Hosea 13:1-16 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Hosea 13:1-16. Let’s go!
Hosea 13:1-16 (NIV)
1 When Ephraim spoke, men trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.
2 Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calf-idols.”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window.
4 “But I am the LORD your God, [who brought you] out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.
5 I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.
7 So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart.
9 “You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.
On verses 1-9: At one time Israel (also called Ephraim) had a close relationship with God and stood strong with Him — so much so that “when Ephraim spoke men trembled” (v1). But this close relationship with God did not last. Eventually Israel fell headlong into idol worship, including offering human sacrifices (v1b-2). Israel’s love for God was like the morning mist (see also Hosea 6:4), here one day and gone the next, and Hosea prophesies that his people will be like the morning mist too, here now but gone soon (v3). Having brought His people out of Egypt, God wanted the people to acknowledge Him and worship Him for who He is, their own true God and Saviour (v4), the one who cared for them in the desert (v5), the one who fed them so that they were satisfied (v6a). But in their satisfaction, the people became proud and forgot about God (v6b). The people’s pride and rebellion sparked God’s anger, and now the people would know what it is like to be on the other side of God’s wrath. For God to be for us is great; for God to be against us is awful and terrifying (v9), like going up against a lion, a leopard or a bear robbed for her cubs (v7-8). That is what Hosea says his people will experience because of their pride and rebellion.
What can we learn from this? How we respond to our victories is just as important as how we respond to our defeats. When you’re standing strong with God, or when you experience victories with Him, watch out that you don’t get distracted, self-satisfied, prideful and forget about God. Don’t be like the Israelites who, after being fed by God, became proud and eventually were defeated (v6-9). Instead, when you experience victories with God, stay hungry and stay humble. Remember that pride precedes a downfall, but humility comes before honour. As Paul would write centuries later, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12)
Hosea 13:10-13 (NIV)
10 Where is your king, that he may save you? Where are your rulers in all your towns, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 So in my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath I took him away.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up, his sins are kept on record.
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him, but he is a child without wisdom; when the time arrives, he does not come to the opening of the womb.
On verses 10-13: Hoping to be like other nations, the Israelites demanded their own king and this request displeased God, who up to that point had been their one true ruler. Reluctantly and in anger God gave into His people’s request for a king (v11a), but when the people still refused to obey God, God took that king away (v11b). Hosea goes on to describe how God remembers the sins of his people (v12) and as a result his people will not be delivered, like a baby who is not delivered in childbirth (v13).
What can we learn from this? When we stubbornly insist on our way, God will not necessarily stop us, even if He knows the way we choose is the wrong way. God respects us and our freedom to choose too much to force us to go in a direction that is against our will. That said, God also uses His own freedom to choose how much He will be with His people and how He will respond when His people rebel against Him.
Hosea 13:14-16 (NIV)
14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? “I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives among his brothers. An east wind from the LORD will come, blowing in from the desert; his spring will fail and his well dry up. His storehouse will be plundered of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open.”
On verses 14-16: Here God promises to redeem His people from death. God would fulfill this promise by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, through Him we have life even after we die. Thus, as Christians, we need not fear or be defeated by death.
Like Hosea writes in verse 14, and like Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55, because of Jesus we can say “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” For when we die, we don’t leave home; we go home to be with the Lord, who makes all things beautiful in His time.
Now why, after promising in verse 14 that He would redeem His people from the grave, would God follow that up in verses 15-16 with the shocking and disturbing promise that the people of Israel, even pregnant women and infants, would perish? It’s because God was warning His people of an upcoming time when a foreign enemy would invade Israel and cause great destruction. Knowing that great difficulties lie ahead of Israel, God reminds His people in verse 14 of the hope we have in Him that goes beyond the grave.
What can we learn from this?
– We must die before we experience the resurrection power that God makes available to us.
– When difficult challenges are ahead of you, hang onto God’s promises and remember that in Christ we have a hope that is stronger than death and bigger than any difficulty we will ever face. Use God’s past promises to prepare you today for the challenges you face tomorrow.
Father, it is only because of You that I can stand firm and be strong. So no matter how many victories I have experienced in the past, I look to You and ask You for help again today. May I stay hungry and humble toward You. And thank You that whatever challenge I face today, in Christ we have Your great promises to hang onto and a hope that is stronger than death. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
