eed be ours, if we stood in the right relation to
Him,--nothing that is not His, and that will not be taken away from
us, if we desire the gift without the Giver. _Calvin_ remarks: "The
prophet shows where and when the happiness of men begins, viz., when
God adopts them, when He betrothes Himself to them, after having put
away their sins.... He teaches, also, in these words, that the heavens
do not become dry by some secret instinct; but it is when God withholds
His grace, that there is no rain by which the heavens water the earth."
God, then, here shows [Pg 273] plainly that the whole _order of nature_
(as men are wont to say) is so entirely in His hand, that not one drop
of rain shall fall from heaven unless by His will,--that the whole
earth would produce no grass,--that, in short, all nature would be
sterile, unless He made it fruitful by His blessing.

Ver. 25. "_And I sow her unto Me in the land, and I have mercy upon her
'who had not obtained mercy'_ (Lo-Ruhamah); _and I say to 'not My
people'_ (Lo-Ammi), _Thou art My people, and they say to Me, My God._"

The three symbolical names of the children of the prophet here once
more return. The _femin. suffix_ in [Hebrew: zretih], referring to
[Hebrew: izreal], need not at all surprise us; for, in the whole
passage before us, the sign disappears in the thing signified. In point
of fact, however, _Jezreel_ is equivalent to Israel to be sowed anew.
(It is not the Israel to be _planted_ anew, which is a figure
altogether different; the sowing has always a reference to the
increase.)

Footnote 1: In our authorized version [Hebrew: mwpT] is almost
constantly rendered by "_judgment_," although evidently in the sense
pointed out by the author,--for which reason, this rendering has been
retained here.--Tr.

CHAPTER III.

"The significant couple returns for a new reference" (_Rueckert_).
First, in vers. 1-3, the symbolical action is reported. At the command
of the Lord, the prophet takes a wife, who, notwithstanding his
affectionate and faithful love, lives in continued adultery. He does
not entirely reject her; but, in order that she may come to recovery
and repentance, he puts her into a position where she must abstain from
her lovers. The interpretation of the symbol is given in ver. 4:
Israel, forsaken by the world, shall spend a long time in sad
seclusion. A glance into the more distant future, without any
symbolical imagery, form