Book of Hosea Chapter 5 Vs. 13

 Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah

When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. Hos. 5:13

to king Jareb... Another name for Tiglath-pileser who punished both Ephraim and Judah (2Kgs. 15:27-31; 16:7-10). When the moth and termites had performed their work on both nations of Israel, then God became a lion to Ephraim and destroyed the nation (2Kgs. 17:1-41); later He became a young lion to Judah and destroyed her (2Kgs. 24-25). Jareb means warrior and refers to the king of Assyria, to whom Israel (2Kgs. 15:19-20), and later Judah (2Kgs. 16:5-9), turned to for help.

It appears from the verse above, that Ephraim and Judah became aware they had a problem. The sad thing was that Ephraim did not go to God with the problem, but went to the Assyrians. Neither was willing to admit that their problem was because of their worship of false gods.

could he not... The world has no answers to problems then or now. The worldly king Jareb was no help at all.

And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sore; and Ephraim went to Asshur and sent to King Jareb-King Combative, King Pick-Quarrel, a nickname for the Assyrian monarch. The verse probably refers to the tribute which Mena-hem sent to Assyria in 738. If so, then Israel has drifted full five years into her thick night. But he cannot heal you, nor dry up your sore.

The nation’s response to its deteriorating condition (like a sickness with sores) was entirely misdirected. Following the path of political expediency, the Northern Kingdom turned to the invader himself, Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria, in an effort to restore national stability. This probably refers to Hoshea’s alliance with Assyria (2Kgs. 17:3) at the time he usurped the throne of Israel (cf. 2Kgs. 15:30). Judah had formed a similar alliance when threatened by Syria and Israel (2Kgs. 16:1-20). Though Hos. 5:13 does not specifically mention Judah, the contextual references to her (Hos. 5:13, 5:14) suggest that she was in Hosea’s mind as well. These efforts to heal the nation’s wounds would be futile. Assyria was a greedy overseer, not a physician. As soon as Hoshea withheld tribute, the Assyrians again invaded the land (2Kgs. 17:3-6).