Book of the Prophet Hosea

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 The prophet Hosea was from Beelmoth, from the tribe of Issachar; rested in peace and was buried in his own land. He predicted clear signs of the Lord's coming to earth; prophesied for one hundred and thirteen years, and anticipated the coming of Christ for eight hundred years. “The word of the Lord came to Hoshea the son of Beirin 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” (Hos. 1:1). These words make it clear that Hosea prophesied under the kings of Judah Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, and prophesied about the imminent captivity of the Israelites by the Assyrians, and about the subsequent captivity of the Jews by the Babylonians, as well as about the general return of the Jews and Israelites from captivity. “And the Lord said to Hosea: Go, take for yourself a wife of fornication... and children of fornication.” Take yourself a wife, and a harlot at that, to represent the host of Israel in Samaria, who are clearly committing fornication by worshiping Baal and calves. From this wife you will have an heir, - in the image of the fact that the house of Judah, a host of people in Jerusalem, openly swears by the Lord, but secretly bows to Molech. “The land will commit fornication from the Lord” (Hos. 1:2), that is, their land will commit fornication, and the prophet means the land of Israel and the pagans living in it, whom the king of Assyria will bring and settle on it instead of the previous inhabitants. This is clearly predicted: “The fruits of your land... are eaten before you by strangers, who do not know your God, but are devoted to their own gods” (Deut. 28:33). Hosea, like other prophets, calls serving idols adultery and fornication. "And Gomer, the daughter of Devil, sang: and she conceived and bore me a son. And the Lord said unto me, Call his name Israel: yet a little time... and I will abolish the kingdom of the house of Israel." they will be barred for singing songs of praise on the holidays, as if they were bound by a bridle through desolation and exile, and there will be neither a word nor a voice in them: “A little while, and I will avenge the blood of Israel on the house of Jehu” (Hos. 1:3-4). The blood of Naboth, shed on the field of Israel, was avenged by Jehu himself on the house. Ahab; Jehu is accused of having sinned against the truth when he killed Ahaziah along with the sons of Ahab, especially because he himself walked in the ways of Ahab. Therefore, as God says, I will reject his seed and take away his kingdom. “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah,” that is, during the resettlement of the Ephraimites, “and I will not save them with bow or sword” (Hos. 1:7), that is, the Assyrians will not then come to the aid of the Jews, although they came to save them from the inhabitants of Damascus and from the house of Ephraim during the time of their king Ahaz. “And conceived... and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to me: call her name “unmerciful... And bear another son... and he will not be called My people” (Hos. 1:6, 8-9), because the pagans from the beginning, because of their deeds, were not the people of God and the beloved of God. And blessed Paul, explaining the words of Hosea, says: “As also in Hosea he says: I will not call My people My people, and I will not call the beloved beloved” (Rom. 9:25). “I will not show mercy to the house of Israel,” but I will deliver them into captivity (Hos. 1:6). “And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together,” that is, they will no longer be divided into two parts, as under Rehoboam. “For the day of Israel is great” (Hos. 1:11). The Prophet calls this day great, because on it great disasters will cease, and it will be the beginning of prosperity. Just as God avenged the “blood of Israel” (Hos. 1:4), that is, the blood of Naboth and the innocent blood shed by Achaab and Jehu, so will He avenge the pagan nations who rebelled against the people of God for their blood. And one must think that what is meant here is the persecution that the Jews suffered from neighboring pagan peoples during the times of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah. The perfect fulfillment of these words of Scripture should be sought in those times when the Lord created salvation for His people, freeing them from Satan and from the hand of his servants, who initiated persecution of the martyrs. For they constituted the seed that God subsequently sowed through Christ, as the divine Paul says: “a people renewed, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14). This is the meaning of the word Israel. The Book of Judges tells that Judge Gideon led his army from the valley of Israel, and there his victories began on that day, when he overthrew the Midianites and other nations allied with them (Judges 6:3-7). And perhaps the prophet mentions Israel here, letting the Jews understand that just as “great was the day” ( Hos. 1:11 ) for Gideon when he left the valley of Israel, so glorious will be the day of deliverance from Babylon for them, as the beginning of great blessings. But they themselves will not arrange this, but God will save them, that is, God will do this out of His goodness, which confirms what was said earlier: “I will not save them with bow or sword” (Hos. 1:7). “Cry out to your brothers: my people,” and not as they are called: “not my people.” “And to his sisters: he who received mercy” (Hos. 2:1), and not as they are called: “he who did not have mercy” (Hos. 1:6, 9). Look how the names change: the Judge, in His righteousness, gave shameful names, but the goodness of the Father, in His mercies, blots them out. “Sue your mother,” that is, the Ephraimites, sue their mother Samaria, and the Jews, sue Jerusalem. “For she is not my wife,” because she began to worship calves and pour libations before idols. “Let ... put away no fornication ... from her presence” she who is inflamed with lust and shames herself with fornication. “And her fornication is from among her breasts” (Hos. 2:2), that is, the idols secretly revered by the house of Judah. For as the face is open, so openly was the fornication of Samaria committed; and as the breasts are closed, so was it committed in secret fornication of Jerusalem. “Let me not strip her naked,” having taken away from her glorious men, priests and kings (Hos. 2:3). “Like the children of whoredom,” because they are mired in the evil deeds of their mother (Hos. 2:4). “Behold, I will block her path with thorns,” I will admonish her with severe and frequent punishments, and I will stop her in her progress with strong enemies (Hos. 2:6). “And the lustful men shall marry them, and shall not afflict them.” Your mother Samaria and Jerusalem, allied with her, will call on neighboring nations during times of trouble, and will not find anyone to help. “And he says... I will return to my first husband” (Hos. 2:7), that is, to the God of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because neither the gods whom I loved and whom I thought loved me, nor the nations who honor them, helped me. They did not save themselves, and now they are in slavery to those who captivated them. This is what your mother will say then, in times of trouble, but she does not say this now. “And I will turn away all her joy” (Hos. 2:11), and I will put an end to them, that is, during the captivity. “And I will destroy her grapes and her figs” (Hos. 2:12), that is, during the migration of Babylon, when those who tilled the land were taken into captivity, and the land was devastated by those who took them captive. “And I will avenge in it the days of Baalim, who laid down their needs, and who laid down their needs, and who went after their lusts, and forgot Me, says the Lord” (Hosea 2:13). Imitating your fathers, who cast a calf from the Egyptian gold that I gave you, and you adorned yourself with the decorations that you received from Me, and forgetting Me, you walked around and tried to please them with your decorations. “For this sake, behold, I will bless you” with the promises of the prophets. They will promise a lot of good things; in reality, nothing will happen. “I will lead her into the wilderness,” I will remove her from the community with the pagan nations. “And I will say in her heart” (Hos. 2:14), I will comfort her, because she is saddened by her defeat. “And I will give her her vineyards from there”; promises to give what was already promised by the prophets, but was not given because of their treachery. “And the clearing of Achor, reveal its meaning” (Hos. 2:15). For their fathers in the valley of Achor laid the foundation for the possession of their ancient inheritance - the Promised Land. “And it shall come to pass in that day that my husband shall call me” (Hosea 2:16). This and the following were fulfilled at the time about which blessed Paul wrote, as stated earlier. “And I will betroth you to Himself forever... I will betroth you... in mercy” (Hosea 2:19), because I rejected you from His presence in righteousness. “I will listen to the heavens, and they will listen to the earth, and the earth will listen to the wheat and the wine and the oil, and these will listen to Israel” (Hos. 2:21–22). I will command the sky, and it will give rain, and the earth will give its fruit. This was given to the Jews at the end of their captivity and upon their return from exile; It was completely fulfilled when the peoples who believed in Christ united into one Church. For everything that Hosea prophesies in this last verse, according to the exact meaning of the prophecy, must be attributed to the Church of Christ. “And love a wife... a fornicator, for they... love jam with currants.” In the image of an adulterous wife who openly loves evil, the prophet represents the synagogue, as can be seen from the words: “as God loves the children of Israel.” The synagogue rejected the sweetness of the Divine teaching, which surpasses the sweetness of the honeycomb, and instead chose “boil with currants” (Hos. 3:1), which serve as an image of the false teaching of demons, only having the appearance of sweetness. And also, just as “cookies with currants” can become boring, so one should turn away from evil thoughts and passionate movements associated with them. “And he gave himself five and ten pieces of silver” (Hos. 3:2). This number, divided into three parts, represents priests, prophets and kings, for through their care God protected the synagogue from foreigners. On the fifteenth day of the month, the Jewish synagogue left Egypt for the longed-for land of promise. The Church was not purchased at such a price, it was bought by the One who gave Himself for it, was sold for thirty pieces of silver, and redeemed it with Himself. “And an orom and half an omer of barley” (Hosea 3:2). Under the image of barley bread, the prophet represents the teaching of the law given to the Jews as under the jugular for the entire time until Christ comes, from whom they will receive sonship. “And I said to her: The days are many and they are sad with me.” The prophet himself explains these words, saying: “In many days the sons of Israel will sit, not being the king... nor the living sacrifice” (Hos. 3:3-4), because during the captivity the order of worship will be interrupted, the kingdom will cease, and there will be no one who puts on the ephod. The ephod was the robe of the high priest, woven from gold, fine linen, and wool, and had four rows of stones on it. And when anyone inquired of God, the high priest put on the ephod, went in before the Lord, and on one of the stones of the ephod the decree of the judgment of the Lord became visible. “And therefore... they will seek the Lord... and David their king” (Hos. 3:5), that is, Zerubbabel, a descendant of David. But many of the Jews sought Zerubbabel. But Christ is few, as Isaiah and Daniel foretold. Hosea also points to Christ here; he, like other prophets, calls Christ David, borrowing from the image the name of the person represented. “The judgment of the Lord is upon those who live on the earth” (Hos. 4:1), that is, judgment with Israel, a strict judgment, but fair, commensurate with the crimes of the guilty, for the prophet says: “Blood is mixed with blood” (Hos. 4:2). They beat the prophets and were not satisfied with this; even when the Lord of the Prophets Himself came into His own, and He was put to death, His Blood was mixed with the blood of the preachers who heralded the coming of the Righteous One, and they were not horrified. “For this reason the earth will cry,” because it was abandoned by its inhabitants. “And people... yours..., like a bickering priest,” are afraid of each other. “And you will fall by day, because you sin against the law, and the prophet will fall with you by night,” from the dark visions of your heart. “I will make your mother silent” (Hos. 4:3-5) - the synagogue, because she forced the priests to be silent, who were appointed to reprove those who bow to calves, but rejected the true service of God. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, lest you should become a priest” (Hosea 4:6). The Prophet means the sons of Ephraim, who invented and introduced the service of bulls among their brethren, and says that the Lord will reject them, “lest they should become priests.” And this befell the Ephraimites and the tribes allied with them soon, when the Lord resettled them from the land The rank of the priesthood took them away, making any priestly service impossible for them. From the words of the prophet, one can also conclude that he also speaks of the Jews. The priesthood became their property from the time the temple of Jerusalem was built, and the sons of Levi, expelled by Jeroboam from his possessions, gathered to them and found refuge there, according to the rank, and demanded it from the people; Therefore, it is likely that the words: “I will also deny you that you should not become a priest” refer to Somnan, the high priest of the house of Judah. To this wicked man, as Isaiah wrote, the Lord says: “I will deprive you of your honor and remove you from your rank” (Is. 22:19). “They exchanged their glory for dishonor” (Hos. 4:7), that is, they exchanged God for idols. “And like the people, so will the priest be” (Hos. 4:9). This mystery will be accomplished after the Cross, when the gift of the priesthood will be taken away from the people of Judah, and given to a people who did not have the priesthood. “Fornication and wine and drunkenness are acceptable to their hearts” (Hos. 4:11), because they did not consume themselves in the churches of their idols. With the wives walking along the paths, “the demands of the priest,” that is, with the wives frantically indulging in fornication, and with the idolatry priests making sacrifices, for the people joined them and made sacrifices with them. “People who do not understand are entangled with a harlot” (Hosea 4:14). The people of God did not understand who lived among them, and did not comprehend how terrible His greatness was, but they plunged into the arms of unclean harlots. “But you, O Israel, do not make Judah guilty.” The Prophet speaks of Pekah, who united with Rahashon to go to war against Ahaz. “And do not go up to Gilgal to perish, and do not go up to Beth-aven” (Hos. 4:15) to practice magic there. In Beth-Aven there was an idolatry where people went to ask the soothsayers. “Like a young woman,” trying to throw off the yoke, so your spirit resists the law of your God. “Will the Lord shepherd me like a lamb in space?” that is, the house of Judah will be saved (Hosea 4:16). “Ephraim, a participant in the idol” (Hos. 4:17), takes part from the idols’ sacrifices. “The whirlwind of the spirit will howl in its wings, and they will be put to shame by their churches,” because they could not save their priests (Hos. 4:19). “Like the guard was quicker,” that is, the true prophets. “And how the land is spread out on Tabor” (Hos. 5:1), where they were engaged in hunting. “Zane now shall Ephraim keep” ( Hos. 5:3 ); From the days of Jeroboam they went after idols. “Blow the trumpet on the hill,” as you usually do when going to battle and after a victory. “Preach in Beth Aven,” that is, in the house of lies. “Behind you, Benjamin” (Hos. 5:8), “a predatory wolf” (Gen. 49:27), which is being prepared as prey for the Assyrians, and then for the Babylonians. “Ephraim will be destroyed in the days of punishment” and at the coming of the Assyrians. “In the tribes of Israel she was faithful” - the truth of My judgment and the truth of My words (Hos. 5:9). “Ephraim is oppressed, smitten with judgment” (Hosea 5:11); oppressed - because he wanted to follow vanity. “And Ephraim saw his weakness, - that is, his humiliation, - and Judah his illness..., - that is, his slavery, - ... and he sent ambassadors to King Jaarim (Jarev)” (Hos. 5:13). Hosea, the king of Samaria, asked for help from Sao, the king of Egypt, but he could not deliver him from the hand of the king of Assyria, and the king of Assyria did not spare Hosea, who sought his protection, but resettled the Israelites to the Median cities of Alo and Abor, as soon as he learned that Hosea was leaving him. Likewise, the King of Judah, Jehoiakim, was helped by the King of Egypt against the Babylonians; but Joachim’s hope was in vain, because both of them, Jews and Egyptians, were conquered by the Babylonians. “Let us turn to the Lord... for He has beaten us, and He will heal us” (Hos. 6:1–2); He struck us for our transgressions, and He will heal us according to His compassions. “On the third day we will rise again.” He will deliver us quickly, just as He delivered us on the third day after we left Egypt, leading us through the sea. “And let us marry, so that we may lead the Lord,” that is, upon our return, we will hasten to God, “like the children,” as to the morning dawn, which will undoubtedly shine. Anyone who believes in Christ, from Baptism, as if illuminated by mental light, ascends to the knowledge of God. And after that, like rain, His teaching pours out on those worthy of it. “And... Like the latter rain" (Hosea 6:3). Through the revelation of the Spirit, the soul will be prepared and begin to vegetate (grow) and bear heavenly fruits. “I have burned the prophets... I have killed them with the words of my mouth” (Hosea 6:5), because they died for prophecy. When God sent them and commanded them to proclaim to the people either disasters and sorrows, or joyful and favorable things, they did not resist the command of God. And for this the people rebelled against them, stoned them and killed them. “And My judgment shall come forth as light” (Hos. 6:5); the punishment to which the killers of the prophets will be given will be carried out in a manner obvious to everyone. “I want mercy, not sacrifice.” Although sacrifice is pleasing to Me, your mercy and compassion towards your brethren is much more pleasing. “And the delight of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6). And the knowledge of God is better than any fat sacrifices with which you hope to appease My wrath, while you oppress your brothers. The priests became accomplices of unrighteousness, and “killed Sikimah” (Hos. 6:9). They conspired with the priests of Bethel to kill those who came to the church of the Lord in Jerusalem. In this case, the prophet is referring to the act of Levi and Simeon, who, for a small offense against Shechem to their sister Dinah, killed all the inhabitants of Shechem. “There is the fornication of Ephraim, and Israel is defiled” (Hosea 6:10). And when it was necessary to subject them to severe punishment, the priests did not even reproach them lightly. And you, Judah, prepare for yourself to gather grapes (“the harvest is appointed”), because the Jews, upon their return, will defeat their enemies (Hos. 6:11). “When I heal Israel through Jehu,” who obeyed the words of the prophets and persecuted those who served idols, such as Jezebel and her priests, then “the iniquity of Ephraim and the wickedness of Samaria” was revealed. It was revealed that the shamelessness and wickedness of the sons of Ephraim and the kings of Samaria were difficult to correct, and that their illness was incurable. “For as I have done, as I did from the beginning, I lie to Me: a thief enters in, and a robber... is a tempter... in his way” (Hosea 7:1). The Prophet understands the robbery of judges and the greed of common people, which they indulged in secretly and openly. “Your wickedness made the king happy.” The prophet is referring to King Jeroboam, from whom the sons of iniquity learned and gave themselves up to idolatry. Or made glad (Hos. 7:3) both those former kings who were already struck by the speedy judgment of righteous retribution, and the new kings who still reign and suppress the truth with lies and who are praised for their wickedness by princes and their confidants. All their princes commit fornication, “like a furnace that burns for baking.” Just as the oven in which bread is baked is kindled, so it is burned into fornication and robbery. “Therefore, there will be no one in the city who can knead the dough... when... it is leavened” (Hos. 7:4), because those who captivate will force them to leave hastily. Their fathers experienced this in Egypt. When they were in no hurry to take advantage of their liberation from Egypt, the Egyptians forced them to go to freedom and did not give them time to leaven the dough they had leavened. In another sense, the prophet calls the world “city”; “leavened dough” – the human race; kneading the dough - God the Word. The words: “when... it is leavened” mean that Christ will come at the end of times, when the human race will be leavened with the leaven of its malice, and Christ, having cleansed it of this leaven, will leaven it with new leaven. “In the days of your kings the princes began to be angry with wine” (Hosea 7:5). Indeed, like drunken and strong wine drinkers, they bring down and raise up kings. “Ephraim... mixed with the pagan nations” (Hos. 7:8), entering into marriage alliances with them. “All night long” their rage continues. They become enraged by the wine, thirst for the blood of their judges and kings; neither a calming sleep nor cheerful wine softens their rage, and they do not come to their right mind. “Ephraim was unleavened bread”, eaten before it was baked (Hos. 7:6, 8). In a mysterious sense, the prophet makes it clear that Adam’s stay in paradise was short-lived. “And gray hairs appeared on him, but he was not known” (Hos. 7:9). This depicts the state of the old head of our race, that is, Adam after the Fall and expulsion from paradise - a state that Adam did not understand. “And Ephraim was like a foolish dove, having no heart” (Hosea 7:11). He did not grieve for his children, who were drawn to sacrifice. So, the two and a half tribes that lived beyond the Jordan were taken away, and the Ephraimites did not come to their senses and did not know the Lord, their Savior. “Wherever they go, I will lay my slaughter upon them” (Hos. 7:12), that is, the Assyrian people. And I will scatter them to all the winds, I will scatter them, as Moses testified to this (Deut. 28:25). “This is their reproach in the land of Egypt” (Hos. 7:16); either because in Egypt they worshiped calves and rams, or because they were attached to Egypt for the sake of garlic, onions and meat. “Your mouth... is like... a trumpet... against the house of the Lord” (Hos. 8:1), - like a loud and terrible trumpet for the denunciation of murderers and fornicators who commit fornication and enter this house. Or perhaps the prophet calls the people of Israel themselves the house of the Lord. “They made a king for themselves, and not by Me,” that is, they did not ask the Lord who would reign over them. “You were in charge, and did not show Me” (Hos. 8:4), that is, they did not ask the Lord both when they appointed kings and judges, and when they went out to battle with their enemies. “They sowed the wind... they had neither stubble nor ear of corn, so that they could make flour” (Hosea 8:7). Just as the wind does not bear fruit and the straw does not have in itself anything from which flour could be made to nourish the body, so the calves of Samaria are powerless to give and protect life to souls and to block clefts. “Now he is among the nations as a vessel of no use” (Hosea 8:8). You were of no use to the Egyptians either; you destroyed them and received more benefit from them yourself. “Like a desert onager” (Hos. 8:9), he was likened to a man who is deprived of consolation from his household and neighbors, who are equally in distress. “Although they will give themselves over to tongues.” The prophet points to the times of Hezekiah. “I will gather them,” after the destruction of Sennacherib’s army. “And they rest little from the burden of the king and the princes” (Hosea 8:10), that is, in the days of Hezekiah, or they rest from the labor of anointing kings and princes for themselves. “Rejoice not, O Israel... for thou hast strayed from the Lord thy God,” that is, you no longer have any reason to rejoice when your Lord, Whom you despised and went after vain gods, has turned His face away from you. “Thou hast loved giving... all the threshing floors... and the winepress, therefore the threshing floor and the winepress will not satisfy them” (Hosea 9:1-2). “Having not poured out the Lord’s drink of wine... demand them as if they were the bread of pity” - because they bring it not with good will and reluctantly. “All who eat thee shall be defiled,” these are the priests who, for their own benefit, slaughtered their sacrifices and did not expose their theft, “without the bread... their souls shall not enter into the house of the Lord” (Hosea 9:4). “Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them” (Hos.9:6); He will gather the scattered and bury the dead. “The foolish Israel will know... the prophet and the astonished one." If, as you suppose, you had a prophet clothed with the Spirit, and not astonished, then he would have known what I have intended for Israel and, as one worthy of knowledge, would have accepted the revelation of this with spiritual contrition; or, like a prophet, according to foreknowledge, he would have grieved over the secrecy of what should eventually be revealed. “From the multitude of your iniquities Your lasciviousness has multiplied" (Hosea 9:7) in serving idols, and even more than among foreign nations. “Ephraim is a watchman with God” (Hos.9:8). The true guardian promotes the cause of God, and this Ephraim is a false prophet; he is a snare in the work of God, God saves from ruin, but he drowns. “They were deeply corrupted and corrupted, as in the days of Gibeon” (Hos. 9:9), that is, they were mired in sin and indulged in lewdness, like the inhabitants of Gibeon, in the tribe of Benjamin, who through unclean lust brought the Levite’s wife to death, and called all the tribes to war, which caused many disasters to both sides. Or the prophet points to the time when they made idols in Gibeone. “Like Israel found dreams (grapes) in the desert, and like their fathers saw early berries on a fig tree, they went down to Beelphegor and were alienated in shame.” Just as berries in the desert are pleasant to a traveler, so were their fathers dear to God when they lived among the pagans, the Amorites and the Egyptians, represented here under the image of the desert. Their sons “went down to Beelphegor, and were alienated for shame” (Hosea 9:10). Shame the prophet calls an idol that was especially vile. “Their glory flies away like a bird” (Hosea 9:11). The sons of Ephraim were proud of the prophecy of their father Jacob about them and promised themselves numerous descendants in many generations. Therefore, God says: “I will deprive them of what is born and carried in the womb; I will take away from them those who are mature and living among people.” Thus God proclaims to the Ephraimites that their descendants will fly away from them like a bird, and that their hope is vain. “The grapes are good for Israel” (Hosea 10:1), because they bore fruit in the days of Moses and Jesus. But when its branches stretched to the sea, then, with the multitude of his descendants, he multiplied the idols according to the multitude of the fruits of his land. “He bequeaths a covenant,” that is, a covenant to serve forever the Taurus of Samaria, in whom there was great hope. They sprouted the judgment that righteousness brings upon the wicked, “like troskot (a poisonous grass) on a herb (wasted field)” (Hos. 10:4), which was neglected by a careless farmer. And just as thorns are destroyed on the land intended for sowing, so they will be destroyed by captivity and the sword. “And they cry to the mountains: cover us,” in order to save us from those who threaten us with captivity. “And with a hill: fall on us” (Hos. 10:8) to cover our nakedness, because we are naked, like sold slaves. “Ephraim is a learned young man who loves to thresh.” Ephraim is a young girl who loves to thresh and plunder together. “I... will step on... you, I will put Ephraim on a horse, Judah will thresh, Jacob will take the spoils” (Hos. 10:11). I set Ephraim on the royal throne, made Ephraim to abound with royal fat, Judah sought righteousness, Jacob plundered his enemies. You know that this is what I did, so “sow for yourselves in righteousness, and you will reap with those lips mercy.” But ... because you trusted in your bonds and in your strength, therefore destruction will arise among your people, and all your cities will be plundered,” that is, those cities in which you hoped will be plundered, as Salman was plundered, starting with Bethel, for serving the Bethel idols, and, moreover, without the noise of war, because there will be no resisters. “Just as Prince Solomin (died) from the house of Jeroboaml, during the days of the war he broke his mother about her children. This is what Bethel will do to you because of the unrighteousness of your evils” (Hos. 10:12-15). Such contrition will befall you for serving the idols of Bethel. For do not your iniquities deserve such a heavy judgment as has been pronounced upon you? “The next morning the king of Israel was astonished and ashamed.” The time of deliverance had come, but there was no deliverer; they hoped for salvation, but war broke out. “Before, when Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called him my son. “They called them,” that is, Moses and Aaron, but they did not listen to those who called. “So I will depart from my presence...I will require Baalim the priest and the carved urchin,” that is, the gods of Egypt and Midian (Hos. 11:1-2). “I led Ephraim; I took him upon My arm” (Hosea 11:3). “I picked them up like eagles on wings and brought them into the desert” (Ex. 19:4). “I drew them with the bonds of men,” for I extended, strengthened and multiplied them. I drew them not with bonds made of hair, by the work of their hands, but with “the bonds of love” ( Hos. 11:4); not with bonds of iron, but with the lust of the womb, teaching them how, taking each other by the hand, to console themselves with feasts on new moons and holidays. When I led them through the desert and They desired meat, and satisfied the desire of their belly. “And the weapons fail in their fortress cities... and they are consumed by their own devices” (Hos. 11:6), when their souls are put to shame. “What will I arrange for you, Ephraim?.. Like Adam... and like Seboi?” . Shall I help you, like faithful David? Or will I give you over to destruction, like the wicked cities of Adam and Seb, so destroyed that their insides were opened? “My heart is transformed, My womb is poured out; I will not create My fury according to the wrath”; I will not destroy you, although you deserve it. “I will not leave Ephraim to consume”, that is, I will not destroy Ephraim and Judah the way I destroyed Adam and Seboim. “Before I am God, and not man: I am holy in you, and I will not go into the city.” There is no point in saving the desecrated city. And I will save him not now, but when “they follow the Lord,” that is, upon returning from captivity. “Like a lion roars” (Hos. 11:8-10), he will roar at his enemies and make them tremble with a terrible voice and a powerful hand, although the enemies, relying on their strength, will despise such threats. And I am postponing this until a certain day, and now “all those scattered in Egypt will perch like birds ... and all those captives of the Assyrians in Samaria will be “like flying doves” (Hos. 11:11). “Ephraim used to lie to Me,” who was surrounded by My truth, because I gave him everything that I promised to Israel, but Ephraim did not do that to Me. “And... the house of Israel and Judah” (Hos. 11:12) were deceitful, having Me in their mouths, and not in their hearts, until the holy and faithful people who were found among them, such as Daniel, Ezekiel and others with them, began to be forced to go to Babylon. “Ephraim fed the wind and the whirlwind,” because he walked after idols and served vanity. “And a covenant with Assyrians”, he pledged to pay them tribute. “And you sent oil into Egypt” so that he might be in union with the Egyptians (Hos. 12:1). “In the womb of his brother” (Hos. 12:3). Jacob, on the advice of his mother, “brother’s wrist” and snatched from him the blessing of the birthright. “And the strength of the angel...was overpowering” (Hosea 12:4), because I strengthened him. The Lord reminds the sons how prosperous their fathers were, instilling through this that the cause of their misfortune is their wrongful walking in their ways. What was said was fulfilled on them: “Canaan, in its hand is the measure of unrighteousness; you will love violence” (Hos. 12:7). Canaan refers to a people who loved violence because they wrongly weighed the meaning of the Holy Scriptures and rejected the economy of Christ and the works of Christ. “And I multiplied the visions, and became like them in the hands of the prophets” (Hosea 12:10). This is said because God did not speak to them through one prophet, nor did He admonish them with the same analogy. “In Gilead and in Gilgal you offer oxen as sacrifices to vanity,” that is, to idols and all kinds of idols. “Your tremors are like stalks of straw on the whole grain” (Hos. 12:11). Just as in a field left after the harvest without cultivation, straw remains and dries up, so during the invasion of the Assyrians altars will be abandoned them all by the multitude of their priests. “And Jacob...worked...about a wife” (Hos. 12:12), because he did not have what he could, according to custom, give as a gift for a wife. But the Lord rewarded him for the ignominy of poverty when, upon his return from Harran to his land, he was taken out, as it is said, in four regiments. And God brought the sons of Jacob out of Egypt with the same wealth with which he brought Jacob himself out of Haran. But they forgot about this, tormented their souls with worries about their goods, turned away to alien deities and rejected the fear of God. The mysterious meaning of these words is that those who have comprehended the power of the Divine Scriptures should be attentive to themselves and not bother their hearts with the dead deeds of the sons of the earth, who have loved earthly things. “At the word of Ephraim he trembled” (Hos. 13:1), that is, Israel. When the sons of Ephraim began to call to serve their idols, Israel could not resist, fearing their power and the power of Jeroboam, who had become exalted after the death of Solomon. Jeroboam was pleased with this retreat, because if it had been destroyed, then everything would have returned under the authority of one king. Or in another sense: the sons of Israel perplexed themselves, not wanting to both offend Jeroboam, who gave them evil advice, and to sin against Rehoboam, fearing that he would take revenge on them for this. And those who feared people did not fear God, and began to make sacrifices to Baal, that is, to the idol of Canaan, and to the calf, the creation of an artist who learned from the Egyptians. “To them... they say: you who kill people as sacrifices” (Hos. 13:2). This name - “those who slaughter people as sacrifices” - is either a mockery of the Canaanites, who reproach the Israelites for the fact that they, the sons of Abraham, sacrifice to the calf; or so the surrounding nations called the Israelites, because they actually made human sacrifices to the idol Molech. “But the Lord your God... brought you out of the land of Egypt... I shepherded you in the desert in a land uninhabited.” But although I saved you from Egypt, “I will hide them like a bear, stealing prey from hunger, when they go to Assyria.” “And I will destroy the covenant of their hearts” (Hos. 13:4–5, 8), that is, I will scatter the plans of their hearts, and by events contrary to their plans I will show that their hopes were in vain. “Where is this king of yours,” whom you asked of Me when Samuel was rejected? “And I gave you King Saul in My wrath,” as a punishment for the pride of the princes of Judah and Ephraim. “I... took him away from you in My wrath” because he beat the priests, and persecuted David, and questioned the magicians, and not the Lord (Hos. 13:10-11). “The iniquity of Ephraim is bound in a knot, his sin is hidden” (Hos. 13:12). This is what the sons of Ephraim thought, not knowing that the heavy punishment that would openly befall them would make their sin known. “I will deliver from the hand of hell and I will redeem from death,” that is, I will deliver from the king of Babylon, who threatens death. “Where is your hair, O death? Where is your Osten, hell? Comfort is hidden from My sight... The east will come... and dry up... its source.” To explain, the testimony of the divine Paul is sufficient that when the East of the Spirit of God comes from the rising of the sun, at His terrible coming, accompanied by the hosts of those on high, then “he will empty the fountains of death and ... dry up his veins,” bestowing immortality (Hos. 13:14–15). “Samaria will be condemned because... she has offended her God” (Hos. 14:1). Hosea either predicts this according to the custom of the prophets, or desires and asks God for this, out of zeal (desire to imitate) the righteous, out of love for God, imitating in this Elijah, who predicted the punishment of the people for their sins, and punished them. “Take My words with you,” that is, words of repentance. “I will heal their repentance,” that is, I will heal those who repent. “I will love their vows after their conversion. For My wrath has turned away from them” (Hos. 14:3, 5). “Its branches will go up, and it will be like a fruitful olive tree... And they will sit under His roof” (Hos. 14:7–8), that is, under the roof of the Lord. And Ephraim will say: “Why should I also have an idol? I will humble him, and I will glorify him like a full quiver” (Hosea 14:9). The prophet points to the victories of those who strike with arrows. “Who is wise and understands... that the ways of the Lord are right? And the righteous will walk in them,” that is, those belonging to the house of Hezekiah who benefited from the admonitions. “And wickedness shall faint in them,” that is, the sons of Ephraim shall faint in the ways of the Lord (Hos. 14:10). Therefore, they will be taken into captivity because they do not heed the words of the prophets. You might be interested in: