O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah.
Sin and punishment
“The days of Gibeah” recall the hideous story of lust and crime, which was the low-water mark of the lawless days of old. That crime had been avenged by merciless war. But its taint had lived on, and the Israel of Hosea’s day “stood,” obstinately persistent, just where the Benjamites had been then, and set themselves in dogged resistance, “as these had done,” that the battle against the children of unrighteousness might not touch them. Stiff-necked setting one’s self against God’s merciful fighting of evil lasts for a little while, but verse 10 tells how soon and easily it is annihilated. God’s “desire” brushes away all defences, and the obstinate sinners are like children, who are whipped when their father wills, struggle how they may. The instruments of chastisement are foreign armies, and the chastisement itself is described with a striking figure as “binding them to their two transgressions”; that is, the double sin which is the keynote of the chapter. Punishment is yoking men to their sins, and making them drag the burden like bullocks in harness. What sort of load are we getting together for ourselves? When we have to drag the consequences of our doings behind us, how shall we feel? (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
It is in My desire that I should chastise them.
Divine chastisement
This is a graphic expression; the whole meaning of it does not appear in the English tongue. God does not willingly afflict the children of men: it is not the delight of Almightiness to crush. It is the vanity of considerable strength to tyrannise, but in proportion as strength becomes complete it pities, it spares the helpless, for it knows that by one uplifting of its arm and the down-bringing of the same it could crush every opponent. Imperfect strength is a despot; Almightiness is mercy. But now there is a stirring of the Divine emotions. God says, It will be better for these people to be afflicted; they have left themselves nothing now but depletion, and they must be brought to the very point of extermination. .. The Lord is very pitiful and kind, and His eyes are full of tears, and judgment is His strange work: but there have been times in the history of providence which could only be consistently and rationally construed by granting that even the Divine Father must be stirred to the desire to chastise and humble wicked men. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)