Hosea 12:1

Ephraim. Here a synonym for the northern kingdom of Israel. Feedeth on wind. Instead of seeking the Lord as the source of safety, Israel resorted to foreign alliances to assist in holding up its waning power. “Wind” is used figuratively to indicate what is empty and vain, of no real or practical value. Therefore, to feed on wind is to take pleasure or draw nourishment from what can supply neither. East wind. See on Jer. 18:17. To follow after the east wind is to pursue vain hopes and plans that are impracticable. But to an even greater extent, it is the destructive power of the east wind that is alluded to, making it figuratively represent even more than something that is vain and empty. It represents that which is harmful and destructive. The east wind in Palestine, coming over large tracts of sandy waste, is parching, scorching, destructive to vegetation, oppressive to man, violent on the sea (see Ps. 48:7) and on land (see Job 27:21; Jer. 18:17). Therefore the figure of following after the east wind signifies destruction. The first part of Hosea 12:1 in the LXX reads, “But Ephraim is an evil spirit, he has chased the east wind all the day.” Increaseth lies. Some explain this as describing Israel’s false worship and its harmful effects (see Amos 2:4). Others take this passage to be a reference to Ephraim’s conduct toward his fellow men in violence and robbery (see Jer. 6:7; Amos 3:10). The fact is, the whole life of the northern kingdom was a lie. Its people had renounced the divine authority. They had revolted from the dynasty of David. They had rejected the priesthood of the sons of Aaron. They worshiped the golden calves. They abjured the Lord to do homage to Baalim and Ashtaroth. They loosened the bands of morality in their social life. They sought help in times of national distress, not from the Lord, but at one period from Assyria, at another, from Egypt (see on Hosea 11:5). However, all the while they claimed to be God’s people. They boasted of Jacob as their father, which explains why Jacob’s life is cited (ch. 12:3, 4) as a rebuke to his descendants. And desolation. It is meaningful that lies and desolation are coupled together here. Sins unrepented of and their punishment are always linked together by God. To multiply the one, therefore, is to multiply the other. Sin is the cause, of which punishment is the effect, an effect which, tragically enough, most men seem to overlook until it is too late (see Rom. 2:4-6). They do make a covenant. Among other ancients also, such as the Greeks and the Romans, the slaying of animal sacrifices ratified the binding provisions of an agreement by the parties concerned. This urge for foreign alliances is given as a positive proof of Israel’s apostasy. Israel’s payment of large gifts to Assyria, instead of holding the Assyrians off from invading their land, only stimulated the Assyrians to invade the land of Israel for further wealth (see Eccl. 5:10). The political, economic, and territorial ambitions of imperial powers such as Assyria are never satisfied. Having once begun to pay tribute to this Mesopotamian power, Israel could not stop the irresistible demand of that empire for more and more. Thus Israel’s ruin was accomplished. Oil. Usually referring to olive oil, an abundant product of Palestine (see Deut. 8:7, 8; Eze. 27:17). This oil was probably sent to Egypt as a gift to win over that country’s interest and assistance against Assyria.