John Calvin Commentary Hosea 9:15

"All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house; I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters." — Hosea 9:15 (ASV)

He says first, that all their evil was in Gilgal; though they thought that they had the best pretense for offering their sacrifices there to God’s honour, because it had been a sacred place for a long time. He had said before that they had multiplied altars for themselves to sin, and by these to give way to sins; he now repeats the same in other words, All their evil, he says, is in Gilgal; as though he said, “They indeed impose their sacrifices on me, which they offer in Gilgal, and think that they serve to excuse all their wickedness.

I might, perhaps, forgive them, if they were given to plunder and cruelty, and were treacherous and fraudulent, provided pure worship had continued among them, and religion had not been so entirely adulterated. But as they have changed whatever I commanded in my law, and turned this celebrated place into the seat of the worst impiety, so that it has become, as it were, a brothel, where religion is prostituted, it is therefore evident, that the whole of their wickedness is in Gilgal.”

It is certain that the people were also addicted to other crimes; but the word כל, cal, all, is to be taken for what is chief or principal. The Prophet speaks comparatively, not simply; as though he had said that this corruption of offering sacrifices at Gilgal was more abominable in the sight of God than adulteries, or plunder, or frauds, or unjust violence, or any crime that prevailed among them. Their whole evil then was at Gilgal. But I have recently explained why the Prophet speaks this way; it is because superstitious men present their own devices when God reproves them, saying, “Oh! We still have many exercises of religion.” They bring these forward by way of compensation. But the Lord shows that He is far more grievously offended with these superstitions, with which hypocrites cover themselves as with a shield, than with a life void of every appearance of religion. For of these, He says, I conceived a hatred against them, on account of the wickedness of their works.

Here again the Prophet condemns what men think to be their special holiness. Who indeed can persuade hypocrites that their fictitious modes of worship are the greatest abominations? No, they even praise themselves and imagine themselves to be like angels, and, as it were, cover all their wickedness with these disguises. This is similar to what we see with the Papists, who think that when they impose on God their many masses and other invented forms, every sort of wickedness is redeemed. Since hypocrites are thus accustomed to putting on a disguise before God, and at the same time flatter themselves, the Prophet here declares that they are hated all the more by God for this very wickedness of daring to corrupt and adulterate His pure worship.

He then adds, I will eject them from my house. When God threatens to eject Israel from His house, it is the same as though He said, “I will wholly cast you away,” as when one cuts off a withered branch from a tree, or a diseased member from the body. It is indeed certain that the Israelites were then like illegitimate children, for they were not worthy of any account or station in the Church, since they had a foreign temple and profane sacrifices. But as circumcision, and the priesthood in name, still remained among them, they boasted that they were the children of Abraham and a holy people. Therefore, the Prophet here denounces such a destruction that it might appear that they gloried in vain in these superior distinctions, for God would expunge them from His list. We now understand the Prophet’s design, but we will address the remaining portion tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since You have freely embraced us in Your only-begotten Son, and made us, from being the sons and race of Adam, a holy and blessed seed, and as we have not until now ceased to alienate ourselves from the grace You have offered us,—O grant, that we may from now on so return to a sound mind, as to cling faithfully and with sincere affection of heart to Your Son, and so retain by this bond Your love, and also be retained in the grace of adoption, that Your name may be glorified by us as long as we sojourn in this world, until You at last gather us into Your celestial kingdom, which has been purchased for us by the blood of Your Son. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We stated yesterday how God expels from His house those who should have been considered to be already among those who are outside. For hypocrites always invent coverings for themselves until the Lord Himself openly shows them their wickedness. It is therefore necessary that what they seem to have should be taken away from them, as Christ also declares concerning hypocrites (Matthew 13:12).

It then follows,—I will not proceed on to love them. A question may be raised here—why does God speak this way of His love? For He had already ceased to love that people, as may be fully gathered from facts.—Though this saying may not be strictly correct, it is not unsuitable.

Profane men, and those who are in love with worldly things, estimate the love of God by present appearances. When the Lord feeds them well and plentifully, when they enjoy their pleasures, when they have no troubles to bear, they think themselves most acceptable to God. Such was the case with this people, as has already often been stated, as long as the Lord suspended His vengeance; and this was especially the case under King Jeroboam the second, for we know that the Lord then spared and greatly favoured them.

It was then a certain kind of love when the Lord thus cherished them; God allured them to repentance by the sweetness of His goodness. But now, as He sees them growing harder and harder, He says, “I will not continue my love towards them; for I will now really show that I am angry with them, as I see that I have done nothing by my forbearance, which they, in a manner, laugh to scorn.” Thus we see that men are rejected by God in nearly the same way when He exterminates them from His Church as when He withdraws His blessing, which is, as it were, the pledge and symbol of His love.

The reason then follows, Because their princes are perfidious: and this is expressly mentioned, for it was necessary that the origin of the evil should be stated. The Prophet then shows here that corruptions originated not with the common people, but with the princes. Now we know for what purpose God would have rank and dignity exist among men: that there might be something like a bridle to restrain the waywardness of the multitude.

When, therefore, princes become leaders in every wickedness, all things must then proceed in the worst manner, for what ought to be a remedy becomes the cause of ruin. This, then, is what the Prophet meant in the first place.

But by accusing the princes, he does not absolve the people. As has been said in another place, he insinuates that they must have been very blind when they allowed themselves to be drawn into the ditch by the blind. For the people doubtless went astray of their own accord and willingly, though they had erring leaders, and though, as has appeared elsewhere, they anxiously sought excuses for their errors.

From this we may learn how frivolous is the excuse of those who today exculpate themselves with the pretext of obeying princes and bishops, for the Lord here denounces punishment on the whole people because the princes were perfidious.

If this is so, we see that the whole body is involved when wicked leaders rule and draw the people from the right way—indeed, when they hurl them into the same transgressions and carry them along. When, therefore, there is such confusion, universal punishment, which consumes all together, must follow.

Let us proceed—