John Gill Commentary Hosea 12

Ephraim feedeth on wind
Which will be no more profitable and beneficial to him than wind is to a man that opens his mouth, and fills himself with it: the phrase is expressive of labour in vain, and of a man's getting nothing by all the pains he takes; the same with sowing the wind, and reaping the whirlwind, (Hosea 8:7) ; and so the Targum has it here, "the house of Israel are like to one that sows the wind, and reaps the whirlwind all the day;"

And this refers either to the worship of idols, and the calves in particular, and the vain hope of good things promised to themselves from thence; or to their vain confidence in the alliances and confederacies they entered into with neighbouring nations; from which they expected much, but found little: and followed after the east wind ; a wind strong and vehement, burning and blasting, very noxious and harmful; so that, instead of receiving any profit and advantage either by their idolatry or their covenants with other nations, they were only in these things pursuing what would be greatly to their detriment: or they would be no more able to attain by such methods what they sought for, than they would be able to overtake the east wind, which is a very swift and fleeting one; so that this clause exposes their folly, in expecting good things from their idols, or help from their neighbours;

he daily increaseth lies and desolation ; while they multiplied idols, which are lies fallacious and deceitful, and idolatrous rites and acts of worship, they do but increase their desolation and ruin, which such things are the cause of, and will certainly bring them unto; or, not content with the daily increase of their idolatries among themselves, they continually persecute, spoil, and plunder those who do not give into their false worship: so the Targum, "lies and spoil they multiply;" idolaters are generally persecutors:

and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians : and gave tribute and presents to their kings, as Menahem did to Pul, and Hoshea to Shalmaneser, not to hurt them, and to help and assist them against their enemies, and to strengthen their kingdom; see (2 Kings 15:19 2 Kings 15:20) (2 Kings 17:3 2 Kings 17:4) ;

and oil is carried into Egypt : one while they sent presents to the Assyrians, to obtain their favour and friendship: and at another time to the Egyptians; nay, they sent to So king of Egypt, at the same time they were tributary to Assyria, and, conspiring against him, brought on their ruin; and oil was a principal part of the present sent; for this was carried not by way of traffic, but as a present: so the Targum, "and they carried gifts to Egypt;" see (Isaiah 57:9) . The land of Israel, being a land of oil olive, was famous for the best oil, of which there was a scarcity in Egypt, and therefore a welcome present there, as balsam also was; see (Genesis 37:25) (43:11) (Ezekiel 27:17) .

The Lord has also a controversy with Judah
The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, as well as the ten tribes; for though they had ruled with God, and had been faithful with the saints in the first times of the apostasy of Israel; yet afterwards they sadly degenerated, and fell into idolatry likewise, particularly in the time of Ahaz, in which Hosea prophesied; and therefore the Lord had somewhat against them; nor would he spare them, but reprove them by the prophets, and rebuke them in his providences; bring them to his bar, and lay before them their evils, and threaten them with punishment in case of impenitence, as follows:

and will punish Jacob according to his ways ;
all the posterity of Jacob, whether Ephraim or Judah; those of the ten tribes, or of the two, who all descended from Jacob: or, "will visit according to his ways" ^F19 ; if right, and agreeably to the mind and word of God, in a way of grace and mercy; but if wrong, crooked, and perverse, then in a way of punishment; for visiting is used both ways:

according to his doings will he recompense him ;
as they were good or bad; if good, will reward them with a reward of grace; if bad, with vengeance. The Targum paraphrases it, "according to his right works."

FOOTNOTES:

• F19: (wykrdk-dqpl) "ad visitandum juxta vias ejus", Pagninus, Montanus; "visitabit secundum vias ejus", Piscator.

He took his brother by the heel in the womb
That is, Jacob took his brother Esau by the heel, as he came forth from his mother's womb; the history of it is in (Genesis 25:25Genesis 25:26).

It is here observed, upon mentioning the name of Jacob in (Hosea 12:2), meaning the posterity, of the patriarch; but here he himself is intended, and occasionally taken notice of, to show how very different his posterity were from him, and how sadly degenerated; as well as to upbraid them with ingratitude, whose ancestors, and they also, had received such and so many favours from the Lord; Jacob the patriarch was a hero from the womb, but they transgressors from it; this action of his observed was a presage and pledge of his having the superiority of his brother, and of his getting the birthright and blessing from him.

So the Targum,``prophet, say unto them, was it not said of Jacob, before he was born, that he would be greater than his brother?'' see (Romans 9:11Romans 9:12).

In this action there was something divine, miraculous, and preternatural; it was not the effort of nature merely, but contrary to it, or at least above it; and not done by chance, but ordered by the providence of God, as a prediction and testification of his future greatness, and even of his posterity's, in times yet to come, as Kimchi observes, who refers to (Obadiah 1:18);

and by his strength he has power with God ;
the Targum is, with the angel, as in (Hosea 12:4); he is called a man in the history of this event in (Genesis 32:24); not that he was a mere man, since he is here expressly called God, and afterwards the Lord God of hosts; and there it is evident, from the context, he was a divine Person, and no other than the Son of God; who, though not as yet incarnate, appeared in a human form, as a presage of his future incarnation;

though this was not a mere apparition, spectre, or phantasm, as Josephus ^F20 calls it; for it was not in a dream, or in a visionary way, that this wrestling and striving was between this divine Person in this form and Jacob, but in reality; it was a real substance which the Son of God formed, animated, actuated, and assumed, for that time and purpose, and then laid it aside; which touched Jacob, and he touched that, laid hold on it, and held it fast, and strove with it, and had power over it, and over God in it; even over him that is God over all, the true God and eternal life, the Lord Jesus Christ; not a created God, or God by office, but by nature; as the perfections that are in him, and the works and worship ascribed to him, declare:

now Jacob had power over him "by his strength"; not by his natural strength; either of his body, which could not have been equal to the strength of this human body assumed for the time, as it was used and managed by a divine Person, unless he had been extraordinarily assisted and strengthened; or of his mind and soul, not by any spiritual strength he had of himself; but by what he had from this divine Person, with whom he wrestled; who put strength into him, and supported and increased the power and strength of faith in prayer; so that he prevailed over him, and got the blessing, for which reason his name was called Israel, (Genesis 32:28).

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: Antiqu. l. 1. c. 20. sect. 2.

Yea, he has power over the angel, and prevailed
This is repeated in different words, not only for the confirmation of it, it being a very extraordinary thing, and difficult of belief; but to direct to the history here referred to, where the person Jacob prevailed over is called a man, and here the angel; and so Josephus ^F21 calls him a divine Person; not a created angel, not Michael, as the Rabbins say, unless the Messiah is meant by him; nor Jacob's guardian angel, as Kimchi, every man being thought by some to have one; and much less Esau's evil angel, that was against Jacob, as Jarchi and Abarbinel; for of him he would never have sought nor expected a blessing; but an uncreated Angel, the Son of God, the same that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, and that redeemed Jacob from all evil, (Genesis 48:16) (Exodus 23:20–23) ;

called an Angel, being so not by nature, for he is superior to angels in both his natures, divine and human; but by office, being sent to reveal the will of God, and to do the work of God in the redemption and salvation of men; the same that is called the Angel of the great council in the Greek version of (Isaiah 9:6) ; and the Angel of God's presence, (Isaiah 63:9) ; and the Angel or messenger of the covenant, (Malachi 3:1) ;

the phrases used denote, as before, the power and prevalence Jacob had with this divine Person in prayer; whereby he obtained the blessing from him, even deliverance from his brother Esau, as well as others respecting him and his posterity; he wept, and made supplication to him ;

not the angel, entreating Jacob to let him go, as Jarchi and Kimchi, and so some Christian interpreters. They think that an angel in human form may be said to weep, as well as to eat and drink; and the rather, since this angel was not the conqueror, but the conquered; and since Christ, in the days of his flesh, both prayed and wept, and shed tears. But the case here is different; and though he was prevailed over, it was through his own condescension and goodness. But rather Jacob is meant, as Abarbinel and others. He wept not on account of the angel's touching his thigh, and the pain that might put him to; for he was of a more heroic spirit than to weep for that, who had endured so much hardship in Laban's service, in heat and cold; and besides, notwithstanding this, he kept wrestling with him, and afterwards walked, though haltingly. But he wept either because he could not get out the name of the person he wrestled with; or rather the tears he shed were for the blessing he sought from him; for it is joined with his making supplication, and is expressive of the humble, yet ardent, affectionate, fervent, and importunate request he made to obtain it; and here we have another proof of the deity of Christ, in that supplication was made to him, and he is here represented as the object of that part of religious worship, prayer, as he often is in the New Testament.

This circumstance is not expressed in (Genesis 32:1–31), though it may be gathered from what is there said. However, the prophet had it by divine inspiration; and the truth of it is not to be doubted of, being not at all inconsistent with, but quite agreeable to that history; he found him [at] Bethel ;

either the angel found Jacob in Bethel, as he did more than once, both before and after this time, (Genesis 28:12–19) (Genesis 35:6Genesis 35:7Genesis 35:9) ; it is good to be in Bethel, in the house of God; happy are those that dwell there, and are found there living and dying, doing the will and work of God there: or rather Jacob found God or the angel in Bethel. God is to be found in his own house, there he comes and blesses with his gracious presence; here Christ the Angel of his presence is; here he meets with his people, and manifests himself to them. There is in the words a tacit reflection on Israel, or the ten tribes, that bore the name of Jacob. The patriarch found God in Bethel, Christ the Angel of the Lord; but now, instead of him, there was a calf set up in this place, Israel worshipped; and therefore it was called Bethaven, the house of an idol, or iniquity, instead of Bethel, the house of God; and there he spoke with us ;

not with Esau and his angel, concerning Isaac's blessing of Jacob, as Jarchi; nor with Jacob and his angel, as the father of Kimchi; nor with the prophet, and with Amos, to reprove Israel there for the worship of the calves, as Kimchi himself. But with all the Israelites, of whom the prophet was one; who were then in the loins of Jacob, when he conversed with God, and God with him, at Bethel: or, as Saadiah interprets it, 'for us' (for our sakes, on our account) or 'concerning us'; concerning the multiplication of Jacob's posterity, and giving the land of Canaan to them, as the Lord did at both times he appeared to Jacob in Bethel; see (Genesis 28:14Genesis 28:15) (Genesis 35:11Genesis 35:12) ; and it is in the house of God, where Christ is as a son, that he speaks with and to his people, even in his word and ordinances there.

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 20. sect. 2.)

Even the Lord God of hosts
The God Jacob has power over, the Angel he prevailed with, to whom he made supplication with weeping, and who spoke with him and his in Bethel, is he whose name is Jehovah; who is the true and living God, the Lord of hosts and armies both in heaven and in earth; of all the angels in heaven, and the legions of them; and of the church militant, and all the saints, who are the good soldiers of Christ, his spiritual militia; and he is the Captain of the Lord's host, and of their salvation, and to whom all the numerous hosts of creatures, be they what they will, are subject: this is observed, to set off the greatness of the person Jacob wrestled with, and his wondrous grace, in condescending to be overpowered by him.

the Lord [is] his memorial :
or his name, Jehovah, which belongs to this angel, the Son of God, as to his divine Father; and which is expressive of his divine existence, of his eternity and immutability; this is his memorial, or the remembrancer of him; which puts his people in all ages in remembrance of him, what he is, what an infinite, almighty, and all sufficient Being he is; and he is always to be believed in, and trusted to, and to be served, adored, and worshipped. The Targum adds, to every generation and generation.