John Calvin Commentary Hosea 5:15

"I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly." — Hosea 5:15 (ASV)

The word שחר, shicker, signifies the morning; hence the verb means “to seek early” or “to rise early,” as people do when they apply themselves diligently to anything. However, in many places in Scripture, it is taken simply in the sense of seeking, and this simple meaning seems most suitable to this passage: They will seek me in their tribulation.

God here declares that after having been dreadfully fierce against both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, He would for a time rest quietly and wait from heaven to see what they would do. He then adds, “They will at last return to a sound mind: when they perceive the final outcome, they will then, having lost their perverseness, acknowledge their sins and be truly humbled.” This is the meaning.

This manner of speaking seems strange when God says that He will go away. For He neither hides Himself in heaven in such a way that He neglects human affairs, nor does He withdraw His hand—indeed, He sustains the world by the continued exercise of His power. Nor does He even take away His Spirit from people, especially when He desires to lead them to repentance, for people never turn to God of their own accord, but only by His hidden influence.

What then does He mean by this, I will go and return to my place? Indeed, He is speaking here of the external state of the people. The meaning is, “After the two kingdoms are cut off, I will then for a time hide My face from both peoples, and they will think that I do not care for their salvation; they will think that they are far removed from Me.” Thus, we see that the Prophet here only refers to what would be the external condition of the people; and we also see that these forms of speech are adapted to human perception.

So God also Himself speaks in Isaiah 18, though for a different purpose; yet the Prophet there expresses essentially the same thing: I will rest, He says, and I will wait in my tabernacle. What was that rest of God, and what was His tabernacle? When God exercises His judgments, we are then compelled to feel His presence; and when He kindly favors us and exhibits the kindness of a Father, He then truly shows Himself propitious to us. But when He neither visits us for our sins nor gives us tokens of His favor, He seems to withdraw Himself from us and to show no regard for our life.

So now we understand that the Prophet speaks of the time of exile, as though he said, “After God executes His extreme judgment against you, and you are taken away into exile, God will then forsake you, as if He in no way regarded you but was unmindful of you. For He will leave you there, even in Chaldea and Assyria, and then He will not send forth any light of salvation. God, therefore, will be, as it were, idle in heaven.” This is one point.

But the Prophet shows at the same time the final outcome: that they will afterward return to the Lord. And he affirms that this is also God’s purpose: Till they acknowledge, he says, that they have sinned. For it is the beginning of healing when people consider the cause of their disease.

He had said before that Israel saw its disease, but not in the right way, for the origin of the disease was hidden from it and continued to be hidden. But now the Prophet distinctly shows that to seek God means that people acknowledge and confess their sins. This word continually occurs in Scripture when sacrifices are spoken of.

Thus, people are said to acknowledge their guilt when they come before God, making a true confession, when they acknowledge their wrongdoing and pray for pardon. So also in this place He says, Until they confess that they have sinned I will for a time hide myself. And He adds, They will seek my face.

This is the second step in attaining salvation: to seek the face of God. For we are reconciled to God, we know, by repentance and faith—not that repentance procures pardon for us, but because it is necessarily required. It is a cause, as they say, which is indispensable.

The first step then towards healing, as we have already said, is to be touched with grief when we perceive that we have provoked the wrath of God, and when our sins thus displease us. But the one who thus acknowledges himself as a sinner—that is, who begins to be his own judge—should afterward add this second step: to seek the face of God, that is, to present himself as a suppliant before God and to ask for pardon. And this arises from faith. It is to repentance, then, that the word אשם, ahsim, belongs, which means to “acknowledge sin”; and to “seek the face of God” properly belongs to faith.

Now let us see the application of this doctrine to both peoples. When the Israelites and the Jews lived in exile, it was of great benefit for them to have this testified: that God was hiding His face for a time so that He might afford them time to repent. This is one point. Now, when people carefully consider this—that they are to seek God so that they may repent—they are encouraged. This is the sharpest goad to rouse people, so that they may no longer be lethargic in their vices; and this is what the Prophet meant.

When the Lord banishes both the Jews and the Israelites into exile, let them not think that, though for a time He will seem to cast them away, they are wholly deserted, for a suitable time for repentance will still be given to them. He afterwards describes the way of reconciliation: that they shall acknowledge that they have sinned, and then that they shall seek the face of God.

And at the same time, he makes known the fruit of affliction, saying, When affliction comes to them, then they will seek me. The Prophet here shows that exile, though very bitter to Israel, would nevertheless be useful, just as when a physician gives a bitter draught or is compelled to use strong medicine to cure an inveterate disease. So the Prophet shows that this punishment would be useful to the people, and even ultimately pleasant, however bitter it might be for a time.

How so? Because they will return to the Lord; and He says distinctly, They will seek me. He includes in this expression both faith and repentance, for He does not separate the two clauses as before, but shows generally that the purpose of affliction would be that the people would turn to God.

With respect to the expression “to seek early,” I have already said that I do not approve of that meaning. For neither the Israelites nor the Jews sought God early; rather, with difficulty, at last, after a long period—a long series of seventy years—they were led to repentance. What sort of “seeking early” was this? I do not, then, approve of rendering the phrase ‘They shall seek me early’; but, as I have said, the simple idea of “seeking” is more suitable.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we continue often to kindle Your wrath against us by our innumerable sins, O grant that when You warn and would restore us to the right way, we may at least be responsive and without delay attend to the scourges of Your hand, not waiting for extreme severity, but repenting in a timely manner. And that we may truly and from the heart seek You, let us not feign repentance, but strive to devote ourselves wholly to You, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.