Hosea 5
by David Groendyk
Most of chapters 4–13 in Hosea are filled with various descriptions of Israel’s sin and the judgment that God would send upon them for it. One thing that’s clear is that everyone—from small to great—has sinned against God. If there was any confusion about priests being called out in chapter 4, it’s absolutely clear here in chapter 5! Both the priests and the kings have acted like a trap for the nation of Israel by leading the people into sin (v. 1). The leaders of the nation have failed the people. They’ve instituted and promoted idolatrous worship and immoral behavior. And they haven’t just dabbled with it; they’re deep in it (v. 2).
But the failure of the leaders doesn’t let laypeople off the hook (v. 3). The whole nation has fallen into sin. God sees it all, and he will punish. But here’s the really sad part: the people are so far gone, so entrenched in their sin, there’s no hope of them returning to God. They have so filled themselves with “the spirit of whoredom” and they have so forgotten the Lord that they have zero desire to return to him (v. 4). Their pride is the evidence of this reality (v. 5). Moreover, God has withdrawn from them (v. 6). That’s not to say God is running from people who are seeking him. No, the point is that the people are seeking God in wrong ways, with sacrifices and acts of worship that are false; therefore, the Lord has withdrawn his gracious presence.
Verses 4–7 show us two hard truths in Scripture. One is that you can so sear your own conscience that you will never desire the Lord again (see 1 Tim. 4:1–2). By continuing to live in sin and ignore the warnings of Scripture, you can deaden your spiritual senses to the point that you will never listen to the warnings again. It’s like continually blasting loud noises into your ears until you make yourself deaf—the warnings about losing your hearing will still come, but you can longer hear them. This is why Psalm 95 and Hebrews 3–4 say, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Repent of your sin now before your heart is too hard and it is too late!
The other hard truth is that when we find ourselves entrenched in sin, refusing to repent, and grieving God, God may actually withdraw himself from us in order to show us our need for him. As our Westminster Confession of Faith says, there are times he withdraws his light from us and allows us to walk in darkness for a time so that we would see the danger of our sin and not take his salvation for granted. During these times of withdrawal, our assurance is shaken, but they are meant to draw us back to God. Again, the application is to repent today! Do not let your sin go on any longer.
If we continue in our sin, the warning trumpets will sound (v. 8), the Lord will come as an enemy against all those who rebelled (vv. 12, 14), he will pour out his wrath on them (v. 10), Israel will try to find salvation in other nations that ultimately have no power compared to God (v. 13), and they will be utterly destroyed (vv. 9, 11). Israel’s only hope is to acknowledge their sin and turn to God for deliverance (v. 15). There is no hope for salvation apart from God himself.
To close, it’s good to remember that the warnings in this chapter are not meant for America; they are meant for the church. It’s easy to read the words “nation” or “Israel” in the Old Testament and automatically think about our current nation of America when it comes to applying the Word to today. And it’s easy to see America falling more and more into institutionalized sin like Israel and to want our political leaders to turn to God. But we can’t jump to America as the application. We need to remember that the warnings and promises given to Israel in the Old Testament are warnings and promises for God’s people. The failing leaders in verse 1 are pastors, elders, and deacons; the rest of sinful Israel is the rest of the flock of God. When we read Hosea 5, it’s meant to humble us to realize that even the church and committed Christians are able to fall this far away from God and become this un-spiritual. If not for God’s grace, you and I both would be in this same sorry state as Israel. Let that lead you to seek God’s mercy in Christ even more fervently.