HOSEA 5: PUNISHMENT COMING

 

5:1-2

Judgment on the Leaders of Israel

The Lord continued his condemnation of the priests in these verses, but expanded his judgment to include the leaders of government, the descendants of David. They were the royal family of the time, the “house of the king”. (1)  So both the religious and secular leaders are condemned.

Mizpah and Tabor are also symbols of the priests and the royals. Mizpah is where the first king of Israel was proclaimed. (1 Samuel 17) Tabor was part of the land allotted to the Levites (1 Chronicles 6:77). 

These leaders had become a trap for the people of Israel. The Lord used the image of a snare and a net. Both are types of traps set to catch animals. The leaders of Israel led the way into the worship of idols and snared the people into it. That is the specific accusation of verse 4. 

As they revolted against God, they participated in the worst rituals of the pagan gods. They went “deep into the slaughter”, which may mean they practiced child sacrifice. Psalm 106:37-38 says they sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, the idols of Canaan. 

Because the leaders revolted against God, he will discipline them. (2) This means he will impose the curses of the covenant, but may also mean he has extra punishment in store for the leaders. We saw this in chapter 4, where he said he would bring shame on the priests and forget their descendants. 

God Knows Their Sin

5:3-4

People often believe God does not notice or see their sin. But here God says he knows them and their sin is not hidden. They are so mired in their sin that they cannot return to the Lord.

God Will Withdraw From Them

5:5-7

Israel cannot recognize and repent from its sin because of its pride. They were arrogant in their rebellion against God and his law as they practiced a false religion and conducted an unjust society.

The Lord further expands his judgment to include Judah, saying it will stumble just as Israel will. (5) At this point, this is a warning to Judah. 

Further, when those in Israel realize their plight and seek the Lord, they will not find him for he has withdrawn from them. “Flocks and herds” in verse 6 indicates the people coming to offer sacrifices to seek God’s favor. 

However, those sacrifices, if made somewhere other than Jerusalem, would not be acceptable. God chose Jerusalem as the place for the offering of sacrifices. (2 Chronicles 6:6)  

Additionally, they will be coming to God too late to escape judgment. When Assyria invades, God will not protect Israel as he protected Jerusalem under Hezekiah. (2 Kings 19) 

This judgment is because they have been faithless and have children who are faithless. They will not have abundant harvests to be celebrated with new moon festivals. They have forfeited their right to live in the land. 

5:8-15

What Will Happen

God foretold the results of the idolatry of his people. The picture in verse 8 is the watchman blowing the horn to alert the people to the approach on an enemy army. Here it is sounded to herald the coming of judgment in the form of the Assyrian army.  God will make Israel a desolation. ((9) 

Gibeah, Ramah and Beth-aven are near the border of Israel (Ephraim) and the land allotted to Benjamin. They were in the path of the invading army.   

Again, the Lord includes Judah, saying its princes are subject to the Lord’s wrath. (10) They are cursed like those who remove landmarks, or boundary stones. Deuteronomy 19:14 says “You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.” 

God will pour out his wrath like water. (10) Deuteronomy 27:17 says “Cursed be the one who moves his neighbors landmark.” Since each family’s allotment was set by the Lord as their inheritance, changing the boundaries stole part of the other family’s inheritance. Judah will face God’s wrath just as Israel did and will not get special privileges that exempt it. 

Israel (Ephraim) was crushed by Assyria. (11) The metaphors of verse 12 show that God is the one who brought it about. He has weakened them as a moth eats away at cloth or rot in the wood of a house.

Although both Israel and Judah were sick, they did not seek the Lord, but sought relief from Assyria. It did not help. (13) But Assyria could not stop the hand of the Lord bringing destruction on these nations like a lion to its prey. (14) 

In fact, God used Assyria to fulfill his word. In verse 14, he said he will carry off. He used Assyria to carry off the people into exile. 

2 Kings 17:6 says:

In the ninth year of Hosea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Harbor, the river of Gaza, and in the cities of the Medes. 

There is a small message of hope in verse 15. God could be found by them in the future if they confessed their sin and earnestly sought him. 

TAKEAWAYS

God sees and knows are sins. Hebrews 4:13 says “No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account”. 

God calls us to repent of our sins. (1 John 1:8-10)