Book of Hosea Chapter 5 Vs. 7

 Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah

They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions. Hos. 5:7

they have dealt... God’s people had been unfaithful. The Hebrew verb (bāg̱aḏ) often refers to a failure to carry out the responsibilities of a natural (cf. Jer. 12:6) or contractual (cf. Jdg. 9:6, 9:23; Mal. 2:14-16) relationship.

for they have... Here marital infidelity provides the background (cf. Jer. 3:20). As in the preceding chapters, Hosea pictured Israel as the Lord’s adulterous wife. Carrying on the figure, she had even given birth to illegitimate children, an inevitable result of her promiscuous activities. The reality behind the figure was perhaps those Israelite children whose birth was attributed to cultic sexual acts (cf. Hos. 4:13-15).

shall a month... These things will be fulfilled in a month. If the statement the New Moon shall devour them is the correct translation, it probably means that these festivals, which had become tainted by Israel’s disobedience, would be additional cause for God’s judgment (see Isa. 1:13-14). Another option is to translate it God the New Moon festival.

God had forbidden His people to marry the heathen people around them. This is possibly, where they picked up their practice of worshipping false gods. This could also be speaking of their unfaithfulness to God, and then their children being unfaithful to God. The fact that a month is mentioned here, could be telling them that it would be just a short time until the enemy would come and overcome them. Note that God has to allow this to happen. They could not attack God's people without God's permission.

Such rituals only heightened the people’s guilt. Participation in religious festivals (here represented by the New Moon celebrations; cf. Hos. 2:11) would actually hasten their destruction, not avert it. Rather than experiencing population growth, the people would ultimately be devoured by their own sins (cf. Lev. 26:21-22; Deut. 28:62-63). The fields, for which they sought fertility through Baal worship, would be destroyed by drought, blight, and insects, and would be overrun by invading armies (cf. Lev. 26:16, 26:19-20; Deut. 28:17, 28:22-24, 28:33, 28:38-42, 28:51).

A generation has grown up who are not His. Now may a month devour them with their portions! Any month may bring the swift invader. Hark! the alarm of war! How it reaches to the back of the land!

God’s people had been unfaithful. The Hebrew verb (bāg̱aḏ) often refers to a failure to carry out the responsibilities of a natural (cf. Jer. 12:6) or contractual (cf. Jdg. 9:6, 9:23; Mal. 2:14-16) relationship. Here marital infidelity provides the background (cf. Jer. 3:20). As in the preceding chapters, Hosea pictured Israel as the Lord’s adulterous wife. Carrying on the figure, she had even given birth to illegitimate children, an inevitable result of her promiscuous activities. The reality behind the figure was perhaps those Israelite children whose birth was attributed to cultic sexual acts (cf. Hos. 4:13-15).

Such rituals only heightened the people’s guilt. Participation in religious festivals (here represented by the New Moon celebrations; cf. Hos. 2:11) would actually hasten their destruction, not avert it. Rather than experiencing population growth, the people would ultimately be devoured by their own sins (cf. Lev. 26:21-22; Deut. 28:62-63). The fields, for which they sought fertility through Baal worship, would be destroyed by drought, blight, and insects, and would be overrun by invading armies (cf. Lev. 26:16, 26:19-20; Deut. 28:17, 28:22-24, 28:33, 28:38-42, 28:51).