Hosea 7

8. mixed . . . among the people--by leagues with idolaters, and the adoption of their idolatrous practices ( Hosea 7:9 Hosea 7:11 , Psalms 106:35 ).
Ephraim . . . cake not turned--a cake burnt on one side and unbaked on the other, and so uneatable; an image of the worthlessness of Ephraim. The Easterners bake their bread on the ground, covering it with embers ( 1 Kings 19:6 ), and turning it every ten minutes, to bake it thoroughly without burning it.

9. Strangers--foreigners: the Syrians and Assyrians ( 2 Kings 13:7 , 2 Kings 15:19 2 Kings 15:20 , 17:3-6 ).
gray hairs--that is, symptoms of approaching national dissolution.
are here and there upon--literally, "are sprinkled on" him.
yet he knoweth not--Though old age ought to bring with it wisdom, he neither knows of his senile decay, nor has the true knowledge which leads to reformation.

10. Repetition of Hosea 5:5 .
not return to . . . Lord . . . for all this--notwithstanding all their calamities ( Isaiah 9:13 ).

11. like a silly dove--a bird proverbial for simplicity: easily deceived.
without heart--that is, understanding.
call to Egypt--Israel lying between the two great rival empires Egypt and Assyria, sought each by turns to help her against the other. As this prophecy was written in the reign of Hoshea, the allusion is probably to the alliance with So or Sabacho II (of which a record has been found on the clay cylindrical seals in Koyunjik), which ended in the overthrow of Hoshea and the deportation of Israel ( 2 Kings 17:3-6 ). As the dove betrays its foolishness by fleeing in alarm from its nest only to fall into the net of the fowler, so Israel, though warned that foreign alliances would be their ruin, rushed into them.

12. When they shall go--to seek aid from this or that foreign state.
spread my net upon them--as on birds taken on the ground ( Ezekiel 12:13 ), as contrasted with "bringing them down" as the "fowls of the heavens," namely, by the use of missiles.
as their congregation hath heard--namely, by My prophets through whom I threatened "chastisement" ( Hosea 5:9 , 2 Kings 17:13-18 ).

13. fled--as birds from their nest ( Proverbs 27:8 , Isaiah 16:2 ).
me--who both could and would have healed them ( Hosea 7:1 ), had they applied to Me.
redeemed them--from Egypt and their other enemies ( Micah 6:4 ).
lies--( Psalms 78:36 , Jeremiah 3:10 ). Pretending to be My worshippers, when they all the while worshipped idols ( Hosea 7:14 , Hosea 12:1 ); also defrauding Me of the glory of their deliverance, and ascribing it and their other blessings to idols [CALVIN].

14. not cried unto me--but unto other gods [MAURER], ( Job 35:9 Job 35:10 ). Or, they did indeed cry unto Me, but not "with their heart": answering to "lies," Hosea 7:13
when they howled upon their beds--sleepless with anxiety; image of deep affliction. Their cry is termed "howling," as it is the cry of anguish, not the cry of repentance and faith.
assemble . . . for corn, &c.--namely in the temples of their idols, to obtain from them a good harvest and vintage, instead of coming to Me, the true Giver of these ( Hosea 2:5 Hosea 2:8 Hosea 2:12 ), proving that their cry to God was "not with their heart."
rebel against me--literally, "withdraw themselves against Me," that is, not only withdraw from Me, but also rebel against Me.

15. I . . . bound--when I saw their arms as it were relaxed with various disasters, I bound them so as to strengthen their sinews; image from surgery [CALVIN]. MAURER translates, "I instructed them" to war ( Psalms 18:34 , 144:1 ), namely, under Jeroboam II ( 2 Kings 14:25 ). GROTIUS explains, "Whether I chastised them (Margin) or strengthened their arms, they imagined mischief against Me." English Version is best.

16. return, but not to the Most High--or, "to one who is not the Most High," one very different from Him, a stock or a stone. So the Septuagint.
deceitful bow--( Psalms 78:57 ). A bow which, from its faulty construction, shoots wide of the mark. So Israel pretends to seek God, but turns aside to idols.
for the rage of their tongue--their boast of safety from Egyptian aid, and their "lies" ( Hosea 7:13 ), whereby they pretended to serve God, while worshipping idols; also their perverse defense for their idolatries and blasphemies against God and His prophets ( Psalms 73:9 , Psalms 120:2 Psalms 120:3 ).
their derision in . . . Egypt--Their "fall" shall be the subject of "derision" to Egypt, to whom they had applied for help ( Hosea 9:3 Hosea 9:6 , 2 Kings 17:4 ).