9<\/strong>. I will not return<\/em>, &c.] The strict rendering of the words is, ‘I will not again destroy Ephraim’; the sense however, is, I will not bring back Ephraim to nothing.<\/strong> He who moulded Ephraim into a nation will not busy himself with it again to its destruction. Comp. the same Hebrew idiom in Hos 2:9<\/span>.<\/p>\n for I am God, and not man<\/em> ] The perfection of the Divine nature does not, to Hosea, exclude the possession of something analogous to human feelings, but one thing it does forbid us to assume, viz. that an emotion of anger should divert Jehovah from the execution of his eternal purpose.<\/p>\n the Holy One in the midst of thee<\/em> ] It is the glory of Israel to have the Holy One specially in her midst. Whatever interferes with His supreme right of property in Israel, He must destroy, but He will not so chastise His chosen people as to extinguish it altogether. All that is left will be holy, as Jehovah is holy devoted to Jehovah, as Jehovah is devoted to Israel. Of course, though Jehovah’s holiness has a special relation to Israel, this does not exclude a more general relation to the world outside. His manifestation is concentrated, but not confined, within His ‘peculiar people.’<\/p>\n I will not enter into the city<\/em> ] But this is pointless, for why should a visit from Jehovah be deprecated (comp. Exo 20:24<\/span>)? Hence many, adopting a different view of one word, render, I will not come in fury.<\/strong> This is, however, not free from objection, and a very slight emendation gives the very appropriate sense, I will not come to exterminate<\/strong> (parallel to ‘to destroy’).<\/p>\n I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger – <\/B>It is the voice of mercy, rejoicing over judgment. mercy prevails in God over the rigor of His justice, that though He will not suffer them to go utterly unpunished, yet He will abate of it, and not utterly consume them.<\/P> I will not return to destroy Ephraim – <\/B>God saith that He will not, as it were, glean Ephraim, going over it again, as man doth, in order to leave nothing over. As it is in Jeremiah, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel, as a vine. Turn back thine hand, as a grapegatherer into the baskets Jer 6:9<\/span>; and, If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning-grapes? but I have made Esau bare Jer 49:9-10<\/span>.<\/P> For I am God and not man – <\/B>o<\/SUP>: not swayed by human passions, but so tempering His wrath, as, in the midst of it, to remember mercy; so punishing the iniquity of the sinful children, as at once to make good His gracious promises which He made to their forefathers. : Man punishes, to destroy; God smites, to amend.<\/P> The Holy One in the midst of thee – <\/B>The holiness of God is at once a ground why He punishes iniquity, and yet does not punish to the full extent of the sin. Truth and faithfulness are part of the holiness of God. He, the Holy One who was in the midst of them, by virtue of His covenant with their fathers, would keep the covenant which He had made, and for their fathers sakes would not wholly cut them off. Yet the holiness of God hath another aspect too, in virtue of which the unholy cannot profit by the promises of the All-Holy. I will not, paraphrases Cyril, use unmingled wrath. I will not give over Ephraim, wicked as he has become, to entire destruction. Why? Do they not deserve it? Yes, He saith, but I am God and not man, i. e., Good, and not suffering the motions of anger to overcome Me. For that is a human passion. Why then dost Thou yet punish, seeing Thou art God, not overcome with anger, but rather following Thine essential gentleness? I punish, He saith, because I am not only Good, as God, but holy also, hating iniquity, rejecting the polluted, turning away from God-haters, converting the sinner, purifying the impure, that he may again be joined to Me. We, then, if we prize the being with God, must, with all our might, fly from sin, and remember what He said. Be ye holy, for I am holy.<\/P> And I will not enter the city – <\/B>God, who is everywhere, speaks of Himself, as present to us, when He shows that presence in acts of judgment or of mercy. He visited His people in Egypt, to deliver them; He visited Sodom and Gomorrah as a Judge, making known to us that He took cognizance of their extreme wickedness. God says, that He would not enter the city, as He did the cities of the plain, when He overthrew them, because He willed to save them. As a Judge, He acts as though He looked away from their sin, lest, seeing their city to be full of wickedness, He should be compelled to punish it. : I will not smite indiscriminately, as man doth, who when wroth, bursts into an offending city, and destroys all. In this sense, the Apostle says, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not east away His people, whom He foreknew. What saith the answer of God to Elias! I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Bard. Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace Rom 11:1-2<\/span>, Rom 11:4-5<\/span>. God then was wroth, not with His people, but with unbelief. For He was not angered in such wise, as not to receive the remnant of His people, if they were converted. No Jew is therefore repelled, because the Jewish nation denied Christ; but whoso, whether Jew or Gentile, denieth Christ, he himself, in his own person, repels himself.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 9<\/span>. I will not execute<\/B><\/I>] Here is the issue<\/I> of this conflict in the Divine mind. Mercy triumphs over Judgment; Ephraim shall be spared. He is God, and not man<\/I>. He cannot be affected by human caprices. They are now penitent<\/I>, and implore mercy; he will not, as man<\/I> would do, punish them for former offenses, when they have fallen into his hand. The holy place<\/I> is in Ephraim, and God is in<\/I> this holy place<\/I>; and he will not go into the cities<\/I>, as he did into Sodom and Gomorrah, to destroy them. Judgment is his strange work. How exceedingly affecting are these two verses!<\/P> <\/p>\n Here mercy rejoiceth against judgment, and God declareth his purpose to spare, he promiseth that he will not execute according to utmost severity. This promise he confirmeth by doubling it, though in somewhat different words: I will not do as men, who having beat down au enemy, and wounded him, do return again to see whether he breathe, and to make an end of him; or conquerors, that plunder the conquered city, carry away the wealth of it, and after some time return to burn it; God will not do so. <\/P> I am God, and not man; <\/B>his compassions are infinite, his goodness unchangeable; he remembers all his promises to every one, and now seeth who among Israel believe, and hope for his grace and mercy; these he must spare, as he is just Judge of the whole earth, and for their sakes he will spare many others. <\/P> The Holy One in the midst of thee; <\/B>a holy God, and in covenant, though not with all, yet with many among you, and those that are in covenant with God are holy ones too: I will not make them as Admah or Zeboim, for the case is different, in the cities of the plain there were no righteous ones, but here are some, though not many: and so Rivet renders the words, there is a holy one in the midst of thee, where the singular is used for plural, as in that passage, <\/P> there is none righteous. I will not enter into the city; <\/B>I will not come amongst you, as I came into Sodom, &c. Here is comfort for Gods remnant. <\/P> <\/p>\n 9. I will not return to destroyEphraim<\/B>that is, I will no more, as in past times, destroyEphraim. The destruction primarily meant is probably that byTiglath-pileser, who, as the Jewish king Ahaz’ ally against Pekah ofIsrael and Rezin of Syria, deprived Israel of Gilead, Galilee, andNaphtali (2Ki 15:29<\/span>). Theulterior reference is to the long dispersion hereafter, to be endedby God’s covenant mercy restoring His people, not for their merits,but of His grace. <\/P> God, . . . not man<\/B>notdealing as man would, with implacable wrath under awful provocation(Isa 55:7-9<\/span>; Mal 3:6<\/span>).I do not, like man, change when once I have made a covenant ofeverlasting love, as with Israel (Nu23:19<\/span>). We measure God by the human standard, and hence are slowto credit fully His promises; these, however, belong to the faithfulremnant, not to the obstinately impenitent. <\/P> in the midst of thee<\/B>aspeculiarly thy God (Exo 19:5<\/span>;Exo 19:6<\/span>). <\/P> not enter into the city<\/B>asan enemy: as I entered Admah, Zeboim, and Sodom, utterly destroyingthem, whereas I will not utterly destroy thee. Somewhat similarlyJEROME: “I am notone such as human dwellers in a city,<\/I> who take cruel vengeance; Isave those whom I correct.” Thus “not man,” and “inthe midst of thee,” are parallel to “into the city.”Though I am in the midst of thee, it is not as man entering arebellious city to destroy utterly. MAURERneedlessly translates, “I will not come in wrath.<\/I>“<\/P><\/p>\n I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger<\/strong>,…. That is, his wrath and fury to the uttermost; his people are deserving of his wrath as others, being by nature children of wrath as the rest; which they are sensible of under spiritual conviction, and therefore flee from it, where they may be safe: and though the Lord often chastises and afflicts them, yet not in wrath; or however but in a little wrath, as it seems to them; he does not stir up all his wrath, nor any in reality; all being poured upon his Son, their surety, who saves and delivers them from wrath to come;<\/p>\n I will not return to destroy Ephraim<\/strong>; or “again”, or “any more, destroy” f him; not twice; he might be destroyed when carried captive into Assyria; but the remnant that shall spring from him in the latter day shall not be destroyed, but saved. The Targum is,<\/p>\n “my word shall not return to destroy the house of Israel;”<\/p>\n or I will not return from my love and affections to them, I will never be wroth with them any more; nor from my mercy to them, which is from everlasting to everlasting; or from my covenant, promise, and resolution to save them, they shall not be punished with everlasting destruction:<\/p>\n for I [am] God, and not man<\/strong>; a God gracious and merciful, longsuffering, slow to anger, and pardoning sin, and not man, cruel, revengeful, implacable, who shows no mercy when it is in the power of his hands to avenge himself; or God that changes not in his purposes and counsels, in his love and affections, and therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed, and not man that repents, is fickle, inconstant, and mutable; or God that is faithful to his covenant and promises, and not man that lies and deceives, promises and never performs. The Targum is,<\/p>\n “seeing I am God, my word remains for ever, and my works are not as the works of the flesh (or of men) who dwell upon the earth;”<\/p>\n the Holy One in the midst of thee<\/strong>; being in the midst of his people, he protects and defends them, and so they are safe; and being the Holy One there, he sanctifies them, and saves them, in a way consistent with his own holiness and justice: or there is “a Holy One”, or Holy Ones, the singular put for the plural, “in the midst of thee” g; and therefore thou shalt not be destroyed for their sakes, as Sodom would not, had there been ten righteous persons in it, to which some think the allusion is:<\/p>\n and I will not enter into the city<\/strong>; in a hostile way to destroy or plunder it; but this is not to be understood either of Samaria or Jerusalem, which were entered into in this manner. The Targum is,<\/p>\n “I have decreed by my word that my holy Shechinah shall be among you, and I will not change Jerusalem again for another city;”<\/p>\n which sense the Jewish commentators follow; but, as this respects Gospel times, the meaning seems to be, that God would dwell among his people everywhere, and would not be confined to any city or temple as heretofore; but wherever his church and people were, there would be his temple, and there he would dwell.<\/p>\n f “non perdam amplius”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “non iterum destruam”, Cocceius. g “[est] sanctus”, i.e. “[sancti], in medio tui”, Rivetus.<\/p>\n Then follows an explanation of this sentence, I will not execute the fury of my wrath: by which figurative mode of speaking he sets forth the punishment which was suitable to the sins of men. For it must ever be remembered, that God is exempt from every passion. But if no anger is to be supposed by us to be in God, what does he mean by the fury of his wrath? Even the relation between his nature and our innate or natural sins. But why does Scripture say that God is angry? Even because we imagine him to be so according to the perception of the flesh; for we do not apprehend God’s indignation, except as far as our sins provoke him to anger, and kindle his vengeance against us. Then God, with regard to our perception, calls the fury of his wrath the heavy judgement, which is equal to, or meet for, our sins. I will not execute, he says, that is, “I will not repay the reward which you have deserved.” <\/p>\n What then? I will not return to destroy Ephraim The verb אשוב, ashub, seems to have been introduced for this reason, because God had in part laid waste the kingdom of Israel: he therefore says, that the second overthrow, which he would presently bring, would not be such as would destroy the whole of Israel, or wholly consume them. I will not then return to destroy Ephraim; that is, “Though I shall again gird myself to punish the sins of the people, I shall yet restrain myself so that my vengeance shall not proceed to the destruction of the whole people.” The reason is subjoined, For I am God, and not man. <\/p>\n As he intended in this place to leave to the godly some hope of salvation, he adds what may confirm this hope; for we know that when God denounces wrath, with what difficulty trembling consciences are restored to hope. Ungodly men laugh to scorn all threatening; but those in whom there is any seed of piety dread the vengeance of God, and whenever terror seizes them, they are tormented with marvellous disquietude, and cannot be easily pacified. This then is the reason why the Prophet now confirms the doctrine which he had laid down: I am God, he says, and not man; as though he had said, that he would be propitious to his people, for he was not implacable as men are; and they are very wrong who judge of him, or measure him, by men. <\/p>\n We must here first remember, that the Prophet directs not his discourse promiscuously to all the Israelites, but only to the faithful, who were a remnant among that corrupt people. For God, at no time, suffered all the children of Abraham to become alienated, but some few at least remained, as it is said in another place, (1Kg 19:18<\/span>.) These the Prophet now addresses; and to administer consolation, he moderates what he had said before of the dreadful vengeance of God. This saying then was not to relieve the sorrow of hypocrites; for the Prophet regarded only the miserable, who had been so smitten with the feeling of God’s wrath, that despair would have almost swallowed them up, had not their grief been mitigated. This is one thing. But further, when he says that he is God, and not man, this truth ought to come to our minds, that we may taste of God’s gratuitous promises, whenever we vacillate as to his promises, or whenever terror possesses our minds. What! Do you doubt when you have to do with God? But whence is it, that we with so much difficulty rely on the promises of God, except that we imagine him to be like ourselves? Inasmuch then, as it is our habit thus to transform him, let this truth be a remedy to this fault; and whenever God promises pardon to us, from which proceeds the hope of salvation, how much soever he may have previously terrified us by his judgements, let this come to our mind, that as he is God, he is not to be judged of by what we are. We ought then to recumb simply on his promises. “But then we are unworthy to be pardoned; besides, so great is the atrocity of our sins, that there can be no hope of reconciliation.” Here we must take instant hold on this shield, we must learn to fortify ourselves with this declaration of the Prophet, He is God, and not man: let this shield be ever taken to repel every kind of diffidence. <\/p>\n But here a question may be raised, “Was He not God, when he destroyed Sodom and the neighbouring cities?” That judgement did not take away from the Lord his glory, nor was his majesty thereby diminished. But these two sentences are to be read together; I am God, and not man, holy in the midst of thee. When any one reads these sentences apart, he does wrong to the meaning of the Prophet. God, then, does not only affirm here that he is not like men, but he also adds, that he is holy in the midst of Israel. It is one view of God’s nature that is here given us, and what is set forth is the immense distance between him and men, as we find it written by Isaiah the Prophet, <\/p>\n ‘<\/p>\n My thoughts are not as yours: as much as the heaven is distant from the earth, so distant are my thoughts from your thoughts,’ (Isa 55:8<\/span>.) <\/p>\n So also in this place, the Prophet shows what God is, and how much his nature differs from the dispositions of men. He afterwards refers to the covenant which God made with his people: and what was the purport of that covenant? Even that God would punish his people; yet so as ever to leave some seed remaining. <\/p>\n ‘<\/p>\n I will chastise them,’ he says, ‘with the rod of men; I will not yet take away from them my mercy,’ (2Sa 7:14<\/span>.) <\/p>\n Since God then had promised some mitigation or some alleviation in all his punishments, he now reminds us, that he will not have his Church wholly demolished in the world, for he would thus be inconsistent with himself: hence he says, I am God, and not man, holy in the midst of thee; and since I have chosen thee to myself to be my peculiar possession and inheritance, and promised also to be for ever thy God, I will now moderate my vengeance, so that some Church may ever remain.” <\/p>\n For this reason he also says I will not enter into the city Some say, “I will not enter another city but Jerusalem.” But this does not suit the passage; for the Prophet speaks here of the ten tribes and not of the tribe of Judah. Others imagine an opposite meaning, “I will not enter the city,” as though he said, that he would indeed act kindly towards the people in not wholly destroying them; but that they should hereafter be without civil order, regular government, and other tokens of God’s favour: ‘I will not enter the city;’ that is, “I will not restore you, so that there may be a city and a kingdom, and an united body of people.” But this exposition is too forced; nay, it is a mere refinement, which of itself vanishes. (81) There is no doubt but that the similitude is taken from a warlike practice. For when a conqueror enters a city with an armed force, slaughter is not restrained but blood is indiscriminately shed. But when a city surrenders, the conqueror indeed may enter, yet not with a sudden and violent attack, but on certain conditions; and then he waits, it may be for two days, or for some time, that the rage of his soldiers may be allayed. Then he comes, not as to enemies, but as to his own subjects. This is what the Prophet means when he says, ‘I will not enter the city;’ that is, “I will make war on you and subdue your and force you to surrenders and that with great loss; but when the gates shall be opened, and the wall demolished, I will then restrain myself, for I am unwilling wholly to destroy you.” <\/p>\n If one objects and says, that this statement militates against many others which we have observed, the answer is easy, and the solution has already been adduced in another place, and I shall now only touch on it briefly. When God distinctly denounces ruin on the people, the body of the people is had in view; and in this body there was then no integrity. Inasmuch, then, as all the Israelites had become corrupt, had departed from the worship and fear of God, and from all piety and righteousness, and had abandoned themselves to all kinds of wickedness, the Prophet declares that they were to perish without any exception. But when he confines the vengeance of God, or moderates it, he has respect to a very small number; for, as it has been already stated, corruption had never so prevailed among the people, but that some seed remained. Hence, when the Prophet has in view the elect of God, he applies then these consolations, by which he mitigates their terror, that they might understand that God, even in his extreme rigour, would be propitious to them. Such is the way to account for this passage. With regard to the body of the people, the Prophet has already shown, that their cities were devoted to the fire, and that the whole nation was doomed to suffer the wrath of God; that every thing was given up to the fire and the sword. But now he says, “I will not enter;” that is, with regard to those whom the Lord intended to spare. And it must also be observed, that punishment was mitigated, not only with regard to the elect, but also with regard to the reprobate, who were led into captivity. We must yet remember, that when God spared them for a time, he chiefly consulted the good of his elect; for the temporary suspension of vengeance increased his judgement on the reprobate; for whosoever repented not in exile doubled, as it is evident, the wrath of God against themselves. The Lord, however, spared his people for a time; for among them was included his Church, in the same way as the wheat is preserved in the chaff, and is carried from the field with the straw. Why so? Even that the wheat may be separated. So also the Lord preserves much chaff with the wheat; but he will afterwards, in due time, divide the wheat from the chaff. We now understand the whole meaning of the Prophet, and also the application of his doctrine. It follows — <\/p>\n (81) There is another exposition, which Calvin probably did not think it worth his while to mention. It is an old one of Jerome, revived by Castallio, adopted by Lowth and Newcome, and highly praised by Horsley: and yet it seems to have neither point nor meaning, and certainly comports not with this place. The proposed rendering is this— <\/p>\n “<\/p>\n Although I am no frequenter of cities.” <\/p>\n God is not a frequenter of cities!! How odd and meaningless is this when compared with the view given by Calvin of the passage? <\/p>\n There is another explanation approved of by Dathe, which, as to the meaning, agrees with that of Calvin. He takes עיר, rendered “city,” to mean “anger,” and then the version would be, “I will not come in anger.” The Septuagint is, literally, “I will not come into the city.” <\/p>\n (9) This sublime passage is remarkable as drawing illustrations from human emotions, and yet repudiating all human weakness. It suggests a hint of Divine mercy in its greatness, and of Divine justice too, which shows how, both being alike infinite, they can adjust themselves beyond the power of human experience and imagination.<\/p>\n The Holy One in the midst of thee <\/strong>is such a blending of justice and mercy.<\/p>\n I will not enter into the city<\/strong>.So ancient versions. Enteri.e.,<\/em> as a destroyer. (Comp. Hos. 11:6<\/span>.) But many commentators interpret the Hebrew br<\/em> (into the city) to mean in wrath.<\/em> This is preferable.<\/p>\n I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,<\/p>\n I will not return to destroy Ephraim,<\/p>\n For I am God, and not man,<\/p>\n The Holy One in the midst of you,<\/p>\n And I will not come in wrath.’<\/p>\n Thus while He would chastise them severely He would limit the way in which the fierceness of His anger was exercised. He would not totally destroy Ephraim. They would still have a hope in the more distant future once their chastisement was over. This was precisely what Moses had declared centuries before when he had led them out of the wilderness (Leviticus 26<\/span>; Deuteronomy 28-29). And YHWH would do this because He was not a mere, vengeful man, but was God. He was the ‘Holy One’ of Israel in the midst of them, that is, the One Who was unique and of a wholly different nature from man, Who had chosen Israel. Thus while He would certainly visit them in wrath, it would not be in final wrath. He would chastise, but not finally destroy. Partial fulfilment of this future mercy took place in the restoration of Israel to the land, a restoration which would have drawn many exiles back to Palestine and resulted in the partly receptive Palestine to which Jesus came. But its greater fulfilment took place through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ Himself as He brought the remnant of Israel back to God, cutting off the old unbelieving Israel, and establishing a new believing Israel which would reach out to the world. But the restoration of old, unbelieving Israel to Palestine in the present day might also suggest that in the future there will be a great working of God among them so that they are once more ‘engrafted into the olive tree’ (Romans 11<\/span>) by coming in submission to Jesus Christ (without which there can be no salvation for anyone).<\/p>\n MT indicates that the final phrase is ‘And I will not enter into the city’, which would then indicate that while Assyria might destroy Samaria, and the sword might enter into the city (Hos 11:6<\/span>), YHWH Himself would not enter into the city in final judgment. It would not have had the final death knell rung over it, but would take part in the future about to be described.<\/p>\n Hos 11:9<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>And I will not enter into the city<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> And I will not come as an enemy. <\/em>Houbigant renders it, Nor am I come speedily to depart from thee: <\/em>and he supposes that the contrast in this and the former clause is between an inhabitant and a passing traveller. Bishop Lowth renders it, after St. Jerome, Though I inhabit not cities: <\/em>“I am not one of those who dwell in cities, who live according to human laws; who reckon cruelty to be justice.” Castalio follows St. Jerome. This sentence is parallel and, synonymous to I am not a man. <\/em>The future abo, <\/em>has a frequentative power: see Psa 3:8<\/span>. I am not used to enter, <\/em>or dwell; I am no inhabitant of a city. <\/em>There is a very elegant contrast in each member of the sentence: I am God, and not man;<\/em> there is an increase of the sense in the following sentence, and the contrast is varied: “I am thy God, dwelling with thee; but in a peculiar and extraordinary manner, no way similar to that of mankind.” Nothing can be more plain and elegant. <\/p>\n Hos 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I [am] God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.<\/p>\n Ver. 9. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger<\/strong> ] Heb. the heat of it. God’s heart kindled, and whatsoever might cause repentance came together, and lay glowing, as it were, at his heart; and this cooled and even quenched the heat of his wrath (as the sunbeams when they shine full upon the fire), so that now he resolves not to execute the height of his heat, the extremity of his fury, for then the spirit should fail before him. Ephraim is God’s dear son, his pleasant child; whom, when he hears bemoaning himself, as Jer 30:18-20<\/span> , he soon repents him of the evil, and cries, <\/p>\n – “ Satis hoc pro crimine magno<\/p>\n Paulum supplicii lenem sumpsisse parentem. ”<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I will not return to destroy Ephraim<\/em><\/strong> ] I will not undo him twice over, or utterly ruin him; as those that have laid their enemy for dead, return to see whether he be dead outright; or as soldiers that have once pillaged a city return after a while to take all that little that was left before, and to set the rest on fire. God will not deal so hardly with Ephraim, though he might do it. Reprobates indeed shall have an evil, an only evil, Eze 7:5<\/span><\/em> , without mixture of mercy; they must expect one plague upon another, as it fared with Pharaoh, till God had dashed the very breath out of his body. But for his elect people, Hath he smitten them, as he smote those that smote them? No, but in measure, in the branches only; he stayeth his rough wind, &c., Isa 27:7-8<\/span><\/em> . And as Croesus’ dumb son burst out into, Kill not King Croesus (’<\/em> A, <\/em> . Herod.), so when enemies are ready to devour the Church, or Satan to swallow God’s child up in despair, his heart’s work; he can hold no longer, but cries, Save my child, save my Church. Why should “the spirit fail before me, and the souls which I have made? I have seen his ways and” (though bad enough) “I will heal him, I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners,” Isa 57:16-18<\/span><\/em> . <\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For I am God, and not man<\/em><\/strong> ] Yea, such a God as the like is not, for pardoning iniquity, and passing by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage, Mic 7:18<\/span><\/em> . It is natural to him, Exo 34:6<\/span><\/em> ; it is usual, Neh 9:17<\/span><\/em> , there he is called a God of pardons, as, Isa 55:7<\/span><\/em> , he is said to multiply pardons. He hath commanded men to forgive an offending but repenting brother, seventy times seven times in a day, Mat 18:22<\/span><\/em> . What then will himself do? For he is God Almighty, and not man. Man is an angry, vindictive, cruel creature; one man is a wolf, yea, a devil, to another; unsociable, implacable, unmerciful, as those were, Rom 1:31<\/span><\/em> . Beware of men, saith our Saviour to his disciples, Mat 10:17<\/span><\/em> ; absurd and wicked men, 1Th 3:2<\/span><\/em> ; barbarous and brutish, skilful to destroy, Eze 21:31<\/span><\/em> . Yea, beware of good men when enraged. What strange deaths doth David (soon after his foul fall and not fully recovered) put the poor Ammonites to, 2Sa 12:31<\/span><\/em> . Further, men as they are unmerciful so they are unmindful of their promises. But God is not a man that he should lie, Num 23:18<\/span><\/em> . What he hath spoken with his mouth he will make good with his hand. The Eternity of Israel will not lie (as men will, <\/em> Rom 3:4 ), nor repent (as men do, whatever he may seem to do; See Trapp on “<\/em> Rom 3:3 “<\/em> Rom 3:3 ); for he is not a man that he should repent, 1Sa 15:29<\/span> . Men are mutable; the truest friend is , an easily changeable creature, as the heathen complained; all in changeable colours, as Tertullian saith of the peacock; as often changed as moved. Not so Almighty God. “I am Jehovah, I change not,” Mal 3:6<\/span> . See Trapp On: <\/em> Mal 3:6 “<\/em> and remember still to retain high thoughts of God; not measuring him by our model; as to think him to be as merciful as we are, as powerful as our understanding can reach, &c. See Isa 55:8-9<\/span> , and beg supernatural grace; without which it is impossible for a finite creature to believe the infinite attributes of Almighty God. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Holy One in the midst of thee<\/strong> ] Though Israel had deeply revolted, set up golden gods, and done wickedly as they could, so that there was no visible Church among them, yet God was the Holy One in the midst of them; seven thousand he had reserved that Elijah knew not of, 1Ki 19:18<\/span> , and a Church there was in Israel when at worst. Like as there was in medio Papatu,<\/em> in the darkest midnight of damned Popery; and at this very day there are said to be thousands of professed Protestants, even in Italy itself; and in Seville, a chief city of Spain, there are thought to be no fewer than twenty thousand. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And I will not enter into the city<\/strong> ] I will not invade the city as an enemy, to waste all with fire and sword, as once at Sodom. For what reason? there are holy ones in the midst of thee (so Rivet expoundeth it by an enallage of the number), a considerable company of righteous people, for whose sake I will spare thee, Jer 5:1<\/span> .<\/p>\n I am GOD, and not man. Figure of speech Pleonasm (App-6): put both ways for emphasis. Reference to Pentateuch (Num 23:19). Compare Isa 55:8, Isa 55:9. Mal 3:6. <\/p>\n GOD. Hebrew. ‘El. App-4. <\/p>\n man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14. <\/p>\n in the midst = [will not come] into the midst. Reference to Pentateuch (Exo 33:5). App-92. <\/p>\n enter into = come against: i.e. as an enemy. The verse is not “nonsense”, as alleged. The reference is to Hos 11:8. <\/p>\n the city: i.e. as I came against Sodom and Gomorrah. <\/p>\n not execute: Hos 14:4, Exo 32:10-14, Deu 32:26, Deu 32:27, Psa 78:38, Isa 27:4-8, Isa 48:9, Jer 30:11, Jer 31:1-3, Eze 20:8, Eze 20:9, Eze 20:13, Eze 20:14, Eze 20:21-23 <\/p>\n return: 1Sa 26:8, 2Sa 20:10 <\/p>\n for: Num 23:19, Isa 55:8, Isa 55:9, Mic 7:18-20, Mal 3:6, Rom 11:28, Rom 11:29 <\/p>\n the Holy One: Isa 12:6, Eze 37:27, Eze 37:28, Zep 3:15-17 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Deu 29:23 – like the 2Ki 8:19 – for David Job 6:10 – the Holy One Job 35:15 – in great Psa 46:5 – God is Psa 135:14 – he will repent Son 6:12 – soul Isa 30:18 – wait Jer 3:12 – and I will not Jer 9:7 – shall Jer 14:10 – have they Jer 31:18 – Ephraim Jer 31:20 – for Jer 50:40 – General Joe 2:18 – and pity Jon 4:2 – thou art Mat 7:11 – how<\/p>\n Hos 11:9. Not execute the fierceness of mine anger denotes that if they were treated as they deserved they would be destroyed. But God is more long- suffering than man, hence He will chastise his people and give them an-other chance. Not enter into the city ns a destroying enemy, but He will suffer their cities to be taken over by the foreign army in order to have them chastised.<\/p>\n 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I [am] God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not {i} enter into the city.<\/p>\n (i) To consume you, but will cause you to yield, and so have mercy on you: and this is meant of the final number who will walk after the Lord.<\/p>\n God did not change His mind about bringing judgment on Israel, but He promised not to apply the full measure of His wrath or to destroy Ephraim again in the future. He would show restraint because He is God, not a man who forgets His promises, is arbitrary in His passions, and might be vindictive in His anger (cf. 1Sa 15:29). He was the Holy One in the midst of the Israelites, so He would be completely fair with His people. He would not descend on them with unbridled wrath.<\/p>\n "Some theologians argue that God does not possess emotions. Of course, to make such an assertion they must dismiss as anthropopathic the many biblical texts that attribute emotions to God. Hos 11:9 demonstrates that this view of God’s nature is erroneous and unbiblical. God, like human beings whom he made in his image, is capable of a wide range of emotions, but God, unlike human beings, expresses his emotions in perfect balance. The distinction between God and human beings does not lie in some supposed absence of divine emotion, but in God’s ability to control his emotions and express them appropriately." [Note: Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., p. 362.] <\/span><\/p>\n I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I [am] God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. 9. I will not return, &c.] The strict rendering of the words is, ‘I will not … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hosea 11:9”<\/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-22260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22260","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=22260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22260\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22260"}],"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: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/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: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"