What is the meaning of Hosea 5:7?

They have been unfaithful to the LORD

• Hosea highlights covenant betrayal. Just as a spouse who steps outside marriage, Israel steps outside her exclusive bond with God (Jeremiah 3:20; James 4:4).

• Idolatry is in view—trusting Baal, foreign treaties, and self-sufficiency instead of the living God (Hosea 4:17; Exodus 20:3).

• Unfaithfulness is willful; it is not ignorance but deliberate rebellion despite prophetic warnings (2 Kings 17:13-15).

• The charge proves God’s character: He is faithful, patient, yet righteous to confront sin (Deuteronomy 7:9-10).

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for they have borne illegitimate children

• The literal image: children conceived outside covenant marriage. Spiritually: generations raised in idolatry who do not know the LORD (Hosea 1:2; 2:4-5).

• Such offspring share in the parents’ broken relationship with God; sin multiplies, not merely repeats (Exodus 34:7).

• Illegitimacy points to exclusion from covenant blessing (Deuteronomy 23:2) and contrasts sharply with God’s intent for godly offspring (Malachi 2:15).

• The line is not beyond hope; later promises of mercy show God can still adopt and restore those who turn (Hosea 1:10; John 1:12).

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Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land

• The “New Moon” was a festival marker (Numbers 10:10). Ironically, the day meant for celebration becomes the date stamp of judgment (Amos 8:5-10).

• God’s displeasure with empty ritual echoes Isaiah 1:13-14; He rejects festivals severed from obedience.

• “Devour” pictures swift disaster: Assyria’s impending invasion will consume people and farmland alike (Hosea 8:7; 10:5-8).

• The timing note warns that judgment is imminent—perhaps as soon as the very next New Moon.

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summary

Hosea 5:7 exposes Israel’s spiritual adultery, a broken covenant that has produced generations estranged from God. External religiosity cannot mask inner rebellion; even cherished festivals will become instruments of divine discipline. Yet the passage also implies hope: the God who judges unfaithfulness still invites His people to return and be restored.