Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of
Israel
The people of the ten tribes, as distinct from Judah, ( Hosea 4:15 ) , the
prophet having finished his parables he was ordered to take up
and deliver, and his explanations of them, and concluded with a
gracious promise of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day,
enters upon a new discourse, which begins with reproof for
various sins; since what had been delivered in parables and types
had had no effect upon them, they are called upon to hear what
the Lord would say to them by the prophet, in more clear and
express terms; silence is ordered, and attention required to what
follows: for the Lord hath a controversy with the
inhabitants of the land;
the land of Israel; against him they had sinned, before him they
stood guilty; he had something, yea, many things, against them; a
charge is brought into open court, the indictment is read, an
answer must be made: God is the antagonist, that moves and brings
on the controversy in a judicial way, and who can answer him for
one of a thousand? or stand before him, or in court with him,
when he marks iniquity? the charge is as follows, because
there is no truth;
none that do or speak truth; that are true and faithful men, true
to their word, and faithful to their trust; no truth of grace in
them, nor truth of doctrine held and received by them; truth
failed from among them, and none were valiant for it; no truth or
civil faith with respect to men, nor any truth of word or worship
with respect to God: nor mercy:
to poor and indigent creatures; no compassion shown them; no
offices of humanity or acts of beneficence exercised towards
them; though these are more desirable by the Lord than, and are
preferred by him to, all ceremonial sacrifices, ( Hosea 6:6 ) , or no
piety, religion, godliness, powerful godliness, which has the
promise of this life, and that to come: nor knowledge of
God in the land;
in the land of Israel, where God was used to be known; where he
had been worshipped; were his word had been dispensed, and his
prophets had been sent, and his saints that knew him, and his
mind and will, formerly had dwelt; but now a company of atheists,
at least that lived as such, and had no true spiritual saving
knowledge of God, and communion with him; they had not true love
to him, nor a godly reverence of him, which this implies; and
that was the source of all the wickedness committed by them,
afterwards expressed. The Targum is,
``there are none that do truth, nor dispense mercy, nor walk in the fear of the Lord, in the land.''