Hosea Five
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
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Hosea 5:1 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
Hosea 5:2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.
the revolters. The leaders of Israel, both secular and religious, had led the people into compromise and then into regular participation in pagan idolatry, rebelling against God and His word. The parallel with the modern situation in so-called Christendom is very real.
Hosea 5:3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
Hosea 5:4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.
Hosea 5:5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
Hosea 5:6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
Hosea 5:7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
Hosea 5:8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.
Hosea 5:9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
Hosea 5:10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
remove the bound. To remove landmarks was a means of stealing land. The leaders of Judah were causing the distinction between Israel and Judah to be removed, so that Judah—like Israel before her—was going away from God.
Hosea 5:11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
Hosea 5:12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
Hosea 5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
Hosea 5:14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
Hosea 5:15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
acknowledge their offence. Because of the sin of both Israel and Judah, God will “go away” (Hosea 5:14). When Israel finally acknowledges her great offense in rejecting Messiah, then He will return and establish His kingdom in Jerusalem (note Psalm 110:1-3; Matthew 23:39; Zechariah 12:10-13:1; etc.).
