The prophet returns Hosea, chapter 3, to recaptiulate his previous argument:
1 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
Israel, the wife of whoredom, is left with no excuse: she was not a woman cruelly treated and abandoned by her husband, such that she needed to prostitute herself for companionship and sustenance. Rather, she had been loved by her husband and cared for, and while he loved her, she sought other lovers, and their flagons of wine, which she loved. The LORD loved her, and she loved another, forsaking him. The picture is clear through the prophet's own explanation of the imagery.
How quickly do WE run after other gods, concerns of this world, etc., putting the love of them above our love for God? How easily are we drawn aside by the other voices that beckon for our attention? Calvin has a wonderful response: get into the Word of God! What would the church be like if we heeded this advice?
With regard to the flagons of grapes we may observe, that this strange disposition is ever dominant in the superstitious, and that is, that they wander here and there after their own devices, and have nothing fixed in them. Lest, then, such charms deceive us, let us learn to cleave firmly and constantly to the word of the Lord.... If, then, we desire to restrain this depraved lust, which the Prophet condemns in the Israelites, let us so adhere to the word of the Lord, that no novelty may captivate us and lead us astray.
When we forsake the Word of God (who can deny that we do!?) what happens? We are led by our own lusts and desires... and commit all manner of sin, which the prophet decries in verse 2. Note here that essentially the whole 'second table' of the Law is mentioned. What is the source of all those sins against other men? The loss of the knowledge of God, and as Calvin would add, since therein we have clear revelation of God's character and being, lack of knowledge of God's word. Let us strive to KNOW him, and strive to KNOW his Holy word!
Posted by toddpedlar at July 25, 2004 02:07 PM | TrackBack