◄ Hosea 5:6 ►
They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.
Study Bible
They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD
In ancient Israel, sacrifices were a central part of worship, and flocks and herds were often used as offerings to God. This phrase indicates that the people are attempting to seek God through ritualistic means, bringing their animals as sacrifices. However, their actions are superficial, lacking genuine repentance or heartfelt devotion. This reflects a broader theme in the Old Testament where God desires obedience and a contrite heart over mere ritual (1 Samuel 15:22, Psalm 51:16-17). The Israelites' reliance on external rituals without true faith mirrors the practices condemned by prophets like Isaiah (Isaiah 1:11-15).

but they do not find Him;
Despite their efforts, the Israelites are unable to find God. This suggests a spiritual blindness or separation due to their sin and idolatry. The inability to find God despite religious activity highlights the futility of empty rituals. It echoes the warnings given in Deuteronomy 4:29, where seeking God with all one's heart and soul is necessary to truly find Him. The people's failure to find God is a consequence of their unfaithfulness and serves as a call to genuine repentance.

He has withdrawn Himself from them.
God's withdrawal signifies His judgment and displeasure with Israel's unfaithfulness. This withdrawal is not arbitrary but a response to persistent sin and idolatry. It reflects the covenantal relationship between God and Israel, where blessings and presence are contingent upon obedience (Deuteronomy 28). The withdrawal of God's presence is a severe consequence, as seen in other instances like the Babylonian exile (Ezekiel 10:18-19). This phrase also foreshadows the ultimate separation from God due to sin, which is reconciled through Jesus Christ, who restores the broken relationship between God and humanity (Romans 5:10).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Hosea
A prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Hosea's ministry was marked by his marriage to Gomer, symbolizing Israel's unfaithfulness to God.

2. Israel
The Northern Kingdom, often depicted as unfaithful to God, engaging in idolatry and alliances with foreign nations.

3. Judah
The Southern Kingdom, also warned by Hosea, though not as prominently as Israel.

4. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who desires faithfulness and true worship from His people.

5. Flocks and Herds
Symbolic of the sacrifices and offerings brought by the Israelites in their religious practices.
Teaching Points
True Worship Over Ritual
God desires genuine devotion and obedience rather than mere ritualistic practices. Our worship should stem from a sincere heart.

Consequences of Unfaithfulness
Persistent unfaithfulness and idolatry lead to a separation from God, as seen in His withdrawal from Israel.

Self-Examination
Believers should regularly examine their hearts and motives in worship, ensuring they align with God's desires.

Repentance and Return
The path to finding God again involves sincere repentance and a return to His ways.

God's Presence
The presence of God is not guaranteed by external actions but by a heart aligned with His will.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Hosea 5:6 challenge our understanding of worship and religious practices today?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our worship is genuine and not just a ritual?

3. How do the themes in Hosea 5:6 relate to Jesus' teachings in the New Testament about worship and the heart?

4. What steps can we take to prevent God from "withdrawing" from us, as He did with Israel?

5. How can we apply the lessons from Hosea 5:6 to our personal and communal worship practices?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 1:11-15
This passage echoes the theme of God rejecting insincere sacrifices, emphasizing that ritual without righteousness is meaningless.

Amos 5:21-24
Amos also speaks against empty religious rituals, calling for justice and righteousness instead.

Jeremiah 7:21-23
Jeremiah highlights the futility of sacrifices when the heart is far from God, urging obedience over ritual.

Psalm 51:16-17
David acknowledges that God desires a contrite heart over burnt offerings, aligning with Hosea's message.

Matthew 15:8-9
Jesus quotes Isaiah, condemning those who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him.
Sermons
Divine WithdrawalJoseph Parker, D. D.Hosea 5:6
Divine WithdrawalJ.R. Thomson Hosea 5:6
Repenting Too LateE. B. Pusey, D. D.Hosea 5:6
Too LateHomilistHosea 5:6
Too LateHosea 5:6
Too LateD. Thomas Hosea 5:6
Unacceptable SacrificesGeorge Hutcheson.Hosea 5:6
God and ManJ. Orr Hosea 5:1-7
National Sin and PunishmentC. Jerdan Hosea 5:1-10
People
Benjamin, Hosea, Israelites, Jareb
Places
Assyria, Beth-aven, Gibeah, Mizpah, Ramah, Tabor
Topics
Flock, Flocks, Herd, Herds, Search, Seek, View, Withdrawn, Won't
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Hosea 5:6

     5901   loneliness
     6024   sin, effects of
     6109   alienation
     6606   access to God
     8245   ethics, incentives

Library
'Physicians of no Value'
'When Ephralm saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither shall he cure you of your wound.'--HOSEA v. 13 (R.V.). The long tragedy which ended in the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyrian invasion was already beginning to develop in Hosea's time. The mistaken politics of the kings of Israel led them to seek an ally where they should have dreaded an enemy. As Hosea puts it in figurative fashion, Ephraim's …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

An Obscured vision
(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

The Call and Feast of Levi
"And He went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them. And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the place of toll, and He saith unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. And it came to pass, that He was sitting at meat in his house, and many publicans and sinners sat down with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with the …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

That None Should Enter on a Place of Government who Practise not in Life what they have Learnt by Study.
There are some also who investigate spiritual precepts with cunning care, but what they penetrate with their understanding they trample on in their lives: all at once they teach the things which not by practice but by study they have learnt; and what in words they preach by their manners they impugn. Whence it comes to pass that when the shepherd walks through steep places, the flock follows to the precipice. Hence it is that the Lord through the prophet complains of the contemptible knowledge …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Ramah. Ramathaim Zophim. Gibeah.
There was a certain Ramah, in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:25, and that within sight of Jerusalem, as it seems, Judges 19:13; where it is named with Gibeah:--and elsewhere, Hosea 5:8; which towns were not much distant. See 1 Samuel 22:6; "Saul sat in Gibeah, under a grove in Ramah." Here the Gemarists trifle: "Whence is it (say they) that Ramah is placed near Gibea? To hint to you, that the speech of Samuel of Ramah was the cause, why Saul remained two years and a half in Gibeah." They blindly …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Ripe for Gathering
'Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2. And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence. 4. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Meditations for the Sick.
Whilst thy sickness remains, use often, for thy comfort, these few meditations, taken from the ends wherefore God sendeth afflictions to his children. Those are ten. 1. That by afflictions God may not only correct our sins past, but also work in us a deeper loathing of our natural corruptions, and so prevent us from falling into many other sins, which otherwise we would commit; like a good father, who suffers his tender babe to scorch his finger in a candle, that he may the rather learn to beware …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Of Civil Government.
OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT. This chapter consists of two principal heads,--I. General discourse on the necessity, dignity, and use of Civil Government, in opposition to the frantic proceedings of the Anabaptists, sec. 1-3. II. A special exposition of the three leading parts of which Civil Government consists, sec. 4-32. The first part treats of the function of Magistrates, whose authority and calling is proved, sec. 4-7. Next, the three Forms of civil government are added, sec. 8. Thirdly, Consideration …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

That the Employing Of, and Associating with the Malignant Party, According as is Contained in the Public Resolutions, is Sinful and Unlawful.
That The Employing Of, And Associating With The Malignant Party, According As Is Contained In The Public Resolutions, Is Sinful And Unlawful. If there be in the land a malignant party of power and policy, and the exceptions contained in the Act of Levy do comprehend but few of that party, then there need be no more difficulty to prove, that the present public resolutions and proceedings do import an association and conjunction with a malignant party, than to gather a conclusion from clear premises. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Arguments Usually Alleged in Support of Free Will Refuted.
1. Absurd fictions of opponents first refuted, and then certain passages of Scripture explained. Answer by a negative. Confirmation of the answer. 2. Another absurdity of Aristotle and Pelagius. Answer by a distinction. Answer fortified by passages from Augustine, and supported by the authority of an Apostle. 3. Third absurdity borrowed from the words of Chrysostom. Answer by a negative. 4. Fourth absurdity urged of old by the Pelagians. Answer from the works of Augustine. Illustrated by the testimony …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

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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