Hosea 5:12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hosea 5:8-15

Here is, I. A loud alarm sounded, giving notice of judgments coming (Hos. 5:8): Blow you the cornet in Gibeah and in Ramah, two cities near together in the confines of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel, Gibeah a frontier-town of the kingdom of Judah, Ramah of Israel; so that the warning is hereby sent into both kingdoms. ?Cry aloud at Beth-aven, or Bethel, which place seems to be already seized upon by the enemy, and therefore the trumpet is not sounded there, but you hear the outcries of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 5:12

Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth ,.... Which eats garments, penetrates into them, feeds on them privately, secretly, without any noise, and gradually and slowly consumes them; but at last utterly, that they are of no use and profit: this may signify the various things which befell the ten tribes in the reigns of Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and Pekah, which secretly and gradually weakened them; and the utter consumption of them in the times of Hoshea by Shalmaneser: ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 5:12

Unto Ephraim as a moth - I will consume them by little and little, as a moth frets a garment. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 5:12

Verse 12 God now denounces punishment in common on the two kingdoms; but he speaks not as before, he says not that his fury would be like a deluge, to overwhelm and drown the people. What then? He compares himself to little worms which gnaw wood and consume cloths; or he compares himself to rottenness; for, as we have said, the second word is to be so taken, as רקב, rekob, is properly rottenness, and is derived from רקב, rekab, to rot;” it is then rottenness or putrescence. But as I have said,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 5:8-12

Ephraim and Judah. The judgment is represented in these verses as already fallen. Shrill cornet and trumpet blasts announce the presence of the invaders. They fill the land. They are at the borders of Judah. They menace Benjamin. I. IS THE GRASP OF THE DESTROYER . ( Hosea 5:8 , Hosea 5:9 ) 1. Ephraim ' s destruction came upon him suddenly . It was on him before he was aware. Ere almost he could realize the fact, the land was in possession of invaders. It is thus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 5:10-13

The misuse of Divine judgments. It is well for our rest and strength when, like the prophet, we can exercise steadfast faith in the unseen Ruler of all human affairs. Many events appear to contradict the theory of a wise and loving government. Causes which are seen seem adequate to produce the effects which arise from them, and we fail to discern God behind the ambitions and the follies of men. Happy is he who, like Hosea, hears God's voice amidst the tumult, believes in a plan underlying... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 5:11-15

God's judgments differ both in degree and kind. Ephraim had obeyed man rather than God, and God gives them over to man for punishment. The men who oppressed Ephraim acted unjustly, but God, in permitting that unjust oppression, was exercising his prerogative of justice. Neither could Ephraim palliate their sin by alleging compulsion on the part of their rulers, nor throw, the blame entirely on the ungodly commandment of an ungodly rang, or those who might enforce it by pains and penalties.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 5:11-15

The Divine judgments. In this strophe the Lord denounces as useless and foolish the policy which Israel had adopted of seeking to strengthen himself by alliances with Assyria. In doing this the nation was only adding to its guilt, and precipitating its doom. I. THE NATURE OF THE JUDGMENTS . We gather from the passage that these are of three orders, each being more severe than the preceding. 1. Slow consumption . (Verse. 12) The "moth" and the "worm" suggest silent,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 5:12

Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. This verse is well explained by Calvin as follows: "The meaning of the prophet is by no means obscure, and that is, that the Lord would by a slow corrosion consume both the people; and that, though he would not by one onset destroy them, yet they would pine away until they became wholly rotten." The two agents of destruction here named—the moth which eats away clothes, and the woodworm which gnaws away... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 5:12

The moth; or, God's quiet method of destroying. "Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness." "And I am like the moth to Ephraim, and like the worm to the house of Judah" (Keil and Delitzsch). "The moth and worm are figures employed to represent destructive powers—the moth destroying clothes ( Isaiah 1:9 ; Psalms 39:12 ), the worm injuring both wood and flesh." The words indicate God ' s quiet method of destroying . In two or three verses in... read more

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