John Calvin Commentary Hosea 5:12

"Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness." — Hosea 5:12 (ASV)

God now declares punishment against both kingdoms, but He does not speak as before. He does not say that His fury would be like a deluge to overwhelm and drown the people. What then? He compares Himself to little worms that gnaw wood and consume clothes, or He compares Himself to rottenness. For, as we have said, the second word is to be understood this way, as רקב (rekob), is properly rottenness and is derived from רקב (rekab), to rot. It is then rottenness or decay. But as I have said, some would translate it as "a grub," and there is a plausible reason for this, because He first mentioned "moth." These two, "moth" and "grub," would be more suitable to each other than "moth" and "rottenness." However, the Prophet's meaning is by no means obscure: it is that the Lord would by a slow corrosion consume both peoples. Though He would not destroy them in a single attack, they would nevertheless pine away until they became completely rotten. This is the meaning.

But we must observe why the Prophet used this metaphor. It was so that the Israelites and the Jews might understand that even though the Lord would to some extent withhold His hand from resting heavily upon them, and even though He would spare them, they would still not be safe, because they would little by little feel a slow decay that would consume them.

And the Lord intended in this way to turn the people to repentance, but He accomplished nothing, for such was their hardness of heart that they did not feel this slow decay. Just as those who are obtuse are not moved unless they feel a most grievous pain, they think that they are doing well and fight against their own disease. We see many such people.

Therefore, the Prophet here reminds them that even if the Lord should not openly thunder against the Israelites and the Jews, they still flattered themselves in vain, because the Lord would be to them a moth and a worm. That is, however gradually He might consume them, they would still be greatly deceived if they did not perceive that they were dealing with Him.

The chief instruction is that God does not always punish people in the same way, for He deals with them differently: either to promote their salvation or, by this means, to render them more inexcusable. Thus, God sometimes pours forth His severity, and at other times He slowly chastises us.

But whatever the method, we are reminded that we ought not to sleep whenever the Lord awakens us. Nor should we wait until He appears as a lion or a bear, until He devours us, until He rages against us in dreadful fury. We are reminded, then, that there is no reason for us to wait for this.

Instead, when God consumes us by degrees, it ought to instantly occur to us that even though the moth and the worm are very small insects, hardly visible, a hard and firm tree is nevertheless consumed by these little worms or by its own decay. Similarly, clothes are consumed by rot once the moth enters them; we see valuable furniture perishing.

Since this is so, there is no reason for people to feel secure when God shows any sign of His wrath, even if He does not pour forth His horrible vengeance but is like a hidden decay. We now perceive what Hosea means in this verse.