Глава 1

Os.1:1. The word of the Lord came to Hoshea the son of Beiriyah, in the days of Uzziah, and Jotham, and Ahaz, and Ezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. This Hosea clearly showed us that he was appointed Prophet for both; because he mentioned not only the kings of Judah, but also Jeroboam, who was the son of Joash, the grandson of Jehoahaz and the great-grandson of Jehu, and whom, at the behest of God, the godly Elisha anointed to repay Naboth and punish the vile Jezebel. And thus, having indicated the time and the kings under whose rule he was placed, the Prophet continues: Os.1:2. The beginning of the word of the Lord to Hosea, that is, before this, the Master did not command me anything, but as soon as he began His word to me, he gave the command to take the “wife of fornication” and give birth to “children of fornication.” He also adds the reason: “Because the earth commits fornication from the Lord.” To this he adds that he fulfilled the command without any hesitation; He also says the name of the harlot, and by whom she was born, and how he entered into an alliance with her, and what was the fruit of the union, and what name was given to the one born by Him who commanded this marriage. Hos.1:4. And the Lord said: Call his name Israel. And I am extremely amazed at those who dared to say that these words were not fulfilled in practice, and although God commanded everyone, the Prophet did not accept the command; and the words are spoken, but not put into action. Those who wish to assert this must take into account that God has often commanded many similar things. So Isaiah ordered to remove sackcloth from his loins, walk naked and without shoes, and prophesy in this form, and ordered Jeremiah to place either wooden or iron luggage on his neck, and gave Ezekiel the command to lie for one hundred and fifty days on his left and forty on his right side, to eat bread “in the line of the blood of men” (Ezek. 4:12), to take “vessels captive” ( Ezek.12:3), dig through the wall, paint an image of those running, and thereby foretell the flight of Zedekiah. We will find many other similar things in the Divine Scripture; and whoever does not know the purpose will call it unworthy of the virtue of the Prophets; those who know God's love for mankind, leading that God directs everything towards the salvation of people, in this especially find a reason for divine hymnology, and are surprised at the God-wise Prophets who are ready to obey the Lord in everything. And when the God of all, speaking to people suffering from insensibility, did not convince them with words, he depicted to them the future, something that was actually happening, in order to attract the attention of these hardened ones by the extraordinary nature of what was visible. For those who saw Isaiah walking naked, no doubt, flocked to the extraordinary sight, wanting to know the reason for such an act. And those who saw everything that Ezekiel did looked for the reason for what was being done. Thus, the Lord of all and blessed Hosea disposes to take an indecent wife, and by this act both exposed the wickedness of the people and showed God’s patience. If the God of all himself tolerated conversation with an indecent and adulterous woman, and the Source of the holy thing was not defiled by this vile and vile thing; then the Prophet did not borrow filth from that dissolute wife; because he agreed to this union not by servile lust, but by fulfilling the command given by God. One must know that both good and bad are recognized as such according to their purpose. For this and marriage differs from adultery; although there is no difference in cohabitation itself, this difference is indicated by purpose and law, and the same thing is recognized in one case as legal, and in another as lawless. One can find that in murder the same thing is taken into account; the murderer puts to death, the judge also puts to death; but one is lawful, and the other is unlawful; it's the same thing, but different in purpose. And in order to understand this more clearly from the Divine Scripture, let us consider it this way: Cain committed murder, but out of envy, and resorting to deception; Phinehas committed murder, but out of jealousy, standing for piety and abhorring wickedness; the thing is the same, but the goal is exactly the opposite. So theft is one of the acts condemned by law; but Jacob stole the blessing, and not only escaped condemnation, but even boasted of it in all generations. The great Elijah fasted; Those who stoned Naboth also fasted; but one is philosophizing, and the other is slandering. Saul had mercy on Agag and lost his kingdom; because this mercy was lawless. Samuel killed Agag and fulfilled God's law. Many other things can be found not only in Divine Scripture, but also in our daily events. Therefore, the wonderful Hosea, not enslaving to lust, but obeying God’s beckoning, took a harlot, and this union was more honest than any marriage; not only because it was accomplished by God’s will, but also because it represented God and how the Holy One, who rests among the saints, called Himself the bridegroom of the profane people of Israel. Therefore, when the Prophet had a son, God commanded him to name the son Israel. It is not yet a short time, and I will avenge the blood of Israel on the house of Jehu, and I will give the kingdom to the house of Israel. Hos.1:5–6. And it shall come to pass on that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the fortune of Israel. The meaning of these words is this: Israel was the name of the village in which Naboth suffered an unrighteous beating; and Jehu, of course, is the one who, by order of God, became the avenger of Naboth, and to whom God, as a reward for what he did to Jezebel, promised to extend the kingdom to the fourth generation. Therefore, since those who descended from him consigned God’s good deeds to oblivion, and began to imitate the wickedness of those who reigned before them, God threatens to put an end to this kingdom and “break the bow of Israel,” that is, destroy the power “in the inheritance of Israel.” It was not without intention that he mentioned this place, but brings to mind the then king God’s good deed, and admonishes him that just as Jehu used his great-grandfather to punish those who killed Naboth, so he will punish them for their ingratitude to Him. To this the prophet adds that another daughter was born to him, and she was given a name by the God of all. For he says that God commanded to call her: “without mercy,” meaning by this that Israel will no longer be worthy of His love for mankind. Hos.1:7. But the sons of Judah, it is said, I will have mercy and save them in the Lord God: and I will not save them with bow, nor with sword, nor with battle, nor with horses, nor with cavalry. Shem clearly expressed what happened with Sennacherib; because then the Assyrians were not defeated in battle, but by angelic power one hundred and eighty-five thousand were destroyed. To this the Prophet adds that when another son was born to him, God commanded to name him: “not my people,” and explains the reason for this. Hos.1:9. You are no longer My people, and I am not your God. And lest anyone think that they are leaving them out due to their small number and insignificance, by the way he adds: Os.1:10. And the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor counted. But God does not like multitudes: “where two or three are gathered in His name, that one is in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). So he preferred Noah to all people in total, so he preferred Abraham and Moses; and calls their descendants, who surpass all numbers, for wickedness: “not my people.” However, as a philanthropist, he soon canceled the pronounced sentence. For it is said: And you will be in the same place, saying to them, you are not My people; these there will be called the sons of the living God. Os.1:11. And the sons of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will establish one power for themselves, and they will come out of the land, for the great day of Israel. Shem proclaimed the calling from Babylon and the fact that upon their return from there they would no longer have separate kings, but, united and forming one people, they would have one ruler: and this came to fruition under Zerubbabel. And he called the day of Israel the disastrous state into which the Assyrians brought the Israelites in the valley of Israel. Because, says God, I impose a heavy punishment on them; then I will grant them great salvation, and, having freed them from slavery, I will return them to their fatherland.