Hosea 4:5 Study Bible: You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will also stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother.

◄ Hosea 4:5 ►

You will stumble by day, and the prophet will stumble with you by night; so I will destroy your mother--

You will stumble by day
This phrase indicates a spiritual and moral failing that occurs in broad daylight, symbolizing a public and obvious departure from God's ways. In the context of ancient Israel, this stumbling represents the nation's idolatry and unfaithfulness to God. The imagery of stumbling during the day suggests that the people are blind to their own sinfulness, despite it being evident. This can be connected to other scriptures such as Isaiah 59:10, where the people grope like the blind. The idea of stumbling is also a metaphor for judgment, as seen in Jeremiah 13:16, where darkness and stumbling are linked to divine retribution.

and the prophet will stumble with you by night;
The prophets, who were supposed to be the spiritual leaders and guides, are also depicted as failing. Their stumbling at night suggests a deeper level of spiritual blindness and corruption, as they are unable to see or lead even in times of darkness. This reflects the failure of religious leaders to uphold God's truth, as seen in Jeremiah 23:11, where prophets and priests are described as profane. The night can symbolize a time of trial or judgment, and the prophets' inability to guide the people through it indicates a complete breakdown of spiritual leadership.

so I will destroy your mother—
The term "mother" here is often interpreted as a reference to the nation of Israel itself, or more specifically, the capital city, which represents the heart of the nation. The destruction of the "mother" signifies the impending judgment and downfall of Israel due to its persistent unfaithfulness. This is consistent with the covenantal curses outlined in Deuteronomy 28, where disobedience leads to national calamity. The destruction is both a literal and symbolic act of divine judgment, emphasizing the seriousness of Israel's sin and the consequences of turning away from God. This can also be seen as a type of Christ, where Jesus, as the true prophet, priest, and king, fulfills what the failed leaders could not, offering redemption and restoration.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Hosea
A prophet in the 8th century BC, Hosea was called by God to deliver messages of judgment and hope to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. His life and marriage were symbolic of God's relationship with Israel.

2. Israel
The Northern Kingdom, often referred to as Ephraim in Hosea, was experiencing moral and spiritual decline, leading to God's judgment.

3. Prophet
In this context, the prophet represents those who were supposed to guide Israel spiritually but were failing in their duties, leading to collective stumbling.

4. Mother
Symbolically refers to the nation of Israel as a whole, indicating that the entire community would face consequences for their collective sin.

5. Stumbling
A metaphor for moral and spiritual failure, indicating a lack of guidance and understanding, leading to destruction.

Teaching Points

The Responsibility of Leadership
Spiritual leaders have a significant responsibility to guide their communities in truth. When they fail, it can lead to widespread moral and spiritual decay.

Consequences of Spiritual Blindness
Ignorance and rejection of God's truth lead to stumbling. Both leaders and followers must seek God's wisdom to avoid spiritual pitfalls.

Collective Accountability
The community as a whole bears responsibility for its spiritual state. Individual and collective repentance is necessary to avert judgment.

The Importance of Discernment
Believers must discern true from false teachings. Regular study of Scripture and prayer for wisdom are essential to avoid being led astray.

God's Justice and Mercy
While God’s judgment is just, His ultimate desire is for repentance and restoration. Understanding this balance is crucial for spiritual growth.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the failure of spiritual leaders in Hosea's time compare to challenges faced by church leaders today?

2. In what ways can believers ensure they are not "stumbling" in their spiritual walk?

3. How does the concept of collective accountability in Hosea 4:5 apply to modern Christian communities?

4. What steps can individuals take to discern true teachings from false ones in today's world?

5. How can understanding God's justice and mercy in Hosea 4:5 influence our approach to repentance and restoration?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Isaiah 9:16
This verse speaks about leaders leading people astray, similar to the prophets in Hosea who fail to guide Israel correctly.

Jeremiah 14:15-16
These verses discuss false prophets and the consequences of their misleading prophecies, paralleling the stumbling of prophets in Hosea.

Matthew 15:14
Jesus speaks about the blind leading the blind, which connects to the idea of spiritual leaders causing others to stumble.

Sermons

Common Destruction	George Hutcheson.	Hosea 4:5
The Lord's Controversy	J. Orr	Hosea 4:1-5
The Lord's Lawsuit	C. Jerdan	Hosea 4:1-5
A Terrible Deprivation	D. Thomas	Hosea 4:3-5

People

Hosea

Places

Beth-aven, Gilgal, Jezreel

Topics

Able, Cut, Destroy, Destruction, Fall, Falling, Hast, Prophet, Prophets, Stumble, Stumbled

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Hosea 4:5

5186 stumbling

Library

'Let Him Alone'
'Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.'--HOSEA iv. 17. The tribe of Ephraim was the most important member of the kingdom of Israel; consequently its name was not unnaturally sometimes used in a wider application for the whole of the kingdom, of which it was the principal part. Being the 'predominant partner,' its name was used alone for that of the whole firm, just as in our own empire, we often say 'England,' meaning thereby the three kingdoms: England, Scotland, and Ireland. So 'Ephraim' here …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers.
1. His Early Years.--Ephraim, according to this biography, was a Syrian of Mesopotamia, by birth, and by parentage on both sides. His mother was of Amid (now Diarbekr) a central city of that region; his father belonged to the older and more famous City of Nisibis, not far from Amid but near the Persian frontier, where he was priest of an idol named Abnil (or Abizal) in the days of Constantine the Great (306-337). This idol was afterwards destroyed by Jovian (who became Emperor in 363 after the …
Ephraim the Syrian—Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian

Instruction for the Ignorant:
BEING A SALVE TO CURE THAT GREAT WANT OF KNOWLEDGE, WHICH SO MUCH REIGNS BOTH IN YOUNG AND OLD. PREPARED AND PRESENTED TO THEM IN A PLAIN AND EASY DIALOGUE, FITTED TO THE CAPACITY OF THE WEAKEST. 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.'--Hosea 4:6 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This little catechism is upon a plan perfectly new and unique. It was first published as a pocket volume in 1675, and has been republished in every collection of the author's works; and recently in a separate tract. …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Beth-El. Beth-Aven.
Josephus thus describes the land of Benjamin; "The Benjamites' portion of land was from the river Jordan to the sea, in length: in breadth, it was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." Let these last words be marked, "The breadth of the land of Benjamin was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." May we not justly conclude, from these words, that Jerusalem and Beth-el were opposite, as it were, in a right line? But if you look upon the maps, there are some that separate these by a very large tract of land, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Of Orders.
Of this sacrament the Church of Christ knows nothing; it was invented by the church of the Pope. It not only has no promise of grace, anywhere declared, but not a word is said about it in the whole of the New Testament. Now it is ridiculous to set up as a sacrament of God that which can nowhere be proved to have been instituted by God. Not that I consider that a rite practised for so many ages is to be condemned; but I would not have human inventions established in sacred things, nor should it be …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

"For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus Hath Made Me Free from the Law of Sin and Death. "
Rom. viii. 2.--"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." You know there are two principal things in the preceding verse,--the privilege of a Christian, and the property or character of a Christian. He is one that never enters into condemnation; He that believeth shall not perish, John iii. 15. And then he is one that walks not after the flesh, though he be in the flesh, but in a more elevate way above men, after the guiding and leading …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Epistle cxxi. To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville).
To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville). Gregory to Leander, Bishop of Spain. I have the epistle of thy Holiness, written with the pen of charity alone. For what the tongue transferred to the paper had got its tincture from the heart. Good and wise men were present when it was read, and at once their bowels were stirred with emotion. Everyone began to seize thee in his heart with the hand of love, for that in that epistle the sweetness of thy disposition was not to be heard, but seen. All severally …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

That the Ruler Relax not his Care for the Things that are Within in his Occupation among the Things that are Without, nor Neglect to Provide
The ruler should not relax his care for the things that are within in his occupation among the things that are without, nor neglect to provide for the things that are without in his solicitude for the things that are within; lest either, given up to the things that are without, he fall away from his inmost concerns, or, occupied only with the things that are within bestow not on his neighbours outside himself what he owes them. For it is often the case that some, as if forgetting that they have …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Seasonable Counsel: Or, Advice to Sufferers.
BY JOHN BUNYAN. London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1684. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. THIS valuable treatise was first published in a pocket volume in 1684, and has only been reprinted in Whitfield's edition of Bunyan's works, 2 vols. folio, 1767. No man could have been better qualified to give advice to sufferers for righteousness' sake, than John Bunyan: and this work is exclusively devoted to that object. Shut up in a noisome jail, under the iron hand of …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Joy
'The fruit of the Spirit is joy.' Gal 5:52. The third fruit of justification, adoption, and sanctification, is joy in the Holy Ghost. Joy is setting the soul upon the top of a pinnacle - it is the cream of the sincere milk of the word. Spiritual joy is a sweet and delightful passion, arising from the apprehension and feeling of some good, whereby the soul is supported under present troubles, and fenced against future fear. I. It is a delightful passion. It is contrary to sorrow, which is a perturbation …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Doctrine
OF THE LAW AND GRACE UNFOLDED; OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING THE LAW AND GRACE; THE NATURE OF THE ONE, AND THE NATURE OF THE OTHER; SHOWING WHAT THEY ARE, AS THEY ARE THE TWO COVENANTS; AND LIKEWISE, WHO THEY BE, AND WHAT THEIR CONDITIONS ARE, THAT BE UNDER EITHER OF THESE TWO COVENANTS: Wherein, for the better understanding of the reader, there are several questions answered touching the law and grace, very easy to be read, and as easy to be understood, by those that are the sons of wisdom, the children …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Prophet Hosea.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed. But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great confidence by Maurer, among others, in his Observ. in Hos., in the Commentat. Theol. ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Hosea
The book of Hosea divides naturally into two parts: i.-iii. and iv.-xiv., the former relatively clear and connected, the latter unusually disjointed and obscure. The difference is so unmistakable that i.-iii. have usually been assigned to the period before the death of Jeroboam II, and iv.-xiv. to the anarchic period which succeeded. Certainly Hosea's prophetic career began before the end of Jeroboam's reign, as he predicts the fall of the reigning dynasty, i. 4, which practically ended with Jeroboam's …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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