CRITICAL NOTES.—
Hosea 2:10. Discover her lewdness] Lit. uncover her shame. Sin decked out in gaudy colours, and covered with showy masks, shall be stripped and exposed to public shame. None can avert the threatened punishment.
HOMILETICS
THE EXPOSURE OF FOLLY.—Hosea 2:10
Warning follows warning, but amid judgment and corruption Israel forgets God and gives up herself to mirth and idolatry. Pleasures allure men astray. But sin and mirth will be separated, and those who refuse Divine mercy will feel Divine justice.
Notice:—
I. Folly decked in gaudy colours. “Lewdness” means folly; for sin is real folly, as holiness is essential wisdom. Foolishness is the natural tendency, the mighty propensity to evil; bound up in the heart, incorporated in the thoughts, and manifest in the life of the sinner. But the folly of sin is often veiled in darkness, decked in ornament and trickery, to attract and deceive. It dazzles by its glitter and ensnares by its mask. The outside is attractive, but the inside is deceptive. There is no substance, no enjoyment in sin; all is shadow and emptiness. Men think themselves wise in their folly, and are praised for their worldly policy (Psalms 49:18). They call themselves happy, when applauded by others and blessed with temporal prosperity. But fame and success, wealth and worldly possessions, are impotent in the tomb. The dying worldling “shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.” The pleasures of sin and the pride of life are only rainbow colours to the bubble, giving it tint, but no substance and reality. There is no utility, no rest, no gain in sin. It is not a casual step from the path of wisdom, but the regular and usual course of folly. Essential folly, folly in the grain, folly in its nature, folly in its dress, and folly in its end. “Nought but itself could be its parallel.” It has the fascination and the fangs of a serpent. “It biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” It deceives and destroys. In whatever guise folly presents itself, gross and repellent, subtle and seductive, it must be shunned. “Abstain from all appearance of evil,” or as some, “from everything that not only is evil, but that looks like evil.”
II. Folly exposed to public shame. “Now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers.” Darkness and secresy are no hiding-place to God. His eyes penetrate every place, and his hand can reach every person. Secret sins shall be discovered and their perpetrators exposed. The mask shall be torn away, and sin in its nature and consequences shall appear offensive, lewd, “exceeding sinful.” Men may deny the fact and excuse the fault of sin; may cover crime with lies, and self-righteousness with professional virtues; but a God of truth will bring “to light the hidden things of darkness.” Virtues are hidden and oppressed; wickedness rules; and every day cries out for redress and retribution. Evil-doers shun the light and love darkness. They never will, never did, appreciate the light of holiness and rectitude. It reveals their folly and kindles remorse in their bosom. As foul birds of night, they hide themselves from its beams. The wicked cover their sins from themselves and others. They banish serious thoughts from their minds, stifle convictions, and put on a cheerful appearance. But “he that covereth his sins shall not prosper.” An offended God, who summoned Adam from his hiding-place, will call and condemn the sinner. In public, “in the sight of her lovers,” before men on earth and angels in eternity, they will be put to shame and confusion of face. The darkest deeds are “set in the light of God’s countenance,” and will “be proclaimed upon the house-tops.” “There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.”
III. Folly bereft of every defence. “None shall deliver her out of mine hand.” When God begins to work, who shall let or hinder him? Men say, “It was an oversight,” “I could not help it,” therefore forget it. They plead ignorance, custom, temptation, infirmity, necessity, and fatalism even, to excuse or palliate their guilt. This will never succeed. It was hopeless for Israel to trust to their idols and alliances. The strongest army, the most popular idol, are nothing before God. “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity.” The allurements of vice will deceive. Reliance on temporal prosperity, outward formality, and religious ceremony will be in vain. It is only faith in Christ, not confidence in men, that can deliver us. The wicked “strengtheneth himself in his wickedness” (Psalms 52:7); but he can neither outwit nor overcome his Judge. Given to wickedness, the sinner and the false professor shall find that “none shall deliver.” “The wicked is driven away in his wickedness” (Proverbs 14:32); “neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it” (Ecclesiastes 8:8).
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Hosea 2:10-11. Mirth. Mirth is a vain and unprofitable passion, not fit for a wise man’s entertainment [Bp. Hall].
Often when in the full enjoyment of all that this world could bestow, my conscience told me, that in the true sense of the word I was not a Christian. I laughed. I sang. I was apparently gay and happy. But the thought would steal across me,—what madness is all this! to continue easy in a state, in which a sudden call out of the world would consign me to everlasting misery, and that when eternal happiness is within my grasp [Wilberforce]. Mirth at a funeral is scarce more indecent or unnatural than a perpetual flight of gaiety and burst of exultation in a world like this; a world which may seem a paradise to fools, but is an hospital with the wise [Dr Young].
Forgetfulness of God, Hosea 2:13. Such is the character of all engrossing passion, such is the source of sin to which the soul gives way, in avarice, ambition, worldliness, sensual sin, godless science. The soul at last does not rebel against God; it forgets him. It is taken up with other things, with itself, with the subjects of its thoughts, the objects of its affections, and it has no time for God, because it has no love for him [Pusey].
The gradations of sin.
1. Neglecting God. Neglect of his word, house, and service.
2. Forgetting God. Forgetting his love, goodness, and claims.
3. Departing from God. Departing into danger, error, and punishment.
Forgetfulness of God—a sign of carelessness—a mark of ingratitude and contempt—springs from unbelief and disobedience to God’s command (Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 8:14).
Idolatry in the Church—the top-stone, the height of all crime—hated by God, and pursued by the sinner. Professed believers are too slow after God, but sinners hasten after their lovers. Let their zeal rebuke our tardiness; their punishment turn our steps to God and duty
The two masters.
1. Jehovah forgotten, Baal loved and worshipped.
2. The sacred days of Jehovah turned into festive days of Baal.
3. The gifts of Jehovah devoted to the service and support of Baal. “No man can serve two masters,” &c. Which are you serving? “Choose you this day,” &c.