Hosea 9:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The pagan peoples, being afflicted by profound foolishness—having indeed gone astray—practiced a custom that began with the cultivation of land, involving sacrifices to demons in hopes of enhancing the harvests. Similarly, at harvest time, they gathered grapes into troughs, offered libations, performed sacrifices to minor gods, and engaged in songs of praise and joyous festivities. For such acts, God rebuked the nation of Israel, proclaiming they should not celebrate as other nations do. Why? The ignorant, who do not grasp the true essence of God, may possess some unproven excuse due to weakness or lack of understanding; but Israel, having strayed into apostasy while being directed by the law and knowing the Lord of all, bears a heavier guilt. It is fitting to conclude that this leads to greater culpability, subjecting them to profound reproach for their impiety, as they understood ‘the will of his lord’ but failed to act upon it, thus being deserving of greater punishment—contrarily, he who is ignorant and acts in error shall face lesser judgment, as stated by the Savior (Luke 12:47-48). Consequently, He admonishes, "Rejoice not as the nations do; those who are born of the flesh stray, but you, governed by the law, have wandered from God." How did they stray? They declared, “I have loved gifts,” not the gifts from God, but those from false gods, which yield nothing to those who seek them. From whom did they request these gifts? From every threshing floor of grain, as it was assumed of them—impious and reckless—to seek the fertility of fields from inconsequential idols. Thus, Israel entreats gifts from false deities. Were their prayers heeded? Certainly not: “the threshing floor and the cleaver shall not know them, and the wine shall lie unto them.” It is well recognized that there were famines and droughts in Samaria. Therefore, they were misled in their expectations and did not receive what they desired. Furthermore, they turned from the sacred land and sought refuge in Egypt, which they viewed as fortified, engaging even more with numerous gods, since Egypt was filled with deities, and its followers possessed an illusion of great power as if they could achieve everything through magic. This led them to forsake the land chosen by God, replacing it with a land of idols. Yet despite this, they still offered to the Assyrians: as they gathered grape berries into wine presses, they made offerings to demons instead of to the Lord who provided them. They also presented bread loaves as the first fruits of the harvest. However, these will result in impurity and defilement, for their offerings will be likened to “bread of mourning,” that is, loathsome, filthy, and abhorrent. Why is this so? According to the law, anyone who approached a corpse—be it by kinship or mere contact—was considered unclean. Relatives or friends of the deceased would inevitably render themselves impure while attending to funerary customs, causing whatever they touched to become defiled. Thus, the “bread of mourning” was partaken by those grieving for the dead, and it seemed dreadful to those who desired to avoid contamination. Even the loaves offered as the first fruits of the harvest were unclean and detestable; “those who partake shall be defiled,” yet they shall be deemed worthy only for their souls, unable to enter into the house of the Lord. It must be acknowledged that the law commanded the offering of the first fruits—sheaves and loaves (Lev. 23ff.). However, Israel diverted actions intended for God's glory toward idol statues, though the Lord clearly declared: “I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images” (Isaiah 42:8). Thus, we should petition God for our daily needs and honor Him as the provider and organizer of all our physical and spiritual well-being, for there is none other who “rains” as it is written (Jeremiah 14:22), and by His grace, all things flourish in their season, filling us with the utmost blessing—nourishing us with spiritual bread and the heavenly wine that gladdens the heart of man (Psalm 103:15). By embracing this truth, we will reside in the holy land, dwell with God, and refrain from consuming “unclean things in Assyria” (Hos. 9:3), for the rulers of this world, the evil spirits in the heavens, nourish their followers with unclean provisions (Eph. 6:12).

When those who have turned away from the Lord reach the pinnacle of their sins and lose faith in their salvation, they come to devalue all that is true. Thus, Israel, having abandoned God's law and worshipped idols, claims to be one with the surrounding nations, rejoicing in the knowledge that they have distanced themselves from the Lord, mingling with others. For this, they are admonished, being told not to celebrate or compare themselves with the nations around them. For those who are ignorant of God and stray from His path face consequences. As it is written, the servant who knows his master's will, yet fails to act accordingly, will be severely punished (Luke 12:47).

You believed that the bountiful harvests would be a reward for your unfaithfulness and that you would enjoy all manner of plenty; however, the harvest will yield neither wheat nor wine, and expectations of joy will prove futile. The account in 1 Kings 16 illustrates a great famine during the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, where mothers were driven to feed upon their own children. In that time, the harvest and sources of nourishment failed, and their hope of wine deceived them, leaving them in want.

This same warning is extended to those who err, admonishing them not to celebrate or see themselves as like other nations. These, who do not believe in the Lord, are those who worship idols under the guise of faith, engaging in infidelity by distancing themselves from God. They have filled themselves with countless harvests yet consume bread made from sorrow and drink the wine of the wicked, tainted with bitterness. Because they have amassed for themselves numerous hollow gains, they will not partake of the true harvest that the Lord Jesus has trampled down, but everything they seek will ultimately be corrupted through deceit.