Threshing and Plowing

[Hosea 10:11] “Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck; I will make Ephraim pull the plow [or be ridden]. Judah shall plow; Jacob shall break the fallow ground.”

“Threshing” was the ancient method of separating grain from husks. Farmers would spread harvested grain on the threshing floor, allowing livestock to trample the grain with their hooves or drag a heavy roller over it. Then, they would use a winnowing fork to toss the trampled grain into the air, allowing the wind to blow away the chaff, leaving only the clean grain.

“Plowing” involves using an ox to pull a plow, turning deeper soil layers to the surface. This loosens the soil, covers weeds and previous crops, accelerates the decomposition of organic matter into humus, and can also reduce natural enemies of crops.

In the past, Ephraim was like a trained heifer that loved to thresh, so God only allowed it the easy work of threshing and frolicking (Jeremiah 50:11), able to eat as it threshed. But now, Israel has become stubborn, like a rebellious heifer. Therefore, God would place a yoke on its fair neck, forcing it to laboriously plow and break up the ground, with no more grain to eat.

The political stability and economic prosperity of the Northern Kingdom did not bring the people closer to God; instead, it made them more proud and rebellious. Consequently, the yoke of Assyria would soon be placed on the neck of the Northern Kingdom, disciplining them on God’s behalf.