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Hos_12:14 Ephraim provoked [him] to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
Ver. 14. Ephraim hath provoked him to anger, most bitterly] Heb. with bitterness, or unto bitter displeasure, or with bitter things, that is, sins that embitter God’s Spirit and put thunderbolts into his hands. Excusserunt ex suavissimo pectore meo suavitatem. As a bee stings not till provoked, so neither doth God punish till there be no remedy, 2Ch_36:16. If Ephraim will provoke him to anger (which he will not dare to do to his landlord), if he will put it to the trial, whether God can be angry, as those did ( åäïêéìáóáí ), Heb_3:9, he shall know the power of his wrath, Psa_90:11, he shall feel, to his sorrow, that it is an evil thing and bitter, that he hath forsaken the Lord, and that his fear is not in them, Jer_2:19. There will be bitterness in the end. Principium dulce est, sed finis amoris amarus. Amor amaror. Lust is a lie, as Amnon proved. "Her end is bitter as wormwood, though her lips drop as an honeycomb," saith Solomon of sinful pleasure, Pro_5:3. It is like Jonathan’s honey, or Esau’s pottage, or Judas’ thirty pence, which he would gladly have been rid of, but could not. Those that provoke God shall one day hear, "Do ye provoke me to anger? Are ye stronger than I?" they shall be taught to meddle with their match, and not to contend with him that is mightier than they, Ecc_6:10; they shall cry out in the bitterness of their souls, as Lam_3:15, "He hath filled me with bitternesses, he hath made me drunk with wormwood." And God shall reply, as Jer_4:18, "Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; and this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter."
Therefore shall he leave his blood upon him] God shall bring upon him deserved destruction; he shall bring him into the fire, and leave him there, Eze_22:20; the guilt of his sin shall remain upon his soul, and then punishment cannot be far off. See Eze_24:7-8; cf. Eze_18:13 Jos_2:19. Or, the enemy shall leave him all bloody.
And his reproach shall his Lord return unto him] His Lord, not the Assyrian, as some sense it, but his liege lord (whom he hath reproached, by changing his glory into the similitude of a calf, and other corruptible things), shall cry quittance with him, as Hos_12:2, cast utter contempt upon him, according to 1Sa_2:30, and make him know that he is his Lord.