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Text -- Hosea 9:3-5 (NET)

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Context
Assyrian Exile Will Reverse the Egyptian Exodus
9:3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land. Ephraim will return to Egypt; they will eat ritually unclean food in Assyria. 9:4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord; they will not please him with their sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning; all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean. For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite; it will not come into the temple of the Lord. 9:5 So what will you do on the festival day, on the festival days of the Lord?
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Assyria a member of the nation of Assyria
 · Egypt descendants of Mizraim
 · Ephraim the tribe of Ephraim as a whole,the northern kingdom of Israel


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Purification | Palestine | OMNIPRESENCE | Mourning | JOEL (2) | Israel | Hypocrisy | Hosea, Prophecies of | HOSEA | GOD, 2 | Funeral | Drink-offering | DEUTERONOMY | Canaan | CRITICISM | CALF, GOLDEN | Bread | Backsliders | Assyria | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
, Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable , Guzik

Other
Evidence

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Hos 9:3 - -- Many of Ephraim shall fly into Egypt.

Many of Ephraim shall fly into Egypt.

Wesley: Hos 9:3 - -- The residue shall be carried captive into Assyria.

The residue shall be carried captive into Assyria.

Wesley: Hos 9:4 - -- These were appointed to be offered with the morning and evening sacrifice, the sacrifice representing Christ, and pardon by him; the wine-offering, th...

These were appointed to be offered with the morning and evening sacrifice, the sacrifice representing Christ, and pardon by him; the wine-offering, the spirit of grace: the sacrifice repeated, daily continued their peace and pardon. All this shall be withheld from these captives.

Wesley: Hos 9:4 - -- If any should venture to offer.

If any should venture to offer.

Wesley: Hos 9:4 - -- It shall as much pollute them and displease God as if one mourning for the dead, and forbidden to sacrifice, should venture to do it.

It shall as much pollute them and displease God as if one mourning for the dead, and forbidden to sacrifice, should venture to do it.

Wesley: Hos 9:4 - -- Their bread which they were bound to offer with their sacrifices, they will now have no opportunity of bringing to the Lord's house.

Their bread which they were bound to offer with their sacrifices, they will now have no opportunity of bringing to the Lord's house.

Wesley: Hos 9:5 - -- You will not then be suffered to observe any of them.

You will not then be suffered to observe any of them.

JFB: Hos 9:3 - -- (See on Hos 8:13). As in Hos 11:5 it is said, "He shall not return into . . . Egypt." FAIRBAIRN thinks it is not the exact country that is meant, but ...

(See on Hos 8:13). As in Hos 11:5 it is said, "He shall not return into . . . Egypt." FAIRBAIRN thinks it is not the exact country that is meant, but the bondage state with which, from past experience, Egypt was identified in their minds. Assyria was to be a second Egypt to them. Deu 28:68, though threatening a return to Egypt, speaks (Deu 28:36) of their being brought to a nation which neither they nor their fathers had known, showing that it is not the literal Egypt, but a second Egypt-like bondage that is threatened.

JFB: Hos 9:3 - -- Reduced by necessity to eat meats pronounced unclean by the Mosaic law (Eze 4:13). See 2Ki 17:6.

Reduced by necessity to eat meats pronounced unclean by the Mosaic law (Eze 4:13). See 2Ki 17:6.

JFB: Hos 9:4 - -- Literally, "pour as a libation (Exo 30:9; Lev 23:13).

Literally, "pour as a libation (Exo 30:9; Lev 23:13).

JFB: Hos 9:4 - -- As being offered on a profane soil.

As being offered on a profane soil.

JFB: Hos 9:4 - -- Which was unclean (Deu 26:14; Jer 16:7; Eze 24:17).

Which was unclean (Deu 26:14; Jer 16:7; Eze 24:17).

JFB: Hos 9:4 - -- Their offering for the expiation of their soul [CALVIN], (Lev 17:11). Rather, "their bread for their sustenance ('soul' being often used for the anima...

Their offering for the expiation of their soul [CALVIN], (Lev 17:11). Rather, "their bread for their sustenance ('soul' being often used for the animal life, Gen 14:21, Margin) shall not come into the Lord's house"; it shall only subserve their own uses, not My worship.

JFB: Hos 9:5 - -- (Hos 2:11).

Clarke: Hos 9:3 - -- But Ephraim shall return to Egypt - See on Hos 8:12 (note).

But Ephraim shall return to Egypt - See on Hos 8:12 (note).

Clarke: Hos 9:4 - -- As the bread of mourners - By the law, a dead body, and every thing that related to it, the house where it lay, and the persons who touched it, were...

As the bread of mourners - By the law, a dead body, and every thing that related to it, the house where it lay, and the persons who touched it, were all polluted and unclean, and whatever they touched was considered as defiled. See Deu 26:14; Num 19:11, Num 19:13, Num 19:14

Clarke: Hos 9:4 - -- For their bread for their soul - The bread for the common support of life shall not be sanctified to them by having the first-fruits presented at th...

For their bread for their soul - The bread for the common support of life shall not be sanctified to them by having the first-fruits presented at the temple.

Clarke: Hos 9:5 - -- What will ye do in the solemn day - When ye shall be despoiled of every thing by the Assyrians; for the Israelites who remained in the land after it...

What will ye do in the solemn day - When ye shall be despoiled of every thing by the Assyrians; for the Israelites who remained in the land after its subjection to the Assyrians did worship the true God, and offer unto him the sacrifices appointed by the law, though in an imperfect and schismatic manner; and it was a great mortification to them to be deprived of their religious festivals in a land of strangers. See Calmet.

Calvin: Hos 9:3 - -- The Prophet proclaims here a heavier punishment — that the Lord would drive them into exile. It was indeed a dreadful repudiation, when they were d...

The Prophet proclaims here a heavier punishment — that the Lord would drive them into exile. It was indeed a dreadful repudiation, when they were deprived of the land of Canaan, which was the Lord’s rest, as it is called in the Psalms, (Psa 132:14.) While they dwelt in the land of Canaan, they lived as it were in the habitations of God, and could have a sure hope that he would be a father to them: but when they were thence expelled, the Lord testified that he regarded them as aliens; it was the same as when a father disinherits his son. The Prophet now threatens them not only with the want of food, but also with repudiation, which was far more grievous — They shall not dwell, he says, in the Lord’s land

There is an elegant play on words in the verbs here used; ישבו , ishebu, and ושב , usheb; the one is from ישב , isheb, and the other from שוב , shub. ‘They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; but Ephraim shall return into Egypt:’ and the other circumstance is still more dreadful. In Assyria they shall eat what is unclean; for it was the same as if the Lord intended to blend that holy people with the profane Gentiles, so that there should be afterwards no difference; for the uncleanness of which the Prophet speaks would have the effect of destroying the distinction which the adoption of God made between that people and the profane nations. It was indeed by badges that the Lord retained the people of Israel, when he ordered them to abstain from unclean meats: but when they differed nothing, as to common food, from the Gentiles, it was evident that they were rejected by God, and that the holiness which belonged to them through the free covenant of God was obliterated. They shall eat, then, what is unclean in Assyria; that is, “They shall not now be under my care and protection; they shall live according to their own will, as the other nations. I have hitherto preserved them under some restraint; but now, as they will not bear to live under my law, they shall have their own liberty, and shall be profane like the rest of the world, so that they shall become involved in all the defilements and pollutions of the Gentiles.” This is the meaning.

And now we ought to consider, whether it be right, when we are among idolaters, to conform to the rites approved by them. This place, no doubt, as other places, most clearly shows, that nothing more grievous can happen to us than the doing away of all difference between us and the profane despisers of God, even in the outward manner of living. Had the Prophet said, “The Israelites shall now be hungry in a far country; — the Lord has hitherto fed them with plenty, for he has performed what he had formerly promised by Moses; this land has in every way been blessed, and has supplied us with great abundance of wine, wheat, and oil; yea, honey has flowed like water; but they shall now be constrained to pine away with want among their enemies:” — Had the Prophet said this, it would have been a grievous and severe denunciation; but now he fills them, as it has been already said, with much greater horror, for he says, ‘They shall eat what is unclean.’ There seemed to be some great importance belonging to the external rite: but the outward profession was the badge of divine adoption. When therefore the people loosened the reins and ate indiscriminately any meat, and made no choice according to the directions of the law, then the distinction was removed, so that they ceased to be the people of God. It is the same also, at this day, with those who turn aside from a sincere profession of their faith and associate with the Papists; they renounce, as far as they can, the favour of God, and abandon themselves to the will of Satan.

Let us then know that it is a dreadful judgement of God, when we are not allowed to profess our faith by outward worship; and when the ungodly so rule, as to put us under the necessity of which the Prophet here speaks, even of eating unclean things, that is, of being implicated in their profane superstitions. It is then a favour, to be highly valued, when we are permitted to abstain from all defilements and to worship God purely, so that no one may contaminate himself by dissimulation: but when we are compelled, under the tyranny of the ungodly, to conform to impure superstitions, it is a sign of the dreadful judgement of God; and there is nothing by which any one can excuse himself in this respect or extenuate his fault, as many do, whom yet conscience bites within, though they deem it sufficient to spread forth their own excuses before the eyes of men. But there is nothing by which such men can either flatter themselves, or dazzle the eyes of the simple; for it is an extreme reproach, when people, who ought to be sacred to God and to profess outwardly his pure worship, suffer themselves to be polluted with unclean food. It follows —

Calvin: Hos 9:4 - -- It is uncertain whether the Prophet testifies here, that they should lose their labour and their oil (as they say) when they sacrificed to God; or wh...

It is uncertain whether the Prophet testifies here, that they should lose their labour and their oil (as they say) when they sacrificed to God; or whether he declares what would be the case when they had been driven into exile. Both views seem probable. Now, if we refer the words of the Prophet to the time of exile, they seem not unsuitable, They shall not then pour out wine to Jehovah, and their sacrifices shall not be acceptable to him; no oblation shall come any more to the temple of Jehovah.” And thus many understand the passage; yet the former sense is the most appropriate, as it may be easily gathered from the context. The Prophet says, that they shall not pour out wine to Jehovah, and that their sacrifices shall not be acceptable to him; and then he adds, All that eat shall be polluted It seems not by any means applicable to exiles, that they should vainly endeavour to pour out wine to God; for their religion forbade them to do such a thing. Further, when he says, Their sacrifices shall be to them as the bread of mourners, — this must also be understood of sacrifices, which they were wont daily to offer to God; for in exile (as it has been said) it was not lawful for them to make any offering, nor had they there an altar or a sanctuary.

What, then, is the meaning of the Prophet, when he says, “All that eat of their sacrifices shall be polluted”? We must know that the Prophet speaks here of the intermediate time, as though he said, “What the Israelites now sacrifice is without any advantage, and God is not pacified with these trifles for they bring polluted hands, they change not their minds, they obtrude their sacrifices on God, but they themselves first pollute them.” Of this same doctrine we have already often treated; I shall not then dwell on it now; but it is enough to point out the design of the Prophet, which was to show that the Israelites were seeking in vain to pacify God by their ceremonies, for they were vain expiations which God did not regard, but deemed as worthless.

They shall not then pour out wine to God. There is an important meaning in this sentence; for it is certain that as long as the Israelites lived in their country, they were sedulous enough in the performance of outward worship, and that drink-offerings were not neglected by them. Since, then, this custom prevailed among them, the Prophet must be speaking here only of the effect, and says, that they exercised themselves in vain in their frivolous worship, for they poured not out wine to Jehovah, that is, their libation did not come to Jehovah; and he explains himself afterwards, when he says, Their drink-offerings shall not be pleasant to him However much, then, the Israelites might labour, the Prophet says that their labour would be fruitless, for the Lord would reject whatever they did. He then adds what is to the same purpose, Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat shall be polluted; that is, all their sacrifices are polluted. The Prophet now shows more clearly, not that there would be no sacrifices, but that they would be in vain, because the Lord would abominate them, and would repudiate all the masks which they would put on in his presence, and under the cover of which they withdrew themselves from their allegiance to him. The reason is, because when any one unclean touches pure flesh, he pollutes it by his uncleanness. God then must necessarily abominate whatever impure men offer, unless they seek to purify their minds. And this principle has ever prevailed among the very blind, —

An impious right hand does not rightly worship the celestials.
( Non bene coelestes impia dextra colit.)

These words, which spread everywhere, have been witnesses of the common feeling; for the Lord intended to draw out men, as it were, from their converts, when he forced them to make such a confession. It is no wonder that the Prophet now says (as this truth is also often taught in Scripture) that the sacrifices of the people, who continued in their own perfidy, would be like the bread of mourners; as Isaiah says,

‘When one kills an ox, it is the same as if he slew a man; when one sacrifices a lamb, it is the same as if he killed a dog,’
(Isa 66:3.)

He compares sacrifices to murders; nor is it to be wondered at, for it is a more atrocious crime to abuse the sacred name of God than to kill a man, and this is what ungodly men do.

Then he says, “If any one eats, he will be polluted.” He enlarges on what he said before, and says that if any one clean should come, he would be polluted by being only in company with them. We now see how sharply the Prophet here arouses hypocrites, that they might now cease to promise to themselves what they were wont to do, and that is, that God would be propitious to them while they pacified him with their vain things. “By no means,” he says; “nay, there is so much defilement in your sacrifices, that they even contaminate others who come, being themselves clean.”

But it may be asked, Can the impiety of others pollute us, when we afford no proof of companionship, nor by dissimulation manifest any consent? when we then abstain from all superstition, does society alone contaminate us? The answer is easy: The Prophet does not avowedly discuss here how another’s impiety may contaminate men who are clean; but his object was to show in strong language how much God abhors the ungodly, and that not only he is not pacified with their sacrifices, but also holds them as the greatest abominations. But with regard to this question, it is certain that we become polluted as soon as we content to profane superstitions: yet when ungodly men administer either holy baptism or the holy supper, we are not polluted by fellowship with them, for the deed itself has nothing vicious in it. Then the act only does not pollute us, nor the hidden and inward impiety of men. This is true: but we are to understand for what purpose the Prophet said, that all who eat of their sacrifices shall be polluted.

He proceeds with the same subject, Their bread for their souls etc. This clause, “for their soul,” may be explained in two ways. In saying, Bread for their soul, the Prophet spake by way of contempt; as though he said, “Let them serve themselves and their stomach with bread, and no more offer it to God; let them then satiate themselves with bread, for they cannot consecrate to God their bread, when they themselves are unclean.” But I am inclined to follow what has been more approved, that bread for their soul shall not come to the house of the Lord; for men, we know, are then wont to offer their sacrifices to God to reconcile themselves to him, or at least to present emblems of their expiation: hence the Prophet says, that bread is offered for the soul according to the directions of the law; but that the ungodly could not bring bread into the house of Jehovah, because the Lord excludes them, as it were, by an interdict. Not that hypocrites keep away, for we see how boldly they thrust themselves into the temple; nay, they would occupy the first place; but the Lord yet forbids them to come to his presence. This is the reason why he says, that the bread of the ungodly shall not come before God, though in appearance their oblations glitter before men. It follows —

Calvin: Hos 9:5 - -- The Prophet here alludes again to their exile, and shows how deplorable the condition of the people would be, when deprived of all their sacrifices. ...

The Prophet here alludes again to their exile, and shows how deplorable the condition of the people would be, when deprived of all their sacrifices. It is indeed true that the Israelites, when they changed the place of the temple, and when new and spurious rites were introduced by Jeroboam, became wholly rejected, so that from that time no sacrifice pleased God, for they sacrificed to idols and demons and not to God, as it is elsewhere stated, (Deu 32:17;) but yet, as they had some kind of divine worship, as circumcision remained, and sacrifices were offered, as it were, by Moses’ command, and they boasted themselves to be the children of Abraham and lived in the holy land, they were satisfied with their condition. But when in exile they saw no sign of God’s favour, when they were deprived of the temple and altar and all sacrifices, when on every side mere solitude and waste met their eyes, when God thus manifested that he was far removed from them, great sorrow must have entered their hearts. Hence the Prophet says, What will ye do in the solemn day?

And he expressly mentions solemn and festal-days. “If the morning and the evening oblation, which is wont to be made, will not be remembered, and if the other sacrifices will not occur to your minds, what will you do when the festal days will come? for the Lord will then show that he has nothing to do with you.” For the trumpets sounded on the festivals, that the people might come from the whole land into the temple; and it was, as it were, the voice of God, sounding from heaven: but when the feast-days were forgotten, when there were no holy assemblies, it was the same as if the Lord, by commanding silence, had proved that he no longer cared for the people. That the Israelites then might not think that exile only was threatened to them, the Prophet here shows that something worse was connected with it, and that was, that the Lord would wholly forsake them, and that there would exist no token of his presence, as though they were cut off from the Church. What then will ye do on the solemn day, on the day of Jehovah’s festivity? That is, “Do you think that something of an ordinary kind is denounced on you when I speak of exile? The Lord will indeed take away the whole of your worship, and will deprive you of all the evidences of his presence. What then will you do? But if a brutish stupor should so occupy your minds, that this should not recur to your thoughts daily, the solemn and festal-days will at least constrain you to think how dreadful it is, that you have nothing remaining among you, which may afford a hope of God’s favour.” We now apprehend the meaning of the Prophet.

We hence learn what I have said before, that nothing worse can happen to us in this world, than to be scattered without any order, when no outward evidence appears by which the Lord collects us to himself. It would therefore be better for us to be deprived of meat and drink, and to go naked, and to perish at last through want, than that the exercises of religion, ( exercita pietatis — exercises of religion) by which the Lord holds us, as it were, in his own bosom, should be taken away from us. When therefore we are deprived of these aids, and God thus hides his face from us, and mournful waste discovers to us dread on every side, it is an extreme calamity, an evidence of the dreadful judgement of God. Let us then learn, when our flesh is touched, when sterility or some other evil impends over us — let us learn to dread this deprivation still more, and to fear lest the Lord should deprive us of our festal-days; that is, take away all the aids of religion by which he holds us together in his house, and shows us to be a part of his Church. This then, in the last place, ought to be noticed: what remains we shall consider in our next lecture.

TSK: Hos 9:3 - -- shall not : Lev 18:28, Lev 20:22; Deu 4:26, Deu 28:63; Jos 23:15; 1Ki 9:7; Mic 2:10 the Lord’ s : Lev 25:23; Jer 2:7, Jer 16:18 but : Hos 9:6, Ho...

shall not : Lev 18:28, Lev 20:22; Deu 4:26, Deu 28:63; Jos 23:15; 1Ki 9:7; Mic 2:10

the Lord’ s : Lev 25:23; Jer 2:7, Jer 16:18

but : Hos 9:6, Hos 8:13, Hos 11:5; Deu 28:68; Isa 11:15, Isa 11:16, ""Not into Egypt itself, but into another bondage as bad as that, ""and, Eze 4:13; Dan 1:8; Act 10:14

in Assyria : Hos 11:11; 2Ki 17:6

TSK: Hos 9:4 - -- shall not : Hos 3:4; Joe 1:13, Joe 2:14 neither : Hos 8:13; Isa 1:11-15, Isa 57:6, Isa 66:3; Jer 6:20; Amo 4:4, Amo 4:5, Amo 5:22; Mal 1:9, Mal 1:10 a...

TSK: Hos 9:5 - -- what : Isa 10:3; Jer 5:31 in : Hos 2:11; Joe 1:13

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Hos 9:3 - -- They shall not dwell in the Lord’ s land. The earth is the Lord’ s and the fulness thereof - Yet He had chosen the land of Canaan, th...

They shall not dwell in the Lord’ s land. The earth is the Lord’ s and the fulness thereof - Yet He had chosen the land of Canaan, there to place His people; there, above others, to work His miracles; there to reveal Himself; there to send His Son to take our flesh. He had put Israel in possession of it, to hold it under Him on condition of obedience. Contrariwise, God had denounced to them again and again; "if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to possess it"Deu 30:17-18. The fifth commandment, "the first commandment with promise"Eph 5:2, still implies the same condition, "that thy days may be logit in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."God makes the express reserve that the land is His. "The land shall not be sold forever, for the land is Mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with Me."Lev 25:23. It was then an aggravation of their sin, that they had sinned in God’ s land. It was to sin in His special presence. To offer its first-fruits to idols, was to disown God as its Lord, and to own His adversary. In removing them, then, from His land, God removed them from occasions of sin.

But Ephraim shall return to Egypt - He had broken the covenant, whereon God had promised, that they should not return there (see above the note at Hos 8:13). They had recourse to Egypt against the will of God. Against their own will, they should be sent back there, in banishment and distress, as of old, and in separation from their God.

And they shall eat unclean things in Assyria - So in Ezekiel, "The children of Israel shall eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them"Eze 4:13. "Not to eat things common or unclean"was one of the marks which God had given them. whereby he distinguished them as His people. While God owned them as His people, He would protect them against such necessity. The histories of Daniel, of Eleazar and the Maccabees (Dan 1:8; 2 Macc. 6; 7), show how sorely pious Jews felt the compulsion to eat things unclean. Yet this doubtless Israel had done in his own land, if not in other ways, at least in eating things offered to idols. Now then, through necessity or they were to be forced, for their sustenance to eat tilings unclean, such as were, to them, all things killed with the blood in them, i. e., as almost all things are killed now. They who had willfully transgressed God’ s law, should now be forced to live in the habitual breach of that law, in a matter which placed them on a level with the pagan. People, who have no scruple about breaking God’ s moral law, feel keenly the removal of any distinction, which places them above others. They had been as pagan; they should be in the condition of pagan.

Barnes: Hos 9:4 - -- They shall not offer wine-offerings to the Lord - The "wine"or "drink-offering"was annexed to all their burnt-offerings, and so to all their pu...

They shall not offer wine-offerings to the Lord - The "wine"or "drink-offering"was annexed to all their burnt-offerings, and so to all their public sacrifices. The burnt-offering (and with it the meal and the wine-offering,) was "the"daily morning and evening sacrifice Exo 29:38-41; Num 28:3-8, and the sacrifice of the Sabbath Num 28:9. It was offered, together with the sin-offering, on the first of the month, the Passover, the feast of the first-fruits, of trumpets, of tabernacles, and the Day of Atonement, besides the special sacrifices of that day Num 28:11, Num 28:15-16, Num 28:19, Num 28:22, Num 28:26, Num 28:7, Num 28:30; Num 29:11, Num 29:1-2, Num 29:5, Num 29:7-8, 12-38. It entered also into private life Lev. 1; Num 15:3, Num 15:10. The drink-offering accompanied also the peace-offering Num 15:8, Num 15:10. As the burnt-offering, on which the offerer laid his hand Lev 1:4, and which was wholly consumed by the sacred fire which at first fell from heaven, expressed the entire self-devotion of the offerer, that he owed himself wholly to his God; and as the peace-offering was the expression of thankfulness, which was at peace with God; so the outpouring of the wine betokened the joy, which accompanies that entire self oblation, that thankfulness in self-oblation of a soul accepted by God. In denying, then, that Israel should "offer wine-offerings,"the prophet says, that all the joy of their service of God, nay all their public service should cease. As he had before said, that they should be "for many days without sacrifice"Lev 3:4, so now, he says, in fact, that they should live without the prescribed means of pleading to God the atonement to come. Whence he adds,

Neither shall they be pleasing to the Lord - For they should no longer have the means prescribed for reconciliation with God. Such is the state of Israel now. God appointed one way of reconciliation with Himself, the Sacrifice of Christ. Sacrifice pictured this, and pleaded it to Him, from the fall until Christ Himself "appeared, once in the end of the world, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself"Heb 9:26. Soon after, when time had been given to the Jews to learn to acknowledge Him, all bloody sacrifices ceased. Since then the Jews have lived without that means of reconciliation, which God appointed. It availed, not in itself, but as being appointed lay God to foreshadow and plead that one sacrifice. So He who, by our poverty and void, awakens in us the longing for Himself, would through the anomalous condition, to which He has, by the orderings of His divine providence, brought His former people, call forth in them that sense of need, which would bring them to Christ. In their half-obedience, they remain under the ceremonial law which He gave them, although He called them, and still calls them, to exchange the shadow for the substance in Christ. But in that they cannot fulfill the requirements of the law, even in its outward form, the law, which they acknowledge, bears witness to them, that they are not living according to the mind of God.

Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners - He had said that they should not sacrifice to God, when no longer in the Lord’ s land. He adds that, if they should attempt it, their sacrifices, so far from being a means of acceptance, should be defiled, and a source of defilement to them. "All"which was "in"the same "tent"or house with a dead body, was "unclean for seven days"Num 19:14. The bread, which they ate then, was defiled. If "one unclean by a dead body touched bread or pottage or any meat, it was unclean"Hag 2:12-13. In offering the tithes, a man was commanded to declare, "I have not eaten of it in my mourning"Deu 26:15. So would God impress on the soul the awfulness of death, and man’ s sinfulness, of which death is the punishment. He does not say, that they would offer sacrifices, but that their sacrifices, if offered as God did not command, would defile, not atone. It is in truman nature, to neglect to serve God, when He wills it, and then to attempt to serve Him when he forbids it. Thus Israel, affrighted by the report of the spies Num. 14, would not go up to the promised land, when God commanded it. When God had sentenced them, not to go up, but to die in the wilderness, "then"they attempted it. Sacrifice, according to God’ s law, could only be offered in the promised land. In their captivity, then, it would be a fresh sin.

For their bread for their soul - Or "is for their soul,"i. e., "for themselves;"it is for whatever use they can make of it for this life’ s needs, to support life. Nothing of it would be admitted "into the house of the Lord,"as offered to Him or accepted by Him.

Barnes: Hos 9:5 - -- What will ye do in the solemn day? - Man is content to remain far from God, so that God do not show him, that He has withdrawn Himself from him...

What will ye do in the solemn day? - Man is content to remain far from God, so that God do not show him, that He has withdrawn Himself from him. Man would fain have the power of drawing near to God in time of calamity, or when he himself likes. He would fain have God at his command, as it were, not be at the command of God. God cuts off this hope altogether. he singles out the great festivals, which commemorated His great doings for His people, as though they had no more share in those mercies. The more solemn the day, the more total man’ s exclusion, the more manifest God’ s withdrawal. To one shut out from His service, the days of deepest religious joy became the days of deepest sorrow. Mirth is turned into heaviness. To be deprived of the ordinary daily sacrifice was a source of continual sorrow; how much more, "in the days of"their "gladness"Num 10:10, in which they were bidden to rejoice before the Lord, and "in which they seemed to have a nearer and more familiar access to God."True, that having separated themselves from the temple, they had no right to celebrate these feasts, which were to be held in the place "which God had chosen to place His name there."Man, however, clings to the shadow of God’ s service, when he has parted with the substance. And so God foretold them before, that He would "make all their mirth to cease"Hos 2:11.

Poole: Hos 9:3 - -- They who worship idols, and give my glory to them, depending on them, and ascribing to them what I alone give them, shall not dwell in the Lord̵...

They who worship idols, and give my glory to them, depending on them, and ascribing to them what I alone give them,

shall not dwell in the Lord’ s land though they have been in possession many years, and though now they seem out of fear of losing it, being great at home and in peace with neighbours abroad, yet in midst of this prosperity and security, let them note it, they shall not much longer dwell in the Lord’ s land, which God gave them according to promise, with express condition that they should obey him and fear him, and him only, Deu 6:2,3 , and with express menace of exile and ruin if they forgot God, Deu 8:19,20 . This land, which is the Lord’ s propriety, and theirs only on condition, and this condition broken, shall be their possession no longer.

Ephraim shall return to Egypt many of Ephraim, for it is not meant of all or the most part; but of the more timorous, wary, and who consult their safety beforehand, many shall flee into Egypt, and shift out of the enemies’ reach. So again Hos 9:6 .

They shall eat unclean things in Assyria the residue who flee not into Egypt shall be carried captives, and in Assyria be forced to eat forbidden meats, called here unclean, such as polluted the eater.

Poole: Hos 9:4 - -- They captived for their idolatry and other sins, shall not offer wine-offerings: these were by the law appointed to be offered with the morning and...

They captived for their idolatry and other sins,

shall not offer wine-offerings: these were by the law appointed to be offered with the morning and evening sacrifice; the sacrifice representing Christ, and pardon by him, the wine-offering represented the Spirit of grace. The sacrifice repeated daily continued their peace and pardon; the Spirit of grace supported, guided, comforted, and refreshed; all which shall be withheld from these captives, the law of God forbidding on one account, the law of their conquerors forbidding on another account.

Neither shall they be pleasing unto him or if any should venture to do it, and think thereby to appease God’ s anger, they shall miss their aim, it will not please God.

Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners their eucharistical sacrifices, in which they were used to feast with joy, shall be to them as the bread of mourners, as if they had buried a father or mother, and to comfort or support their saddened spirits did force themselves to some larger allowance and choicer meats; so great should be their grief in midst of their joys. Or else thus, their sacrifices should as much pollute them and displease God as if one mourning for the dead, and forbidden to sacrifice in tears and mourning, should yet venture to do it, and, against the law, sacrifice to his God when polluted by the dead, Num 19:11-14 Deu 26:14 .

All that eat thereof shall be polluted so far shall these men’ s sacrifices be from expiating and purifying, that they should increase their guilt and danger, and incur the penalty threatened against the polluted, Num 19:13 .

For or, surely; the particle is not here causal, but assertive, as in many other places it is.

Their bread for their soul their mincha or bread, which they always offered and were bound to offer with their sacrifices. Or else the first-fruits of their corn, which were to be brought to the Lord, and which being rightly offered did sanctify and insure the rest to them, with a blessing. This should not be done, they should be at that distance from the temple, and under the confinement of captives, so that they should not be able to do it if they were willing.

Shall not come be brought in to the priest in the temple, Deu 26:2,3 , &c.

Poole: Hos 9:5 - -- Think with yourselves what you are likely to do then: on those days you were wont to cease from your labours, to offer sacrifices to God, (as you th...

Think with yourselves what you are likely to do then: on those days you were wont to cease from your labours, to offer sacrifices to God, (as you thought and said,) to feast with one another, all was full of seeming religion and real feasting and jollity on those days in your own country; but will your hard masters, that love their own profit, that hate your persons, and despise your religion, will they lose your labour, indulge your ease, encourage your religion, and suffer you to exercise it? Is this imaginable?

Haydock: Hos 9:3 - -- Egypt, through distress, chap viii. 13. (St. Jerome, ver. 6.) (Worthington) --- Sua afforded no protection, and the country proved a grave to thos...

Egypt, through distress, chap viii. 13. (St. Jerome, ver. 6.) (Worthington) ---

Sua afforded no protection, and the country proved a grave to those who retired thither. ---

Unclean. The people observed these prescriptions, though they neglected the more important duties. Only some pious souls, like Tobias, Daniel, &c., refrained from such meats in exile. (Calmet) ---

Ezechiel (iv. 9.) foreshewed this by his bread. (St. Jerome)

Haydock: Hos 9:4 - -- Wine. They shall be at a distance from the temple, and in a country where the wine will not be deemed pure. The Jews will drink none which they hav...

Wine. They shall be at a distance from the temple, and in a country where the wine will not be deemed pure. The Jews will drink none which they have not made; and they usually lift up the cup, and pour out a little in God's honour. This they could not do in Assyria, (Calmet) not having liberty to do all about the wine. ---

Sacrifices. The Israelites had long neglected to offer any in the temple, (Haydock) though they had no hindrance. In exile, the fruits, &c., were all accounted unclean, like meats used in mourning, (Calmet) which defiled those who partook of them, Deuteronomy xxvi. 14., and Numbers xix. 11. "The sacrifices of heretics are the bread of mourning. They offer them not to God, but to the dead, to wicked heresiarchs." (St. Jerome) ---

Soul. They have need enough of it. (Haydock) ---

"Let them gratify their appetite; I love not what is unclean." (St. Jerome)

Haydock: Hos 9:5 - -- Lord, when he shall punish you, Isaias xxxiv. 6. (Haydock) --- Israel did not go to the temple, but they kept the festivals and banquets in their o...

Lord, when he shall punish you, Isaias xxxiv. 6. (Haydock) ---

Israel did not go to the temple, but they kept the festivals and banquets in their own manner, the privation of which they would feel.

Gill: Hos 9:3 - -- They shall not dwell in the Lord's land,.... The land of Israel, or Canaan; which, though all the earth is the Lord's, was peculiarly his; which he ha...

They shall not dwell in the Lord's land,.... The land of Israel, or Canaan; which, though all the earth is the Lord's, was peculiarly his; which he had chosen for himself, and for this people; where he had his temple, and caused his Shechinah or divine Majesty to dwell in a very special manner, and where his worship and service were performed. So the Targum calls it the land of the Shechinah or majesty of the Lord. Sometimes it is called Immanuel's land, where the Messiah Immanuel, God with us, was to be born, and dwell, and where he did. Kimchi wrongly interprets this of Jerusalem only; and others of Judea; but it designs the whole land of promise, which God save by promise to the fathers of this people, and put them in the possession of, the tenure of which they held by their obedience; but they not living according to will, and in obedience to his laws, who was Lord of the land, sole Proprietor and Governor of it, he turned them out of it, and would not suffer them to continue any longer in it; and which was a great punishment indeed, to be driven out of such a land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and where they had been favoured with privileges and blessings of every kind;

but Ephraim shall return to Egypt; or the ten tribes; that is, some of them, who should flee thither for refuge and sustenance; when the Assyrian should invade their land, and besiege Samaria, they should go thither again, where their ancestors had formerly been in a state of bondage: this is prophesied of them, Deu 28:68;

and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria; that is, Ephraim or the ten tribes, the far greater part of there, should be taken captive, and carried into Assyria, and there eat food which by their law was unclean, as things sacrificed to idols, swine's flesh, and many others; or food that was not fit for men to eat, which nature abhorred; such bread as Ezekiel was bid to make and eat, Eze 4:9. This may be understood even of them that went to Egypt for help against the Assyrians, or for shelter from them, or for food to eat in the time of famine; who should be brought back again, and carried into Assyria, and there live a miserable and an uncomfortable life; who had been used to enjoy corn and wine, and plenty of all good things, to which these unclean things may be opposed.

Gill: Hos 9:4 - -- They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord,.... This is either a threatening of the cessation of sacrifices, being carried into Assyria, a stran...

They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord,.... This is either a threatening of the cessation of sacrifices, being carried into Assyria, a strange land, where it was not lawful to offer sacrifice, there being no temple nor altar to offer in or at; and so as they would not offer to the Lord when they should, now they shall not if they would: or this respects not, the future time of their exile, but their present time now, as Kimchi observes; and so is a reproof of their present sacrifices, which are forbidden to be observed; because they were offered not in faith, nor in sincerity, but hypocritically, and before their calves: besides, the future tease is sometimes put for the present; and this way goes Schmidt;

neither shall their sacrifices be pleasing unto him; unto the Lord, if they were offered; and is a reason why they should not, because unacceptable to him, and that for the reasons before mentioned:

their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners: all that eat thereof shall be polluted; as all that ate of the bread of such who were mourning for their dead, that partook of their funeral feasts, or ate bread with them at any time during their mourning, were defiled thereby, according to the Levitical law, and were unqualified for service, Lev 21:1; so the sacrifices of these people being offered up with a wicked mind instead of atoning for their sins, more and more defiled them; and, instead of being acceptable to God, were abominable to him:

for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord; in the captivity there was no house of the Lord for them to bring it into; and, when in their own land, they did not bring their offerings to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, as they should have done, but offered them before their calves at Dan and Bethel; and which is the thing complained of, that the bread for their souls, that is, the offerings accompanied with the "minchah", or bread offering, for the expiation of the sins of their souls, were not brought into the house of the Lord (the future for the present); or else, this being the case, their sacrifices were reckoned by the Lord as no other than common bread, which they ate for the sustenance of their lives.

Gill: Hos 9:5 - -- What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord? Since their sacrifices now were so disagreeable and displeasing to the Lor...

What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord? Since their sacrifices now were so disagreeable and displeasing to the Lord, and so unavailable to themselves, what would they do when in captivity, "in the solemn day", the seventh day of the week, appointed by the Lord for rest and religious worship; and in the first day of the month, which also was to be solemnly observed, by offering sacrifice, &c. and on feast days of the Lord's instituting, as the feasts of the passover, pentecost; and tabernacles? seeing those that carried and held them captive would not allow them time for such solemnities; nor would they be furnished with proper sacrifices; nor could they be accommodated with a proper place to offer them at; nor be able, in a strange land, and under hardships and miseries, to express that joy that is suitable to such occasions: thus should they learn, by sad experience, the want of those means and opportunities of serving the Lord, which in their own land they rejected and despised. Jarchi and Kimchi interpret this of the destruction of Israel, and of punishment inflicted on them at the time appointed by the Lord; and which would be a solemn time, a feast with the Lord, to which he should invite their enemies, and they should spill their blood as the blood of sacrifices; and when he would display the glory of his justice, truth, and faithfulness, before all the world. And it is asked, what will you do then? whither will you flee for help? or what sacrifice can you offer up to the Lord to atone for sin, or appease his wrath? will you be able to rejoice then? no, your joy will be turned into mourning; see Isa 10:3.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

Geneva Bible: Hos 9:4 They shall not offer ( d ) wine [offerings] to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices [shall be] unto them as the bread o...

Geneva Bible: Hos 9:5 What will ye do ( f ) in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD? ( f ) When the Lord will take away all the occasions of serving him...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Hos 9:1-17 - --1 The distress and captivity of Israel for their sins.

MHCC: Hos 9:1-6 - --Israel gave rewards to their idols, in the offerings presented to them. It is common for those who are niggardly in religion, to be prodigal upon thei...

Matthew Henry: Hos 9:1-6 - -- Here, I. The people of Israel are charged with spiritual adultery: O Israel! thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, Hos 9:1. Their covenant with G...

Keil-Delitzsch: Hos 9:3-4 - -- "They will not remain in the land of Jehovah: Ephraim returns to Egypt, and they will eat unclean things in the land of Asshur. Hos 9:4. They will...

Keil-Delitzsch: Hos 9:5-6 - -- Their misery will be felt still more keenly on the feast-days. Hos 9:5. "What will ye do on the day of the festival, and on the day of the feast of...

Constable: Hos 6:4--11:12 - --V. The fourth series of messages on judgment and restoration: Israel's ingratitude 6:4--11:11 This section of th...

Constable: Hos 6:4--11:8 - --A. More messages on coming judgment 6:4-11:7 The subject of Israel's ingratitude is particularly promine...

Constable: Hos 9:1--11:8 - --2. Israel's inevitable judgment 9:1-11:7 This section of prophecies continues to record accusati...

Constable: Hos 9:1-9 - --Israel's sorrow 9:1-9 Israel's would sorrow greatly because of her sins. Description of ...

Constable: Hos 9:1-6 - --The result: termination of festivals 9:1-6 9:1-2 The Lord told Israel not to rejoice like other nations at the prospect of an abundant harvest; that w...

Guzik: Hos 9:1-17 - --Hosea 9 - Exiled and Dried Up A. Israel exiled in judgment. 1. (1-4) The end of the good life in Israel. Do not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like o...

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Commentary -- Other

Evidence: Hos 9:4 I fear the preachers have been more studious to please than to awaken, or there would have been a deeper work. JOHN WESLEY

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Introduction / Outline

JFB: Hosea (Book Introduction) THE first of the twelve minor prophets in the order of the canon (called "minor," not as less in point of inspired authority, but simply in point of s...

JFB: Hosea (Outline) INSCRIPTION. (Hos 1:1-11) Spiritual whoredom of Israel set forth by symbolical acts; Gomer taken to wife at God's command: Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, and ...

TSK: Hosea 9 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Hos 9:1, The distress and captivity of Israel for their sins.

Poole: Hosea (Book Introduction) THE ARGUMENT Without dispute our prophet is one of the obscurest and most difficult to unfold clearly and fully. Though he come not, as Isaiah and ...

Poole: Hosea 9 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 9 The distress and captivity of Israel for their sins, especially their idolatry.

MHCC: Hosea (Book Introduction) Hosea is supposed to have been of the kingdom of Israel. He lived and prophesied during a long period. The scope of his predictions appears to be, to ...

MHCC: Hosea 9 (Chapter Introduction) (Hos 9:1-6) The distress to come upon Israel. (Hos 9:7-10) The approach of the day of trouble. (Hos 9:11-17) Judgments on Israel.

Matthew Henry: Hosea (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of the Prophet Hosea I. We have now before us the twelve minor prophets, which some of the anc...

Matthew Henry: Hosea 9 (Chapter Introduction) In this chapter, I. God threatens to deprive this degenerate seed of Israel of all their worldly enjoyments, because by sin they had forfeited the...

Constable: Hosea (Book Introduction) Introduction Title and Writer The prophet's name is the title of the book. The book cl...

Constable: Hosea (Outline) Outline I. Introduction 1:1 II. The first series of messages of judgment and restoration: Ho...

Constable: Hosea Hosea Bibliography Andersen, Francis I., and David Noel Freedman. Hosea: A New Translation, Introduction and Co...

Haydock: Hosea (Book Introduction) THE PROPHECY OF OSEE. INTRODUCTION. Osee , or Hosea, whose name signifies a saviour, was the first in the order of time among those who are ...

Gill: Hosea (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA This book, in the Hebrew Bibles, at least in some copies, is called "Sopher Hosea", the Book of Hoses; and, in the Vulgate La...

Gill: Hosea 9 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 9 This chapter is an address to Israel or the ten tribes, and contains either a new sermon, or is a very considerable part of...

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