Theological Commentary: Click Here
Hosea 5 is
another chapter of judgment. The very
first verse shows us exactly where God intends to place the blame. Once more Hosea speaks words against the
priests. Once more Hosea indicates that
the role of the priests has been bad for the house of Israel. Their example and their teaching has allowed
the people to stray from God. In fact,
God calls them a snare. That’s not a
good comparison at all.
The most
disturbing aspect of this chapter is how God categorizes Himself from the
people’s perspective. God says He is
like a moth and like dry rot. What is it
that moths do? Moths come in and destroy
clothing, or bedsheets, or towels, or flour, or pasta, or actually anything
that is natural in origin. To be clear,
it is the larvae, not the moths, that do the damage. Dry rot is a type of fungus that attacks wood
– things like wagons and support beams in homes.
What’s
interesting about this is that God is claiming the role of that which destroys
one’s livelihood. To be more precise,
God is saying that this is the role that the Israelites are putting upon
Him. The Hebrew people are saying that
God is in charge of taking away their livelihood.
I’m not
entirely sure that this is an inaccurate description. Don’t get me wrong. I personally think that God enriches life and
makes life better. My opinion is not the
only one, though. Many people think that
God forces them to give up things they enjoy – primarily sinful things. Many people think that God takes the fun out
of life. Many people attribute the
removal of luxury and opulence from their life to God. I can imagine someone who doesn’t want to
repent and give up the sin in their life thinking of God as a moth or dry rot.
Now come
back to the fact that God’s issue is with the priests. If the priests aren’t teaching God’s ways, or
introducing people to why God’s ways are fulfilling, or allowing people to live
comfortably outside of God’s ways, the people would see God in this negative
light. The priests are there to help
people see God in a light of righteousness, hope, and blessing rather than a
light of moths and dry rot.
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