Hosea 13

 

Hosea 13

This chapter contains a most amazing promise of grace and power!

13:1 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
13:2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
13:3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

Idolatry. It began with Baal, then they multiplied their images.

as the morning Cloud - as the early Dew - as the Chaff - as the Smoke - "Four things, most easy to be driven about and dissipated, are employed here to show how they should be scattered among the nations." (Adam Clarke)

13:4  Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

“I am Yahweh, thy God since you were in Egypt. I am the only Saviour; your only hope.”

13:5 I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
13:6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.

“I knew you in the wilderness, when you had nothing, and took care of you. I brought you into a land flowing with milk and honey. Then, when you were filled with everything I promised, your heart was exalted and you forgot me.” This is sad - they were so full of the blessings they forgot the Blessor.

13:7 Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:
13:8 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.

“I was for you, now I will be against you.” 

13:9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.
13:10 I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?
13:11 I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
13:12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.
13:13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.

O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help - They are hell-bent for leather to forget and forsake YHWH, yet he is willing to help them – in me is thine help; I will be thy king; is there any other that may save thee?

There is no other that can save them; he is their only help; he is their lifeline; they are actively rejecting him, yet he is still willing to save them!

Save is the root word for Hosea. God sent them a prophet whose very name reminds them He wants to save them!! O the grace and love of God!

13:14  I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

I will ransom them from the power of the grave - They are now lost as to the purpose for which they were made, for which God had wrought so many miracles for them and for their ancestors; but the gracious purpose of God shall not be utterly defeated. He will bring them out of the grave, and ransom them from death; for as they have deserved death and a disgraceful burial, they must be redeemed and ransomed from it. And who can do this but God himself? And he promises to do it!

O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction. Paul quotes this verse in 1 Corinthians 15, that great chapter on the resurrection. (He combines Isa 25:8 and Hosea 13:14):

1 Corinthians 15:54-55
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The reason Paul’s quotation looks slightly different than what we see in our English Bible is Paul was quoting a version of the Septuagint (preserved in the Peshita*):

Hosea 13:14 Where is now your victory, Death? Or where is your sting Shyol? [Sheol, grave]

Death has been swallowed up by the resurrection of Christ! For since by one man came death, by man came also the resurrection from the dead. On the day of resurrection, when Christ returns in glory, we who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ will sing, "Death is swallowed up in victory! O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes - "On these points I will not change my purpose." This is the meaning of repentance when attributed to God.

Why does the LORD insert the promise of resurrection from the dead? Could it be because this is when the promised salvation of Israel takes place? And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Romans 11:26)

"The apostle supports what he says with a quotation from Scripture, Isa 59:20: And the deliverer shall come for Sion's sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. (LXX) Now this cannot be understood of the manifestation of Christ among the Jews; or of the multitudes which were converted before, at, and for some time after, the day of Pentecost; for these times were all past when the apostle wrote this epistle; and, as no remarkable conversion of that people has since taken place, therefore the fulfillment of this prophecy is yet to take place." (Adam Clarke)

I am inclined to think this is true, but the Lord also has the habit of reminding us of the great blessings that will be ours when Christ returns in order to strengthen us for our trials and tribulations. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. (Rom 8:22-23; see v 18-25) I know this.

13:15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.
13:16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... there are still hard days ahead for Israel.

Some golden daybreak, Jesus will come
Some golden daybreak, battles all won
He'll shout the vic'try, break thro' the blue
Some golden daybreak, for me, for you
(Carl A. Blackmore, 1934)



* Our English Bibles are translated from Hebrew.

The Septuagint or LXX is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, made by the Jews in Alexandria, Egypt

The Peshitta is the Syriac or Aramaic version of the Bible. It is an ancient translation of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament.

The Septuagint is the oldest translation of the Old Testament (made about 300 years before Christ), followed by the Peshita (1st century AD), then the Latin translations.