Matthew Henry Commentary Hosea 9:1-6

"Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, like the peoples; for thou hast played the harlot, [departing] from thy God; thou hast loved hire upon every grain-floor. The threshing-floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail her. They shall not dwell in Jehovah`s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria. They shall not pour out wine-offerings to Jehovah, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted; for their bread shall be for their appetite; it shall not come into the house of Jehovah. What will ye do in the day of solemn assembly, and in the day of the feast of Jehovah? For, lo, they are gone away from destruction; [yet] Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them; their pleasant things of silver, nettles shall possess them; thorns shall be in their tents." — Hosea 9:1-6 (ASV)

Israel gave rewards to their idols, in the offerings presented to them. It is common for those who are stingy in religion, to be lavish in indulging their lusts. Those are considered idolaters, who love a reward from the threshing floor more than a reward in God's favor and in eternal life. They are full of the joy of harvest, and have no disposition to mourn for sin.

When we make the world, and the things in it, our idol and our portion, it is just for God to show us our folly, and correct us. No one can expect to dwell in the Lord's land, who is unwilling to be subject to the Lord's laws or to be influenced by his love. When we enjoy the means of grace, we should consider what we will do, if they should be taken from us.

While the pleasures of communion with God are beyond the reach of change, the pleasant places purchased with silver, or in which people deposit silver, are liable to be laid in ruins. No famine is as dreadful as a famine of the soul.