And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees - Before, God had threatened to take away the fruits in their seasons; now He says, that he will take away all hope for the future; not the fruit only, but the trees which bare it. "The vine is a symbol of joy, the fig of sweetness" (see Judges 9:11, Judges 9:13). It was the plague, which God in former times laid upon those, out of the midst of whom He took them to be His people (Psalm 105:33; see Jeremiah 5:17). "He smote their vines also and their fig trees, and brake the trees of their coasts." Now that they had become like the pagan, He dealt with them as with the pagan.

Of which she said, these are my rewards - Literally "my hire." It is the special word, used of the payment to the adulteress, or degraded woman, and so continues the likeness, by which he had set forth the foulness of her desertion of God.

And I will make them a forest - The vines and fig-trees which had aforetime been their wealth, and full of beauty, should, when neglected, run wild, and become the harbor of the wild beasts Which should prey upon them. So to the wicked God causes, "that the things which should have been for their wealth should be an occasion of falling" Psalm 69:22. They contain in themselves the sources of their own decay.

These are my rewards - They attributed all the blessings of Providence as rewards received from the idols which they worshipped.

And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees,.... Which are mentioned for the rest, being the most fruitful and beneficial: this was done when Judea was invaded, overrun and wasted, by the Roman army; and when many were cut down, as Josephus observes, to build forts, and cast up mounts against Jerusalem; so that, he, says (l), the appearance of the earth was miserable, for what before was adorned with trees and gardens, looked now like a wilderness:

whereof she hath said, these are my rewards that my lovers have given me; alluding to the hire of harlots, given them by their gallants; these she ascribed, as she did before her bread, water, wool, flax; and oil, Hosea 2:5, not to God, the author and giver of them, but to the people her lovers, as the Targum; or to her idols, or to her beloved tenets, and doing according to them; and which is here mentioned as a reason of the divine resentment, and why he destroyed these fruitful trees:

and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them; make the vines and fig trees like forest trees, barren and unfruitful; the fruitful land of Judea should be turned into a forest, or become like a desert or wilderness, and all the fruits of it should be eaten up by wild beasts; by their enemies, compared to the beasts of the field, particularly the Romans, the fourth beast; see Isaiah 56:9.

(l) De Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 1.

The Lord will put an end to the festive rejoicing, by taking away the fruits of the land, which rejoice man's heart. Hosea 2:12. "And I lay waste her vine and her fig-tree, of which she said, They are lovers' wages to me, which my lovers gave me; and I make them a forest, and the beasts of the field devour them." Vine and fig-tree, the choicest productions of the land of Canaan, are mentioned as the representatives of the rich means of sustenance with which the Lord had blessed His people (cf. 1 Kings 5:5; Joel 2:22, etc.). The devastation of both of these denotes the withdrawal of the possessions and enjoyments of life (cf. Jeremiah 5:17; Joel 1:7, Joel 1:12), because Israel regarded them as a present from its idols. עתנה, softened down from אתנן (Hosea 9:1), like שׁריה, in Job 41:18, from שׁרין (1 Kings 22:34; cf. Ewald, 163, h), signifies the wages of prostitution (Deuteronomy 23:19). The derivation is disputed and uncertain, since the verb תּנה cannot be shown to have been used either in Hebrew or the other Semitic dialects in the sense of dedit, dona porrexit (Ges.), and the word cannot be traced to תּנן, to extend; whilst, on the other hand, the תּנה, התנה (Hosea 8:9-10) is most probably a denominative of אתנה. Consequently, Hengstenberg supposes it to be a bad word formed out of the question put by the prostitute, מה תתּן לי, and the answer given by the man, אתן לך (Genesis 38:16, Genesis 38:18), and used in the language of the brothel in connection with an evil deed. The vineyards and fig-orchards, so carefully hedged about and cultivated, are to be turned into a forest, i.e., to be deprived of their hedges and cultivation, so that the wild beasts may be able to devour them. The suffixes attached to שׂמתּים and אכלתם refer to גּפן וּתאנה (the vine and fig-tree), and not merely to the fruit. Comp. Isaiah 7:23. and Micah 3:12, where a similar figure is used to denote the complete devastation of the land.

And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

2:12 My rewards - They gave the praise of all their abundance to idols. Them - Their vine - yards and olive - yards, and the places where they planted their fig - trees, and other fruit - trees.

destroy: Heb. make desolate

12. my rewards-my hire as a harlot (Isa 23:17, 18).

lovers-idols.

destroy . vines . make . forest-(Isa 5:6; 7:23, 24). Fulfilled in the overthrow of Israel by Assyria (Ho 9:4, 5).

2:6-13 God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to think it is a sinful way that is hedged up with thorns. Crosses and obstacles in an evil course are great blessings, and are to be so accounted; they are God's hedges, to keep us from transgressing, to make the way of sin difficult, and to keep us from it. We have reason to bless God for restraining grace, and for restraining providences; and even for sore pain, sickness, or calamity, if it keeps us from sin. The disappointments we meet with in seeking for satisfaction from the creature, should, if nothing else will do it, drive us to the Creator. When men forget, or consider not that their comforts come from God, he will often in mercy take them away, to bring them to think upon their folly and danger. Sin and mirth can never hold long together; but if men will not take away sin from their mirth, God will take away mirth from their sin. And if men destroy God's word and ordinances, it is just with him to destroy their vines and fig-trees. This shall be the ruin of their mirth. Taking away the solemn seasons and the sabbaths will not do it, they will readily part with them, and think it no loss; but He will take away their sensual pleasures. Days of sinful mirth must be visited with days of mourning.