Thy Strong Word — Hosea 13: They Will Fall by the Sword

The Rev. Dr. Leonard Payton pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Forest Park, IL joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Hosea 13.

God reminds the people of Israel of their past glory but warns of their impending destruction due to their rejection of him in favor of idols and military strength. The coming assault will be severe, and Hosea is explicit about the level of violence that the invading nation will inflict upon the people, even women and children.

The book of Hosea is a love story with a twist. It tells how God commanded Hosea, a prophet, to marry Gomer, a wife who would be unfaithful to him. God wanted Hosea to feel firsthand the pain of betrayal as he sent him out to prophesy to the people of Israel how they had been unfaithful to God. Hosea still loved Gomer and pursued her and restored her as his wife. This was a picture of how God pursued Israel despite their sin and rebellion and offered them grace and mercy if they would return to Him.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Hosea 13

The Lord‘s Relentless Judgment on Israel

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

⁴But I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
    and besides me there is no savior.
⁵It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
    in the land of drought;
⁶but when they had grazed,^[a] they became full,
    they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
    therefore they forgot me.
⁷So I am to them like a lion;
    like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
⁸I 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.

⁹He destroys^[b] you, O Israel,
    for you are against me, against your helper.
¹⁰Where 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”?
¹¹I gave you a king in my anger,
    and I took him away in my wrath.

¹²The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
    his sin is kept in store.
¹³The 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.

¹⁴I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
    I shall redeem them from Death.^[c]
O Death, where are your plagues?
    O Sheol, where is your sting?
    Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵Though 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^[d] 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.

Footnotes

Hosea 13:6 Hebrew according to their pasture
Hosea 13:9 Or I will destroy
Hosea 13:14 Or Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death?
Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Hebrew

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.