Hosea 7:4

They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened. THEY ARE ALL ADULTERERS, AS AN OVEN HEATED BY THE BAKER - "all of them" (so the Hebrew), king, princes, and people, are adulterers. AS AN OVEN HEATED BY THE BAKER. The Hebrew is literally, 'burning from the baker.' This implies that the fire continued to burn of itself, even after the baker ceased to feed it with fuel. So their lusts were ever on fire, even in the short respite Satan gives until his leaven has worked. WHO CEASETH FROM RAISING - rather, from HEATING it [ mee`iyr (H5782), the Qal infinitive, from 'iyr, to be hot, or to heat], (Gesenius). So the Septuagint Their adulterous and idolatrous lust is inflamed as the oven of a baker, who has it at such a heat...

The Prophet pursues the same subject in this verse: he says that they were all adulterers. This similitude has already been often explained. He speaks not here of common fornication, but calls them adulterers, because they had violated their faith pledged to God, because they gave themselves up to filthy superstitions, and also, because they had wholly corrupted themselves, for faith and sincerity of heart constitute spiritual chastity before God. When men become corrupt in their whole life, and degenerate from the pure worship of God, they are justly deemed adulterers. In this sense does the Prophet now say, that they were all adulterers, and thus he confirms what I have said before, that as to the corruptions which then prevailed, it was not few men who had been drawn into them, but that the whole people were implicated in guilt; for they were _all adulterers _To say that they had been...

1-7 A practical disbelief of God's government was at the bottom of all israel's wickedness; as if God could not see it or did not heed it. Their sins appear on every side of them. Their hearts were inflamed by evil desires, like a heated oven. In the midst of their troubles as a nation, the people never thought of seeking help from God. The actual wickedness of men's lives bears a very small proportion to what is in their hearts. But when lust is inwardly cherished, it will break forth into outward sin. Those who tempt others to drunkenness never can be their real friends, and often design their ruin. Thus men execute the Divine vengeance on each other. Those are not only heated with sin, but hardened in sin, who continue to live without prayer, even when in trouble and distress....

Verse Hosea 7:4. _AS AN OVEN HEATED BY THE BAKER_] _Calmet's_ paraphrase on this and the following verses expresses pretty nearly the sense: Hosea makes a twofold comparison of the Israelites; to an _oven_, and to _dough_. Jeroboam set fire to his own _oven_-his kingdom-and put the leaven in his dough; and afterwards went to rest, that the fire might have time to heat his _oven_, and the _leaven_ to raise his _dough_, that the false principles which he introduced might infect the whole population. This prince, purposing to make his subjects relinquish their ancient religion, put, in a certain sense, the fire to his own oven, and mixed his dough with leaven. At first he used no violence; but was satisfied with exhorting them, and proclaiming a feast. This _fire_ spread very rapidly, and the _dough_ was very soon impregnated by the _leaven_. All...

THEY ARE ALL ADULTERERS - The prophet continues to picture the corruption of all kinds and degrees of people. “All of them,” king, princes, people; all were given to adultery, both spiritual, in departing from God, and actual, (for both sorts of sins went together,) in defiling themselves and others. “All of them” were, (so the word means,) habitual “adulterers.” One only pause there was in their sin, the preparation to complete it. He likens their hearts, inflamed with lawless lusts, to the heat of “an oven” which “the baker” had already “heated.” The unusual construction “burning from the baker” instead of “heated “by” the baker” may have been chosen, in order to express, how the fire continued to burn of itself, as it were, (although at first kindled by the baker,) and was ever-ready to burn whatever was brought to it, and even now was all red-hot, burning on continually; and Satan, w...

EXPOSITION This chapter may be divided into three sections. In the first section, including Hosea 7:1, the prophet reproves with much but deserved severity the depraved morals of king and princes. In the second section, consisting of Hosea 7:8, he rebukes their sinfulness, silliness, pride, and stupid obstinacy, notwithstanding the many manifest tokens of decay. Otherwise the first section deals with the internal corruption of the northern kingdom, and the second exposes their sinful and harmful foreign policy. The third section, continuing from the twelfth verse to the end of the chapter, that is, Hosea 7:12, threatens the infliction of punishment incurred by their gross wicked. Hess and base ingratitude to God....

THEY [ARE] ALL ADULTERERS,.... King, princes, priests, and people, both in a spiritual and corporeal sense; they were all idolaters, given to idols try, eager of it, and constant in it, as the following metaphors show; and they were addicted to corporeal adultery; this was a prevailing vice among all ranks and degrees of men. So the Targum, "they all desire to lie with their neighbours' wives;'' see Jeremiah 5:7; AS AN OVEN HEATED BY THE BAKER; which, if understood of spiritual adultery or idolatry, denotes their eagerness after it, and fervour in it, excited by their king, or by the devil and his instruments, the priests and false prophets; and if of bodily uncleanness, it is expressive of the heat of that lust, which is sometimes signified by burning; and is stirred up by the devil and the corrupt hearts of men to such a degree as to be raised to

CHAPTER 7 The Moral Depravity of Israel _ 1. Their moral depravity (Hosea 7:1) _ 2. Mingling with heathen nations (Hosea 7:8) Hosea 7:1. All the gracious efforts of the Lord to heal Israel resulted in a greater manifestation of the iniquity of Ephraim. Instead of turning to Him in true repentance and self-judgment their evil heart turned away from Jehovah, and they continued in their downward course. They did not consider that the Lord would remember all their evil deeds and punish them for it. The king and the princes, the political heads were as corrupt as the priests, they were pleased with the impenitence and wickedness of their subjects. Then follows a graphic description of their moral depravity. They w

WICKEDNESS ENCOURAGED IN HIGH PLACES. King and princes gladly share in the prevailing wickedness adultery, drunkenness and the court itself is the scene of treachery, conspiracy, and assassinations. The text is corrupt, and contains allusions to events of the details of which we are ignorant. HOSEA 7:3. Read with a slight emendation (_yimshç hû_): In their wickedness they anoint kings, and in their falseness princes (_cf._ Hosea 8:4). Hosea 7:4. Read, they are like a glowing oven a figure for lust. Read Hosea 7:4_ b_ (? a gloss on Hosea 7:6), whose bak

ALL. all of them (kings, princes, and People are idolaters). "All" is put by Figure of speech _Synecdoche_ (of Genus), for the greater part. ADULTERERS: i.e. idolaters. See note on Hosea 1:2. AS. [hot] like. CEASETH. leaves off. RAISING. stoking it. AFTER HE HATH KNEADED, &C.. from [the time of] kneading the dough until it is ready for the fire. Then he heats the oven to stop the fermentation. Even so these idolaters. See note on "baker", Hosea 7:6....