51 Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Hearken, O house of the king! For the judgment pertains to you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. 2 And they have made deep the pit of Shittim; but I will chastise all of them. 3 I know E'phraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now, O E'phraim, you have played the harlot, Israel is defiled. 4 Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of harlotry is within them, and they know not the Lord. 5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face; E'phraim shall stumble in his guilt; Judah also shall stumble with them. 6 With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them. 7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord; for they have borne alien children. Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Hosea 5:1-7
Commentary on Hosea 5:1-7
(Read Hosea 5:1-7)
The piercing eye of God saw secret liking and disposition to sin, the love the house of Israel had to their sins, and the dominion their sins had over them. Pride makes men obstinate in other sins. And as Judah was treading in the same steps, they would fall with Israel. By dealing treacherously with the Lord, men only deceive themselves. Those that go to seek the Lord with their flocks and their herds only, and not with their hearts and souls, cannot expect to find him; nor shall any speed who do not seek the Lord while he may be found. See how much it is our concern to seek God early, now, while it is the accepted time, and the day of salvation.