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Hosea Capítulo 3
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God is still by the prophet inculcating the same thing upon this careless people, and much in the same manner as before, by a type or sign, that of the dealings of a husband with an adulterous wife. In this chapter we have, I. The bad character which the people of Israel now had; they were, as is said of the Athenians (Ac 17:16), "wholly given to idolatry," Ho 3:1. II. The low condition which they should be reduced to by their captivity, and the other instances of God's controversy with them, Ho 3:2-4. III. The blessed reformation that should at length be wrought upon them in the latter days, Ho 3:5.
1-5
Idolatry of Israel; The Prophet's Remonstrances; Promises to the Penitent (760 BC)
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以色列的拜偶像；先知的勸戒；對悔改者的應許（主前760年）
¹ 耶和華對我說：你再去愛一個為她朋友所愛、卻是淫婦的女子，正如耶和華愛以色列人——他們卻向別神觀看，喜愛葡萄餅。
² 我便用銀子十五舍客勒、大麥一賀梅珥半，買了她歸我。
³ 我對她說：你當為我多日獨居，不可行淫，不可歸別人為妻；我也向你這樣。
⁴ 因為以色列人必多日沒有君王，沒有首領，沒有祭牲，沒有柱像，沒有以弗得，也沒有家中的神像。
⁵ 後來以色列人必歸回，尋求耶和華他們的神，和他們的王大衛；在末後的日子，必以敬畏的心歸向耶和華和祂的恩惠。
有人認為本章是指猶大——那兩個支派，正如先知所娶的淫婦（何1:3）代表十支派一樣；因為這兩個支派不像十支派那樣被休，而是要長久荒涼，然後歸回，正如那兩個支派所作的。但這裏被稱為以色列人——那是十支派的名稱——所以更可能的是，這個比喻和前一個一樣，都是指他們。去，重複這事——神對先知說；再去一次。 注意：為了使罪人知罪歸正，必須律上加律、例上加例。他們若不信一個兆頭，就試另一個（出4:8,9）。如今，
一、在這個比喻中我們可以觀察到，
1. 神的良善和以色列的敗壞奇異地互為襯托（何3:1）。以色列如同一個為她朋友——無論是她的丈夫還是僅僅向她求愛者——所愛的女子，卻是淫婦；神與以色列之間正是如此。我們說那些感情相互的人之間愛沒有失落；但在這裏我們發現，連神自己的愛也有許多失落、浪擲在不配而忘恩的百姓身上。以色列的神對以色列人仍存著極大的愛，他們卻是一個邪惡淫亂的世代。諸天哪，要因此驚奇！地啊，要因此希奇！（1）神的良善沒有終止他們的敗壞；主愛他們、對他們有恩情、不斷向他們施恩；他們知道，不能不承認祂待他們如同朋友和父親；然而他們向別神觀看——他們看得見的神明，以及他們因眼目所見而被吸引去愛的那些；他們以敬拜的眼目觀看（他們將一切事奉獻給那些），又以倚靠的眼目觀看（他們期望一切安慰從那些而來）；他們即使被禁止向偶像屈膝，也對偶像投以愛慕的目光，眼睛滿了屬靈的淫亂。他們又喜愛葡萄餅；他們與拜偶像的人結交，因為他們活得快活、喝得酩酊；他們有時在那樣的廟中被以豐盛的好酒款待，因此對別神心存好感。拜偶像和縱慾通常並行；那些以肚腹為神的人，正如酒鬼所作的，很容易被引導將任何別的事物也當作神。神的祭司進去事奉時不可喝酒，祂的拿細耳人更是完全不喝。但敬拜別神的人卻用碗喝酒；不但如此，少於葡萄餅不足以滿足他們。（2）他們的敗壞也沒有止住祂向他們施恩的潮流。這實在是憐憫的奇事——她雖是淫婦，卻為她朋友所愛；耶和華向以色列人所懷的愛也是如此。「去，」神說，「愛這樣一個女子；看你能否從心底如此行。不，你不能；沒有人的胸懷能容納這樣的愛；然而我對以色列人的愛就是如此——那是不配蒙愛的、不配被愛的、那些千次喪失它的人所得的愛。」注意：在神對可憐罪人的善意中，祂的意念和道路無限地高過我們的，祂的愛比我們的更謙卑、更富同情——在這一點上，如同在任何事上一樣，祂是神，不是人（何11:9）。
2. 為使如此良善的神和如此敗壞的百姓重新合而為一所找到的方法——這就是目標所在，而神所定的，祂必成就。令我們大為驚奇的是，我們看到一個如海一般寬闊的裂口被有效醫治了；只要神的憐憫不止息，奇蹟就不止息。請注意這裏：（1）神為使他們謙卑、認識自己而採取的方法（何3:2）：我便用銀子十五舍客勒、大麥一賀梅珥半，買了她歸我——即我勸她與我和好、離開她邪惡的道路、歸回她的前夫（何2:14）。我誘導她、對她心裏說安慰的話；正如那追趕從他那裏行了淫、與別的男人私奔的妾的利未人，對她說好話（士19:3）。但這裏先知為討她歡心而帶來的禮物被注意到是非常微薄的；然而這是為她單獨的供養所預備的全部，在其中她被減為短少的口糧，並為懲罰她的驕傲而被弄得非常卑微。參孫去與那得罪了他的妻子復合時，帶了一隻山羊羔去（士15:1），那是體面的款待。但先知在這裏以銀子十五舍客勒——一小筆數目——去看他的妻子；然而她必須滿足於以此維生相當長一段時間——直到她丈夫認為合宜恢復她原先的地位為止。她還要有大麥一賀梅珥半作為糧食，這就是她被充分謙卑、並藉著相當時間的試驗給出她確實已歸正的滿意證明之前，她所能期望的全部。要使她感覺到，丈夫向她求愛並非因她自己的功勞；他所估定的她不過是一個跛足的價錢。一個僕人的價錢是三十舍客勒（出21:32）。這不過是一半；但要叫她知道，這比她所值的更多。神曾一次以埃及為以色列的贖價，那時他們在祂眼中是何等寶貴、何等尊榮（賽43:3）。但如今他們從祂那裏行了淫，祂只肯為他們出銀子十五舍客勒——他們因自己的罪孽在其價值上失落了如此之多。注意：神所要賜予尊榮和安慰的人，祂先使他們感覺到自己的無價值，並帶領他們與浪子一同承認：我不配稱為你的兒子。 從前以色列被餵養上好的麥子，但他們變得放縱，喜愛葡萄餅，所以為了使他們謙卑、挽回他們，他們必在被擄之地吃大麥餅，並慶幸能得著，且要按分量和尺度來吃，而他們從前並不被限量。注意：貧窮和羞辱有時證明是使大罪人成為真正悔改者的幸福途徑。（2）神願意與他們恢復關係的新條件（何3:3）：你當為我多日獨居，不可歸別人為妻，我也就這樣向你。 祂本可以公義地給他們休書，決定不再與他們有任何瓜葛；但祂願意向他們施恩，願意將此事妥協解決；祂不按律法的嚴厲以嚴格的公義待他們，而是照祂豐盛的憐憫待他們；這代表神對那從祂那裏行了淫的背叛人類的恩典對待——祂確實以無法估量的代價買了他們，不是為他們的榮耀，而是為祂自己公義的榮耀；如今這就是祂向他們提出的——祂願意與他們進入的恩典之約——他們必須作祂的子民，祂必作他們的神，與此處向以色列所提的相同。[1.] 他們必須為自己從祂那裏背道而抱愧，必須服從並接受他們罪孽的刑罰：你當為我多日獨居——在孤寂和沉默之中，如同一個荒涼憂愁的寡婦；他們必須摘下妝飾，以忍耐和順服等候，看神要怎樣待他們，祂是否願意將這樣不配的悲慘人重新納入祂的恩寵，正如他們在出33:4,5所作的。他們的父親、他們的丈夫已經向他們臉上吐唾沫（如神論到米利暗所說的），已將他們置於祂不悅的記號之下，所以像她一樣，他們必須蒙羞七天，被關在營外（民12:14），直到他們未受割禮的心謙卑了（利26:41）。讓他們獨坐靜默，等候耶和華的救恩，在那期間讓他們負軛（哀3:26-28）。不要期望神會速速以憐憫歸回；不，讓他們缺乏它，讓他們在被擄的全部日子裏等候多日，並且以為這是憐憫的奇蹟，值得等候——如果它至終來到的話。注意：神所要施憐憫的人，祂先使他們自卑，並使他們高度看重祂的恩惠。[2.] 他們絕不可再回到愚妄中——這就是神向祂的百姓和祂的聖徒說平安的條件（詩85:8），此外別無其他。「你不可行淫——不可在被擄之地敬拜偶像，因為你在那裏是分別為聖歸我的。」注意：我們不僅要為自己所犯的罪抱愧、並稱義神在其中管教我們，更要在神恩典的能力中決心不再犯罪、不再隨從世界和肉體從神那裏偏離。感謝神，雖然這是約的律法，卻不是約的條件——要我們絕不犯任何錯失：「但你不可行淫——不可事奉別神，不可歸別人為妻。」在他們被擄之地，他們會被引誘去敬拜那地的偶像；那對他們將是一個長久的試驗，多日的試驗：「但你若守住陣腳、堅守你的純全，若當這一切臨到你的時候你不向別神伸手，你就配得神恩寵的回轉。」注意：我們若蒙神的恩典保守，不被受苦狀態的試探所勝過，這就是我們的苦難對我們大有益處、並且是更多益處的憑據的確實記號。[3.] 在這些條件下，造他們的主必再次作他們的丈夫：我也就這樣向你。 這就是神與歸回的罪人之間的約——他們若歸向祂事奉祂，祂就為他們施行拯救。讓他們棄絕並放棄一切與神競爭心中寶座的對手，完全而唯獨地奉獻給祂，祂就必作他們全能的神。我們若在盡本分的路上對神信實而不變、永不離棄祂，祂就必在施憐憫的路上如此對我們、永不離棄我們。再也沒有比這更公允的提議了。
二、在何3:4,5中，我們有這比喻的解釋及其對以色列的應用。
1. 他們必長久如寡婦獨坐，被剝奪一切喜樂和尊榮（哀4:1,2）。他們必多日無君王、無首領；一個處於這種光景的國家可以恰當地被稱為寡婦。他們缺乏：（1）民事政府的福分：他們必無君王、無首領——自己的。有君王和首領轄制他們、以嚴厲管轄他們，卻沒有君王和首領保護他們、為他們爭戰、向他們施行公平、照管他們共同的安危和福祉。注意：政權對一國百姓是極大的祝福，缺乏它是悲慘而嚴厲的審判。（2）公開敬拜的福分：他們必無祭牲、無柱像（或雕像、石柱；這詞用於雅各所立的石柱，創28:18、31:45、35:20），也無以弗得和家中的神像。家中的神像在此與以弗得緊連，有人認為這是指大祭司胸牌上的烏陵和土明。意思是：在他們被擄之中，他們不僅沒有國家的面貌，更沒有教會的面貌；他們將沒有（正如一位博學的註釋家所說的）任何按自己選擇而真或假地公開承認或操練宗教的自由。他們將沒有祭牲或祭壇（七十士譯本也如此），因此沒有祭牲，因為沒有祭壇。他們將沒有以弗得、沒有家中的神像——沒有合法的祭司制度，沒有知道神心意的方法，沒有在疑惑之事上可諮詢的神諭，而要在黑暗中。注意：那些被剝奪一切公開敬拜神之機會的人，其光景實在悲慘。猶太人在被擄中就是如此；今日散居的猶太人也是如此——他們雖有會堂，卻沒有聖殿的事奉。那些被隔絕在與神的交通之外、沒有機會藉著祭牲和祭壇向神獻上懇求、沒有機會藉著以弗得和家中的神像從祂領受教訓的人，其光景實在荒涼。
2. 他們至終必再次被收納為妻（何3:5）：後來——經過相當時日、他們經過這管教之後——他們必歸回，即他們必為他們的拜偶像悔改並離棄之，他們必歸向神並堅守祂，如此便為祂所悅納。這裏有兩件事作為他們歸回的例子和步驟，被應許出來：（1）他們對神的尋求：他們必尋求耶和華他們的神，和他們的王大衛。 注意：那些要尋見神、要在祂面前蒙恩的人，必須尋求祂——必須求問祂、渴慕與祂相交、渴望與祂和好、將愛獻給祂，並在此事上勞力以求蒙悅納。他們尋求祂暗示他們曾經失喪了祂、正在為失去而哀慟、並迫切要追回所失的。他們要尋求祂作他們的神；因為一國之民豈不當尋求自己的神嗎？ 他們又要尋求他們的王大衛——那除了彌賽亞、我們的主耶穌基督——大衛的子孫、大衛的根與後裔、大衛自己稱之為主的（詩110:1），並且神將祂祖大衛的位賜給了祂（路1:32）——之外，別無他人。迦勒底譯本如此讀：他們要事奉耶和華他們的神，並要順服他們的王大衛的兒子彌賽亞。 將此與耶30:9、結34:23、37:25比較。注意：那些要尋求主以致尋見的人，必須到耶穌基督那裏去，必須尋求祂作他們的王，成為祂甘心的子民，向祂宣誓效忠。（2）他們對神的敬畏：他們必以敬畏的心歸向耶和華和祂的恩惠。 有人以祂的恩惠理解聖殿，他們敬拜神時必仰望之。猶太人說，以色列在羅波安的日子棄掉了三件事——天國、大衛家族和聖所之家；他們若不歸回並尋求這三樣，就永不亨通——這就是這裏所應許的。他們要在耶和華他們的神裏面尋求天國，在他們的王大衛裏面尋求王室，在耶和華的恩惠裏面尋求聖殿。另有人以祂的恩惠理解基督，與他們的王大衛相同。但更應取之為神的那一屬性——祂以之為祂的榮耀顯明出來，並藉之宣告祂名的。注意：我們當敬畏的不僅是耶和華和祂的偉大，更是耶和華和祂的恩惠——不僅是祂的威嚴，更是祂的憐憫。他們要因懼怕而逃向耶和華和祂的恩惠（有人如此理解），逃向它作為他們的逃城。我們當敬畏神的恩惠——即我們當讚嘆它、對之驚奇、敬拜它，正如摩西在宣告這名時所作的（出34:6）。我們當害怕得罪祂的恩惠、為之作忘恩的回報以致喪失它。在你有赦免之恩，為要叫人敬畏你（詩130:4）。我們當戰兢而快樂於神的恩惠，不可高傲，倒要懼怕。如今這應許在基督的福音使猶太人和外邦人的許多群眾歸向神、被納入新約教會、在基督裏以兒子的心敬畏神的恩典來事奉神、並蒙神悅納為祂的以色列之時，就應驗了。有人認為這要進一步在那些仍然在不信中之猶太人歸信基督時應驗——那時他們要尋求他們的彌賽亞作他們的王大衛，藉著祂全以色列都要得救，當外邦人的數目添滿了之時。曾經他們尋求祂是要殺祂，說：我們沒有王，只有該撒；但日子將到，他們要尋求祂以立祂為首領，並將自己的頸項放在祂的軛下。祂既在此應許他們必如此行，就必使他們能如此行，並在祂自己的方式和時候成就這大工——在末後的日子，即末世、彌賽亞的時代：但是，唉！神行這事的時候，誰能存活呢？我們當期望那個國家有普遍歸正到何種程度，我不能說；但我確知我們應當為猶太人歸正而禱告。
Original em inglês
Idolatry of Israel; The Prophet's Remonstrances; Promises to the Penitent (760 BC)
¹ Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
² So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley:
³ And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
⁴ For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
⁵ Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
Some think that this chapter refers to Judah, the two tribes, as the adulteress the prophet married (Ho 1:3) represented the ten tribes; for this was not to be divorced, as the ten tribes were, but to be left desolate for a long time, and then to return, as the two tribes did. But these are called the children of Israel, which was the ten tribes, and therefore it is more probable that of them this parable, as well as that before, is to be understood. Go, and repeat it, says God to the prophet; Go yet again. Note, For the conviction and reduction of sinners it is necessary that precept be upon precept, and line upon line. If they will not believe one sign, try another, Ex 4:8,9. Now,
I. In this parable we may observe,
1. God's goodness and Israel's badness strangely serving for a foil to each other, Ho 3:1. Israel is as a woman beloved of her friend, either of him that has married her or of him that only courts her, and yet an adulteress; such is the case between God and Israel. We say of those whose affection is mutual that there is no love lost between them; but here we find a great deal of the love even of God himself lost and thrown away upon an unworthy ungrateful people. The God of Israel retains a very great love for the children of Israel, and yet they are an evil and adulterous generation. Be astonished, O heavens! at this, and wonder, O earth! (1.) That God's goodness has not put an end to their badness; the Lord loves them, has a kindness for them, and is continually showing kindness to them; they know it, they cannot but own it, that he has been as a friend and Father to them; and yet they look to other gods, gods that they can see, and to the love of which they are drawn by the eye; they look to them with an eye of adoration (they offer up all their services to them) and with an eye of dependence (they expect all their comforts from them); if they were restrained from bowing the knee to idols, yet they gave them an amorous glance, and had eyes full of that spiritual adultery. And they loved flagons of wine; they joined with idolaters because they lived merrily and drank hard; they had a kindness for other gods for the sake of the plenty of good wine with which they had been sometimes treated in their temples. Idolatry and sensuality commonly go together; those that make a god of their belly, as drunkards do, will easily be brought to make a god of any thing else. God's priests were to drink no wine when they went in to minister, and his Nazarites none at all. But the worshippers of other gods drank wine in bowls; nay, no less than flagons of wine would content them. (2.) That their badness had not stopped the current of his favours to them. This is a wonder of mercy indeed, that she is thus beloved of her friend, though an adulteress; such is the love of the Lord towards the children of Israel. "Go," says God, "love such a woman; see if thou canst find in thy heart to do it. No, thou canst not, the breast of no man would admit such a love; yet such is my love to the children of Israel; it is love to the loveless, to the unlovely, to those that have a thousand times forfeited it." Note, In God's goodwill to poor sinners his thoughts and ways are infinitely above ours, and his love is more condescending and compassionate than ours is, or can be; in this, as much as any thing, he is God, and not man, Ho 11:9.
2. The method found for the bringing of a God so very good and a people so very bad together again; this is the thing aimed at, and what God aims at he will accomplish. To our great surprise, we find a breach thus wide as the sea effectually healed; miracles cease not so long as divine mercy does not cease. Observe here, (1.) The course God takes to humble them and make them know themselves (Ho 3:2): I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer and a half of barley, that is, I courted her to be reconciled, to leave her ill courses, and return to her first husband, as Ho 2:14. I allured her, and spoke comfortably to her; as the Levite who went after his concubine that had played the harlot from him, and had run away with another man, spoke friendly to her, Jdg 19:3. But here the present which the prophet brought her for the purchasing of her favour is observed to be a very small one; but it was all that was intended for her separate maintenance, and in it she is reduced to a short allowance, and, to punish her for her pride, is made to look very mean. When Samson went to be reconciled to his wife that had disobliged him he visited her with a kid (Jdg 15:1), which was a genteel entertainment. But the prophet here visited his wife with fifteen pieces of silver, a small sum, which yet she must be content to live upon a great while, so long as till her husband thought fit to restore her to her first estate. She shall also have a homer and a half of barley, for bread-corn, and that is all she must expect till she be sufficiently humbled, and, by a competent time of trial, satisfactory proof given that she is indeed reformed. Let her be made sensible that it is not for her own merit that her husband makes court to her; it is but a lame price that he values her at. The price of a servant was thirty shekels, Ex 21:32. This was but half so much; yet let her know that it is more than she is worth. God had given Egypt for Israel's ransom once, so precious were they then in his sight, and so honourable, Isa 43:3. But now that they have gone a whoring from him he will give but fifteen pieces of silver for them, so much have they lost in their value by their iniquity. Note, Those whom God designs honour and comfort for he first makes sensible of their own worthlessness, and brings them to acknowledge, with the prodigal, I am no more worthy to be called thy son. Time was when Israel was fed with the finest of the wheat, but they grew wanton, and loved flagons of wine, and therefore, in order to the humbling and reducing of them, they must be brought in the land of their captivity to eat barley-bread, and be thankful they can get it, and to eat that too by weight and measure, whereas they did not use to be stinted. Note, Poverty and disgrace sometimes prove a happy means of making great sinners true penitents. (2.) The new terms upon which God is willing to come with them (Ho 3:3): Thou shalt abide for me many days, and shalt not be for another, so will I be for thee. He might justly have given them a bill of divorce, and have resolved to have no more to do with them; but he is willing to show them kindness, and that the matter should be compromised; he deals not with them in strict justice, according to the rigour of the law, but according to the multitude of his mercies; and it represents God's gracious dealings with the apostate race of mankind, that had gone a whoring from him; he bought them indeed with an inestimable price, not for their honour, but for the honour of his own justice; and now this is the proposal he makes to them, the covenant of grace he is willing to enter into with them—they must be to him a people, and he will be to them a God, the same with the proposal here made to Israel. [1.] They must take to themselves the shame of their apostasy from him, must submit to, and accept of, the punishment of their iniquity: Thou shalt abide for me many days in solitude and silence, as a widow that is desolate and in sorrow; they must lay aside their ornaments, and wait with patience and submission to know what God will do with them, and whether he will please to admit such unworthy wretches into his favour again, as they did Ex 33:4,5. Their father, their husband, has spit in their face (as God said concerning Miriam), has put them under the marks of his displeasure, and therefore, like her, they must be ashamed seven days, and be shut out of the camp (Nu 12:14), till their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, Le 26:41. Let them sit alone and keep silence, waiting for the salvation of the Lord, and in the mean time let them bear the yoke, La 3:26-28. Let them not expect that God should speedily return in mercy to them,; no, let them want it, let them wait for it many days, during all the days of their captivity, and reckon it a miracle of mercy, and well worth waiting for, it if come at last. Note, Those whom God designs mercy for he will first bring to abase themselves and to put a high value upon his favours. [2.] They must never return to folly again; that is the condition upon which God will speak peace to his people and to his saints (Ps 85:8), and no other. "Thou shalt not play the harlot, shalt not worship idols in the land of thy captivity, while thou art there set apart for the uncleanness." Note, It is not enough to take shame to ourselves for the sins we have committed, and to justify God in correcting us for them, but we must resolve, in the strength of God's grace, that we will not offend any more, that we will not again go a whoring from God, after the world and the flesh. Blessed be God, though it is the law of the covenant, it is not the condition of it that we shall never in any thing do amiss: "But thou shalt not play the harlot; thou shalt not serve other gods, shalt not be for another man." In the land of their captivity they would be courted to worship the idols of the country; that would be a trial for them, a long trial, many days: "But if thou keep thy ground, and hold fast thy integrity, if, when all this comes upon thee, thou dost not stretch out thy hand to a strange god, thou wilt be qualified for the returns of God's favour." Note, It is a certain sign that our afflictions are means of much good to us, and earnests of more, when we are kept by the grace of God from being overcome by the temptations of an afflicted state. [3.] Upon these terms their Maker will again be their husband: So will I also be for thee. This is the covenant between God and returning sinners, that, if they will be for him to serve him, he will be for them to save them. Let them renounce and abjure all rivals with God for the throne in the heart, and devote themselves entirely to him and him only, and he will be to them a God all-sufficient. If we be faithful and constant to God in a way of duty, and will never leave nor forsake him, he will be so to us in a way of mercy, and will never leave nor forsake us. And a fairer proposal could not be made.
II. In the Ho 3:4,5 we have the interpretation of the parable and the application of it to Israel.
1. They must long sit like a widow, stripped of all their joys and honours, La 4:1,2. They shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince; and a nation in this condition may well be called a widow. They want the blessing, (1.) Of civil government: They shall abide without a king, and without a prince, of their own. There were kings and princes over them to oppress them and rule them with rigour, but they had no king nor prince to protect them, to fight their battles for them, to administer justice to them, and to take care of their common safety and welfare. Note, Magistracy is a very great blessing to a people, and it is a sad and sore judgment to want it. (2.) Of public worship: They shall abide without a sacrifice, and without an image (or a statue, or pillar; the word is used concerning the pillars Jacob erected, Ge 28:18,31:45,35:20), and without an ephod and teraphim. The teraphim being here closely joined to the ephod, some thing the urim and thummim were meant by it in the breast-plate of the high priest. The meaning is that in their captivity they should not only have no face of a nation upon them, but no face of a church; they should not have (as a learned expositor speaks) liberty of any public profession or exercise of religion, either true or false, according to their choice. They shall have no sacrifice or altar (so the LXX.), and therefore no sacrifice because no altar. They shall have no ephod, nor teraphim, no legal priesthood, no means of knowing God's mind, no oracle to consult in doubtful cases, but shall be all in the dark. Note, The case of those is very melancholy that are deprived of all opportunities to worship God in public. This was the case of the Jews in their captivity; and it is so far the case of the scattered Jews at this day that, though they have their synagogues, they have no temple-service. Desolate indeed is their condition that are shut out from communion with God, that have no opportunity of directing their addresses to God by sacrifice and altar, and of receiving instruction from him by ephod and teraphim.
2. They shall at length be received again as a wife (Ho 3:5): Afterwards, in process of time, when they have gone through this discipline, they shall return, that is, they shall repent of their idolatries and forsake them, they shall apply themselves to God and adhere to him, and herein they shall be accepted of him. Two things are here promised as instances of their return, and steps towards their acceptance with God in their return:—(1.) The enquiries they shall make after God: They shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king. Note, Those that would find God, and find favour with him, must seek him, must ask after him, covet acquaintance with him, desire to be reconciled to him, set their love on him, and labour in this that they may be accepted of him. Their seeking him implies that they had lost him, that they were lamenting their loss, and that they were solicitous to retrieve what they had lost. They shall seek him as their God; for should not a people seek unto their God? And they shall seek David their King, who can be no other than the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the root and offspring of David, whom David himself called Lord (Ps 110:1), and to whom God gave the throne of his father David, Lu 1:32. The Chaldee reads it, They shall seek the service of the Lord their God, and shall obey Messiah, the Son of David their king. Compare this with Jer 30:9, Eze 34:23,37:25. Note, Those that would seek the Lord so as to find him must apply to Jesus Christ, and must seek to him as their King, and become his willing people, and take an oath of fealty and allegiance to him. (2.) The reverence they shall have of God: They shall fear the Lord and his goodness. Some by his goodness here understand the temple, towards which they shall look, in worshipping God. The Jews say, There were three things which Israel cast off in the days of Rehoboam—the kingdom of heaven, the family of David, and the house of the sanctuary; and it will never be well with them till they return, and seek them all three, which is here promised. They shall seek the kingdom of heaven in the Lord their God, the royal family in David their King, and the temple in the goodness of the Lord. Others by his goodness understand Christ, the same with David their King. But it is rather to be taken for that attribute of God which he showed as his glory, and by which he proclaimed his name. Note, It is not only the Lord and his greatness that we are to fear, but the Lord and his goodness, not only his majesty, but his mercy. They shall flee for fear to the Lord and his goodness (so some take it), shall flee to it as their city of refuge. We must fear God's goodness, that is, we must admire it, and stand amazed at it, must adore it, and worship as Moses did at the proclaiming of this name, Ex 34:6. We must be afraid of offending his goodness, of making any ungrateful returns for it, and so forfeiting it. There is forgiveness with God, that he may be feared, Ps 130:4. We must rejoice with trembling in the goodness of God, must not be high-minded, but fear. Now this promise had its accomplishment when by the gospel of Christ great multitudes both of Jews and Gentiles were brought home to God, and incorporated in the New-Testament church, served God in Christ, with a filial fear of divine grace, and were accepted of God as his Israel. And some think it is to be yet further accomplished in the conversion of those Jews to the faith of Christ who shall remain in unbelief, when they shall seek their Messiah as David their King, and by him all Israel shall be saved, when the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in. Time was when they sought him to put him to death, saying, We have no king but Cæsar; but the day is coming when they shall seek him to appoint him their head, and to lay their necks under his yoke. He that has here promised that they shall do it will enable them to do it, and bring about this great work in his own way and time, in the latter days of the last times, the times of the Messiah: but, alas! who shall live when God does this? How far we are to expect a general conversion of that nation I cannot say; but I am sure we ought to pray that the Jews may be converted.
神仍藉先知向這漫不經心的百姓諄諄教誨同樣的事，方式也與從前大致相同——藉著一個表樣或記號，就是丈夫如何對待淫亂之妻。在本章中，我們看到：一、以色列百姓如今所有的敗壞品格；他們正如論到雅典人所說的（徒十七16），「全然沉溺於偶像」（何三1）。二、他們將因被擄以及神與他們爭辯的其他作為，而被降為卑下的光景（何三2-4）。三、在末後的日子終必在他們身上成就的蒙福復興（何三5）。