Hosea 13: Death is Dead

​When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
    he was exalted in Israel,
    but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
2 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!”
3 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.
4 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.

5 It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
    in the land of drought;
6 but when they had grazed, they became full,
    they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
    therefore they forgot me.
7 So I am to them like a lion;
    like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
8 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.
9 He destroys you, O Israel,
    for you are against me, against your helper.
10 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”?

11 I gave you a king in my anger,
    and I took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
    his sin is kept in store.
13 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.
14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
    I shall redeem them from Death.
O Death, where are your plagues?
    O Sheol, where is your sting?
    Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
 
15 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.
16 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.
 
Meditation
The resurrection of Jesus invites you to live from His victory over the penalty and power of sin. Paul uses today’s key verse in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 like a sherpa helping believers to reach the summit of the gospel invitation of resurrection: thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! God desires for His people to live from Jesus’ victory.
 
Today’s reading is framed by the word guilt, (1, 16) emphasis highlighting the just reality of God’s judgement. Idolatry was the norm in Israel. (1-3) Every time God gave prosperity and abundance to Israel they turned it into evil (4-6), forgetting it was the Lord who blessed them. The result of rejecting relationship with the Lord was ruin, judgment represented by ravenous animals (7-8) from which none of their leaders could save them (9-11). Israel was an unwise son, too foolish to choose life (12-13). Their end was destruction, (14-16) but in covenant relationship with God- judgment is not the end of the story.
 
The light of God’s covenant promises shines brightly in the dark articulation of judgment. God promised to rescue His people from condemnation, redeeming them from death. The Lord mocks the grave by revealing His sovereign grace.
 
Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). The penalty for the guilt of our sin is paid. The power of sin waylaid. Through Jesus’ resurrection, death is dead and love has won! Jesus took the judgement for our sin so in Him we can have no condemnation, living from His victory.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the dark judgement articulated by Hosea for the guilt of Israel’s sin?
 
-How does the articulation of condemnation and judgment highlight the compassion and covenant love of the Lord, forbearing with His people and promising to redeem them from the curse?

-Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus is the person who embodies the promises of God. Jesus gives us victory over death, redeeming us with His blood. Take a moment to evaluate your heart: Do you live from victory, knowing Christ has paid the penalty for your sin and that in Him the power of sin is gone? Death has died. Love has won! What does it look like for your to live from this victory in Christ?
 
Key Verse
14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.