For they are gone up [to] Assyria [as] a wild ass alone by himself Ephraim hath hired lovers.
Hosea speaks to the ten tribes of Israel, often called Ephraim after their leading tribe, in the years before Assyria carried them away. Instead of turning to God for help, the nation went shopping for a protector — and paid for the privilege.
The prophet had already pictured Israel fluttering between Egypt and Assyria for help. Here that flight becomes one reason for the captivity itself:
In Hosea 7:11 it is written, "Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria." The ten tribes are before the prophet, and he tells of their coming captivity: "Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria" (Hosea 9:3). It is similar in Hosea 8:9: "For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone." Only here it seems to be one of the reasons for the captivity. Israel relied on Assyria instead of the LORD, so the LORD let the nation he had relied on take him captive.
Throughout Scripture this animal stands for one thing:
In the Word of God the donkey is not only unclean; it is also the very word for self-will. Read the LORD's account of him when He questions His servant in Job 39:5-8. And what is sin? The Revised Version of 1 John 3:4 defines it correctly: "sin is lawlessness." In other words, sin is doing our own will and ignoring the will of God. Who can claim to be exempt here? Who among us does not love to have his own way, whatever it costs?
That is the force of "alone" in the verse: Israel went off by itself, set on its own will.
The second half of the verse turns the image. A wild animal owes nobody anything; but Ephraim went and bought affection from the nations:
Israel had been swallowed up by the nations, that is, by mingling with them. By their doings they have become like a despised vessel. Their sin was going up to Assyria, begging there for love and favour like a wild donkey. They were like a stubborn brute going there by itself. Ephraim was even worse than the stubborn brute. They formed unnatural alliances with the Gentiles. There they gave presents, hiring lovers — literally, "Ephraim gave presents of love."
This was not just a figure of speech. Israel's kings bought Assyrian goodwill with presents, one after another:
King Hoshea's conduct toward God was less openly godless than that of the kings before him. But he took no account of the judgments of God, by which all the prophets had foretold that Israel would come under Assyria. Year after year Hoshea had been sending presents to the king of Assyria (v. 3). He followed the example of one of his predecessors, Menahem. Menahem used presents to declare himself a vassal of Pul, so that Pul might establish the kingdom in his hands (2 Kings 15:19-20).
Behind the politics is a personal insult. The nation had a Deliverer and went elsewhere:
The prophet in spirit sees the people already captives among the Gentiles, yet not wiped out. They never blend in as others do. They were despised as none ever were, yet they survive all cruelty and shame to this day. "Ephraim has hired lovers. Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up." This was one great offence with God, whom they forsook and forgot. Otherwise He would have come to their rescue, as He did for Judah. They sought the shelter of Assyria, and there they would be carried in shame.
Commenting on Israel's other habit of running to Egypt for help, Kelly turns the warning on us:
There is a serious lesson for us here whenever any trial presses on the testimony of God. The pull is enormous to meet a worldly trial in a worldly way. You cannot meet the world's efforts against you by spiritual means — that is what one is apt to think. So there is the danger of turning to earthly means as a way of escape. ... God will never put His seal on self-dependence.
- Self-will. In Scripture the wild donkey stands for self-will. And self-will — doing our own will instead of God's — is what sin is.
- Alone. Ephraim went off by himself. He mingled with the nations, and they swallowed him up.
- Bought. Going it alone did not bring freedom. It left a nation paying presents to hire lovers, worse off than the stubborn animal in the picture.
- Refused. God would have come to their rescue, as He did for Judah. They chose the shelter of Assyria instead.
- Repaid. They relied on Assyria instead of the LORD. So He handed them over to the very power they trusted. God never puts His seal on self-dependence.
Although they hire among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall begin to be straitened under the burden of the king of princes.
Hosea 8 shows the northern kingdom, called Ephraim or Israel, paying foreign powers for protection — and God answering that He will gather them Himself. The verse holds two reversals: the allies they paid for become their captors, and the tribute they paid becomes a crushing weight on king and princes.
One writer reads the whole chapter as an open charge against Israel for breaking God's law, with judgment coming at speed.
In Hosea 8 the open reproach against Israel is above all their daring, continual breaking of the law of their God. That is what would bring judgment on them with the swiftness of an eagle. Notice here that the devastation threatening Israel reaches even to the temple of the Lord. Israel had forsaken the Lord to make altars of their own, and Judah had leaned on human strength.
The picture behind the hiring is paid love. Israel goes up to Assyria with gifts, courting the nations.
Their sin was going up to Assyria, like a wild donkey, pleading there for love and favour. They were like a stubborn animal going there by itself. Ephraim was even worse than the stubborn donkey. They formed unnatural alliances with the Gentiles. There they gave presents, hiring lovers, to practise her prostitution. The words read literally, "Ephraim gave presents of love."
This was not just a picture. Israel's kings sent gifts north year after year, and the habit began long before the end.
Year after year king Hoshea had been sending presents to the king of Assyria. He was following the example of one of his predecessors, Menahem. By means of presents Menahem had declared himself a subject of Pul's, so that Pul might establish the kingdom in his hands. Later Tiglath-pileser came up against Pekah and, as we have seen, carried the tribes beyond the Jordan away to Assyria.
God answers their hiring by gathering them Himself. One writer names the offence behind it and where it landed them.
This was one great offence with God. They forsook and forgot Him; otherwise He would surely have appeared for their deliverance as He did for Judah. They sought the shelter of Assyria, and there they would be carried in shame.
The punishment matches the sin. What they leaned on became their captor.
Israel relied on Assyria instead of the Lord, so the Lord allowed him to be a captive to the nation he had relied on.
The principle reaches past ancient treaties. God's people cannot buy a place beside the world; they end up under it.
They had failed again and again, and so ended up paying tribute to those who should have been paying tribute to them. There is no neutral place for the people of God. They must either be above the world, testifying against it for God's glory, or they must be servants to it. If Israel is not sustained by God above the nations, they are led away captive by the nations. They can never exist as equals; they must be either masters or slaves.
The burden is not the last word. The same prophecy that sends them to Assyria brings them home.
God punished His people with deep sorrow, and He would not destroy them. His judgments would bring them to "tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of Assyria." Then He would "place them in their houses" in their own land. From these Scriptures we see the place Assyria occupies in God's dealings with His people. We also see the bright prospect awaiting Israel: coming back to the land from Assyria.
- Hire. Israel bought protection with gifts. The prophet calls these "presents of love" — prostitution, not diplomacy.
- Forsake. The deeper offence was this: they forsook and forgot the God who would have delivered them.
- Gather. They went around God to find protection. God Himself now gathers them for judgment.
- Burden. The tribute meant to secure the throne becomes a weight on king and princes. What you buy safety with ends up owning you.
- Return. The judgment is not destruction. The prophecy that sends them to Assyria also brings them home.