John Calvin Commentary Hosea 11:10-11

"They shall walk after Jehovah, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west. They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith Jehovah." — Hosea 11:10-11 (ASV)

When the Prophet says that they shall walk after Jehovah, he proceeds further than before, for here he refers not to the mitigation of punishment, but promises restoration. He had said before that though the Lord would deal severely with His people, there would still be some moderation in His wrath, so that He would not destroy the whole people. Now it follows that God, after having restrained Himself in this way, will extend His favor even to the restoration of the people, and bring to life those who seemed to have been dead. We now perceive what the Prophet means.

But to interpret this phrase, they shall walk after Jehovah, as referring to the obedience of the people, as interpreters do, does not seem right to me. It is indeed certain that no people can be restored unless they repent; in fact, it is the main beginning of God’s favor when He chastises people and heals them of their wickedness.

But here the Prophet deals with something else: that the Lord will show Himself as a leader to His people, who had been dispersed for a time. As long as the people were scattered in Assyria and in other distant lands, they were without any head, like a mutilated body. But when the ripe time for restoration came, the Lord resolved to deliver them and proclaimed Himself the leader of His people; and in this manner, the people were gathered to God.

This is what the Prophet now means when he says, after Jehovah: that is, indeed, for a time God will forsake them, so that they may languish in their dispersion; but at last He will gather them and show Himself as their leader in their journey, so that He may restore them to their country.

They shall then,” he says, “follow Jehovah, and he shall roar as a lion: when he shall roar, then children from the sea shall tremble.” That is, God will be formidable to enemies so that no one will hinder the return of His people. Indeed, many will be the enemies, and many will labor to set up opposition, but the people shall nevertheless come out free. How so? For the Lord will fill all with dread and restrain all the efforts of their enemies, so that they will be forced to withdraw from the Assyrians, as well as from the Egyptians. Though on one side the Egyptians may resist, and on the other the Assyrians, they shall still not impede the return of the people. Why? Because the Lord will put them to flight, and He will be to them as a lion and fill them all with terror. But we will defer the rest.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since we are too secure and torpid in our sins, Your dread majesty may come to our minds to humble us and to remove our fear, that we may learn earnestly to seek reconciliation through Christ, and so abhor ourselves for our sins, that You may then be prepared to receive us; and that unbelief may not shut the door against us, enable us to regard You as You have revealed Yourself, and to acknowledge that You are not like us but the fountain of all mercy, that we may thus be led to entertain a firm hope of salvation; and that, relying on the Mediator, Your only-begotten Son, we may know Him as the throne of grace, full of compassion and mercy. O grant that we may thus come to You, that through Him we may certainly know that You are our Father, so that the covenant You have made with us—namely, that we are Your people because You have once adopted us in Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ—may never fail through our fault. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

In the last lecture, we began to explain what the Prophet means by saying that the Israelites shall come after the Lord: that is, that when the time of the exile is completed, God will be the leader of His people in their journey, so that they might return safely to their country.

And for this reason, he also adds that the Egyptians as well as the Assyrians would be timid; and hence he compares them to doves and sparrows, or birds. For when the nations attempt to hinder the return of the people and strive against them with great forces and great efforts, God would break down their courage.

For as God had determined to redeem His people, His decree could not have been nullified, no, not by the whole world. Whatever, then, the Assyrians and also the Egyptians might attempt to do, though powerful in forces, it would still avail nothing. Indeed, God would strike such fear and dread into both that they would not make any stir when the Lord restored His people. There is a similar way of speaking in Joel, except that he does not introduce the comparisons that they would be like birds and doves. But he speaks of the roaring of God, as if he said that the power of God would be terrible and invincible, so that He would defend and protect His people, and no one would dare to rise up against Him; and that if one should dare, he would be forced to succumb instantly.