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Hosea 13 - Stupid Is as Stupid Does

From Growing Authority to Fading Memory
Hos 13:1-3 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died. And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!” Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window. The tribe of Ephraim took the lead among the ten tribes who separated themselves from Judah and Benjamin. After some moving from place to place King Omri settled on Samaria as the capitol. Once a powerful nation widely feared because of its God, Israel turned from God to the Baal idols and their love for YHWH died. When they turned from God to take up the ways of the world, ironically they lost everything they cherished in the world. Their nation was wiped out. As Hosea writes this he sees the ever-increasing sin of Israel and fearlessly proclaims it. In modern America abortion is widely accepted in the name of “a woman’s right to choose.” The reality is that abortion is all about personal convenience. The fight is not a new one. From ancient times there were those who sacrificed their own children for convenience. They spoke of it in terms of sacrifice to satisfy some crafted deity, but the reality is they got rid of children to satisfy a desire. God makes it clear He condemns child sacrifices and absolutely forbid it among His people. The accusation of human sacrifice is among the most vile a prophet could level at someone. After all of the other indictments in Hosea’s writing, this is like poison icing on a rotted cake of Israel’s own making. For such heinous evil the Lord is going to act. Israel shall “evaporate” like dew and be “blown away” like chaff from the threshing floor. Their elimination will be accomplished quickly and completely. This all took place just a few years after Hosea’s prophecy was initially recorded and distributed.

I AM
Hos 13:4-5 But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought; Once again we see remembrance of God’s glory bestowed on Israel. Hosea has returned again to the start of the continuing cycle of memory, indictment, and prosecution. God is absolutely sovereign. Hosea is striving to remind people that there is only One True God, YHWH, who delivered them from Egyptian slavery and brought them through the purifying wilderness to the Promised Land. When we are in the midst of our idols and enjoying our worship with them, being reminded of the One True God can be a jarring experience. When confronted with facts we make our choice. If we pretend to ignore the facts and choose ignorance, we still make our choice. We can choose God, and with that choice comes its own difficulties. We are not promised security from trails and tribulations. In fact, we are warned of the difficult times ahead when we choose to follow the Lord. At the end of the day, however, only those who choose the more difficult road will reach paradise.

You Are Not
Hos 13:6-9 but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open. He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper. In this passage Israel is compared to sheep who fall into claws of wild beasts. Formerly God took care and protected them like a good shepherd. Israel grew fat with the happiness of the world. They became like sheep to content with themselves to obey their shepherd. In rebellion they throw off their protective shepherd in favor of another shepherd who makes false promises of still greener pastures. In their foolishness they are led to their destruction like a lost sheep who becomes prey for wild animals. Hosea uses poetic language with vivid metaphors to convey a simple point. When you rebel against God, thinking you know the better way, you are walking into a trap that will end in your destruction. It is one thing to submit to being a sheep, it is another to forget your shepherd.

Royal Taunt
Hos 13:10-11 Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”? I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath. It is common in ancient biblical literature for prophets to speak in taunts. The nature of the taunt is particularly revealing. God gave ancient Israel a king and did so with a warning of what would happen. The people wanted a leader they could see. They wanted to put their faith in a man. When the people were confronted with the presence of God in the wilderness they begged to let Moses represent them. Jesus was the ultimate representative of God in the flesh. Within just three centuries of Christ’s ascension humans appointed a man to once again represent them to God, this time as a religious leader with the title of Pope. Of course Hosea’s prophecy of the king being deposed came about along with the collapse of Samaria, but the idea of ordinary men wanting to buffer themselves from God through a human leader remains a common aspect of human nature to this very day. In most protestant churches a pastor leads the local congregation and denominational officers often direct the activity of the group as a whole through establishment of religious doctrine and ordinances. One of the critical teaching of our Lord Jesus is that he is himself our intercessor through the activity of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We do not need kings or religious managers. We need communion with the Holy Spirit and peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Ps 118 warns us to avoid putting faith in human powers. Only by the grace of divine pardon is sin covered. Only by the lion of Judah, our Lord Jesus, are we protected from our enemies, Satan and death.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does
Hos 13:12-13 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store. The pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening of the womb. Hosea uses the image of childbirth gone awry to show the hope of Israel, so close to being realized, is being lost because they refuse to repent and turn to God. Jesus said we must be born again (Jn 3:3). The rebirth Jesus spoke about with Nicodemus includes the idea of sin being cast off. Hosea warns that Israel’s sin remains. The Lord wants to forgive and restore Israel, but the unwise child refuses to be born again. In their rebellion, Israel refuses to repent. In the case of physical birth, when a mother fails to dilate both mother and child are in immediate danger of death. So it is for Israel where the people and its religious and political leadership are about to die because there is no repentance in the land.

Eternal Question
Hos 13:14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. “Sheol” is a transliteration of a Hebrew word that means “pit” or “grave” where the dead are located. In context, the references here to sheol and death refer to the death of Israel as an independent cultural, religious and political entity. In the greater context is also clear that literal death awaits many as part of the impending punishment. The rhetorical questions imply, however, that death does not necessarily need to be their fate. There is an urgent divine desire to see Israel turn from its rebellion. There is also the certain knowledge of an omniscient God who sees that Israel will not turn from its chosen path to destruction. Certainly there is a possibility of redemption. God has that power. When Hosea pens the questions, “O Death, where are plagues? O Sheal, where is your sting?” context suggests he is asking death to come and take Israel. Why does justice take so long? We often wonder why God waits to execute justice. When He does, however, we often wonder why His idea of justice isn’t quite like our own. When Paul quotes this passage (1 Cor 15:55), he means something very different by his rhetoric. In his epistle he taunts death itself. As a victor over death, he knows the grave has no power. Redemption is manifest through Jesus and death, the greatest enemy of all, is defeated. Hosea warns Israel that God’s compassion is hidden, redemption is lost, and death is coming. For those who repent, however, death has no power. God’s compassion is waiting for those who love Him.

Rebellion Has a High Price
Hos 13:15-16 Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing. Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open. Open desert wilderness lies to the east of Israel. An east wind is arid, robbing any moisture it finds from the earth. Ephraim was the greatest tribe of Israel, but it would fall to the Assyrians, also coming from the east. The Assyrians would take everything of value from Israel just as surely as the east wind dries up wells and springs in the intense summer heat. The closing verse of this chapter conveys with vivid horror an image, both literal and figurative, of pregnant women murdered in the conquest of Israel. Based on records of the vile cruelty of Assyrian kings it is entirely likely that a literal reading of abortion at sword point is accurate. Figuratively, the stubborn child Israel refuses to be reborn into salvation through repentance. Rebellion remains and the hope of a new generation is utterly lost. The indictment was made, the opportunity for repentance given, and final judgment executed when rebellious Israel refuses to obey.

Majoring in the Minors

Hosea Chapters:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

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