB 799) may be from another root (BDB 799) meaning waste away, but here of inflamation.<\/p>\n

NASB, NKJV,<\/p>\n

NRSVrottenness<\/p>\n

TEVruin<\/p>\n

NJBgangrene<\/p>\n

NABmaggots<\/p>\n

The term (BDB 955) means worm eaten. Some scholars assume that moth may refer to maggot eater as a parallel.<\/p>\n

However, in all the other places this term occurs it refers to a rottenness in the bone (cf. Job 13:28; Pro 12:4; Pro 14:30; Hab 3:16).<\/p>\n

Hos 5:13 Both Israel’s and Judah’s response to God’s judgment was to seek help from political alliances with pagan empires, but not repentance and faith toward their covenant God.<\/p>\n

sickness This term (BDB 318) means disease or sickness. It is a metaphor for sinfulness (e.g., see Isa 1:5-6; Isa 53:4 for the same concept). This sickness was one of the warnings that Moses gave to the people if they disobeyed the covenant (e.g., Deu 7:15; Deu 28:59; Deu 28:61).<\/p>\n

wound. . .wound this term (BDB 267) means to push out (i.e., dirt and foreign matter in a wound, to clean). See its use in Jer 30:13. If a wound was not cleaned and bandaged infection was certain and usually fatal. Israel was so sick and Judah so unclean that death (i.e., God’s judgment) and exile were certain. Only God could restore and clean. He would do that if they repented and sought after Him (cf. Hos 5:5).<\/p>\n

King JaREB This seems to refer to a nickname for Tiglath- pileser III who was king of Assyria. The term means king pick a quarrel or king fighting cock (BDB 937, warrior, cf. Hos 10:6). It can be revocalized to mean great king (cf. NRSV, TEV, NJB). A brief listing of Assyrian kings of this period would be: Tiglath-pileser III, 745-727 B.C.; Shalmaneser V, 727-722 B.C.; Sargon II, 722-704 B.C.; and Sennacherib, 704- 681 B.C.<\/p>\n

Hos 5:14 God describes Himself (i.e., I, even I) as a lion and a young lion in the ferocity of His judgment (cf. Hos 13:6-8; Psa 50:22; Amo 1:2). It was not the power of the pagan nations, nor YHWH’s impotence that caused the exiles of God’s people, but their continuing sin and rebellion. God used these nations (Assyria, Babylon, Persia) for His purposes.<\/p>\n

SPECIAL TOPIC: LIONS IN THE OT <\/p>\n

Hos 5:15 This verse holds a glimmer of hope for repentance and restoration, but it is conditional (cf. Hos 2:7). It reflects the bad news\/good news of Deu 4:25-31.<\/p>\n

Until they acknowledge their guilt The VERB (BDB 79, KB 95, Qal IMPERFECT) means held guilty (i.e., guilt due to covenant violations, which demands judgment, cf. Hos 5:15; Hos 10:2; Hos 13:16; Psa 34:21-22; Isa 24:6; Jer 2:3; Eze 6:6; Joe 1:18; Zec 11:5).<\/p>\n

seek My face. . .earnestly seek Me See note at Hos 3:5. There are two different Hebrew roots.<\/p>\n

1. BDB 134, KB 152, Piel perfect, e.g., Exo 33:7; Deu 4:29; 1Ch 16:11; 2Ch 7:14; Hos 3:5; Hos 5:6; Hos 7:10; Amo 8:12; Zep 1:6; Zep 2:3<\/p>\n

2. BDB 1007, KB 1465, Piel IMPERFECT, e.g., Pro 8:17; Isa 26:9; Hos 5:15<\/p>\n

YHWH pursued them but they would not! Now they must pursue Him!<\/p>\n

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

cornet = horn. <\/p>\n

Beth-aven. See note on Hos 4:15. <\/p>\n

after thee, &c. Apparently a war-cry = “[Look] behind thee, O Benjamin! “Compare Jdg 5:14; Jdg 20:40. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Hos 5:8-15<\/p>\n

ISRAELS INGRATITUDE-<\/p>\n

REBELLION AND TRANSGRESSION<\/p>\n

TEXT: Hos 5:8-15<\/p>\n

First Israel, then Judah, because they have broken spiritual boundaries of Gods law, must be afflicted in captivity in order that they will repent and seek Gods face.<\/p>\n

Hos 5:8 BlowH8628 ye the cornetH7782 in Gibeah,H1390 and the trumpetH2689 in Ramah:H7414 cry aloudH7321 at Bethaven,H1007 afterH310 thee, O Benjamin.H1144 <\/p>\n

Hos 5:8 BLOW YE THE CORNET IN GIBEAH . . . AT BETH-AVEN; BEHIND THEE . . . BENJAMIN, The cornet here is the shophar, far-sounding horn used to warn of war (cf. Joe 2:1; Amo 3:6). It signaled invasion by enemies or attack by foes. Gibeah and Ramah were cities, about 3 and 8 miles north of Jerusalem, situated on higher terrain than Jerusalem and thus well adapted for sounding such signals to the countryside. Furthermore, since they are near the southern broders of the northern kingdom, Israel, we may infer that the enemy (Assyria) has already conquered the northern kingdom or is at least pressing upon its border. The phrase, behind thee, O Benjamin, means that Assyria is knocking on the rear doors of Benjamin (northern most territory of Judah). The judgment of God (to be administered through Assyria-cf. Isaiah 10) has already broken out in the rear of Benjamin. <\/p>\n

Zerr: Hos 5:8. Trumpets were used to sound any alarm of danger that might come or threaten to come on the nation (Num 10:1-5; Num 31:6). The language is used here by way of prediction that the country would be attacked by an enemy force.<\/p>\n

Hos 5:9 EphraimH669 shall beH1961 desolateH8047 in the dayH3117 of rebuke:H8433 among the tribesH7626 of IsraelH3478 have I made knownH3045 that which shall surely be.H539 <\/p>\n

Hos 5:10 The princesH8269 of JudahH3063 wereH1961 like them that removeH5253 the bound:H1366 therefore I will pour outH8210 my wrathH5678 uponH5921 them like water.H4325 <\/p>\n

Hos 5:9-10 EPHRAIM SHALL BECOME A DESOLATION . . . THE PRINCES OF JUDAH ARE LIKE THEM THAT REMOVE THE LANDMARK . . . The Hebrew word which is here translated desolation is the same word found in Deu 28:59 where it is translated afflictions severe and lasting . . . Some commentators say the word means literally, lasting, enduring. Others (Lange, esp.) say it means . . . true, what will surely be fulfilled, certain. Gods judgment upon Israel is certain and complete. The kingdom of Israel will disappear forever. And this sentence of God has been abundantly advertised and preached by one prophet of God after another. <\/p>\n

Zerr: Hos 5:9. Ephraim is used to mean the 10-tribc kingdom, otherwise called Israel. Day of rebuke refers to the time when the country was to be invaded and the people carried off into exile. Hos 5:10. Judah is brought into the prediction because she also was destined to be punished for her departures from the Lord. “When the pouring of water” is used figuratively, it denotes an overflowing of some kind of misfortune. The people of God were destined to be invaded by the heathen nations.<\/p>\n

The cause for this severe and lasting judgment upon both Israel and Judah, is that Judah, like Israel before her, is ruled by princes and kings who are like those who remove the landmark . . . For the Mosaic legislation against removing landmarks see Deu 27:17. God set the boundaries of the tribes in the land of promise-they were not to be moved. But the princes of Judah are like those who remove boundaries. Evidently the princes of Judah were violating the spiritual, moral boundaries of Gods law. By going after idols (like Israel had) they transgressed, broke and set-aside the boundaries or marks of spiritual relationship to Jehovah-God. There is no saving relationship or covenant relationship when Gods revealed boundaries are set aside. Those today who would set aside the boundaries of New Testament covenant relationship are as guilty as the princes of Judah. There is salvation in none other . . . (Act 4:12); . . . no one comes unto the Father except through Jesus Christ” (Joh 14:6); . . . whoever abides not in the doctrine of Christ but goes beyond it . . . (2Jn 1:9-10) is a boundry-breaker. Any attempt to syncretize Christianity with all the other isms of the world religions, or any attempt to built an ecumenical church by taking away the revealed and absolute boundaries of God is judged by God! God will empty the bowls of His wrath upon such boundary-breakers-He will pour out his wrath like a cloudburst and they will be drowned in the flood of His vengeance.<\/p>\n

Hos 5:11 EphraimH669 is oppressedH6231 and brokenH7533 in judgment,H4941 becauseH3588 he willinglyH2974 walkedH1980 afterH310 the commandment.H6673 <\/p>\n

Hos 5:12 Therefore will IH589 be unto EphraimH669 as a moth,H6211 and to the houseH1004 of JudahH3063 as rottenness.H7538 <\/p>\n

Hos 5:11-12 EPHRAIM IS OPPRESSED . . . BECAUSE HE WAS CONTENT TO WALK AFTER MANS COMMAND . . . I AM TO EPHRAIM AS A MOTH . . . TO JUDAH . . . AS ROTTENNESS. Moth and rottenness are symbols of destroying influences. Those influences are, of course, the absolute Promises of God which pronounce either blessing or curse depending upon the free-willed response of His creatures. If man responds to the Word of God by obedience and faith, God becomes to man a blessing, a glory, a hope; but if man responds to the warnings of God by rebellion, God becomes to man a destroyer, avenger and judge. So, God directs the oppression and destruction of Israel and Judah because they were content to fulfill their desires and worship the idols Jeroboam and his successors commanded should be worshipped. The people exchanged the truth of God for the commandment of lying kings and priests, and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator. They taught for the commandments of God the traditions of men (cf. Isa 29:13; Mat 15:8-9). How shall peoples and nations today escape the judgment of God when their leaders lead them to be content to walk after mans commandment and set aside the boundaries of God!? <\/p>\n

Zerr: Hos 5:11. The commandment could not mean that, of the Lord, for that would not have been condemned. We know, therefore, that, it refers to some idolatrous ordinance. It is the one in 1Ki 12:28-30, where Jereboam made the idols and told the people to worship them, which they did. Hos 5:12. Again the two divisions of the Jewish people, Ephraim (Israel) and Judah, are named in the predictions of God’s wrath. A moth consumes the material which it attacks, and the Lord decreed to attack his unfaithful people in time to come.<\/p>\n

Hos 5:13 When EphraimH669 sawH7200 (H853) his sickness,H2483 and JudahH3063 saw(H853) his wound,H4205 then wentH1980 EphraimH669 toH413 the Assyrian,H804 and sentH7971 toH413 kingH4428 Jareb:H3377 yet couldH3201 heH1931 notH3808 healH7495 you, norH3808 cureH1455 H4480 you of your wound.H4205 <\/p>\n

Hos 5:13 WHEN EPHRAIM SAW HIS SICKNESS . . . THEN WENT EPHRAIM TO ASSYRIA . . . Both Israel and Judah are denounced for making alliances with Assyria. It is not so much that alliances or agreements among nations, per se, are displeasing to God, but the motive which prompts them. In the case of Israel and Judah the alliances were an affront to God because they were motivated by an almost complete rejection of Him. Israel and Judah, having enjoyed special revelation, privilege, protection and sustenance from God, now spurned and haughtily disregarded any notion of dependence upon Jehovah. They persuaded themselves that protection, economic prosperity and cultural development could not be found by international cooperation in commerce, politics and, most ruinous of all, religion. See Special Study Five of this commentary for a history of the politics of the divided kingdoms. <\/p>\n

Zerr: Hos 5:13. Ephraim saw his sickness means he was confronted with a dangerous situation, which was the pres-ence of a foreign king (2Ki 15:19). Judah sent to Jareb which Strong defines. A symbolical name for Assyria.” The name seems to be used figuratively and means that Judah sought help from an outside source instead of God,<\/p>\n

When any nation exchanges trust in God for trust in man-made treaties, it only exhibits its ignorance and foolhardiness. In the first place, Gods word condemns such misplaced trust (cf. Psa 118:8-9; Hos 7:11; Psa 146:3; Pro 14:34, etc.). In the second place, history proves that international treaties are hardly worth the paper they are written upon-and they will always be that way because of the unregenerate hearts of world leaders! General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur, a spiritually-minded man, perhaps the greatest American (both soldier and statesman) who ever lived, said, in his address before joint session of Congress, April 19, 1951:<\/p>\n

Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Various methods through the ages have been attempted to devise an international process to prevent or settle disputes between nations. From the very start, workable methods were found insofar as individual citizens were concerned; but the mechanics of an instrumentality of larger international scope have never been successful. Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. The utter destructiveness of war now blots out this alternative. We have had our last chance. If we will not devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at the door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past 2,000 years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.<\/p>\n

But once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. Wars very object is victory-not prolonged indecision. In war, indeed, there can be no substitute for victory. <\/p>\n

This same God-fearing man, who served for over half a century, through three major world conflicts and scores of minor ones, who displayed a statesmanship as great as any the world has ever known in rebuilding the nation of Japan, allowed himself to be guided by this philosophy: . . . men may be destroyed by what they have, and what they know, but they may be saved by what they are . . .<\/p>\n

America, so fond of boasting of her economic and military strength-the greatest, most powerful nation on earth, needs to heed the word of God and learn from MacArthur, a great student of history, that greatness comes, not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord (Zec 4:6).<\/p>\n

The word Jareb means literally, contender and was probably an epithet devised by Hosea to denote the warrior-like nature of the king of Assyria (see our Paraphrase).<\/p>\n

Hos 5:14 ForH3588 IH595 will be unto EphraimH669 as a lion,H7826 and as a young lionH3715 to the houseH1004 of Judah:H3063 I,H589 even I,H589 will tearH2963 and go away;H1980 I will take away,H5375 and noneH369 shall rescueH5337 him. <\/p>\n

Hos 5:15 I will goH1980 and returnH7725 toH413 my place,H4725 tillH5704 H834 they acknowledge their offence,H816 and seekH1245 my face:H6440 in their afflictionH6862 they will seek me early.H7836 <\/p>\n

Hos 5:14-15 . . . I WILL BE UNTO EPHRAIM AS A LION . . . I WILL GO AND RETURN TO MY PLACE, TILL THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR OFFENCE, AND SEEK MY FACE . . . The figure of God behaving like a lion toward Israel is to depict His ferocity and invincibility. God will be irresistible-like the king of beasts. God rules the universe with an invincible hand. He goes and comes as He pleases-and there are none to gainsay Him or stop Him! He is preparing to carry both Israel and Judah into captivity and all the alliances in the world will not stop Him, (cf. Deu 32:39; Hos 13:7-11, etc.). <\/p>\n

Zerr: Hos 5:14. God is always displeased when his people look to strangers for help; it is an indication that they have lost faith in Him. Hence, when these kings of the Jews appealed to the heathen for help, they not only failed to obtain any. but brought down upon them the wrath of the Lord. Hos 5:15, Return to my place denotes that God would abandon his people to their fate; leave them in the hands of the heathen to whom they had appealed. This was not to be in the spirit of spite or resentment, for God is incapable of such a principle, but it was in order to make them see their folly, and repent. In their affliction they will seek me early is forcefully described in Psalms 137 and the fulfillment may be seen in Eze 37:11, which was written in Babylon at the time it was happening.<\/p>\n

God is withdrawing His Presence (Shekinah-glory), His protecting, sustaining Presence, from the covenant people. In so doing it is His purpose to discipline them into a humble, penitent, faithful dependence upon Himself. Such action by God always has as its end His perfect love and blessing, in restoring man to his proper relation to God-of sweet communion, fellowship, dominion and glory (cf. Heb 2:1-18; Heb 12:1-29; Heb 10:32-39; 2Co 1:3-11; 2Co 4:16 to 2Co 5:21, etc.).<\/p>\n

The prophet Ezekiel pictured the Presence of God departing from Judah, In Ezekiel chapters 8-10 we see God preparing to forsake the Temple because of the abominations being practiced there, Then, in Eze 11:22-25, God forsakes the Temple, not to return until the Messianic kingdom (the church) is depicted in Ezekiel, chapters 40-48. Ichabod means the glory has departed from Israel (cf. 1Sa 4:21) and this might be the name emblazoned over the gates of Samaria, Jerusalem and the Temple in the days of Hosea. The condition upon which God promises His return is acknowledge your offence, and seek my face, and the method by which God plans to bring about this condition is in their affliction they will seek me earnestly. So, Christian, Count it all joy . . . when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. (Jas 1:2; Jas 1:12.)<\/p>\n

Questions<\/p>\n

1. What does the far-sounding horn signal? Why warn Judah?<\/p>\n

2. How were the princes of Judah breaking Gods boundaries?<\/p>\n

3. In what way was Israel content to walk after mans command?<\/p>\n

4. What warning did Hosea give Israel and Judah about international alliances?<\/p>\n

5. What have great leaders of our own country said about alliances?<\/p>\n

6. How is God like a lion in His actions toward Israel and Judah?<\/p>\n

7. When did God withdraw from Israel? When did His Presence return?<\/p>\n

8. What are the conditions and what is the method God uses to restore His Presence?<\/p>\n

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Blow: Hos 8:1, Jer 4:5, Jer 6:1, Joe 2:1, Joe 2:15 <\/p>\n

Gibeah: Hos 9:9, Hos 10:9, Jdg 19:12-15, Jdg 20:4-6, 1Sa 15:34, 2Sa 21:6, Isa 10:29 <\/p>\n

Ramah: 1Sa 7:17, 1Sa 8:4, 1Sa 15:34 <\/p>\n

Bethaven: Hos 4:15, Hos 10:5, Hos 10:8, Jos 7:2, 1Ki 12:29 <\/p>\n

after: Jdg 5:14 <\/p>\n

Reciprocal: Num 10:9 – then ye shall Jos 18:12 – the wilderness Jdg 19:13 – Gibeah 1Sa 13:5 – Bethaven 1Ch 15:28 – the cornet Isa 40:6 – Cry Amo 3:6 – a trumpet Zep 1:16 – day<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Hos 5:8. Trumpets were used to sound any alarm of danger that might come or threaten to come on the nation (Num 10:1-5; Num 31:6). The language is used here by way of prediction that the country would be attacked by an enemy force.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Hos 5:8-9. Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, &c. The prophet here calls upon the watchmen of Judah and Israel to sound an alarm, and give notice of the approach of the enemy: compare Joe 2:1. It was usual in those days, when a country was invaded, or was on the point of being so, to give notice of it by sounding cornets and trumpets from the towers and high places, on which the watchmen or sentinels were placed. Gibeah and Ramah were towns in the tribe of Benjamin; and Beth-aven, or Beth-el, was in the territory of the ten tribes, so that ordering the sounding of an alarm in those places, signified that both kingdoms should be hostilely invaded. After thee, O Benjamin Or, Look behind thee, O Benjamin: see Pococke. The words present the image of an enemy in close pursuit, ready to fall upon the rear of Benjamin. Ephraim shall be desolate Gods judgments shall likewise overtake Israel, or the ten tribes, as well as Judah. In the day of rebuke At the time when God shall punish them for the provocations which he has received. This seems to be intended of the invasion of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser king of Assyria. Among the tribes of Israel I have made known, &c. I have denounced my judgments against the whole kingdom of Israel, as well as that of Judah, and given them warning, that they may escape them by a timely repentance.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

5:8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud [at] Bethaven, after thee, O {h} Benjamin.<\/p>\n

(h) That is, all of Israel that was included under this tribe, signifying that the Lord’s plagues would pursue them from place to place until they were destroyed.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

A warning to Ephraim and Judah 5:8-15<\/span><\/p>\n

This warning confronted the tribe of Ephraim, or perhaps all Israel, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Blowing trumpets in cities announced the coming of an invader. Throughout Israel’s towns the sentries would blow alarms: in Gibeah and Ramah in northern Judah and in Beth-aven (Bethel) in southern Israel. Throughout the territory of Benjamin, which was home to all these towns at one time or another, news of war would come. Rather than leading Ephraim into battle, as the tribe of Benjamin did in Deborah’s day (Jdg 5:14), the invader would pursue Benjamin as it did Ephraim. Benjamin should have been particularly watchful because of its close geographical proximity to Israel.<\/p>\n

"This verse describes an invasion of the territory of Benjamin from the south, i.e., from Judah. The enemy is portrayed as advancing along the main mountain road from Jerusalem through Bethel and thereafter into the heart of Ephraim. Gibeah, only three miles north of Jerusalem, is the first to be attacked; then Ramah, five miles north of Jerusalem; and finally Bethel, eleven miles north of Jerusalem, on the northern border of Benjamin." [Note: Stuart, p. 102] <\/span><\/p>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud [at] Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin. 8. Blow ye the cornet the trumpet ] A usual direction on the approach of an invading army; see Hos 8:1; Jer 4:5; Jer 6:1. Previously to the captivity the cornet and the trumpet were probably … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hosea 5:8”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22171\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}