John Calvin Commentary Hosea 5:13

"When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah [saw] his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound." — Hosea 5:13 (ASV)

Here the Lord complains that He had in vain chastised the Israelites by the usual means, for they thought that they had remedies ready for themselves and turned their minds to vain hopes. This is usually done by most people; for when the Lord deals mildly with us, we do not perceive His hand, but think that the evils that happen to us come by chance. Then, as if we had nothing to do with God, we seek remedies and turn our minds and thoughts elsewhere.

This then is what God now reproves in the Jews and the Israelites: Ephraim, he says, saw his disease, and Judah his wound. What then did he do? Ephraim went to Assyria, he says, and sent to King Jareb; that is, “They did not return to Me, but thought that they had remedies in their own hands; and thus the labor which I have taken to correct them became vain.” This is the meaning.

He says that Ephraim had seen his disease, and Judah his wound: but it is not right to understand this as if they had carefully considered the causes of these things. For the ungodly are blind to the causes of evils and only attend to their present grief. They are like intemperate people, who, when disease seizes them, feel heat, feel pain in the head, and other symptoms; at the same time, they have no concern for the disease, nor do they inquire how they brought these pains upon themselves, so that they might seek suitable remedies.

So Ephraim knew his disease, but at the same time overlooked the cause of his disease and was only affected by his present pain. So also Judah knew his wound; but he did not understand that he was struck and wounded by the hand of God; he was only affected by his pain, like brute beasts that feel the stroke and sigh, while, in the meantime, they have neither reason nor judgment to understand from where, or for what cause, the evil has come to them.

In a word, the Prophet here condemns this brutish stupidity in both peoples, for they did not profit enough under God’s rod to return to Him but, on the contrary, sought other remedies. This was because stupor had taken such a hold on their minds that they did not consider that they were chastised by God and that this was done for just reasons. Since, then, no such thought entered their minds, and instead they only felt themselves ill and grieved as animals do, they went to the Assyrian and sent to King Jareb.

The Prophet seems here to inveigh only against the ten tribes; but though he expressly speaks of the kingdom of Israel, there is no doubt that he also accused the Jews in common with them. Why then does he name only Ephraim? Simply because this evil first began in the kingdom of Israel, for they were the first who went to the king of Assyria, so that by his help they might resist their neighbors, the Syrians; the Jews afterwards followed their example. Since the Israelites thus set a precedent for the Jews to send for help of this kind, the Prophet expressly confines his discourse to them. But there is no doubt, as I have already said, that the accusation was common.

We now perceive what the Prophet meant: Ephraim, he says, saw his disease, and Judah his wound; that is, “Though I have, like a moth and a worm, consumed the kingdom of Israel as well as the kingdom of Judah, and they have felt themselves to be, as it were, decaying, and though their disease should have led them to repentance, they still turned their thoughts elsewhere. They even supposed that they could be made whole by seeking a remedy either from the Assyrians or from others; thus it happened that they hastened to Assyria and sought help from King Jareb.”

We see then, in short, that the stupidity and hardness of the people are reproved here, because these evils did not turn them to repentance.

Some think Jareb was a city in Assyria, but there is no basis for this conjecture. Others suppose that Jareb was a king neighboring Assyria, whom they sought when the Assyrian, once a friend and ally, became an enemy and invaded the kingdom of Israel; but this conjecture also lacks solid grounds.

It may have been the proper name of a man, and I prefer to understand it this way. For it did not seem necessary for the Prophet to speak here of many allies; but in the Hebrew manner, he repeats the same thing twice. Some translate it as “to revenge,” because they sent for that king—that is, the Assyrian—as an avenger. But this interpretation is also forced. What I have already said appears simpler to me: that they sent for the Assyrian, that is, for King Jareb.

Then it follows, Yet could he not heal you, nor will he cure you of your wound. Here God declares that whatever the Israelites might seek would be in vain. “You think,” He says, “that you can escape My hand by these remedies; but your folly will eventually betray itself, for he will be of no avail to you; that is, King Jareb will not heal you.”

In this clause, the Prophet shows that unless we immediately return to God when He warns us by His scourges, it will be in vain for us to look here and there for remedies. For in this world, many allurements come our way; but when we hope for any relief, the Lord will eventually show that we have been deluded.

There is, then, only one remedy: to go directly to God. This is what the Prophet means, and this is the application of the present doctrine. He had said before that Ephraim had felt his disease and Judah his wounds; that is, “I have led them so far that they have acknowledged themselves to be ill; but they have not gone on as they should have done, so as to return to Me. On the contrary, they have turned aside to King Jareb and to other delusions.” Then it follows, “But these remedies have turned out rather for harm to you; they certainly have not profited you.”