4<\/strong>. Israel’s great offence making a schism in the ‘theocratic’ community. Setting up idols was virtually rebellion against Jehovah; whatever Ahijah said (1Ki 11:31<\/span>, &c.), or a lower class of prophets after him (comp. Amo 7:12-13<\/span>), the great prophets, such as Hosea, could not sanction any of the N. Israelitish dynasties (see on Hos 1:11<\/span>). See next note.<\/p>\n not by me<\/em> ] Rather, not from me<\/strong>. There is a verbal contradiction between these words and those ascribed to Shemaiah in 2 Kings 12:24. A prophet could only declare the will of God with regard to the particular case laid before him. The disunion of north and south was so great, that for the sake of peace it was better to separate. But when the moral and spiritual decay of N. Israel had reached such a point as in the time of Hosea, no prophet with any spiritual insight could fail to perceive that the usurping kings lacked the divine blessing.<\/p>\n that they may be cut off<\/em> ] The verb is in the singular, and the implied subject is the silver and gold which had been made into idols.<\/p>\n They have set up kings, but not by ME – <\/B>God Himself foretold to Jeroboam by Ahijah the prophet, that He would rend the kingdom out of the hands of Solomon, and give ten tribes to him, and would take him, and he should reign according to all that his soul desired and should be king over Israel 1Ki 11:31<\/span>, 1Ki 11:37<\/span>; and, after the ten tribes had made Jeroboam king, God said by Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam and the two tribes, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me 1Ki 12:22-24<\/span>.<\/P> Yet although here, as everywhere, mans self-will was overruled by Gods will, and fulfilled it, it was not the less self-will, both in the ten tribes and in Jeroboam. It was so in the ten tribes. For they cast off Rehoboam, simply of their own mind, because he would not lessen the taxes, as they prescribed. If he would have consented to their demands, they would have remained his subjects 1Ki 12:4<\/span>. They set up kings, but not by or through God, whom they never consulted, nor asked His will about the rules of the kingdom, or about its relation to the kingdom of Judah, or the house of David. They referred these matters no more to God, than if there had been no God, or than if He interfered not in the affairs of man. It was self-will in Jeroboam himself, for he received the kingdom (which Ahijah told him, he desired) not from God, not requiring of him, how he should undertake it, nor anointed by Him, nor in any way acknowledging Him, but from the people. And as soon as he had received it, he set up rebellion against God, in order to establish his kingdom, which he founded in sin, whereby he made Israel to sin.<\/P> In like way, the Apostle says, against Thy holy Child Jesus, whom Thou hast both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done Act 4:27<\/span>, Act 4:8<\/span>. Yet not the less did they sin in this Deicide; and the Blood of Jesus has ever since, as they imprecated on themselves, been on the Jews and on their children, as many as did not repent.<\/P> As was the beginning of the kingdom of Israel, such was its course. They made kings, but not from God. Such were all their kings, except Jehu and his house. During 253 years, for which the kingdom of Israel lasted eighteen kings reigned over it, out of ten different families, and no family came to a close, save by a violent death. The like self-will and independence closed the existence of the Jewish people. The Roman Emperor being afar off, the Scribes and Pharisees hoped, under him, without any great control, to maintain their own authority over the people. They themselves, by their God forbid! Luk 20:16<\/span>, owned that our Lord truly saw their thoughts and purpose, This is the heir; come let us kill Him, that the inheritance may be ours. They willed to reign without Christ, feared the Pagan Emperor less than the holiness of Jesus, and in the words, We have no king but Caesar, they deposed God, and shut themselves out from His kingdom.<\/P> And I knew it not – <\/B>As far as in them lay, they did it without His knowledge Joh 8:54<\/span>. They did not take Him into their counsels, nor desire His cognizance of it, or His approbation of it. If they could, they would have had Him ignorant of it, knowing it to be against His will. And so in His turn, God knew it not, owned it not, as He shall say to the ungodly, I know you not Mat 25:12<\/span>.<\/P> Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols – <\/B>God had multiplied them, (as He said before Hos 2:8<\/span>), and they ungratefully abused to the dishonor of the Giver, what He gave them to be used to His glory.<\/P> That they may be cut off – <\/B>Literally, that he may be cut off. The whole people is spoken of as one man, one and all, as we say. It is a fearful description of obstinate sin, that their very object in it seemed to be their own destruction. They acted with one will as one man, who had, in all he did, this one end – to perish. : As if on set purpose they would provoke destruction, and obstinately run themselves into it, although forewarned thereof. Holy Scripture speaks of that as peoples end, at which all their acts aim. They see, not, nor know, that they may be ashamed Isa 44:9<\/span>; i. e., they blind themselves, as though their whole object were, what they will bring upon themselves, their own shame. They prophesy a lie in My Name, that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you Jer 27:15<\/span>. This was the ultimate end of those false prophecies. The false prophets of Judah filled them with false hopes; the real and true end of those prophecies, that in which they ended, was the ruin of those who uttered, and of those who listened to them. We ourselves say almost proverbially, he goes the way to ruin himself; not that such is the mans own object, but that he obstinately chooses a course of conduct, which, others see, must end in utter ruin. So a man chooses destruction or hell, if he chooses those tilings which, according to Gods known law and word, end in it. Man bides from his own eyes the distant future, and fixes them on the nearer objects which he has at heart. God lifts the veil, and discovers to him the further end, at which he is driving, which he is, in fact, compassing, and which is in truth the end, for his own fleeting obiects perish in the using; this and this alone abides.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 4<\/span>. They have set up kings, but not by me<\/B><\/I>] Properly speaking, not one of the kings of Israel, from the defection of the ten tribes from the house of David, was the anointed<\/I> of the Lord.<\/P> <\/P> I knew<\/B><\/I> it <\/B>not<\/B><\/I>] It had not my approbation<\/I>. In this sense the word know<\/I> is frequently understood.<\/P> <\/P> That they may be cut off.<\/B><\/I>] That is, They shall be cut off in consequence of their idolatry.<\/P> <\/p>\n They; <\/B>Israel, the prevailing faction among them in Hoseas time. <\/P> Have set up kings; <\/B>Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea, who usurped the throne. <\/P> But not by me; <\/B>not by my direction, or with my approbation; they neither prayed his blessing nor asked his leave. And this may be applied to the very first founding of the kingdom of Israel, divided from the house of David. They have made princes; rulers and magistrates, or nobles. <\/P> And I knew it not:<\/B> he that will not approve any one evil, when his omniscience discerns all, is pleased to say he knew not what he did not approve. <\/P> They made them idols; <\/B>heathen like, they have made them gods, and set up idolatry, so have perverted all in church and state settled by me. <\/P> That they may be cut off; <\/B>as if they were resolved to cut themselves off from being a people. By this they thought to establish themselves, but it will be quite contrary, these sins will be their ruin. <\/P> <\/p>\n 4. kings . . . not by me<\/B>notwith My sanction (1Ki 11:31<\/span>;1Ki 12:20<\/span>). Israel set upJeroboam and his successors, whereas God had appointed the house ofDavid as the rightful kings of the whole nation. <\/P> I knew it not<\/B>Iapproved<\/I> it not (Ps 1:6<\/span>).<\/P> of . . . gold . . . idols<\/B>(Hos 2:8<\/span>; Hos 13:2<\/span>).<\/P> that they may be cut off<\/B>thatis, though warned of the consequences of idolatry, as it were withopen eyes they rushed on their own destruction. So Jer 27:10<\/span>;Jer 27:15<\/span>; Jer 44:8<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n They have set up kings, but not by me<\/strong>,…. Not by his authority, order, and command; not by asking advice of him, or his leave, but of themselves, and of their own, accord: this refers to the case of Jeroboam their first king, after their separation from the house of David, and from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; for though his becoming king of Israel was according to the secret will of God, and by his overruling providence; yet it was done without his express orders, and without asking counsel of him, or his consent, and of their own heads; and many of his successors were conspirators, and set up themselves with the consent of the people, to the dethroning of others, and upon the slaughter of them, as Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea: the people of Israel had no right to choose a king for themselves; the right was alone in the Lord; it was he that chose, appointed, and constituted their kings, De 17:15<\/span>; thus Saul, David, and Solomon, were chose and appointed by him, 1Sa 10:24<\/span>; it was not the person of Jeroboam chosen God disliked; but their taking it upon them to choose and set him up without his leave;<\/p>\n they have made princes, and knew [it] not<\/strong>; that is, they set up subordinate governors, judges, civil magistrates, elders of the people, over them, without his approbation, and such as were very disagreeable to him; otherwise he knew what was done by them, as being the omniscient God, but he did not approve of what they did. Some observe, that , in the word used, is put for , and should be rendered, “they have removed”, so Jarchi and Japhet; that is, they have set up kings, and they have removed them; they have took it upon them to make and pose kings at pleasure, without seeking the Lord about it, when this is his prerogative, who is King of kings, and Lord of lords, Da 2:21<\/span>; which sense makes a strong and beautiful antithesis;<\/p>\n of their silver and their gold have they made their idols<\/strong>; some of their idols were made of silver, others of gold; particularly the calves at Dan and Bethel, which are called the golden calves, because made of gold; as was the calf in the wilderness, 1Ki 12:28<\/span>; see<\/p>\n Isa 46:6<\/span>;<\/p>\n that they may be cut off<\/strong>: which denotes not the end, intentions, and design of making these idols of silver and gold, but the event thereof; namely, either the destruction of the idols themselves, which, for the sake of the silver and gold they were made of; were cut in pieces by a foreign enemy; or the gold and silver were cut off from the people, their riches and wealth were wasted by such means; or rather the people were cut off, everyone of them, because of their worship of them, or this would be the case.<\/p>\n The proof of Israel’s renunciation of its God is to be found in the facts mentioned in Hos 8:4<\/span>. “They have set up kings, but not from me, have set up princes, and I know it not: their silver and their gold they have made into idols, that it may be cut off.” <\/em> The setting up of kings and princes, not from Jehovah, and without His knowledge, i.e., without His having been asked, refers chiefly to the founding of the kingdom by Jeroboam I. It is not to be restricted to this, however, but includes at the same time the obstinate persistence of Israel in this ungodly attitude on all future occasions, when there was either a change or usurpation of the government. And the fact that not only did the prophet Ahijah foretel to Jeroboam I that he would rule over the ten tribes (1Ki 11:30<\/span>.), but Jehu was anointed king over Israel by Elisha’s command (2 Kings 9), and therefore both of them received the kingdom by the express will of Jehovah, is not at variance with this, so as to require the solution that we have a different view here from that which prevails in the books of Kings, – namely, one which sprang out of the repeated changes of government and anarchies in this kingdom (Simson). For neither the divine promise of the throne, nor the anointing performed by the command of God, warranted their forcibly seizing upon the government, – a crime of which both Jeroboam and Jehu rendered themselves guilty. The way in which both of them paved the way to the throne was not in accordance with the will of God, but was most ungodly (see at 1Ki 11:40<\/span>). Jeroboam was already planning a revolt against Solomon (1Ki 11:27<\/span>), and led the gathering of the ten tribes when they fell away from the house of David 91 Kings Hos 12:2<\/span>.). Of Jehu, again, it is expressly stated in 2Ki 9:14<\/span>, that he conspired against Joram. And the other usurpers, just like the two already named, opened the way to the throne by means of conspiracies, whilst the people not only rebelled against the rightful heir to the throne at Solomon’s death, from pure dislike to the royal house of David, which had been appointed by God, and made Jeroboam king, but expressed their approval of all subsequent conspiracies as soon as they have been successful. This did not come from Jehovah, but was a rebellion against Him – a transgression of His covenant. To this must be added the further sin, viz., the setting up of the idolatrous calf-worship on the part of Jeroboam, to which all the kings of Israel adhered. It was in connection with this, that the application of the silver and gold to idols, by which Israel completely renounced the law of Jehovah, had taken place. It is true that silver was not used in the construction of the golden calves; but it was employed in the maintenance of their worship. : that it (the gold and silver) may be destroyed, as more fully stated in Hos 8:6<\/span>. describes the consequence of this conduct, which, though not designed, was nevertheless inevitable, as if it had been distinctly intended.<\/p>\n The Prophet here notices two things, with respect to which he reprobates the perfidy and impious perverseness of the people, — they had, against the will of God, framed a religion for themselves, — and they had instituted a new kingdom. The salvation of that people, we know, was, as it were, founded on a certain kingdom and priesthood; and by these two things God testified that he was allied to the children of Abraham. We know where the happiness of the godly is deposited, even in Christ; for Christ is to us the fulness of a blessed life, because he is a king and a priest. Hence I have said, that through a certain kingdom and priesthood did the favor of God towards the people then shine forth. Now when the Israelites overturned the kingdom, which God by his own authority instituted, and when they corrupted and adulterated the priesthood, did they not, as it were, designedly extinguish the favor of God, and strive to annihilate whatever was needful for their salvation? This then is what the Prophet now speaks of, that is, that the Israelites in changing the kingdom and priesthood had undermined the whole appointment of God, and openly showed that they were unwilling to be ruled by God’s hand; for they would have never dared to turn asides even in the least degree, from the kingdom of David, nor would they have dared to set up a new and spurious priesthood, if any particle of the fear of God had prevailed in their hearts. <\/p>\n We now perceive the design of the Prophet, which interpreters have not sufficiently considered; for some refer this to the covenants, as it seemed strange to them, that the Israelites should be so severely reproved for setting up Jeroboam as their king, since Ahijah the Shilonite had already declared by God’s command, that it would be so. But they attend not sufficiently to what the Prophet had in view; for, as I have already said, when God instituted the priesthood, there shone forth in it the image of Christ the Mediator, whose office it is, to intercede with God that he might reconcile him to men; and then in the person of David shone forth also the kingdom of Christ. Now when the people tumultuously chose a new king for themselves without any command from God, and when they built for themselves a new temple and altar contrary to what the law prescribed, and when they divided the priesthood, was not all this a manifest corruption, a denial of religion? It is hence evident that the Israelites were in both these respects apostates; for they forsook God in two ways, — first, by separating from the house of David, — and then by forming for themselves a strange worship, which God had not commanded in his law. <\/p>\n With regard to the first, he says, They have caused to reign, but not through me; they have instituted a government, and I knew it not, that is, without my consent; for God is said not to know what he does not approve, or that concerning which he is not consulted. But some one may object and say, that God knew of the new kingdom since he was the founder of it. To this the answer is, that God so works, that this pretext does not yet excuse the ungodly, since they aim at something else, rather than to execute his purpose. As for instance, God designed to prove the patience of his servant Job: the robbers who took away his property, were they excusable? By no means. For what was their object, but to enrich themselves by injustice and plunder? Since then they purchased their advantage at the expense of another, and unjustly robbed a man who had never injured them, they were destitute of every excuse. The Lord, however, did in the meantime execute by them what he had appointed, and what he had already permitted Satan to do. He intended, as it has been said, that his servant should be plundered; and Satan, who influenced the robbers, could not himself move a finger except by the permission of God; nay, except it was commanded him. At the same time, the Lord had nothing in common or in connection with the wicked, because his purpose was far apart from their depraved lust. So also it must be said of what is said here by the Prophet. As God intended to punish Solomon, so he took away the ten tribes. He indeed suffered Solomon to reign to the end of his days, and to retain the government of the kingdom; but Rehoboam, who succeeded him, lost the ten tribes. This did not happen by chance; for God had so decreed; yea, he had declared that it would be so. He sent Ahijah the Shilonite to offer the kingdom to Jeroboam, who had dreamt of nothing of the kind. God then ruled the whole by his own secret counsel, that the ten tribes should desert their allegiance to Rehoboam, and that Jeroboam, being made king, should possess the greater part of the kingdom. This, I say, was done by God’s decree: but yet the people did not think that they were obeying God in revolting from Rehoboam, for they desired some relaxation, when they saw that the young king wished tyrannically to oppress them; hence they chose to themselves a new king. But they ought to have endured every wrong rather than to deprive themselves of that inestimable blessing, of which God gave them a symbol and pledge in the kingdom of David; for David, as it has been said, did not reign as a common king, but was a type of Christ, and God had promised his favor to the people as long as his kingdom flourished, as though Christ did then dwell in the midst of the people. When therefore the people shook off the yoke of David, it was the same as if they had rejected Christ himself because Christ in his type was despised. <\/p>\n We hence see how base was the conduct of the people in joining themselves to Jeroboam. For that sedition was not merely a proof of levity, as some people do often rashly upset the state of things; it was not merely a rash levity, but an impious denial of God’s favor, the same as if they had rejected Christ himself. They had also, in this way, torn themselves from the body of the Church; and though the kingdom of Israel surpassed the kingdom of Judah in wealth and power, it yet became like a putrid member, for the whole soundness depended on the head, from which the ten tribes had cut themselves off. We now then see why the Prophet so sharply expostulates with the Israelites for setting up a kingdom, but not through God; and solved also is the question, how God here declares that was not through him, which yet he had determined and testified by the mouth of his prophet, Ahijah the Shilonite; that is, that God, as it has been said, had not given a command to the people, nor permitted the people to withdraw themselves from their allegiance to Rehoboam. God then denies that kingdom, with respect to the people, was set up by his decree; and he says that what was done was this, — that the people made a king without consulting him; for the people ought to have attended to what pleased him, to what the Lord himself conceded; this they did not, but suddenly followed their own blind impulse. <\/p>\n And this place is worthy of being observed; for we hence learn that the same thing is done and not done by the Lord. Foolish men at this day, not versed in the Scripture, excite great commotions among us about the providence of God; yea, there are many rabid dogs who bark at us, because we say, (what even Scripture teaches everywhere,) that nothing is done except by the ordination and secret counsel of God, and that whatever is carried on in this world is governed by his hand. “How so? Is God, then a murderer? Is God, then a thief? Or, in other words, are slaughters, thefts, and all kinds of wickedness, to be imputed to him?” These men show, while they would be deemed acute, how stupid they are, and also how absurd; nay, rather what mad wild beasts they are. For the Prophet here shows that the same thing was done and not done by the Lord, but in a different way. God here expressly denies that Jeroboam was created king by him; on the other hand, by referring to sacred history, it appears that Jeroboam was created king, not by the suffrages of the people, but by the command of God; for no such thing had yet entered the mind of the people, when Ahijah was bidden to go to Jeroboam; and he himself did not aspire to the kingdom, no ambition impelled him; he remained quiet as a private man, and the Lord stirred him up and said, “I will have thee to reign.” The people knew nothing of these things. After it was done, who could have denied but that Jeroboam was set on the throne, as it were, by the hand of God? All this is true; but with are regard to the people, he was not created by God a king. Why? Because the Lord had commanded David and his posterity to reign perpetually. We hence see that all things done in the world are so disposed by the secret counsel of God, that he regulates whatever the ungodly attempts and whatever even Satan tries to do, and yet he remains just; and it avails nothing to lessen the fault of evils when they say, that all things are governed by the secret counsel of God. With regard to themselves, they know what the Lord enjoins in his law; let them follow that rule: when they deviate from it, there is no ground for them to excuse themselves and say that they have obeyed God; for their design is ever to be regarded. We hence see how the Israelites appointed a king, but not by God; for it was sedition that impelled them, when, at the same time, the law enjoined that they should choose no one as a king except him who had been elected by God; and he had marked out the posterity of David, and designed that they should occupy the royal throne till the coming of Christ. <\/p>\n Then follows the other charge, — that they made to themselves idols from their gold and from their silver God here complains that his worship was not only fallen into decay, but that it was also wholly corrupted by superstitions. It was an impiety not to be borne, that the people had desired a new king for themselves; but it was the summit of all evils, when the Israelites converted their gold and their silver into idols. They have made, he says, their gold and silver idols; that is, “I destined the gold and the silver, with which they have been enriched, for very different purposes. When, therefore, I was liberal to them, they abused my kindness, and from their gold and their silver they made to themselves idols or gods.” Here, then, the Prophet, by implication, sharply reproves the blind madness of the people, that they made to themselves gods of corruptible things, which ought, in the meantime, to be serviceable to them; for to what purpose is money given us by the Lord, but for our daily use? Since, then, the Lord has destined gold and silver for our service, what frenzy it is when men work them into gods for themselves! But this main point must be ever remembered, that the Israelites, in all things, betrayed their own defection; for they hesitated not to overthrow the kingdom which God had instituted for their salvation, and they dared to pervert the whole worship of God, together with the priesthood, by introducing new superstitions. <\/p>\n Then follows a denunciation of punishment — Therefore Israel shall be cut off. Were any, indeed, to object and say that God was too rigid, there would be no reason for such an objection; for they had betrayed and violated their pledged faith, and by condemning and treading under foot both the kingdom and priesthood, they had rejected his favor. We hence see that the Prophet threatens them now with deserved destruction. Let us proceed — <\/p>\n (4) Set up kings.<\/strong>It is possible that the prophet alludes to the history of the northern kingdom as a whole. Though the revolt of the Ten Tribes received Divine sanction (1Ki. 11:9-11<\/span>), it was obviously contrary to the Divine and prophetic idea which associated the growth of true religion with the line of David (Hos. 3:5<\/span>). But it is best to regard the passage as referring to the short reigns of usurpers and to the foul murders which disgraced the annals of the northern kingdom since the death of Jeroboam II. Jehovah repudiates all participation in their anarchy.<\/p>\n Knew it not.<\/strong>Should be, knew them not<\/em>viz., the gold and silver splendours wherewith Israel had adorned its apostacy.<\/p>\n ISRAEL’S POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES; AN ABOMINATION TO JEHOVAH, Hos 8:4-14<\/span>.<\/p>\n In Hos 8:4<\/span> the prophet renews his attack upon Israel. The political revolutions are rebellion against Jehovah (Hos 8:4<\/span>); their idolatry is an abomination to him (Hos 8:4-6<\/span>); they must reap what they have sown (Hos 8:7<\/span>); their appeals to foreign nations will not save them (Hos 8:8-10<\/span>). Once more he condemns their religious practices, and the section closes with a threat of judgment (Hos 8:11-14<\/span>).<\/p>\n 4<\/strong>. <\/strong> They have set up kings, but not by me <\/strong> Some understand this passage as a condemnation of the kingship in general; others, of the division of the kingdom after the death of Solomon, which led to the election of kings not of the dynasty of David; still others connect it with the chaotic condition subsequent to the death of Jeroboam II, when royal assassinations became quite common. The last interpretation is the most probable, for the prophet seems to be concerned with the present and immediate past rather than with events which occurred centuries before his time. As in chapter 7, the prophet condemns the present condition of politics. <\/p>\n Princes <\/strong> Nobles (Hos 3:4<\/span>; Hos 7:3<\/span>, etc.). It seems to have been customary in connection with the royal assassinations to make a clean sweep, to destroy the entire royal family and court. With the new king a new set of nobles came to the front. <\/p>\n Knew <\/strong> The divine knowledge is not abstract; it involves approval or disapproval, loving care or abandonment; here equivalent to I did not approve <\/em> (compare Psa 1:6<\/span>; Job 9:21<\/span>).<\/p>\n As their political practices are an abomination to Jehovah so also their religious practices, culminating in idolatry. <\/p>\n They made them idols <\/strong> Though in Hos 8:5<\/span> the “calf of Samaria” is specified the bulls set up by Jeroboam I in Beth-el and Dan (1Ki 12:28-29<\/span>) there can be no doubt that Hosea is condemning the idolatrous worship in general which was one result of the close contact between the Israelites and the Canaanites. Here for the first time in prophetic discourse we meet hostility to images. From the silence of the earlier prophets, Elijah, Elisha, and Amos, the inference has been drawn that they did not disapprove of them, and the further inference that the Decalogue, found in Exodus xx and Deuteronomy v, with its prohibition of image worship, was not known at or before this time. It is doubtful, however, whether these inferences are warranted. Every crisis in Israel called forth a prophet. Every prophet arose to meet a particular crisis. The earlier prophets were raised up to meet certain crises, serious in their own day and generation, and to these they gave exclusive attention. Their silence on other matters proves only that, with more important affairs in hand, they thought it wise to leave others for their successors. The earlier prophets were concerned with having Jehovah recognized as the supreme God; others might portray his nature and character. The representation of Jehovah by images was not a denial of his supremacy, though it was due to a misapprehension of his spiritual nature; the emphasis of the latter might well wait until the former was more generally recognized. <\/p>\n That they may be cut off <\/strong> The Hebrew verb is in the singular; LXX. reads the plural, which may be original. Some interpret these words as referring to the people. Since Israel did know, or at least could have known, better, their idolatrous practices were evidence that they were determined upon their own destruction. It seems better, however, to understand the words as referring to the idols; they make them only to be destroyed again.<\/p>\n ‘They have set up kings, but not by me,<\/p>\n They have made princes, and I knew it not,<\/p>\n Of their silver and their gold they have made idols for themselves,<\/p>\n That they may be cut off.’<\/p>\n YHWH’s first complaint was that Israel had set up kings and made princes without consulting YHWH, and this appears to have been so from the beginning, for while prophetic voices certainly were raised in support of Jeroboam I and Jehu, these were in private messages and not publicly proclaimed (1Ki 11:30-38<\/span>; 2Ki 9:1-10<\/span>). There is no suggestion anywhere that the people attempted to discover YHWH’s will as to who should reign over them, or who should be their princes, something which very much indicated that YHWH’s will was not very important to them. In Israel the king was supposed to be YHWH’s representative who acted in the Name of YHWH, but this made it quite clear that the people of Israel did not care about that one jot. And both Jeroboam and Jehu then proceeded to sin grievously, so that both were subsequently condemned by YHWH (1Ki 14:7-16<\/span>; 2Ki 10:28-31<\/span>; Hos 1:4<\/span>). Furthermore at this time when Hosea was speaking kings were being replaced by means of assassination with none seemingly objecting that YHWH’s representative had been removed. YHWH’s will was being treated as irrelevant.<\/p>\n YHWH’s second complaint was that instead of bringing their treasures to Him they were using them to make idols for themselves. This would certainly include the golden calves set up by Jeroboam (1Ki 12:28-29<\/span>), but would almost certainly also include smaller images of Baal and Asherah and other gods made in both silver and gold. And this in itself was the guarantee that Israel would be ‘cut off’.<\/p>\n It was as a consequence of the appointment of inept kings and princes without YHWH’s agreement that the golden idols were being set up which were mainly responsible for the downfall of Israel, and that strangers would be able to come in and seize their crops (Hos 8:7<\/span>). It is the former which will be dealt with first.<\/p>\n Israel Have Laid False Foundations In Kingship And Religion, And YHWH, Despairing Of There Being Any Likelihood Of Their Becoming Pure, Will In Anger Both Destroy ‘The Calf Of Samaria’ And Minimise Their Harvest ( Hos 8:4-7<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Having appointed kings and princes without regard to YHWH, and having used their God-given wealth in order to make idols for themselves, Israel is subject to the anger of YHWH, Who despairs of their ever becoming pure in the near future. He will therefore destroy the calf of Samaria and break it in pieces, and will make their fields barren, while anything that is produced will be swallowed up by foreigners.<\/p>\n Analysis of Hos 8:4-7<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> .<\/p>\n a <\/strong> They have set up kings, but not by me, they have made princes, and I knew it not, of their silver and their gold they have made idols for themselves, that they may be cut off (Hos 8:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n b <\/strong> He has cast off your calf, O Samaria (Hos 8:5<\/span> a).<\/p>\n c <\/strong> My anger is kindled against them. How long will it be before they attain to innocency? (Hos 8:5<\/span> b).<\/p>\n b <\/strong> For from Israel is even this, the workman made it, and it is no God. Yes, the calf of Samaria will be broken in pieces (Hos 8:6<\/span>).<\/p>\n a <\/strong> For they sow the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind, he has no standing grain, the blade will yield no meal. If so be it yield, strangers will swallow it up (Hos 8:7<\/span>).<\/p>\n Note that in ‘a’ their kings and princes are strangers to YHWH, and their wealth they have turned into idols, that they may be cut off, and in the parallel their fields will be fruitless (fruitfulness was the main aim of Baalism), and strangers would swallow up anything that they did produce, because their kings and princes would be unable to prevent it. In ‘b’ the bull of Samaria has been cut off, and in the parallel it is because it was made by workmen and is no God, which is why it will be broken in pieces. Centrally in ‘c’ YHWH is angry with them and despairs of their ever becoming pure.<\/p>\n Hos 8:4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew [it] not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.<\/p>\n Ver. 4. They have set up kings, but not by me, &c.<\/strong> ] The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin render it, “They have reigned themselves”; like as St Paul telleth the haughty Corinthians, who, carried aloft by their waxen wings, domineered and despised others, “ye have reigned as kings without us,” &c., 1Co 4:8<\/span> . But our reading is according to the original; and so they are charged with a double defection; the one civil, from the house of David, “they have set up kings,” &c.; the other ecclesiastical, from the sincere service of God, “they had made them idols.” For the first, it was not their fault to set up kings; but to do it without God, without his license and approbation. They took counsel, but not of God; they covered with a covering, but not of his spirit, that they might add sin to sin, Isa 30:1<\/span> . They went headlong to work, in setting up Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. For although the things were done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, as was likewise Christ’s crucifixion, Act 2:23<\/span> , see 1Ki 11:31<\/span><\/em> ; <\/em> 1Ki 12:15 ; <\/em> 1Ki 12:24 yet because the people were led by their own pride and ambition to choose a new king, without either asking God’s consent or eyeing his decree, they did it rashly and seditiously; neither aimed they at anything else, but at the easing of their burdens, and drawing to themselves the wealth of the kingdom. As for Jeroboam, it is before noted, that although he had it cleared to him, that God’s will was he should be king over the ten tribes, yet because it was a will of God’s decree, not of his command, as of a duty to be done by him; and because he did not as David, who when he had the promise of the kingdom (yea, was anointed king) yet invaded not the kingdom, but waited till he was lawfully exalted thereunto by God; therefore passeth he for a usurper. And the people are here worthily reprehended, since whatsoever is not of faith is sin; and it is obedience when men obey a divine precept; but not ever when they follow a divine instinct. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n They have made princes, &c.<\/strong> ] Some render it, They have removed princes (as if in the word Hasiru Sin<\/em> were put for Samech,<\/em> R. Sal. Jerki.), they have taken liberty to make and unmake princes at their pleasure; as the Roman army did emperors; and as that potent Earl of Warwick, in Henry VI’s time, who is said to have carried a king in his pocket. But because the former reading is confirmed by the Chaldee paraphrase, and the sense is agreeable to what went before, neither read we of any kings of Israel deposed by the people, we retain it as the better. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols<\/strong> ] Of the guts and garbage of the earth had they made them terricula,<\/em> fray-bugs (or spectres), or molestations ( Gnatsabim): terrorem enim et tristitiara duntaxat afferunt suis cultoribus,<\/em> for they cause terror and heaviness only to those that worship them (Polan.). “Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god,” Psa 16:4<\/span> . The Greek Churches, for instance, so set upon image worship, and therefore now subjected to the Turkish tyranny; a type whereof were these ten tribes carried captive by the Assyrian, without any return. Idols are called griefs, or sorrows, saith Peter Martyr, because they torment the mind and trouble the conscience; neither can they quiet or pacify it; so that idolaters must needs be always in doubt and despair, as Papists are, whose whole religion is a doctrine of desperation. Their penances and pilgrimages to such or such an idol might still their consciences for a while; but this was a truce rather than a peace; a palliate cure, which would not hold long; a corrupting of the sergeant, but not compounding with the creditor. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n That they may be cut off<\/strong> ] Not their silver and gold, the matter of their idols, as some sense it; but the whole nation, princes and people together. Idolatry is a God-provoking and a land-desolating sin, as in this prophecy. Often it is not so much the enemies’ sword as the sin of idolatry that destroyeth cities and kingdoms, through the justice and jealousy of Almighty God.<\/p>\n they have set up kings. Compare Hos 7:7. See 2Ki 15:13, 2Ki 15:17, 2Ki 15:27 (Shallum, Menahem, Pekah). <\/p>\n made princes = caused [men]to bear rule. Hebrew. sarar = to bear rule. See note on Hos 12:3. <\/p>\n knew = acknowledged. <\/p>\n idols = elaborate idols. <\/p>\n of their silver, &c. Compare Hos 2:8; Hos 13:2. <\/p>\n they = he. The nation spoken of as one man. But the Aramaean, Septuagint, and Syriac read “they”, with the Authorized Version. <\/p>\n set: 1Ki 12:16-20, 2Ki 15:10-30, “Shallum, Menakem, Pekahiah.” I knew. Mat 25:12, Luk 13:25, Luk 13:27, Joh 10:14, Gal 4:9 <\/p>\n of: Hos 2:8, Hos 13:2, 1Ki 12:28, 1Ki 16:31 <\/p>\n that they: Hos 13:9, 1Ki 13:34, Jer 44:7, Jer 44:8, Eze 18:31 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Exo 32:4 – calf 2Sa 19:10 – whom 1Ki 12:20 – and made him 1Ki 12:24 – for this thing 2Ch 11:4 – for this thing Isa 17:8 – the work Isa 44:9 – and their Isa 46:6 – lavish Jer 10:3 – one Jer 16:20 – General Dan 3:1 – made Hos 7:7 – devoured Hos 10:1 – to the multitude Hos 13:6 – therefore Hos 13:10 – thy judges Amo 2:6 – For three<\/p>\n Hos 8:4. This verse has special reference to the events of 1 Kings 12, The nation of the Jews divided because of the unwise actions and announcements of Rehoboam, Ten tribes revolted and set up a line of kings, starting with Jeroboam, that was in opposition to the God of Israel. It Is true that Rehoboam tried to interfere with the division, and that God rebuked him for it, saying this thing is from me. But that was because the conditions were such that He saw the need for the revolution to chastise the natiom But originally such an arrangement of the kings was not by me, saith the Lord. Princes, and I knew it not means that the Lord did not approve of the appointment of princes that, was made by Jeroboam, The word prince meana any leading person in a community, official or unofficial. After the division of the tribes, Jeroboam made priests of the lowest of the people (1Ki 12:31). Made them idols is recorded in 1 Kings 12: 2832.<\/p>\n Hos 8:4-14. Israels Unsanctified National Life.Man-made kings, like man-made gods (the calf of Samaria), are impotent; Israel sows the wind and shall reap the whirlwind; the sources of the national life are withered, and the nation ceases to count (Hos 8:4-8). Resort to foreign aid only further diminishes its vital forces (Hos 8:8-10). Multiplication of altars only multiplies sin; the rites of an unholy cultus can but hasten the Divine punishment (Hos 8:11-14). Probably Hos 8:14 is an addition, and there may be glosses besides.<\/p>\n Hos 8:4. Hosea is the first prophet to denounce the gold and silver calves under which form Yahweh was worshipped in N. Israel (cf. 1Ki 12:28 ff*.).<\/p>\n Hos 8:5. Read, I have cast off.<\/p>\n Hos 8:5 b, Hos 8:6 a may be a later addition. The connexion is improved by the omission.<\/p>\n Hos 8:7 b. Better, Hath it grown up? (then) it hath no shoot nor bringeth forth fruit (so Wellhausen, G. A. Smith). The assonance is original. The general idea, expressed under the metaphor of sowing and reaping, is that futile and unprofitable conduct brings ruin at the end.<\/p>\n Hos 8:8. Israel has already, within a few years of the death of Jeroboam II, dissipated its national prestige. Marti and Nowack transpose like a wild ass alone by himself from Hos 8:9 to Hos 8:8, and (reading Ephraim for pere), render, Israel is swallowed up, Ephraim isolated.as a vessel, etc.: cf. Jer 22:28; Jer 48:38.<\/p>\n Hos 8:9 f. It is difficult to extract coherent sense from MT. With the transposition of Hos 8:9 b (see above), and slight emendation (misraim, Egypt, for Ephraim and scatter for gather), Hos 8:9 f. will run: For theythey are gone up to Assyria; to Egypthave given love-gifts. (Though they give [such] among the nations now will I scatter them) and they shall soon cease to anoint kings and princes (cf. LXX). Marti regards the bracketed clause as a gloss.<\/p>\n Hos 8:11. Omit the first to sin.<\/p>\n Hos 8:12. my law . . . precepts: read, the multitude of my laws (directions)not the written Law in the later sense.as a strange thing: render, as those of a stranger.<\/p>\n Hos 8:13 a. Text obscure. Read, perhaps Sacrifices they lovedand did sacrifice; flesh, and did eat, etc. The sacrifice and feasts of the cultus are dear to the Israelites, but not to Yahweh.<\/p>\n Hos 8:14. Probably an addition. For Hos 8:14 b, cf. Amo 1:4*.<\/p>\n 8:4 They have set up {c} kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew [it] not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.<\/p>\n (c) That is, Jeroboam, by whom they sought their own liberty, and to obey my will.<\/p>\n One example of Israel’s rebellion was the setting up of kings and other leaders without consulting Yahweh.<\/p>\n "Yahweh alone<\/span> determines who can be king either by charismatic gifts or by direct revelation through a prophet. He gives<\/span> kings to the nations (e.g., 1Ki 19:15-16); they do not decide who their kings will be. . . . The king was Yahweh’s representative or regent, not the people’s choice." [Note: Stuart, p. 131.] <\/span><\/p>\n The making of idols was another example of rebellion. The result of this rebellion was that God would cut Israel off (separate Israel from its land and people).<\/p>\n 2. ARTIFICIAL KINGS AND ARTIFICIAL GODS<\/p>\n Hos 8:4-13<\/p>\n The curse of such a state of dissipation as that to which Israel had fallen is that it produces no men. Had the people had in them “the root of the matter,” had there been the stalk and the fiber of a national consciousness and purpose, it would have blossomed to a man. In the similar time of her outgoings upon the world Prussia had her Frederick the Great, and Israel, too, would have produced a leader, a heaven-sent king, if the national spirit had not been squandered on foreign trade and fashions. But after the death of Jeroboam every man who rose to eminence in Israel, rose, not on the nation, but only on the fevered and transient impulse of some faction; and through the broken years one party monarch was lifted after another to the brief tenancy of a blood-stained throne. They were not from God, these monarchs; but man-made, and sooner or later man-murdered. With his sharp insight Hosea likens these artificial kings to the artificial gods, also the work of mens hands; and till near the close of his book the idols of the sanctuary and the puppets of the throne form the twin targets of his scorn.<\/p>\n “They have made kings, but not from Me; they have made princes, but I knew not. With their silver and their gold they have manufactured themselves idols, only that they may be cut off”-king after king, idol upon idol. “He loathes thy Calf, O Samaria,” the thing of wood and gold which thou callest Jehovah. And God confirms this. “Kindled is Mine anger against them! How long will they be incapable of innocence?”-unable to clear themselves of guilt! The idol is still in his mind. “For from Israel is it also-as much as the puppet-kings”; a workman made it, and no god is it. Yea, splinters shall the Calf of Samaria become.” Splinters shall everything in Israel become. “For they sow the wind, and the whirlwind shall they reap.” Indeed like a storm Hoseas own language now sweeps along; and his metaphors are torn into shreds upon it. “Stalk it hath none: the sprout brings forth no grain: if it were to bring forth, strangers would swallow it.” Nay, “Israel hath let herself be swallowed up! Already are they becoming among the nations like a vessel there is no more use for.” Heathen empires have sucked them dry. “They have gone up to Assyria like a runaway wild-ass. Ephraim hath hired lovers.” It is again the note of their mad dissipation among the foreigners. “But if they” thus “give themselves away among the nations, I must gather them in, and” then “shall they have to cease a little from the anointing of a king and princes.” This willful roaming of theirs among the foreigners shall be followed by compulsory exile, and all their unholy artificial politics shall cease. The discourse turns to the other target. For Ephraim hath multiplied altars-to sin; altars are his own-to sin. Were I to write for him by myriads My laws, as those of a stranger would they be accounted. They slay burnt-offerings for Me and eat flesh. Jehovah hath no delight in them. Now must He remember their guilt and make visitation upon their sin. They-to Egypt-shall return” Back to their ancient servitude must they go, as formerly He said He would withdraw them to the wilderness. {Hos 2:16}<\/p>\n They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew [it] not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. 4. Israel’s great offence making a schism in the ‘theocratic’ community. Setting up idols was virtually rebellion against Jehovah; whatever … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hosea 8:4”<\/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-22209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22209","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=22209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"