Study

But while the Prophet exhorted the Israelites to repentance, he adds, that such was their perverseness, that it was done without any fruit. Canaan! he says; I read this by itself; for what some consider to be understood is frigid, as, “He was assimilated to, or was like Canaan, in whose hand,” etc.. But, on the contrary, the Prophet here condemns the Israelites by one word; as though he said, that they were wholly aliens, and unworthy to be called the children of Abraham. And thus what we say is often abrupt, when we speak indignantly. The Prophet then calls them “Canaan” through indignation; which means this, “Ye are not the children of Abraham; ye falsely boast of his name, which cannot be suitable to you; for ye are Canaan.”

He afterwards adds In his hand is the balance of fraud, he loves to plunder, or to spoil. Literally it is, he loves to spoil. But the sense is clear, that they loved to plunder; that is, they were carried away with all greediness to acts of robbery. It must first be noticed, that the Prophet here exposes to infamy the carnal descendants of Abraham by calling them Canaan, and this imputation is often to be met with in the Prophets. And the reason why they were thus addressed was, that these senseless men were wont proudly to set up as their shield the distinction of their race. “What! we are a holy people.” Since by this pretence they rejected all the warnings of the Prophets, God casts back this reproach, “Ye are not the children of Abraham; but ye are Canaan:” as though he said, “Nothing in that nation has as yet changed, the Israelites are always like themselves.” The Lord had once cleansed the land of godless men: but when the descendants of Abraham became like the Canaanites, they were called the seed of Canaan; as though the same nation, which was there formerly, had still remained; for there was no difference in their manners, for they were equal or the same in depravity.

But the reason follows why he calls them the race of Canaan even because they carried in their hand a deceitful balance, and devoted themselves with all avidity to plunder. The deceitful balance may be extended to their dissimulations, fallacies, and falsehoods, by which God, as he had before complained, was surrounded; but as it immediately follows, He loves robberies, I prefer to understand here those two modes of doing injury which include almost every kind of wickedness; for men either craftily defraud when they injure others, or they do harm to their neighbours by open force. Since, then, they who wrong their neighbours do either openly injure them, or circumvent the simple by their frauds and crafty dealings, Hosea lays down here, in the first place, the deceitful balance, and then he adds their greediness in spoiling or plundering. It is then the same as if he had said that they were fraudulent, and that they were also robbers who proceeded with open violence. He means that they were, without law or any restraint, addicted to acts of wrong and injustice, and were so intent on doing mischief, as to do it either by craft or by open force. There is then no wonder that they were called an uncircumcised race. Why? Because they had nothing to do with God, inasmuch as they had thus departed from his law; yea, they abhorred kindness and mercy. It also follows that they were void of all piety, since they were thus unmindful of all equity towards their neighbours. This is the meaning.

Here God complains by his Prophet, that the Israelites flattered themselves in their vices, because their affairs succeeded prosperously and according to their wishes: and it is a vice too common, that men felicitate themselves as long as fortune, as they commonly say, smiles on them, thinking that they have God then propitious to them. Since then the condition of the people was such, they despised all the Prophets and their reproofs. Of this hardihood the Lord now complains. Ephraim has said I am yet become rich There is an emphasis to be noticed in the adversative particle אך“ach”. It is sometimes in Hebrew a simple affirmative; but here the Prophet meant to express another thing, even this, that the Israelites laughed at all reproofs, because God seemed to be propitious to them, as though he manifested his favour by prosperity. “I am, however, become rich; and therefore I care nothing for what the Prophets may say, for I am contented with my lot.” This, as I have said, is a common evil; and hence this passage ought to be carefully noted, lest when the Lord spares us for a time, we may think that we are innocent before him; for there is nothing more to be feared than the dazzling of our eyes by a prosperous and desirable state of things. Though the Lord then may bear with us, and not immediately draw forth his vengeance against us, but, on the contrary, cherish us as it were kindly in his bosom; yet if he reproves us by his word, we ought to attend to his threatenings.

But they further add, All my labours shall not find iniquity, or, they shall not find iniquity in all my labours. Many read simply as the words are, “My labours shall not find iniquity:” but as the expression seems stiff, I have tried to render it smoother, as others also have done, “They shall not find iniquity in all my labours.” This boasting went farther, for the Prophet shows that the people were not only secure, because the Lord gave them some tokens of his paternal favour; but that they were also inebriated with this impious confidence, that God would not have favoured them had they not been exempt from every fault and vice: and this second clause ought to be carefully noticed. Now it is a depravity that is by no means to be endured, when men begin to despise God, because he deals kindly with them, and when they abuse his levity so as to condemn all his teaching and all his threatening; this is indeed a very great perversion: but when to all this is added such a pride, that ungodly and reprobate men persuade themselves that they are just, because God does not immediately punish them, — this is, as it were, a diabolical madness; and yet we see that it is a common thing. For godless men are not only proud of their wealth, they are not only inflated with their own power; but they also think that God is in some way under obligations to them. “Why! it must be that God regards me innocent, and pure from every vice, for he favours me: he then does not find in me what is worthy of punishment.” Thus the wicked raise up their horns against God, while he indulges them, and appears not so severe towards them as they have deserved.

When at the present day we perceive these evils prevailing among the greater portion of mankind, there is no reason to feel astonished: but we ought at the same time to profit by the instruction of the Prophet, so that we may not be blinded by prosperity, and despise reproofs, and flatter ourselves in our sin; and also, that we may not accumulate for ourselves a store of God’s wrath, when he deals kindly with us. Let us not then abuse his forbearance; let us not think that we are innocent before him, because he does not immediately execute his judgements; but let us rather learn to make a scrutiny of ourselves, and to shake off our vices, so that we may humble ourselves under his hand, though he restrains himself from inflicting punishment. This is the application of the present doctrine.

But we must notice what the Prophet adds, They shall not find iniquity in my labours; that is, iniquity shall not be found in my labours, because this is wickedness or a crime requiring expiation. I wonder that interpreters explain this place so frigidly; for they say, that there shall not be found in my labours iniquity or sin. But the Prophet does not set down a copulative, but uses the particle אשר, asher, which is to be taken here exegetically. And the meaning is, that hypocrites, while they claim to themselves the praise of innocence, for the sake of dissembling, detest ostensibly every wickedness and crime. “Iniquity shall not be found in my labours, for this is wickedness; far be it that I should be discovered to be a wicked person in my doings; for I am without fraud in all my dealings.” But is this the case? By no means; but as they judge of God’s favour by prosperous fortune, they think that God would not be so kind to them unless he regarded them as just and pure. Hence we see how securely hypocrites mock God, when they begin to despise his teaching and warnings. We need not then wonder that at this day so much perverseness prevails everywhere in the world. But let us also use this mode of teaching which the Prophet sets before us. Let us now proceed —