Book of Hosea Chapter 5 Vs. 12

 Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah

Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. Hos. 5:12

as a moth... Ten Things God Compared To:

1. A moth (Hos. 5:12)

2. Rottenness, or a worm (Hos. 5:12)

3. An old lion (Hos. 5:14; 11:10)

4. A young lion (Hos. 5:14)

5. The rain (Hos. 6:3)

6. The latter and former rain (Hos. 6:3)

7. A plowman (Hos. 11:4)

8. A leopard (Hos. 13:7)

9. A bear bereaved of her whelps (Hos. 13:8)

10. The dew (Hos. 14:5)

Judah as rottenness... Moths rot a garment, and termites produce rottenness in wood. Both prey upon the substance in which they lie hidden; and they slowly but effectively do a work of destruction. This pictures God bringing judgment upon both Ephraim and Judah. The decay caused by moths and that by termites are both slow, yet that of the termites is slower. The reference is to Judah being destroyed more slowly than Ephraim. The idea is that when men sin God withdraws from them and as they continue in rebellion they become dead to spiritual things.

Hosea used similes to create vivid pictures of God’s wrath toward both kingdoms of sinful Israel (Job 13:28). God’s judgment would slowly but surely bring about the demise of both Israel and Judah, much like moths and rottenness slowly eat away at an object until it is destroyed. The sinner overlooks this erosion of his conscience and character. Only God can awaken him to his condition.

A garment riddled by a moth is ruined. The moth eats away at the material, until it is of no use. Rottenness speaks of decay from within. For a long time, Judah's rottenness will not show. This is saying, their destruction will not come instantaneously, but will be progressive until they are destroyed. We certainly know this to be true with Judah, because Babylon took many years to totally destroy them.

Both kingdoms have begun to fall to pieces, for by this time Uzziah of Judah also is dead, and the weak politicians are in charge whom Isaiah satirized.

The Lord Himself was silently but effectively leading His people toward destruction. To Ephraim He was like a moth, which destroys clothing (cf. Job 13:28; Isa. 50:9; 51:8). To… Judah He was like rot, which progressively causes bones to decay (cf. Pro. 12:4; 14:30; Hab. 3:16). This unusual figurative language means that God was sovereignly in control of the international scene, which He was already manipulating to bring about Israel’s demise.