Hosea 5:1-15

Hosea continues his indictment of both the northern and southern tribes of Israel and Judah.  They have been immoral in their actions and idolatrous in their worship.  God will not just stand by and allow his people to rebel in such a way.  He has warned them but they have been deafened and blinded by their own prosperity.  They refuse to hear God’s words of warning and continue to insist on being disobedient.  God’s judgment is not far off and Hosea wants to make sure the people understand this reality.  The same is true of the world today.  God has been forgotten and ignored by such a large portion of our society.  This will not go on forever.  God will judge this world and we must be ready for this time of judgment.

ISRAEL HAS BEEN UNFAITHFUL TO THE LORD: God had blessed the nation of Israel with prosperity that was unparalleled in their history.  Despite their many blessings, they have been continually unfaithful to the Lord and rebellious against His Word.  They have been filled with pride.  They have chosen to worship the idols of the nations God helped them to conquer and the spiritual and political leaders have just stood by and watched this happen without regard for God and His Word.  This has been true in both Israel and Judah.  Just as Hosea’s wife was unfaithful to him, so Israel had been unfaithful to God.  Prosperity is a very dangerous thing in the hearts of man because it will draw men away from God.


THE LORD WILL BE UNMERCIFUL TO ISRAEL: God has been patient.  He has sent many messengers.  He has revealed His Word to the nations of Israel and Judah in a very unique way but they refuse to obey.  His patience is about to come to an end and His mercy has been exhausted.  Hosea warns the Israel and Judah that God will become like a lion who is ready to pounce on its prey and tear in limb from limb.  He will be unmerciful in His judgment until the people are ready to repent of their sin and turn to the Lord.  Many times the only way that men will look to the Lord and repent of sin is in time of judgment and suffering.  Israel learned this lesson the hard way and I fear that our nations today will face a similar plight.

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