Punishment Coming Hosea 5:1-6:3

June 29, 2026

by Jen Snow

I was 32 weeks pregnant with my second child when I felt a twinge one morning that was curiously like a contraction. I continued to feel those twinges as that morning went on. It soon became clear that this was no fluke: I was in the early stages of labor. 

This happened when our family lived in Papua New Guinea. As we prepared to go down to see the doctor at our small mission clinic, I knew that I would probably find myself on an emergency flight to the hospital in Australia before the day was out. 

This, of course, was not at all how I expected my day to go. It was too soon. We weren’t prepared. Who was going to keep our toddler if we got sent to Australia? Things were rapidly spiraling out of control. 

So, I did what any rational person would do under such circumstances: I picked up the broom and started to vigorously sweep every inch of my kitchen and dining room. I could not control the contractions that were slowly and steadily increasing in my body or what the doctor would say when we got to the clinic or when my son would be born, but it sure was satisfying to be able to exert some kind of control over the crumbs on the floor!

In hindsight, this little memory seems pretty silly now. Sweeping the crumbs off the floor didn’t change anything about how the rest of that day played out![1] But in the moment, it was an attempt to maintain some sense of agency and control in a confusing, shifting situation.    

Grabbing a broom and sweeping seems innocent enough – something we might excuse or laugh off. As silly as this might seem, though, it hides a darker reality under the surface. Grabbing the broom was really an attempt to find comfort and security in something other than in the only One who can truly offer those things. This is, in many ways, a very normal, human tendency.  But as we return to the story of Hosea and his words to the people of Israel, we see the destruction that this brings when it is left unchecked.

Unfaithful People

The 8th century BC, when Hosea spoke his words of prophecy, was a chaotic time.  Social and economic structures were shifting. There was widespread corruption among political and religious leaders. “Injustice, immorality, and idolatry” were rampant.[2] For the average Israelite, everything seemed to be spiraling out of control.

Rather than falling back on their past history of God’s faithfulness and love, they responded by trying to seize control and security by trusting in other “lovers.” Last week in Hosea 4, we considered the long, brutal list of ways that the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord – the ways that they had forsaken him and “played the whore.” This strong, shocking language of prostitution continues on into Hosea 5. They had turned to the pagan fertility rites and worship of Baal (Hosea 4:12-13). They sought strength and protection from the king of Assyria (Hosea 5:13). In their pride, they stumble along – and bring the kingdom of Judah down with them (Hosea 5:5). They are searching for comfort and security everywhere but the one place they can truly find it. And they have gotten so deeply entrenched in these things that they have become paralyzed there: “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the LORD” (Hosea 5:3a).

Hosea also speaks of the consequences of these actions and they aren’t pretty. They will seek the Lord but not find Him (Hosea 5:6). Desolation and destruction will come upon them as they are exiled from the land they had been promised (Hosea 5:8-10). The Lord will be like a “moth” and “dry rot” – like “a young lion…I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off and no one shall rescue” (Hosea 5:12, 14). The word picture Hosea paints is grim indeed.

Unchanging God

As we noted last week, sometimes these strong words of judgement may lead some to conclude that God is mean and vindictive. Where is the mercy? Where is the love?

To answer that question, we need to back up a bit and put these words of Hosea into a bigger picture context. We read in Deuteronomy 4 – words of instruction that were given to God’s people as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land – that the people had been warned: “…if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the of LORD your God…you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it but will be utterly destroyed. And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples…” (Deuteronomy 4:25-27).

God is doing exactly what He said He would do.

Thankfully, though, these words of warning aren’t the end of the story. The people will be exiled from the land and scattered but “from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:29-30).

The sharp words of judgement in Hosea 5 aren’t the end of the story either. Hosea 5:15 marks a turning point – speaking of a time when the people will acknowledge their guilt and once again seek God’s face. Hosea calls the people to return to the LORD: “he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1). 

God is always and unfailingly exactly ******who he revealed Himself to be.

He is a God of justice who does not turn a blind eye to sin, but he is also a God of mercy, faithfulness, and steadfast love (Exodus 34:6-7). His judgement isn’t meant to be cruel and vindictive but is meant to draw the people back to Him.

God will never fully abandon his people. There is always hope for restoration. 

Hosea 6:2 hints at the fullness of the restoration to come in the death and resurrection of Jesus: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.” Paul echoes these words in his proclamation of the Gospel: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures…he was buried…he was raised on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). While we were still paralyzed in our sin, the spirit of whoredom within us, Christ died for us and was raised to life so that we could be freed from our enslavement to sin (Romans 5:8). We may seek comfort and security in other places, but he has made a way for us to return and be restored to Him. We are secure in his steadfast love and mercy.  

Press On

Hosea’s words still speak powerfully to us today. 

Where do you seek comfort and security when it feels like the world around you is spinning out of control? Compulsive sweeping? Scrolling? Food and drink? Political idolatry? Bring those things to Jesus and return to Him in repentance. You can entrust yourself to his unchanging character and unfailing love. Remember the ways that He has been faithful to his people in the past: in the pages of Scripture and in your own experience. “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” (Lamentations 3:23). He is safe to trust.

Hosea’s closing words are also an invitation to us: “Let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:3).

[1] In case you are wondering: we did get sent to Australia on an emergency flight that day and baby boy stayed put for another 8 weeks like he was supposed to, and is now a strong, healthy young man.

[2] Jerry Hwang, Hosea in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament, 25.