Hosea 9:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Similarly, when the harvest came, they gathered grapes and offered libations, honoring false deities as they celebrated with songs and thanksgiving. For these acts, God rebukes Israel, declaring that they should not rejoice like the other nations. The reason is that those who are profoundly ignorant of God's true nature may have some excuse, but Israel, having strayed into apostasy while knowing God's law, bears a heavier responsibility and faces greater reproach. Knowing the will of the Lord, neglecting it, warrants harsher judgment, as stated in the words of the Savior: "And that servant, who knew his lord's will, and did not prepare himself... shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke 12:47). Thus, He says, "Rejoice not as the nations do; those who are born in sin go astray, but you, guided by the law, have turned away from God."

What characterized their unfaithfulness? "I have loved gifts," he says—not gifts from God, but from calves and Baal, which offer nothing to those who seek. What did he seek from them? "From every wheat threshing floor," believing, in their impiety, they could request the fertility of fields from insignificant idols. Thus, Israel sought favor from idols. Were their prayers answered? Not at all; "the threshing floor and the millstone shall not know them, and the wine shall deceive them." It is beyond doubt that Samaria suffered through plagues, failures of crops, and extended droughts. So they were deceived in their hopes, receiving no fulfillment. Furthermore, they turned from the holy land, seeking refuge in Egypt, a fortified land, and began to serve a multitude of gods, for Egypt was filled with deities, their worshippers possessing an astonishing belief in their power as if magic could achieve anything. They rejected the land chosen by God, replacing it with a land of idols.

Yet they would still go to the Assyrians. "To the Lord": having gathered grapes into the presses, they made offerings to the demons instead of to the Lord who bestowed the harvest upon them. They also presented loaves made from the first fruits of the harvest. However, these offerings would lead them to corruption and defilement; their sacrifices would be likened to "bread of sorrow," which is abhorrent and vile. The law deemed anyone who approached a corpse as unclean, whether by blood relation or mere contact; hence, relatives and friends of the deceased would, through their funeral rites, render themselves unclean by attending to the dead—everything they touched becoming contaminated. Thus, "the bread of sorrow" signified the bread consumed by mourners, which was distressing for those striving to avoid defilement from the dead. Even the offerings made from the harvest were seen as unclean and disgusting, "and those who partake shall be defiled"; they would not be worthy of sustaining their souls, for "they shall not enter into the house of the Lord." It is noteworthy that the law commanded the offering of the first fruits of the harvest—sheaves and loaves (Lev 23 ff). Yet Israel transferred the worship due to God to idols, despite God’s clear declaration: "I will not give my glory to another" (Isaiah 42:8). Therefore, we must seek God for our needs and honor Him as the giver and sustainer of all our physical and spiritual blessings, for there is no other "who causes it to rain" (Jeremiah 14:22). By His grace, all grows in the fields according to the seasons, and we are filled with the highest blessings, partaking of spiritual bread and receiving the heavenly wine that gladdens the heart of man (Psalm 103:15). Having understood this truth, we will dwell in the holy land, uphold our relationship with God, and not partake of "unclean things in Assyria" (Hosea 9:3), for the rulers of this age, the malevolent spirits, feed their followers with corruptible offerings (Ephesians 6:12).

Therefore, they are admonished, 'Do not rejoice or be cheerful, and do not see yourselves as one with the nations.' Otherwise, those who are ignorant of God and stray from His path will face punishment, as the servant who understands his master's will yet disobeys will receive harsh discipline (Luke 12:47). You believed that the abundance from the many threshing floors would reward your unfaithfulness, thinking you would have everything in excess; however, the threshing floor will not yield wheat or wine, ultimately deceiving you and denying the pleasures you hoped for.

The Scriptures recount (1 Kings 16) how, during the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, and the prophet Elijah, a severe famine struck Samaria, leading mothers to feed on their own children. In those dire times, the threshing floor and the refuse did not provide for them, and their hopes for wine misled them amidst starvation. Similarly, to the heretics it is declared that they should not rejoice, nor celebrate, nor think of themselves as being like other nations; for while those nations do not believe in God, these individuals serve idols under the guise of worship, engaging in acts of unfaithfulness and creating numerous sites for unclean practices. They consume bread made from sorrowful wheat and drink the wine of Sodom, pressed with the bitterness of asps. Because they have built for themselves many unholy sites, they shall not partake of the true and perfect sustenance which the Lord Jesus has trampled down; rather, all that they incorrectly claim as their own shall be corrupted by their deceit.