PART II., HOSEA 4-14. A series of addresses which give a summary of Hosea's prophetic teaching. The period presupposed seems to be the time of anarchy which followed the death of Jeroboam II (_c._ 743 B.C.). But there is no reason to suppose that the sections are arranged in chronological order. In... [ Continue Reading ]
HOSEA 7:8 TO HOSEA 8:3. POLITICAL DECAY THE OUTWARD SIGN OF ISRAEL'S MORAL DECAY. The attempts to cure national ills and secure safety by foreign aid, instead of by turning to Yahweh, are foredoomed to failure; Yahweh Himself frustrates them and will bring the misguided people to punishment and ruin... [ Continue Reading ]
ISRAEL'S UNSANCTIFIED NATIONAL LIFE. Man-made kings, like man-made gods (the calf of Samaria), are impotent; Israel sows the wind and shall reap the whirlwind; the sources of the national life are withered, and the nation ceases to count (Hosea 8:4). Resort to foreign aid only further diminishes its... [ Continue Reading ]