9/11/2022 Wednesday
Hosea
God presents Israel with His verdict or decision because of their sin.
Chapter 5
OUTLINE OF HOSEA The Ryrie Study Bible
1. The Prodigal Wife, 1:1-3:5
A. Her Unfaithfulness, 1:1-11
B. Her Punishment, 2:1-13
C. Her Restoration and Israel’s, 2:14-23
D. Her Redemption, 3:1-5
2. The Prodigal People, 4:1-14:9
A. The Message of Judgment, 4:1-10:15
1. The indictment, 4:1-19
2. The verdict, 5:1-15
3. The plea of Israel, 6:1-3
4. The reply of the Lord, 6:4-11
5. The crimes of Israel, 7:1-16
6. The prophecy of judgment, 8:1-10:15
B. The Message of Restoration, 11:1-14:9
1. God’s love for the prodigal people, 11:1-11
2. God’s chastisement of the prodigal people, 11:12-13:16
3. God’s restoration of the prodigal people, 14:1-9
The Verdict (Decision), Hosea 5:1-15
• Hosea 5:1-2
• God’s rebuke is here addressed to the priests (religious leaders), to the house of Israel (the people), and to the house of
the king (the political leaders). All were guilty before God.
• Charles Feinberg states, “Mizpah in the east of the land and Tabor in the west were made places of a snare and trap where
the people were enticed to worship idols in the high places.” The Minor Prophets, p. 32
• The revolters (rebels) are deeply involved in killing animal sacrifices to their gods, though God rebuked them for it.
The Verdict (Decision), Hosea 5:1-15
• Hosea 5:3
• God clearly knew Ephraim (a prominent tribe in Israel used by Hosea as a synonym for Israel) and Israel.
• McGee points out that the tribe of Ephraim was the very centre of idolatry in Israel.
• God knew of their spiritual whoredom and defilement. They could not hide this from God.
• Hosea 5:4
• Their sinful doings will not allow them to turn to their God.
• They no longer knew the LORD. Oh, they knew who He was, but they did not know Him personally.
• God knew them, but they did not know God.
• Sadly, many today know who God is, but do not KNOW Him.
The Verdict (Decision), Hosea 5:1-15
• Hosea 5:5
• Instead of being ashamed of their sin, they were proud of it.
• We see the same thing today as people are no longer ashamed of their fornication, perversions, immodesty and
homosexuality.
• For this shameless pride, God said they would fall or stumble. This not only applied to Israel and Ephraim, but also to
Judah.
• Hosea 5:6-7
• They continued to hypocritically sacrifice to the LORD, but the LORD said He would they would not find Him, for he had
withdrawn from them.
• They had been unfaithful to the Lord. Their children followed their sinful ways.
• The month (new moon feast) would be a time of judgment rather than joy. (Ryrie)
The Verdict (Decision), Hosea 5:1-15
• Hosea 5:8-12
• God charged the people to blow the alarm with cornet, trumpet and voice.
• Trouble was coming (v.9).
• God would judge the princes of Judah as well (v.10).
• To remove a bound (boundary) was a serious crime.
• God’s wrath would pour out as a woman poured water from a picture.
• Ephraim would be oppressed (pressed) and broken (crushed) (v.11) because they willing followed the commandment (i.e.,
probably the command of Jeroboam to worship the golden calves).
• As a result, God would eat up Ephraim as a moth eats cloth, and Judah would be corrupted as rottenness corrupts fruit
(v.12).
• Today, it is our duty to live godly and sound the alarm that judgment is coming upon all who reject and sin
against God.
The Verdict (Decision), Hosea 5:1-15
• Hosea 5:13-15
• When Ephraim and Judah saw their affliction (caused by God’s judgment on them), instead of repenting and returning to
the Lord, they sought help from heathen nations. However, the heathens could not heal them.
• God said he would attack Ephraim as a lion (with fierceness and power) and Judah as a young lion (with less fierceness,
but as the lion would grow so would his might) (v.14). Note the description.
• God closes His verdict with the sad words of verse 15.
• He would leave them to suffer until they were willing to repent and seek Him.
• God knows that in their affliction they would eventually seek Him.
• This is a reminder that biblical chastening (by God or parents) causes pain with the goal of restoration.
Note similes and metaphors in this chapter
• I will pour out my wrath upon them like water (v.10) – as water pours from a bucket, so God’s wrath would
flow
• as a moth (v.12) – God would devour them as moths devoured their woollen clothes
• as rottenness (v.12) – God would cause them to be like rottenness in fruit that spreads and spoils all that is
around it
• as a lion, and as a young lion (v.14) – God will destroy as these beasts
• Snares and nets (v.1) – these traps represent spiritual traps
• Sickness and wound (v.13) – these illnesses represent national weaknesses
Applications for Us Today
• Just as God knew Ephraim and Judah, He also knows you and me.
• We cannot hide any sin from God.
• Neither Israel nor Judah would win when resisting God. Eventually, they would stumble when God withdrew
Himself from them.
• We are no exception to this rule. If God withdraws His grace, we are in big trouble.
• God would pour out His wrath like water. He would be as a moth, as rottenness, as a lion and as a young
lion. God is not trying to be cruel; He is afflicting His beloved people to get them to repent.
• If you or I stray from the Lord, we can expect similar affliction.