(Calvin on Hosea, part 16)
Chapter 6.
Lecture Sixteenth.
Hosea 6:1
Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will
heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
In the last chapter the Prophet said, that the Israelites,
after having been subdued by chastisements and judgments, would
again turn back from following error to seek God. But as terror
drives men away from approaching God, he now adds, that the measure
of afflictions would not be such as would discourage their minds and
produce despair; but rather inspire them with the assurance, that
God would be propitious to them: and that he might set this forth
the better, he introduces them as saying, "Come, let us go to the
Lord": and this mode of speaking is very emphatical.
But we must know that the reason here given, why the Israelites
could return safely and with sure confidence to God, is, that they
would acknowledge it as his office to heal after he has smitten, and
to bring a remedy for the wounds which he has inflicted. The Prophet
means by these words, that God does not so punish men as to pour
forth his wrath upon them for their destruction; but that he
intends, on the contrary, to promote their salvation, when he is
severe in punishing their sins. We must then remember, as we have
before observed, that the beginning of repentance is a sense of
God's mercy; that is, when men are persuaded that God is ready to
give pardon, they then begin to gather courage to repent; otherwise
perverseness will ever increase in them; how much soever their sin
may frighten them, they will yet never return to the Lord. And for
this purpose I have elsewhere quoted that remarkable passage in Ps.
130, 'With thee is mercy, that thou mayest be feared;' for it cannot
be, that men will obey God with true and sincere heart, except a
taste of his goodness allures them, and they can certainly
determine, that they shall not return to him in vain, but that he
will be ready, as we have said, to pardon them. This is the meaning
of the words, when he says, "Come, and let us turn to the Lord; for
he has torn and he will heal us"; that is, God has not inflicted on
us deadly wounds; but he has smitten, that he might heal.
At the same time, something more is expressed in the Prophet's
words, and it is this, that God never so rigidly deals with men, but
that he ever leaves room for his grace. For by the word, torn, the
Prophet alludes to that heavy judgment of which he had before spoken
in the person of God: the Lord then made himself to be like a cruel
wild beast, "I will be as a lion, I will devour, I will tear, and no
one shall take away the prey which I have once seized." God wished
then to show that his vengeance would be dreadful against the
Israelites. Now, though God should deal very sharply with them, they
were not yet to despair of pardon. However, then, we may find God to
be for a time like a lion or a bear, yet, as his proper office is to
heal after he has torn, to bind the wounds he has inflicted, there
is no reason why we should shun his presence. We see that the design
of the Prophet's words was to show, that no chastisement is so
severe that it ought to break down our spirits, but that we ought,
by entertaining hope, to stir up ourselves to repentance. This is
the drift of the passage.
It is further needful to observe, that the faithful do here, in
the first place, encourage themselves, that they may afterwards lead
others with them; for so the words mean. He does not say, "Go,
return to Jehovah;" but, "Come, let us return unto Jehovah". We then
see that each one begins with himself; and then that they mutually
exhort one another; and this is what ought to be done by us: when
any one sends his brethren to God, he does not consult his own good,
since he ought rather to show the way. Let every one, then, learn to
stimulate himself; and then, let him stretch out his hand to others,
that they may follow. We are at the same time reminded that we ought
to undertake the care of our brethren; for it would be a shame for
any one to be content with his own salvation, and so to neglect his
brethren. It is then necessary to join together these two things, -
To stir up ourselves to repentance, - and then to try to lead others
with us. Let us now proceed -
Hosea 6:2
After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us
up, and we shall live in his sight.
This place the Hebrew writers pervert, for they think that they
are yet to be redeemed by the coming of the Messiah; and they
imagine that this will be the third day: for God once drew them out
of Egypt, this was their first life; then, secondly, he restored
them to life when he brought them back from the Babylonish
captivity; and when God shall, by the hand of the Messiah, gather
them from their dispersion, this, they say, will be the third
resurrection. But these are frivolous notions. Not withstanding,
this place is usually referred to Christ, as declaring, that God
would, after two days, and on the third, raise up his Church; for
Christ, we know, did not rise privately for himself, but for his
members, inasmuch as he is the first-fruits of them who shall rise.
This sense does not seem then unsuitable, that is, that the Prophet
here encourages the faithful to entertain hope of salvation, because
God would raise up his only-begotten Son, whose resurrection would
be the common life of the whole Church.
Yet this sense seems to me rather too refined. We must always
mind this, that we fly not in the air. Subtle speculations please at
first sight, but afterwards vanish. Let every one, then, who desires
to make proficiency in the Scriptures always keep to this rule - to
gather from the Prophets and apostles only what is solid.
Let us now see what the Prophet meant. He here adds, I doubt
not, a second source of consolation, that is, that if God should not
immediately revive his people, there would be no reason for delay to
cause weariness, as it is wont to do; for we see that when God
suffers us to languish long, our spirits fail; and those who at
first seem cheerful and courageous enough, in process of time become
faint. As, then, patience is a rare virtue, Hosea here exhorts us
patiently to bear delay, when the Lord does not immediately revive
us. Thus then did the Israelites say, "After two days will God
revive us; on the third day he will raise us up to life".
What did they understand by two days? Even their long
affliction; as though they said, "Though the Lord may not deliver us
from our miseries the first day, but defer longer our redemption,
our hope ought not yet to fail; for God can raise up dead bodies
from their graves no less than restore life in a moment." When
Daniel meant to show that the affliction of the people would be
long, he says, 'After a time, times, and half time,' (Dan. 7: 25.)
That mode of speaking is different, but then as to sense it is the
same. He says, 'after a time,' that is, after a year; that would be
tolerable: but it follows, 'and times,' that is, many years: God
afterwards shortens that period, and brings redemption at a time
when least expected. Hosea mentions here two years, because God
would not afflict his people for one day, but, as we have before
seen, subdue them by degrees; for the perverseness of the people had
so prevailed, that they could not be soon healed. As when diseases
have been striking roots for a long time, they cannot be immediately
cured, but there is need of slow and various remedies; and were a
physician to attempt immediately to remove a disease which had taken
full possession of a man, he certainly would not cure him, but take
away his life: so also, when the Israelites, through their long
obstinacy, had become nearly incurable, it was necessary to lead
them to repentance by slow punishments. They therefore said, "After
two days God will revive us"; and thus they confirmed themselves in
the hope of salvation, though it did not immediately appear: though
they long remained in darkness, and the exile was long which they
had to endure, they yet did not cease to hope: "Well, let the two
days pass, and the Lord will revive us."
We see that a consolation is here opposed to the temptations,
which take from us the hope of salvation, when God suspends his
favor longer than our flesh desires. Martha said to Christ, 'He is
now putrid, it is the fourth day.' She thought it absurd to remove
the stone from the sepulchre, because now the body of Lazarus was
putrified. But Christ in this instance designed to show his own
incredible power by restoring a putrid body to life. So the faithful
say here, "The Lord will raise us up after two days": "Though exile
seems to be like the sepulchre, where putridity awaits us, yet the
Lord will, by his ineffable power, overcome whatever may seem to
obstruct our restoration." We now perceive, as I think, the simple
and genuine sense of this passage.
But at the same time I do not deny but that God has exhibited a
remarkable and a memorable instance of what is here said in his
only-begotten Son. As often then as delay begets weariness in us,
and when God seems to have thrown aside every care of us, let us
flee to Christ; for, as it has been said, His resurrection is a
mirror of our life; for we see in that how God is wont to deal with
his own people: the Father did not restore life to Christ as soon as
he was taken down from the cross; he was deposited in the sepulchre,
and he lay there to the third day. When God then intends that we
should languish for a time, let us know that we are thus represented
in Christ our head, and hence let us gather materials of confidence.
We have then in Christ an illustrious proof of this prophecy. But in
the first place, let us lay hold on what we have said, that the
faithful here obtain hope for themselves, though God extends not
immediately his hand to them, but defers for a time his grace of
redemption.
Then he adds, "We shall live in his sight", or before him. Here
again the faithful strengthen themselves, for God would favor them
with his paternal countenance, after he had long turned his back on
them, "We shall live before his face". For as long as God cares not
for us, a sure destruction awaits us; but as soon as he turns his
eyes to us, he inspires life by his look alone. Then the faithful
promise this good to themselves that God's face will shine again
after long darkness: hence also they gather the hope of life, and at
the same time withdraw themselves from all those obstacles which
obscure the light of life; for while we run and wander here and
there, we cannot lay hold on the life which God promises to us, as
the charms of this world are so many veils, which prevent our eyes
to see the paternal face of God. We must then remember that this
sentence is added, that the faithful, when it pleases God to turn
his back on them, may not doubt but that he will again look on them.
Let us now go on -
Hosea 6:3
Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD: his going
forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the
rain, as the latter [and] former rain unto the earth.
In this verse the faithful pursue what we have before
considered, making the hope of salvation sure to themselves: nor is
it a matter of wonder that the Prophet dwells more fully on this
subject; for we know how prone we are to entertain doubt. There is
nothing more difficult, especially when God shows to us signs of his
wrath, than to recover us, so that we may be really persuaded that
he is our physician, when he seems to visit us for our sins. We must
then, in this case, earnestly strive, for it cannot be done without
labour. Hence the faithful now say, "We shall know, and we shall
pursue to know Jehovah". They show then by these words that they
distrust not, but that light would arise after darkness; for this is
the meaning of the words: We shall then know, they say; that is,
"Though there is now on every side horrible darkness, yet the Lord
will manifest his goodness to us, even though it may not immediately
appear." They therefore add, "And we shall pursue after the
knowledge of Jehovah". We now perceive the purport of the words.
Now this passage teaches us, that when God hides his face, we
act foolishly if we cherish our unbelief; for we ought, on the
contrary, as I have already said, to contend with this destructive
disease, inasmuch as Satan seeks nothing else but to sink us in
despair. This his device then ought to be understood by us, as Paul
reminds us, (2 Cor. 2: 11;) and the Holy Spirit supplies us here
with weapons, by which we may repel this temptation of Satan, "What?
Thou seest that God is angry with thee; nor is it of any use to thee
to attempt to come to him, for every access is shut up." This is
what Satan suggests to us, when we are sensible of our sins. What is
to be done? The Prophet here propounds a remedy, "We shall know;"
"Though now we are sunk in thick darkness, though there never shines
on us, no, not even a spark of light, yet we shall know (as Isaiah
says, 'I will hope in the Lord, who hides his face from Jacob') that
this is the true exercise of our faith, when we lift up our eyes to
the light which seems to be extinguished, and when in the darkness
of death we yet continue to promise to ourselves life, as we are
here taught: We shall then know; further, We shall pursue after the
knowledge of Jehovah; though God withdraws his face, and, as it were
designedly, doubles the darkness, and all knowledge of his grace be,
as it were, extinct, we shall yet pursue after this knowledge; that
is, no obstacle shall keep us from striving, and our efforts will at
length make their way to that grace which seems to be wholly
excluded from us."
Some give this rendering, We shall know, and shall pursue on to
know Jehovah, and explain the passage thus, - that the Israelites
had derived no such benefit from the law of Moses, but that they
still expected the fuller doctrine, which Christ brought at his
coming. They then think that this is a prophecy respecting that
doctrine, which is now by the Gospel set forth to us in its full
brightness, because God has manifested himself in his Son as in a
living image. But this is too refined an exposition; and it is
enough for us to keep close to the design of the Prophet. He indeed
introduces the godly thus speaking for this reason - because there
was need of great and strong effort, that they might rise up to the
hope of salvation; for it was not to be the exile of one day, but of
seventy years. When therefore so heavy a trial awaited the godly,
the Prophet here wished to prepare them for the laborious warfare:
"We shall then know, and follow on to know Jehovah".
Then he says, "As the morning shall come to us his going
forth", - a similitude the most appropriate; for here the faithful
call to mind the continued succession of days and nights. No wonder
that God bids us to hope for his grace, the sight of which is yet
hid from us; for except we had learnt by long experience, who could
hope for sudden light when the darkness of night prevails? Should we
not think that the earth is wholly deprived of light? But seeing
that the dawn suddenly shines, and puts an end to the darkness of
night, and dispels it, what wonder is it that the Lord should shine
forth beyond our expectation? His going forth then shall be like the
morning.
He here calls a new manifestation the going forth of God, that
is, when God shows that he regards his people with favor, when he
shows that he is mindful of the covenant which he made with Abraham;
for as long as the people were exiled from their country, God seemed
not, as we have said, to look on them any more; nay, the judgment of
the flesh only suggested this, that God was far distant from his
people. He then calls it the going forth of God, when God should
show himself propitious to the captives, and should wholly restore
them; then the going forth of God shall come, and shall be like the
morning. We now then see that he confirms them by the order of
nature, as Paul does, when he chides the unbelief of those to whom a
future resurrection seemed incredible, because it surpasses the
thoughts of the flesh; "O fool!" he says, "does thou not see that
what thou sowest first decays and then germinates? God now sets
before thee in a decaying seed an emblem of the future
resurrection." So also in this place, since light daily rises to us,
and the morning shines after the darkness of night, what then will
not the Lord effect by himself, who works so powerfully by material
things? When he will put forth his full power, what, think we, will
he do? Will he not much more surpass all the thoughts of our flesh?
We now then see why this similitude was added.
He afterwards describes to us the effect of this manifestation,
"He shall come", he says, "as the rain to us, as the late rain, a
rain to the earth". This comparison shows, that as soon as God will
deign to look on his people, his countenance will be like the rain,
which irrigates the earth. When the earth is dry after long heat and
long drought, it seems to be incapable of producing fruit; but rain
restores to it its moisture and vigor. Thus then the Prophet, in the
person of the faithful, does here strengthen the hope of a full
restoration. He shall come to us as the rain, as the late rain.
The Hebrews call the late rain "malkosh", by which the corn was
ripened. And it seems that the Prophet meant the vernal rain by the
word "geshem". But the sense is clearly this, that though the
Israelites had become so dry that they had no longer any vigor,
there would yet be no less virtue in God's grace than in the rain,
which fructifies the earth when it seems to be barren. But when at
the end he adds, a rain to the earth, I doubt not but that he meant
seasonable rain, which is pleasant and acceptable to the earth, or
which the earth really wants; for a violent shower cannot be called
properly a rain to the earth, because it is destructive and hurtful.
It follows -
Hosea 6:4
O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto
thee? for your goodness [is] as a morning cloud, and as the early
dew it goeth away.
Some so expound this passage as that God would not once
irrigate his people, but would continue this favor; as though he
said, "He is deceived, who thinks that the redemption, which I bid
you to hope from me, will be momentary, for I will, by a continued
progress, lead my people to a full fruition of salvation." But this
sense is altogether foreign. The Prophet then, no doubts introduces
God here as speaking thus, "What shall I do to you? because ye
cannot receive my favor, so great is your depravity." The context
seems indeed to be in this way broken off; but we must remember this
canon, that whenever the Prophets make known the grace of God, they
at the same time add an exception, lest hypocrites falsely apply to
themselves what is offered to the faithful alone. The Prophets, we
know, never threatened ruin to the people, but that they added some
promise, lest the faithful should despair, which must have been the
case, except some mitigation had been made known to them. Hence the
Prophets do this in common, - they moderate their threatening and
severity by adding a hope of God's favor. But at the same time, as
hypocrites ever draw to themselves what belongs only to the
faithful, and thus heedlessly deride God, the Prophets add another
exception, by which they signify, that God's promise of being
gracious and merciful to his people is not to be deemed universal,
and as appertaining to all indiscriminately.
I will more fully repeat this again: The Prophets had to do
with the whole people; they had to do with the few faithful, for
there was a small number of godly people among the Israelites as
well as among the Jews. When therefore the Prophets reproved the
people, they addressed the whole body: but at the same time, as
there was some remnant seed, they mingled, as I have said,
consolations, and mingled them, that the elect of God might ever
recumb on his mercy, and thus patiently submit to his rod, and
continue in his fear, knowing that there is in him a sure salvation.
Hence the promises which we see inserted by the Prophets among
threats and chidings, ought not to be referred in common to all, or
indiscriminately to the people, but only, as we have said, to the
faithful, who were then but few in number. This then is the reason
why the prophets shook off self-complacencies from the wicked
despisers of God, when they added, "Ye ought not to hope any
salvation from the promise I set forth to God's children; for God
throws not to dogs the bread which he has destined for his children
alone." In the same strain we find another Prophet speaking, 'To
what end is the day of the Lord to you? It is a day of darkness, and
not of light, a day of death, and not of life,' (Amos 5: 18.) For as
often as they heard of the covenant which God made with Abraham,
that it would not be void, they thus vaunted, "We are now indeed
severely treated, but in a little while God will rescue us from our
evils; for he is our Father, he has not in vain adopted us, he has
not in vain redeemed and chosen our race, we are his peculiar
possession and heritage." Thus then the presumptuous flatter
themselves; and this indeed they seem to have in common with the
faithful; for the faithful also, though in the deepest abyss of
death, yet behold the light of life; for by faith, as we have said,
they penetrate beyond this world. But at the same time they approach
God in real penitence, while the ungodly remain in their
perverseness, and vainly flatter themselves, thinking that whatever
God promises belongs to them.
Let us now then return to our Prophet. He had said, "In their
tribulation they will seek me:" he had afterwards, in the words used
by the people, explained how the faithful would turn themselves to
God, and what true repentance would bring with it. It now follows,
"What shall I do to thee, Ephraim? what shall I do to thee, Judah?"
that is, "What shall I do to all of you?" The people was now divided
into two kingdoms: the kingdom of Judah had its own name; the ten
tribes had, as it has been said, the common name of Israel. Then
after the Prophet gave hope of pardon to the children of God, he
turns himself to the whole body of the people, which was corrupt,
and says, "What shall I do now to you, both Jews and Israelites?"
Now God, by these words, intimates that he had tried all remedies,
and found them useless: "What more then," he says, "shall I do to
you? Ye are wholly incurable, ye are inexcusable, and altogether
past hope; for no means have been omitted by me, by which I could
promote your salvation; but I have lost all my labour; as I have
effected nothing by punishments and chastisements, as my favor also
has had no account among you, what now remains, but that I must
wholly cast you away?"
We now then see how varied is the mode of speaking adopted by
the Prophets; for they had to do, not with one class of men, but
with the children of God, and also with the wicked, who continued
obstinately in their vices. Hence then it was, that they changed
their language, and so necessarily. Alike is the complaint we read
in Isaiah, chap. 1, except that there mention is only made of
punishments, 'Why should I strike you more? for I have hitherto
effected nothing: from the sole of the foot to the top of the head
there is no soundness; and yet ye remain like yourselves.' In chap.
5 he speaks of God's favors, 'What could have been done more to my
vineyard than what I have done?' In these two places the Prophet
shows that the people were so lost, that they could not be brought
into a sane mind; for God had in various ways tried to heal them,
and their diseases remained incurable.
Let us now return to the words of Hosea, "What shall I do to
thee, Ephraim? What shall I do to thee Judah?" "I indeed offer
pardon to all, but ye still continue obstinately in your sins; nay,
my favor is by you scorned: I do not therefore now contend with you;
but declare to you that the door of salvation is closed." Why?
"Because I have hitherto in various ways tried in vain to heal you."
He afterwards says that their goodness was like the morning
dew, "Your goodness", he says, is as the dew of the morning." Some
take "chesed" for the kindness which God had exercised towards both
the Israelites and the Jews. Then it is, "Your kindness," that is,
the mercy which I have hitherto exhibited to you, "is as the morning
dew, as the cloud which passes away early in the morning", that is,
"Ye immediately dry up my favor;" and this seems not unsuitable, for
we see that the unbelieving by their wickedness absorb the mercy of
God, so that it produces no good, as when rain flows over a rock or
a stone, while the stone within, on account of its hardness, remains
dry. As then the moisture of rain does not penetrate into stones, so
also the grace of God is spent in vain and without advantage on the
unbelieving.
But the Prophet speaks rather of their goodness, that they made
a show of feigned excellency, which vanished like the morning dew;
for as soon as the sun rises, it draws the dew upwards, so that it
appears no more; the clouds also pass away. The Prophet says that
the Jews and the Israelites were like the morning clouds and the
dew, because there was in them no solid or inward goodness, but it
was only of an evanescent kind; they had, as they say, only the
appearance of goodness.
We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet, that God here
complains that he had to do with hypocrites. Faith, we know, is
regarded by him; there is nothing that pleases God more than
sincerity of heart. We know further, that doctrine is spread in
vain, except it be received in a serious manner. Then, as hypocrites
transform themselves in various ways, and make a display of some
guises of goodness, while they have nothing solid in them, God
complains that he loses all his labour: and he says at length that
he will no longer spend labour in vain on hypocritical men, who have
nothing but falsehood and dissimulation; and this is what he means,
when he intimates that he should do nothing more to the Israelites
and the Jews.
Prayer.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we do not, by due gratitude, respond to
thy favors, and after having tasted of thy mercy, have willingly
sought ruin to ourselves, - O grant, that we, being renewed by thy
Spirit, may not only remain constant in the fear of thy name, but
also advance more and more and be established; that being thus armed
with thy invincible power, we may strenuously fight against all the
wiles and assaults of Satan, and thus pursue our warfare to the end,
- and that being thus sustained by thy mercy, we may ever aspire to
that life which is hid for us in heaven, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Calvin on Hosea
(continued in part 17...)
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