John Calvin Commentary Hosea 4:3

"Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away." — Hosea 4:3 (ASV)

The Prophet now expresses more clearly the dispute which he mentions in the first verse. It now evidently appears that it was not a judgment expressed in words, for God had in vain tried to bring the people to the right way by threats and reproofs. He had contended enough with them; they remained rebellious. Therefore, he adds, Now mourn shall the whole land. That is, God has now resolved to execute His judgment. There is therefore no use for you any longer to contrive any evasion, as you have until now been accustomed to do, for God stretches forth His hand for your ultimate destruction.

Mourn, therefore, shall the land, and cut off shall be every one that dwells in it, as I prefer to render it. Unless, perhaps, the Prophet means that though God should for a time suspend the last judgment, yet the Israelites would gain nothing, since they would, by continual languor, pine away. But as he mentions mourning in the first place, the former meaning—that God would destroy all the inhabitants—seems more appropriate. He adds, gathered shall they be all, or destroyed, (for either may suit the place), from the beast of the field, and the bird of heaven, to the fishes of the sea. The Prophet here enlarges on the greatness of God’s wrath, for He includes even the innocent beasts and the birds of heaven, indeed, the fishes of the sea. When God’s vengeance extends to brute animals, what will become of men?

But someone may object here and say that it is unworthy of God to be angry with miserable creatures, which deserve no such treatment. For why should God be angry with fishes and beasts? But an answer may be easily given: Since beasts, birds, fishes, and, in a word, all other things have been created for the use of humankind, it is no wonder that God should extend the tokens of His curse to all creatures, above and below, when His purpose is to punish humankind. We seek, indeed, for the most part, some vain comforts to delight us or to moderate our sorrows when God shows His anger toward us. But when God curses innocent animals for our sake, we then dread all the more, unless, indeed, we are under the influence of extreme stupor.

So we now understand why God here denounces destruction on brute animals, as well as on birds and fishes of the sea. It is so that people may know themselves to be deprived of all His gifts. Just as when a person, to expose a wicked man to shame, pulls down his house and burns all his furniture, so also does God, who has adorned the world with such great and varied wealth for our sake, when He reduces all things to ruin. He thereby shows how grievously offended He is with us, and thus constrains us to become humble. This, then, is the Prophet’s meaning.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God: we are today as guilty before You as the Israelites of old, who were so rebellious against Your Prophets. You have often tried sweetly to allure us to Yourself without any success, and by our continual obstinacy, we have not ceased until now to provoke Your wrath.

O grant, therefore, that moved at least by the warnings You give us, we may prostrate ourselves before Your face. May we not wait until You put forth Your hand to destroy us, but instead strive to anticipate Your judgment.

And, being at the same time surely convinced that You are ready to be reconciled to us in Christ, may we flee to Him as our Mediator.

Relying on His intercession, may we not doubt that You are ready to give us pardon, so that, having at length put away all sins, we may come to that blessed state of glory which has been obtained for us by the blood of Your Son. Amen.