John Calvin Commentary Hosea 4:5

"And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother." — Hosea 4:5 (ASV)

The connecting word is to be understood here as an inferential one, meaning, Therefore, you shall fall. Here God denounces vengeance on stubborn people, as if he said, “Since you pay no regard to my authority when I reprove you with words, I will no longer deal with you in this way; instead, I will punish you for this contempt of my word.”

This is how God is accustomed to act: he first tests people, or he makes the trial, to see if they can be brought to repentance. He severely reproves them and reasons earnestly with them. But after trying all means with words, he then resorts to the final remedy by exercising his power. For, as has been said, he no longer condescends to contend with people.

Therefore, when the Lord saw that his Prophets were despised and that their entire teaching was a matter of mockery, he determined, as it appears from this passage, that the people should soon be destroyed.

Some render היום (eium) as 'today,' and think that a short time is denoted. But as the Prophet immediately adds, And the Prophet shall fall together with you,” and further, concerning the night, mentions לילה (lile), in the night, I explain it this way: that the people would be destroyed together, and then that the Prophets—even those who, to a great extent, brought such vengeance on the people—would also be drawn into the same ruin.

You shall fall then in the day, and the Prophet shall fall in the night; that is, “The same destruction shall at the same time include all. But if ruin should not immediately take away the Prophets, they shall not yet escape my hand; they shall follow in their turn.”

Therefore, the Prophet joins day and night together in a continuous order, as if he said, “I will destroy them all from the first to the last, and no one shall rescue himself from punishment. And if they think that those who are later led to vengeance shall be unpunished, they are mistaken; for as the night follows the day, so also some will draw others after them into the same ruin.”

Yet at the same time the Prophet, I do not doubt, means by this metaphor, the day, that tranquil and joyous time during which the people indulged their pride.

He then means that the punishment he predicted would be sudden. For unless the ungodly see the hand of God near, they always, as has been observed before, laugh to scorn all threatening. God then says that he would punish the people in the day—even at mid-day, while the sun was shining—and that when dusk should come, the Prophets would also follow in their turn.

It is clear enough that Hosea is not speaking here of God’s true and faithful ministers, but of impostors who deceived the people with their flatteries, as is usually the case.

For as soon as any Prophet sincerely wished to discharge his office for God, flatterers would come forward before the public, saying, “This man is too rigid and misuses God’s name by denouncing such a severe punishment; we are God’s people.”

Such, then, we must remember, were the Prophets referred to here. For few were those who then faithfully discharged their office, and there was a large number of those who were indulgent to the people and their vices.

It is afterwards added, I will also consume your mother. The term mother is to be understood here as the Church, because of which the Israelites, we know, were accustomed to exult against God—just as the Papists do today, who boast of their mother church, which, as they say, is their shield of Ajax.

When anyone points out their corruptions, they instantly flee to this protection, saying, “What! Are we not the Church of God?”

Therefore, when the Prophet saw that the Israelites misused this falsely assumed title, he said, I will also destroy your mother. That is: “This boasting of yours, the dignity of Abraham’s race, and the sacred name of Church, will not prevent God from taking dreadful vengeance on you all. For he will tear out by the roots and abolish the very name of your mother; he will disperse that smoke of which you boast, since you hide your crimes under the title of Church.”