Albert Barnes Commentary Hosea 10:12

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to kindness; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." — Hosea 10:12 (ASV)

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy – Literally, “in the proportion of mercy,” not in proportion to what you have sown, nor what justice would give, but beyond all deserts, “in the proportion of mercy;” that is, “according to the capacity and fullness of the mercy of God; what befits the mercy of God, which is boundless,” which overlooks humanity’s failings, and gives an infinite reward for poor, imperfect labor.

As our Lord says, Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (Luke 6:38). As one commentator notes: “If the earth gives you larger fruits than it has received, how much more shall the requiting of mercy repay you many times more than you gave!”

Sowing and reaping always correspond to each other, as labor and reward. He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6).

And, whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. In due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Galatians 6:7–9). We are instructed “to sow to ourselves,” for, our goodness reacheth not to God (Psalms 16:2); ours is the gain, if we love God, the Fountain of all good.

This reward, “according to mercy,” is in both worlds. It is in this world also, for “grace well used draws more grace.” God gives grace upon grace (John 1:16); so that each good deed, the fruit of grace, is the seed-corn of larger grace. “If you humble yourself, it stimulates you to humble yourself more. If you pray, you long to pray more. If you give alms, you wish to give more.”

It is also in the world to come. For, as a holy man says, “Our works do not pass away as it seems, but each thing done in time is sown as the seed of eternity. The simple will be amazed when from this slight seed he shall see the copious harvest arise, good or evil, according as the seed was.” And elsewhere: “You seek two sheaves, rest and glory. They shall reap glory and rest, who have sown toil and self-abasement.”

Break up your fallow ground – This is not the order of husbandry. The ground was already plowed, harrowed, and sown. Now he bids her anew, “Break up your fallow ground.” The Church breaks up her own fallow ground when she stirs up anew the decaying piety of her own members; she breaks up fallow ground when, by preaching the Gospel of Christ, she brings new people into His fold.

And for us too, one sowing does not suffice. It must be no surface-sowing. And “the soil of our hearts must always be cleansed anew; for no one in this mortal life is so perfect in piety that noxious desires will not spring up again in the heart, as tares in the well-tilled field.”

For it is time to seek the Lord, until He come and rain righteousness upon you – Or better, “until he shall come and teach you righteousness.” To “rain righteousness” is the same image as Solomon uses of Christ: He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth (Psalms 72:6), and Isaiah: drop down ye heavens from above and let the skies pour down righteousness (Isaiah 45:8). It expresses in picture-language how He, who is “our Righteousness,” came down from heaven to give life to us, who were dried and parched up and withered, when the whole face of our mortal nature was as dead.

Yet there is nothing to indicate that the prophet is here using imagery. The Hebrew word is used very rarely with the meaning “to rain,” but continually with the meaning “to teach,” and in exactly the same idiom as here. One office of our Lord was to teach.

Nicodemus acknowledged Him as a teacher sent from God (John 3:2). The Samaritans looked to the Messiah as one who should teach all things (John 4:25). The prophets foretold that He should teach us His ways (Isaiah 2:3), and that He should be a witness unto the people (Isaiah 55:4).

The prophet instructs them to “seek diligently” and perseveringly, “not stopping or desisting” if they should not at once find, but continuing the search right “up to” the time when they should find. His words imply the need for perseverance and patience, which should stop short of nothing but God’s own time for finding.

The prophet, as is the way of the prophets, goes on to Christ, who was always in the prophets’ hearts and hopes. The words could only be understood improperly of God the Father. God, who is everywhere, does not “come” in this sense. He always was among His people, nor did He will to be among them otherwise than previously.

No coming of God, as God, was expected to “teach righteousness.” Rather, the time was coming when He would be less visibly among them than before. Among the ten tribes, as a distinct people, He would shortly be no longer present, either by prophecy, or in worship, or by any perceptible token of His providence.

From Judah also He was about, although at a later period, to withdraw the kingdom of David, and the Urim and Thummim, and the Shechinah, or visible presence. Soon after the captivity, prophecy itself was to cease.

But, as one writes, “the coming of Christ the patriarchs and holy men all along desired to see: Abraham saw it and was glad (John 8:56). Jacob longed for it (Genesis 49:18). The law and the prophets directed to it, so that there were always in Israel such as waited for it, as appears by the example of old Simeon and Joseph of Arimathea, and those many prophets and righteous men whom our Saviour speaks of (Luke 2:25; Mark 15:43; Matthew 13:17).”

“He that should come” seems to have been a known title for Him, since John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to say to Him, Are you He that shall come, or do we look for another? (Matthew 11:3).

The prophet then says, “Now is the time to seek the Lord and prepare for the coming of Christ, for He, when He comes, will teach you, indeed, will give you true righteousness, by which you shall be righteous before God, and heirs of His kingdom.”

Another comments: “So God speaks through Isaiah, Keep ye judgment and do justice, for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. In both places, people are warned to ‘prepare the way’ to receive Christ, which was the office assigned to the law. As Paul says, For what purpose was the law? It was added because of transgressions. It was given to restrain the passions of people by fear of punishment, lest they should so defile themselves by sin as to despise the mercy and office of Christ. It was given to prepare our souls by love of righteousness and mercy to receive Christ, that He might enrich them with the divine wealth of righteousness.”

And another: “If Israel of old were so to order their ways in expectation of Him, and that they might be prepared for His coming; and if their neglecting to do this made them liable to such heavy judgments, how much more severe judgments will they deserve, who, after His Coming and raining upon them the plentiful showers of heavenly doctrine, and abundant measure of His grace and gifts of His Holy Spirit, do, for want of breaking up the fallow ground of their hearts, suffer His holy word to be lost on them. The fearful doom of such unfruitful Christians is set down by Paul (Hebrews 6:4–8).”

The present is always the time to seek the Lord. Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the Day of Salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). As Hosea says, it is time to seek the Lord until He come, so Paul says, unto them that look for Him, shall he appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation (Hebrews 9:28).