Matthew Henry Commentary Hosea 5:1-7

"Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, O house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king; for unto you pertaineth the judgment; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. And the revolters are gone deep in making slaughter; but I am a rebuker of them all. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now, O Ephraim, thou hast played the harlot, Israel is defiled. Their doings will not suffer them to turn unto their God; for the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not Jehovah. And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity; Judah also shall stumble with them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them. They have dealt treacherously against Jehovah; for they have borne strange children: now shall the new moon devour them with their fields." — Hosea 5:1-7 (ASV)

The piercing eye of God saw the secret liking and disposition to sin, the love the house of Israel had for their sins, and the dominion their sins had over them. Pride makes people obstinate in other sins. And as Judah was treading in the same steps, they would fall with Israel.

By dealing treacherously with the Lord, people only deceive themselves. Those who go to seek the Lord with their flocks and herds only, and not with their hearts and souls, cannot expect to find Him; nor will any succeed who do not seek the Lord while He may be found. See how important it is for us to seek God early, now, while it is the accepted time and the day of salvation.