Hosea 8:1

Set the trumpet. As a faithful watchman (see Eze. 33:1-3; Amos 3:6), Hosea here proclaims in urgent tones that judgment will quickly descend upon the people of God. The trumpet is to sound the alarm of the coming invasion. Come as an eagle. This refers to the king of Assyria, Shalmaneser V, who was soon to invade Syria and Palestine (2 Kings 18:9), coming down from the north with the rapid, dread swoop of an eagle upon its prey (see Deut. 28:49). Against the house. This does not refer to a temple in the northern kingdom, for such a temple, because of its idolatry, could not properly be termed the “house of the Lord.” Nor does it refer to the Temple at Jerusalem, since this prophecy pertains to the northern kingdom of Israel. Hence it probably alludes to the people of Israel, on account of their covenant relation with the Lord (see on Num. 12:7). There remains, however, the possibility that “house of the Lord” is used here as equivalent to “house of God,” or Bethel, which was one of the centers of calf worship in Israel (see on 1 Kings 12:29).