John Calvin Commentary Hosea 7:14

"And they have not cried unto me with their heart, but they howl upon their beds: they assemble themselves for grain and new wine; they rebel against me." — Hosea 7:14 (ASV)

The Prophet here again reproves the Israelites for not having repented, after having been so often admonished. For, as it was said yesterday, all the chastisements that God by His own hand inflicts on us have this as their object: to heal us of our vices. Now the Prophet says here that the Israelites had not cried to God, which is still the chief thing in repentance.

But this expression is to be noticed: They have not cried to Me with their heart—that is, sincerely. We indeed know that some worship of God had always remained among them. Though the Israelites devised many gods for themselves, the name of the true God had never been wholly obliterated among them. Nevertheless, they blended the worship of God with their own inventions, and God, at the same time, could not endure these fictitious invocations.

Therefore, He says that they did not cry from the heart. He accuses them, not of performing no outward act, but of not bringing a real desire of the heart; indeed, they only cried to God deceitfully. We now perceive what the Prophet meant by saying, They have not cried to Me with their heart. Since calling on God is the chief exercise of religion and especially manifests our repentance, the Prophet expressly notices this defect in the Israelites: that they did not cry to the Lord.

But since they might object and say that they had formally prayed, He adds that they did not do so from the heart. For the outward act (ceremonia) without the exercise of the heart is nothing but a profanation of God’s name. In short, the Prophet here shows the Israelites their hardness; for when they were struck by God’s hand, they did not flee to Him and ask for pardon, at least they did not do this from the heart or sincerely.

He then adds, Because they howled on their beds. Some explain the particle כי, ki, adversatively, as though the Prophet had said, “Though they howl on their beds, they do not yet direct their petitions to Me.” But we may take it in its proper sense, and the sentence would thus run better: “They howl then on their beds; that is, they do not bring their concerns to Me, for like brute animals they utter their howlings.” And this we see to be the case with the unbelieving, for they fear the presence of God, and the very mention of Him is dreaded by them. Therefore, they howl; that is, they pour forth their impetuous feelings, but at the same time they shun every access to God as much as they can.

The sense then is, “They do not cry to Me from the heart, for they only howl; but it is only by an animal effort without any reason.” If, however, anyone prefers to take the particle כי, ki, adversatively, the sense would not be unsuitable: “Though they howl on their beds, they do not yet cry to Me;” that is, “Though grief urges them to make great noises, they are still mute as to any cry of prayer.” If anyone more approves of this meaning, I say nothing against it. But since the particle כי, ki, is commonly taken as a causative, I prefer to explain it thus: “Since they cry on their beds, they do not raise up their voice to God.”

Then it follows, They assemble, or, will assemble themselves for corn and wine. This passage is explained in two ways.

Some think that the Israelites are here indirectly reproved, because when they found wine and corn in the market, having obtained their wishes, they went on heedlessly in their sins and despised God, as if they had no more need of His help. They then ran together for wine and corn; that is, as soon as they heard of wine or corn, they provided themselves with provisions and afterwards neglected God. But this sense seems too frigid and strained. The Prophet then, I do not doubt, contrasts the running together of which He speaks with true and sincere attention to prayer, as though He said, “They are not touched with grief for having offended Me, though they see by evident proofs that I am displeased with them. They do not regard My favor or My displeasure, provided they enjoy plenty of wine and corn; this satisfies them, and it is all the same to them whether I am adverse or propitious to them.”

This seems to be the genuine meaning of the Prophet. But for this reproof to be more evident, we must observe what Christ teaches: that we ought first to seek the kingdom of God. For people act strangely when they anxiously labour only for this life and strive only to procure food for themselves and what is needful for the wants of the flesh. We always make a beginning here; and yet it is a most thoughtless anxiety when we are so attentive to a frail life and in the meantime neglect the kingdom of God.

Since, then, people by this perverted feeling derange the whole order of religion, the Prophet here shows that the Israelites did not truly and from the heart cry to God, because they were only anxious about wine and corn. For except when they were hungry, they despised God and allowed Him to rest quietly in heaven; therefore, poverty and want constrained them.

Just as brute beasts, when they are hungry, go to the stall and do not seek to be fed by the Lord, so also did the Israelites when they were touched by some feeling of need. But at the same time, they were contented with their wine and corn, nor did they have any other God. Therefore, they cried in such a way that their voice did not come to God, as they did not indeed go really and directly to Him.

The Prophet then, by a particular instance, here convicts the Israelites of impious deceit, because they did not seek God but were only intent on food. Provided the stomach was well supplied, they neglected God and did not desire His favor, and only wished to have full barns and full cellars; for plenty of provisions, without the paternal favor of God, was their only desire. It is therefore sufficiently evident that they did not cry to the Lord.

This passage is worthy of being observed, for we here see that our prayers are faulty before God if we begin with wine and bread and do not first seek the kingdom of God, that is, His glory. And if we do not apply our minds to this: to live so as to have God propitious to us.

When we go to Him, the fountain of divine blessing, and only desire to glut ourselves with the abundance of the good things which He has to bestow, then all our prayers are deservedly rejected by Him. We see this to be the case with the Papists; when they present their supplications, they are wholly like animals.

They indeed implore God for rain and for dry weather, but do they have any desire to reconcile themselves to God? By no means, for they wish, as much as possible, to be at the farthest distance from Him. But when want and famine constrain them, they then ask for rain—for what purpose? Only that they may abound in bread and wine.

We ought then to preserve a legitimate order in our prayers. If the Lord shows us proofs of His wrath, we must first strive to return into favor with Him, and then His glory must be regarded by us, and He is to be sought with the real feeling of piety, that He may be a Father to us. Then the things which belong to the condition and preservation of the present life may be added in their place.

We must also notice what He adds, They have revolted from me. The verb סור, sur, means “to recede” and also “to revolt.” This second sense is the most suitable, for the Prophet said before that they had receded or departed from God; but now He seems to signify something more grievous: that they had revolted from God.

Thus hypocrites, when they pretend to seek God in a roundabout way, betray their own revolt, for they are unwilling to be reconciled to Him on the condition that they are to change their life for the better, to cast away the affections of the flesh, and to renounce themselves and their depraved desires. These things they by no means seek. Therefore, it then becomes evident that they are witnesses to their own revolt and also to deceit in their prayers, even when there is some appearance of piety.