John Calvin Commentary Hosea 9:17

"My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations." — Hosea 9:17 (ASV)

The Prophet, as I have recently hinted, assigns a reason why God had resolved to deal so severely with this people: it was because He saw their unspeakable perverseness. The Prophets always defend God's justice against the impious complaints of those who murmur when God severely punishes them, crying out that He is cruel and exceeds moderation. Therefore, the Prophets silence the ungodly, so that they may not spew their blasphemies against God; and the Prophet is now addressing this subject. Consequently, he says that destruction was near the Israelites, because God had rejected them; for the verb מאס, mas, means to reject, to cast away, to despise. As long, then, as the Lord graciously saw fit to care for this people, they possessed at least some eminence; but the Prophet says that now they were entirely cast away. What then remained for them but complete ruin?

And he says, My God will cast them away. By this expression, he claims authority for himself and thunders against the whole people. For even though the entire worship of God was shamefully corrupted in the kingdom of Israel, they still boasted that they were the holy seed of Abraham. The name of God was still on every tongue, as we know that the ungodly take the liberty of profaning God's name without any hesitation or shame. Since this false boasting still prevailed among the Israelites, the Prophet says, “He is no more your God; mine He is.” Thus he placed himself on one side and set himself alone in opposition to the whole people. But at the same time, he proves that he has more authority than all of them, for he brings forward God as the supporter and defender of his doctrine.

So also Isaiah says, when rebuking Ahab, Is it not enough that you are troublesome to men, unless you are also troublesome to my God? (Isaiah 7:13). And yet Isaiah was not the only one who worshipped God purely. This is true; but he was referring to the king and his company. Therefore, he aligned himself with God and separated them all from himself, since they had already by their faithlessness separated themselves from God.

Then he says, My God will cast them away. So today, we may safely invoke God's name in opposition to the Papists. They have nothing in common with the true God, since they have polluted themselves with so many abominations. Though they may be arrogant towards us, trusting in their vast numbers while we are few, we may still boldly oppose them. For we know that God can never be separated or drawn away from His word, and His word, we know, is on our side. We may then lawfully rebuke the Papists and say that God is opposed to them, for we fight under His banner.

Because, he says, they have not obeyed me. We see that the cause of extreme vengeance is perverseness; that is, when people intentionally harden their hearts against God. Indeed, the Gentiles also perish without any instruction. But vengeance is doubled when the Lord extends His hand to the erring, seeking to recall them to the way of salvation, and they obstinately refuse to obey. Yes, it is doubled when they show their hearts to be perverse in their wickedness. When, then, such perverseness is added to errors and vicious affections, God must necessarily come forth with His extreme vengeance, as He threatens here by His Prophet.

As, then, they did not obey, the Lord will cast them away, and they shall be fugitives among the nations. This seems to be a lighter punishment than what he had previously stated concerning their descendants being destroyed. But we must remember the contrast between the rest God gave them and this vagrant wandering, of which the Prophet now speaks. The land of Canaan was a quiet dwelling place for them, where they rested as though God cherished them under His wings. Therefore, it is even called the rest of God in Psalm 95. But now, as the Israelites wandered as fugitives, seeking rest here and there but not finding it, their rejection was more evident. For the Lord proved, every day and every moment, that they were repudiated by Him, since they were deprived of that rest He had promised them. Let us proceed—