THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
His blood shall be upon him, and the Lord will respond to his disgrace. Here, he strives diligently to demonstrate that choosing to remain under the influence of human governance was lamentable, perilous, and destructive to the Israelites. “Look,” says Ephraim, specifically referring to Jeroboam from the tribe of Ephraim, “he has provoked Me, the Sovereign of all, and incited My wrath through the creation of calves and assigning to them the honor due to Me. Thus, he has incurred guilt for his own downfall; his blood shall be upon him.” When he established the calves at Bethel and Dan, he called out to the Israelites, asserting, “It is permissible for you to ascend to Jerusalem: consider your forefathers who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (3 Sam. 12:28).
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For this, it is just that he faces punishment for his “reproach,” as it is a grave offense to credit lifeless idols with the extraordinary acts of God. Therefore, by the reproach of Ephraim himself, namely, in accordance with his blasphemous and irreverent words, the consequences will be measured. Just as God’s glory can be diminished through actions or words, Ephraim will find himself stripped of his authority, for in due time, the kingdom of Ephraim will come to an end. As mentioned previously, upon returning from Babylon, no one ruled over the ten tribes in Samaria, while in Jerusalem, all were subject to one of the descendants of Judah who had once held dominion.