Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
10, 11<\/strong>. Instead of introducing his description of Israel’s restoration by some phrase like, ‘When I heal Israel’ (Hos 7:1<\/span>), the prophet abruptly transports us in medias res<\/em>. The return of the Israelites of the dispersion is singled out as one of the most characteristic features of the Messianic age (comp. Isa 11:11-12<\/span>; Isa 27:13<\/span>; Jer 3:18<\/span>; Zec 10:10<\/span>). The lion’s roar takes the place of the ‘great trumpet’ in Isa 27:13<\/span>.<\/p>\n They shall walk after the Lord – <\/B>Not only would God not destroy them all, but a remnant of them should walk after the Lord, i. e., they shall believe in Christ. The Jews of old understood this of Christ. One of them saith , this pointeth to the time of their redemption. And another , Although I will withdraw from the midst of them My divine presence for their iniquity, and remove them out of their own land, yet shall there be a long time in which they shall seek after the Lord and find Him. This is what Hosea has said before, that they should abide many days without a king and without a prince, and without a sacrifice; afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king Hos 3:4-5<\/span>. : Whereas now they fled from God, and walked after other gods after the imagination of their evil hearts, after their own devices Hos 7:13<\/span>; Jer 7:9<\/span>; Jer 3:17<\/span>; Jer 18:12<\/span>, then he promises, they shall walk after God the Lord, following the will, the mind, the commandments, the example of Almighty God. As God says of David, He kept My commandments, and walked after Me with all his heart 1Ki 14:8<\/span>; and Micah foretells that many nations shall say, we will walk in His paths Mic 4:2<\/span>. They shall follow after Him, whose infinite perfections none can reach; yet they shall follow after, never standing still, but reaching on to that which is unattainable by His grace, attaining the more by imitating what is inimitable, and stopping short of no perfection, until, in His presence, they be perfected in Him.<\/P> He shall roar like a lion – <\/B>Christ is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah Rev 5:5<\/span>. His roaring is His loud call to repentance, by Himself and by His Apostles. The voice of God to sinners, although full of love, must be full of awe too. He calls them, not only to flee to His mercy, but to flee from the wrath to come. He shall call to them with a voice of Majesty command.<\/P> When He shall roar, the children shall tremble from the West – <\/B>that is, they shall come in haste and fear to God. His word is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow Heb 4:12<\/span>. Whence those whose hearts were pricked at the preaching of Peter, said to him with trembling, Men and brethren what shall we do? Act 2:37<\/span>. So did the preaching of judgment to come terrify the world, that from all places some did come out of the captivity of the world and did fly to Christ . He says, from the West; for from the West have most come in to the Gospel. Yet the Jews were then about to be carried to the East, not to the West; and of the West the prophets had no human knowledge. But the ten tribes, although carried to the East into Assyria, did not all remain there, since before the final dispersion, we find Jews in Italy, Greece, Asia Minor; where those who had been restored to their own land, would not have anew exiled themselves. In these, whenever they were converted, this prophecy was fulfilled.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 10<\/span>. They shall walk after the Lord<\/B><\/I>] They shall discern the operations of his providence, when,<\/P> <\/P> He shall roar like a lion<\/B><\/I>] When he shall utter his majestic voice, Cyrus shall make his decree. The people shall tremble <\/I>– be in a state of commotion; every one hurrying to avail himself of the opportunity to return to his own land.<\/P> <\/p>\n They, <\/B>whom infinite mercy spareth, the choice remnant, <\/P> shall walk after the Lord; <\/B>shall hear and obey, worship and depend on the Lord, on the Messiah, of whom these and the words of the next verse do certainly speak. They refer also to the return out of captivity, in both history and type, of our deliverance out of spiritual and eternal captivity. <\/P> He shall roar like a lion; <\/B>Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, shall send out his gospel: this is meant by the lions roaring, Joe 3:16, of whom it is observed, that he doth by roaring gather his whelps and others of his kind to the prey: by the mighty voice of the Lord in the gospel, the elect shall be gathered to partake of eternal life. <\/P> Then the children shall tremble; <\/B>the Spirit by its power awakening them to the sight of sin, shall make them fear and tremble, <\/P> from the west, <\/B>to the ends of the earth. This is the mystical sense; yet the literal, I think, refers to the return of the Jews out of captivity, when many out of Assyria and Egypt returned, and some report one hundred thousand from Ethiopia Cusses, and the parts toward Arabia; and possibly this hath particular respect to Dariuss decree, on the behalf of those that followed Haggai and Zechariahs counsel, finished the temple, restored the worship of God, reformed strange and unlawful marriages, paid their tithes, &c.; in these they followed the Lord; and Darius made a decree for them, terrible to the children of the west, as the roaring of a lion: Let this work go forward, Ezr 6:7<\/span>, &c.; who dares to hinder, let timber be taken out of his house, and a gallows made thereof, and such be hanged thereon, Hos 11:11<\/span>,12<\/span>. All this filled the inhabitants of those parts with great fear, when God thus gathered his dispersed ones: but what I conjecture at I do submit to better judgments. <\/P> <\/p>\n 10. he shall roar like a lion<\/B>byawful judgments on their foes (Isa 31:4<\/span>;Jer 25:26-30<\/span>; Joe 3:16<\/span>),calling His dispersed “children” from the various lands oftheir dispersion. <\/P> shall tremble<\/B>shallflock in eager agitation of haste. <\/P> from the west<\/B> (Zec8:7<\/span>). Literally, “the sea.” Probably the Mediterranean,including its “isles of the sea,” and maritime coast. Thusas Ho 11:11<\/span> specifies regionsof Africa and Asia, so here Europe. Isa11:11-16<\/span>, is parallel, referring to the very same regions. On”children,” see Ho 1:10<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n They shall walk after the Lord<\/strong>,…. That is, after the Messiah, who is Jehovah our righteousness; that Jehovah the Jews pierced, and now shall mourn at the sight of, being converted to him; for these are the chosen of God among that people, who in the latter day shall partake of the grace and favour before expressed, in consequence of which they shall be set a seeking the Lord their God, and David their King; and, finding him, shall follow after him, as sheep go after their shepherd, being led by him into green pastures; as subjects follow their prince, obeying his commands and orders; as soldiers march after their leader and commander, so these after Christ, the great Captain of their salvation, part of whose armies they will make: they will walk under the influence of his grace, having life, strength, guidance, and direction, from him, which walking implies; they will walk not after the flesh, as they now do, but after the Spirit of Christ, taking him for their guide, by whom they will be led into all truth, as it is in Jesus; they will walk in his ways, in all the paths of faith and holiness, truth and righteousness; in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, according to his word. The Targum is,<\/p>\n “they shall go after the worship of the Lord;”<\/p>\n he shall roar like a lion<\/strong>: the Lord Christ they walk after; who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Israelites shall now follow after; receiving, embracing, and confessing him the true Messiah. So the Targum,<\/p>\n “and his Word shall be as a lion that roars;”<\/p>\n Christ, the essential Word of God: and so Jarchi, according to Lyra, interprets it of the Messiah to come; who is compared to a lion for his strength and courage, and for the fierceness of his wrath against his enemies; and his voice, in his word, is like the roaring of a lion, exceeding loud, and reaching far, even the uttermost parts of the earth; as it did in the first times of the Gospel, and will in the last; and which the Jews particularly, in each of the parts of the world, will hear, and Gentiles also, and be affected with it; for it will be also very strong, powerful, and efficacious; which is another reason of its being compared to a lion roaring; see Joe 3:16<\/span>;<\/p>\n when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west<\/strong>; the children of Israel, the children of God, his adopted ones, whom he has predestinated to the adoption of children; these, through the first impressions of Christ’s voice or word upon them, shall startle, and be set a trembling, and be astonished, as Saul was, when called and converted; as it is reported of the lion, that, when it roars, other beasts are so terrified that they are quite stunned and amazed, and are not able to stir; but though the first sound of the voice of Christ may have some effect upon the Jews, yet this will not cause them to tremble at him so as to flee from him, but to cause them to flee to him: for the phrase is expressive of motion towards him, and to their own land, as appears from Ho 11:11<\/span>; when filled with a sense of his majesty and grace, they shall approach him with a holy awe of him, with fear and trembling: or “come with honour” h; agreeably to 1Sa 16:4<\/span>; having high, honourable, and grand sentiments and apprehensions of him; so that this trembling, at least, issues in a godly and filial fear and reverence of him, suitable to their character as children. The phrase, “from the west”, or “from the sea” i, meaning the Mediterranean sea, which lay west of Judea, and is often used for the west, may signify the western or European part of the world, where the Jews for the most part are, and from whence they will be gathered. The Targum is,<\/p>\n “for he shall roar, and the captives shall be gathered from the west.”<\/p>\n h “et cum honore accedent”, Schmidt. i “a mari”, Montanus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt.<\/p>\n “They will go after Jehovah; like a lion will He roar; for He will roar: and sons will tremble from the sea.<\/em> Hos 11:11<\/span>. Tremble like birds out of Egypt, and like doves out of the land of Asshur: and I cause them to dwell in their houses, is the saying of Jehovah.” <\/em> When the Lord turns His pity towards the people once more, they will follow Him, and hasten, with trembling at His voice, from the lands of their banishment, and be reinstated by Him in their inheritance. The way for this promise was opened indeed by Hos 11:9<\/span>, but here it is introduced quite abruptly, and without any logical particle of connection, like the same promise in Hos 3:5<\/span>. , to walk after the Lord, denotes not only “obedience to the gathering voice of the Lord, as manifested by their drawing near” (Simson), but that walking in true obedience to the Lord which follows from conversion (Deu 13:5<\/span>; 1Ki 14:8<\/span>), so that the Chaldee has very properly rendered it, “They will follow the worship of Jehovah.” This faithfulness they will exhibit first of all in practical obedience to the call of the Lord. This call is described as the roaring of a lion, the point of comparison lying simply in the fact that a lion announces its coming by roaring, so that the roaring merely indicates a loud, far-reaching call, like the blowing of the trumpet in Isa 27:13<\/span>. The reason for what is affirmed is then given: “for He (Jehovah) will really utter His call,” in consequence of which the Israelites, as His children, will come trembling ( chared <\/em> synonymous with pachad <\/em>, Hos 3:5<\/span>). , from the sea, i.e., from the distant islands and lands of the west (Isa 11:11<\/span>), as well as from Egypt and Assyria, the lands of the south and east. These three regions are simply a special form of the idea, “out of all quarters of the globe;” compare the more complete enumeration of the several remote countries in Isa 11:11<\/span>. The comparison to birds and doves expresses the swiftness with which they draw near, as doves fly to their dovecots (Isa 60:8<\/span>). Then will the Lord cause them to dwell in their houses, i.e., settle them once more in their inheritance, in His own land (cf. Jer 32:37<\/span>, where is added). On the construing of with , cf. 1Ki 20:43<\/span>, and the German auf der Stube sein <\/em>. The expression affixes the seal of confirmation to this promise. The fulfilment takes place in the last says, when Israel as a nation shall enter the kingdom of God. Compare the remarks on this point at Hos 2:1-3<\/span>.<\/p>\n When the Prophet says, that they shall walk after Jehovah, he proceeds farther than before; for here he refers not to the mitigation of punishment, but promises restoration. He had said before, that though the Lord would deal severely with his people, there would yet be some moderation in his wrath, so that he would not destroy the whole people. Now, it follows, that God, after having thus restrained himself, will extend his favour even to the restoration of the people, and bring to life those who seemed to have been dead. We now then perceive what the Prophet means. <\/p>\n But to expound this, — they shall walk after Jehovah, of the obedience of the people, as it is done by interpreters, does not seem right to me. It is indeed certain that no people can be restored except they repent; yea, it is the main beginning of God’s favour, when he chastises men and heals them of their wickedness. But here the Prophet handles another thing, even that the Lord will show himself a leader to his people, who had been for a time dispersed. As long as the people were scattered in Assyria and in other distant lands, they were without any head, as a mutilated body. But when the ripened time of restoration came, the Lord revolved to deliver them, and proclaimed himself the leader of his people; and in this manner the people were gathered to God. This is what the Prophet now means when he says, after Jehovah: that is, for a time, indeed, God will forsake them, that they may languish in their dispersion; but at length he will gather them, and show himself as their leader in their journey, that he may restore them to their country. They shall then, he says, follow Jehovah, and he shall roar as a lion: when he shall roar, then children from the sea shall tremble”; that is, God will be formidable to enemies so that none will hinder the return of his people. Many, indeed, will be the enemies, many will labour to set up opposition: but the people shall nevertheless come forth free. How so? For the Lord will fill all with dread, and restrain all the efforts of their enemies; so that they shall be constrained to withdraw from the Assyrians, as well as from the Egyptians. Though, on one side, the Egyptians may resist, and, on the other, the Assyrians, they shall not yet impede the return of the people. Why? Because the Lord will put them to flight, and he will be to them as a lions and fill them all with terror. But the rest we shall defer. <\/p>\n CRITICAL NOTES<\/strong>. <\/p>\n Hos. 11:10<\/span><\/strong>. They<\/strong>] A remnant should walk after the Lord. Roar<\/strong>] in judgments on the foe (Isa. 31:4<\/span>; Jer. 25:26-30<\/span>). Tremble<\/strong>] Hasten, like birds in rapid flight from western parts called the sea<\/em> (Isa. 11:11<\/span>; Isa. 24:14<\/span>; Zec. 8:7<\/span>). <\/p>\n Hos. 11:11<\/span><\/strong>. As a dove<\/strong>] Ch. Hos. 7:11<\/span>; Isa. 60:8<\/span>. Houses<\/strong>] from whence they will not be driven again (Eze. 28:26<\/span>). The idea is this:when God shall call, like the roaring of a lion, in loud and far-reaching tones, Israel will hear, return, walk with God, and remain faithful to him. <\/p>\n HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n THE PENITENTS RETURN TO GOD.Hos. 11:10-11<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n God will pity his people once more. They shall hasten to him in fear and trembling, be recalled from exile and bondage, and restored to their inheritance and their God.<\/p>\n I. It is a return from great distance<\/strong>. Man wilfully departed from God, lives now without desire to return, and is alienated from God in life and affection. Distance from God is the moral condition, the natural law, and the penal consequence of sin. Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? <\/p>\n II. It is a return in deep penitence<\/strong>. They shall tremble as a bird. The contrite heart trembles in fear. The sinner almost despairs in remembrance of his desert, and the holiness of God; or if moved by fear, he is conscious of guilt, greatly mourns his sin, and returns to confess to God and cry, God be merciful to me a sinner. <\/p>\n III. It is a return in swift obedience<\/strong>. As a dove out of the land of Assyria, remarkable for its swift flight, its rapid and constant speed when flying to its cot. The sinner makes haste from his danger to his rest. There is no time, no reason for delay. God draws, and he runs. Like the prodigal, he resolves and executes. I will arise and go. No sooner said than done. Like the manslayer of old, he has fled<\/em> for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. <\/p>\n IV. It is a return through severe discipline<\/strong>. The inward experiences and the outward conditions of the penitent have been most bitter and distressing. But many have been brought through severe trials and strange providences to God. Pain and sufferings have punished them for their sins. God has not only roared, but torn them to the astonishment of others. The call has been loud and the impressions deep. In fear and trembling, they have returned to the lion of the tribe of Judah. <\/p>\n V. It is a return to intimate friendship with God<\/strong>. They shall walk after the Lord. Walking with God includes friendship<\/em> with God; for how can two walk together except there be agreement between them? It includes obedience, love, and constant activity in Gods service. Some turn away and flee from God. They are not near in thought nor deed. But the humbled penitents wish to please God and walk with him. They desire the abiding presence, and seek to dwell in the everlasting habitations of God. They follow after him with intense thirst and determined pursuit. The will, the word, and the character of God are their constant rule and delight. Many nations shall say, We will walk in his paths (Mic. 4:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n ISRAELS RETURN TO GOD PREDICTED<\/p>\n God would not destroy all Israel, a remnant should be preserved and walk after him. Hence many take the words as a prediction of the future restoration and return of Gods people.<\/p>\n I. They shall be gathered from distant places<\/strong>. From the west, out of Egypt, and out of the land of Assyria. No distance destroys Gods love, no bondage limits his power, and no enemy can keep his people when he calls them to himself. Many shall come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God (Mat. 8:11<\/span>). <\/p>\n II. They shall be joined together in great numbers<\/strong>. As a dove out of the land of Egypt. Doves not only fly swiftly, but flock together. The sympathy of numbers is great in every undertaking, but especially in the service of God, where that sympathy is purified and rightly directed. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows (Isa. 60:8<\/span>)? are words which describe the future converts to God. <\/p>\n III. They shall be restored to great privileges<\/strong>. <\/p>\n 1. Fellowship with God<\/em>. They shall walk after the Lord. They would be many days without leaders and sacrifices, but afterward should return and seek the Lord God and David their king (ch. Hos. 3:4-5<\/span>). They would live in loyal obedience to Jehovah, their lawful sovereign, and walk with him in sweet friendship and joy. <\/p>\n 2. Security in their own habitations<\/em>. I will place them in their houses. They would dwell securely, not in defenced cities, but in their homes, under their own vines and fig-trees (Mic. 4:4<\/span>). Man, like a bird, needs a shelter. Security and peace are only found in God. He can place<\/em> them in Christ, in the Christian Church, and in his eternal kingdom. In my Fathers house are many mansions I go to prepare a place for you.<\/p>\n ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 11<\/p>\n Hos. 11:10-11<\/span>. Repentance<\/em>.<\/p>\n At length corrected by the filial rod REMONSTRATINGSEE JUDAHS UNFAITHFULNESS<\/p>\n TEXT: Hos. 11:10-12<\/span><\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n They shall walk after Jehovah, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west.<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith Jehovah.<\/p>\n 12<\/p>\n Ephraim compasseth me about with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the Holy One.<\/p>\n QUERIES<\/strong><\/p>\n a.<\/p>\n When will Jehovah roar and why will the children then come?<\/p>\n b.<\/p>\n Did any of the children of Israel go into captivity to Egypt?<\/p>\n c.<\/p>\n Why does God point Israel to Judah for an example of faithfulness?<\/p>\n PARAPHRASE<\/strong><\/p>\n When the Lord turns His pity towards the covenant people once more and utters His loud, far-reaching call, the covenant people will come from all quarters of the earth, swiftly, and God will fulfill His covenant and give them the Messianic blessings which He has promised, Ephraim has surrounded me with hypocrisy and attacks Me on every side with deceit, for while claiming to be My people, they are idolaters. And Judah is also unbridled and unruly towards Me.<\/p>\n SUMMARY<\/strong><\/p>\n God is going to fulfill His covenant and give a faithful remnant the Messianic blessings in spite of the fact that most of both Israel and Judah are unfaithful.<\/p>\n COMMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n Hos. 11:10<\/span> THEY SHALL WALK AFTER JEHOVAH, WHO WILL ROAR LIKE A LION . . . The emphasis in this verse is on Jehovahs roaring! The phrase is repeated to indicate that Jehovahs call will be the cause of the peoples coming to walk after Him. To walk after Jehovah means to be convertedto trust, obey and worship Jehovah (cf. Deu. 13:5<\/span>; 1Ki. 14:8<\/span>). The Lord will do His roaring from Zion (cf. our comments on Joe. 3:16-17<\/span>; Amo. 1:2<\/span>), which is, of course a prophecy of the sending forth of the gospel from Jerusalem to all those who will hear and become sons of the covenant in the Messianic age. This verse, then, is Messianic in its fulfillment, as we shall see by its context.<\/p>\n Hos. 11:11<\/span> THEY SHALL COME . . . AND I WILL MAKE THEM TO DWELL . . . They will come from the east and the west (Egypt and Assyria). Keil says, out of all quarters of the globe, (cf. Isa. 11:11<\/span>). We wish to quote from Lange here:<\/p>\n A return to Jehovah is then announced as the fruit of this compassion, and the removal of the state of subjection to punishment by a restoration to the inheritance they had trifled away is promised as its manifestation . . . This is as definitely a Messianic passage from Hosea as is chapters 1 and 2. Keil says, The fulfillment takes place in the last days, when Israel as a nation shall enter the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n Hos. 11:12<\/span> EPHRAIM COMPASSETH ME ABOUT WITH FALSEHOOD . . . BUT JUDAH YET RULETH . . . This verse, in the Hebrew Bible, is Hos. 11:1<\/span> of the 12th chapter of Hosea. It was made to be Hos. 11:12<\/span> of the 11th chapter only in the English versions. The emphasis of the verse is the unfaithfulness of both northern and southern kingdoms contrasted with Gods faithfulness. Israel was full of hypocrisy. She claimed to belong to Jehovah, pretended to worship Jehovah, but turned right into wrong and worshipped idols. Calvin wrote, The Israelites had acted unfaithfully towards God, and resorted to deceits . . . just as a man might surround his enemy with a great army, so had they gathered together innumerable frauds, with which they attacked God on every side. Like an unfaithful wife Israel still demands the Lords protection and support, while her every profession of love is a lie! Judah is no better! The word hiphil as it is in the Hebrew text here means to cause to ramble about . . . to be unbridled or unruly, to rove unrestrained. Judah runs loose, unbridled, following the dictates of her own unrestrained wantonness. Both seem unconcerned that it is the covenant of the ever Holy, Faithful One they are breaking (cf. Lev. 19:2<\/span>; Lev. 21:8<\/span>; Isa. 6:3<\/span>; Num. 23:19<\/span>; 1Sa. 15:29<\/span>). Jehovah does not change, He will keep His wordHis threats as well as His promises!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n QUIZ<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.<\/p>\n What does walking after Jehovah mean?<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n Why do we say this passage is a Messianic passage?<\/p>\n 3.<\/p>\n What is wrong with the English version of Hos. 11:12<\/span>? Two things!<\/p>\n (10) Render, They shall go up after Jehovah, who roars as a lion; yea, he shall roar so that the children, &c.<\/em> Lions accompanied Egyptian monarchs to the battle-field. Read the picturesque description of Rameses II. in his battle with the Kheta, by George Ebers in Uarda. <\/em>West means the coast and islands of the Levant.<\/p>\n Tremble<\/strong>i.e.,<\/em> come with an awe-stricken joy to the voice of the Divine summons.<\/p>\n 10, 11<\/strong>. <\/strong> No promise is made that judgment will be withheld entirely. It must come, but it will not result in destruction. When it has accomplished its purpose the divine mercy will again manifest itself in the home-gathering of the dispersed exiles. <\/p>\n They shall walk after Jehovah <\/strong> Can, in this connection, mean only that when he gives the signal they will readily respond. <\/p>\n Roar like a lion <\/strong> That is, with a powerful voice. Not as in Hos 5:14<\/span>; Hos 13:7<\/span>, but to summon the scattered people (Isa 11:12<\/span>; Isa 27:13<\/span>; Isa 49:22<\/span>). When the signal is heard the exiles shall tremble <\/strong> [“come trembling”] Though they recognize the call as the call of love, they tremble before the majesty and power of the caller (compare Hos 3:5<\/span>). <\/p>\n The children <\/strong> In Hebrew without the article, “sons” or “children”; only those whom he may acknowledge as sons (Hos 11:1<\/span>; Hos 1:10<\/span>). <\/p>\n From the west <\/strong> Literally, from the sea, <\/em> the Mediterranean, which is west of Palestine; perhaps equivalent to “the islands of the sea” (Isa 11:11<\/span>). Hosea expects the Israelites to go into exile to Assyria and to Egypt (Hos 11:11<\/span>), that is, to the south and east. Only in this passage he introduces a third place of exile. This peculiarity leads some to change the text so as to read, “from their captivity.” <\/p>\n Bird dove <\/strong> Ordinarily the flight of birds represents swiftness (Psa 55:6<\/span>; Isa 60:8<\/span>). If so here, come trembling <\/em> cannot be a correct reproduction of the prophet’s thought. “A thrill of eagerness doubling the speed of motion is what is meant”; equivalent to they shall come swiftly <\/em> (see the comparison in Hos 7:11<\/span>). <\/p>\n I will place them <\/strong> For the promise to re-establish Israel in the old home see also Hos 2:23<\/span>.<\/p>\n Most recent commentators consider Hos 11:10-11<\/span> later additions, because (1) they are thought to be out of harmony with Hos 11:9<\/span> where the withdrawal of judgment is announced, while in these verses a dispersion is presupposed; (2) the verses contain expressions foreign to Hosea. To these verses are sometimes added Hos 11:8-9<\/span>, in part, or even entire. The chief objection to these two verses is that they contain a promise which, it is said, weakens the preceding threat. In reply it may be said (1) Hos 11:8-9<\/span> do not imply a complete withholding of judgment; (2) the only peculiar expression is “from the west” (Hos 11:10<\/span>); (3) a promise does not necessarily weaken a previous threat. It would do so only if the promise were unconditional. Hosea believes that the divine favor may be regained; but he makes it perfectly clear that it can be done only on condition of sincere repentance (Hos 14:1-3<\/span>). As soon as the conditional character of a promise is recognized, the promise, far from weakening a threat, may become a strong incentive to repentance, to avert the fulfillment of the threat. Hence it will be seen that the objections raised against the originality of these verses are not conclusive.<\/p>\n ‘They will walk after YHWH,<\/p>\n Who will roar like a lion,<\/p>\n For he will roar,<\/p>\n And the children will come trembling from the west.’<\/p>\n For when the time came for Him to act in mercy He would roar like a lion, so that Ephraim would walk after YHWH. His roaring would cause them to respond to the covenant with all their hearts (compare Amo 3:8<\/span>). He would roar, and his young lion cubs would come to Him ‘trembling’ (the word means ‘jumping with fear, shaking’) from the west’ (i.e. through the Valley of Jezreel to the west of Samaria, on their way from Assyria and Egypt). His people will once again know ‘the fear of YHWH’.<\/p>\n Some see ‘from the west (sea)’ as signifying from further afield, even from countries across the sea.<\/p>\n Hos 11:10<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>They shall walk, <\/em><\/strong>&c.<\/strong> It shall come to pass, that they shall follow the Lord, when he shall roar like a lion; for he shall roar, and the fishes of the sea shall tremble. <\/em>Houbigant. See Eze 38:20<\/span>. By the fishes of the sea, <\/em>are supposed to be meant the people of Egypt and Babylon. But the following seems a better and more consistent translation:They shall walk after the Lord, who shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall come fluttering from the west. <\/em>Hos 11:11<\/span>. They shall come fluttering as a bird, <\/em>&c. <\/p>\n The children<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> It is remarkable, that the expression is neither their children, <\/em>nor my children, <\/em>but simply the children. <\/em>The first would limit the discourse to the natural Israel exclusively; the second would be nearly of the same effect, as it would express such as were already children at the time of the roaring. But the term the children, <\/em>put nakedly, without either of these epithets, expresses those who were neither of the natural Israel, nor children, that is, worshippers, of the true God, at the time of the roaring, <\/em>but were roused by that sound, and then became children, that is to say, the adopted children, by natural extraction Gentiles. This and the next verse contain indeed a wonderful prophecy of the promulgation and progress of the Gospel, and the restoration of the race of Israel. The first clause of this 10th verse states generally, that they will return to the Lord. In what follows, the circumstances and progress of the business are described. First, Jehovah will roarthe roaring is unquestionably the sound of the Gospel. Jehovah himself shall roarthe sound shall begin to be uttered by the voice of the incarnate God himself. The first effect shall be, children shall come fluttering from the west; a new race of childrenconverts of the Gentiles; chiefly from the western quarters of the world, or what the Scriptures call the west; for no part, I think, of Asia Minor, Syria, or Palestine, is reckoned a part of the east in the language of the Old Testament. Afterwards the natural Israel shall hurry from all the regions of their dispersion, and be settled in their own dwellings. <\/p>\n It is to be observed, that the roaring is mentioned twice. It will be most consistent with the style of the prophets, to take this as two roarings; and to refer the hurrying of the children from the west to the first; the hurrying from Egypt and Assyria to the second. The times of the two roarings are the first and second advent. The first brought children from the west; the renewed preaching of the Gospel, at the second, will bring home the Jews. And perhaps this second sounding of the Gospel may be more remarkable even than the first, the roaring of Jehovah in person. <\/p>\n REFLECTIONS.<\/strong>1st, God puts the people of Israel in mind, <\/p>\n 1. Of the grace <\/em>and mercy that he had shewn them. When Israel was a child, then I loved him, <\/em>in their weak and helpless state, when first God took them for a people; 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
Of his offended, but his gracious God,
And lashed from sins to sighs; and by degrees
From sighs to vows, from vows to bended knees;
From bended knees to a true pensive breast;
From thence to torments not to be expressed;
Returns, and (from his sinful self exiled)
Finds a glad Father, he a welcome child. [Quarles<\/em>.]<\/p>\nFuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
As to the fulfillment of this promise, see the remarks on chapters 1 and 2. It may suffice to repeat here that we are not to hold to any fulfillment which would contradict the actual course of Gods revelation. Hence we must not think of a future return of the external Israel into their own land from Assyria, if it were only from the consideration that Assyria exists no longer, and Israel is no longer in bondage to such a nation, and we cannot take the one (Israel, the Holy Land, the return) as literal, and the other (Assyria, captivity) as figurative. We must rather say, from the stand-point of the fulfillment of the Old Testament, i.e., from the stand-point of the New Testament, and in accordance with the actual course of events: the compassionate mercy of God towards his faithless people, which the Prophet sees win the victory over wrath, has been revealed in Christbut still as being far greater he sees it; what is clear to him is only the skia (shadow) of that which in Christ has actually occurred, and what is still going on in the forgiveness of sin and deliverance from its curse through free grace. (Italics and parenthesis ours).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nFuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/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: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n