Hosea 13:1-8

REQUITINGGOD WILL PUNISH

TEXT: Hosea 13:1-8

1

When Ephraim spake, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died,

2

And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

3

Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that passeth early away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

4

Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no god but me, and besides me there is no savior.

5

I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.

6

According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.

7

Therefore am I unto them as a lion; as a leopard will I watch by the way;

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 lioness; the wild beast shall tear them.

QUERIES

a.

Why did they kiss the calves?

b.

How is Israel to be like the dew that passeth early away?

c.

What is the caul of their heart?

PARAPHRASE

It used to be when Israel spoke, her neighbor-nations trembled because Israel was powerful and influential. But Israel let his pride destroy him. He spurned Jehovah God and rebelled against Him, worshipping pagan Baalism instead, and as a result, Israel began to die both spiritually and physically. And now the people disobey more and more. They melt their silver so that unprincipled silversmiths may mold it into pagan idols according to the desires of the people. Then the people say, Bring sacrifices to these godshow utterly stupid and wickedmen worshipping and kissing calves! Because of such wickedness Israel will perish and vanish from national existence as quickly as the morning clouds, or the dew, or the chaff, or the smoke that rises from the cooking fires. In contrast to the impotency and stupidity of your idol-gods, I AM THE ETERNAL JEHOVAH-GOD. You have every reason to know Me for I delivered you by signs and wonders from the land of Egypt. You have been given all the evidence you need to know that I am the only GodI am the only One who can save you. I saved, protected and led you in the wilderness; I delivered you time after time from plagues, droughts and famines. But when I brought you into the land flowing with milk and honey and prospered youwhen you had eaten and were filled, you allowed your heart to be lifted up in pride and you forgot Me, and I specifically warned you, through Moses, not to let this happen. Therefore I am going to come upon this people like wild beasts come upon flocks of sheep. I will tear this nation to pieces and tear its very heart out, and this nation will be swallowed up in My wrath.

SUMMARY

Israel could not stand prosperity. She let pride cause her to forget her prosperity came from Jehovah. Turning, in pride, to idols she persists in idolatry and incurs the terrible wrath of a jealous God.

COMMENT

Hosea 13:1 WHEN EPHRAIM SPAKE. THERE WAS TREMBLING. The struggles of the proud tribe of Ephraim to get the rule among the tribes of the covenant people led eventually to the secession of the ten tribes and the divided kingdoms and the establishment of the kingdom of Israel. Israel, the northern kingdom, then became powerful and rich, and when Israel spoke her neighbor-nations (esp. Judah) listened! When Israel became rich and powerful her kings (esp. Ahab, see 1 Kings 16:29-33) made alliances with heathen nations and brought in the worship of Baal. This offended the righteous and jealous love of Jehovah. From that time onward Israel began slowly but certainly to dieboth spiritually, and as a consequence, physically.

Hosea 13:2 AND NOW THEY SIN MORE AND MORE. THEY SAY. LET THE MEN THAT SACRIFICE KISS THE CALVES. The farther one goes away from the light, the darker the darkness! The more Israel sinned, the more she wanted to sin, They became stupid and shameless in their sin and melted their silver and fashioned it with their own hands into gods and then bowed down before them and even kissed them. Pusey says, Kissing was an act of homage in the East, done upon the hand or the foot, the knees or shoulder. It was a token of Divine honor, whether to an idol or to God (cf. 1 Kings 19:18; Psalms 2:12). It was performed, either by actually kissing the image, or when the object could not be approached, (as the moon) kissing the hand, and so sending, as it were, the kiss to it (cf. Job 31:26-27). The apostle Paul reasoned logically with the philosophers of Athens that living men should never think that the Deity is like gold or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man (cf. Acts 17:22-31). Men, rational beings, professing to worship Jehovah, kiss, adore, worship, and expect help from calves made of silver. What foolish, stupid wickedness! There is even enough of the revelation of a personal God in nature that men ought not to worship idols or creatures (cf. Romans 1:18-32). And Israel had in addition to this, a direct, miraculously confirmed, revelation of God!

Hosea 13:3 THEREFORE THEY SHALL BE AS THE. DEW THAT PASSETH EARLY AWAY. Hosea uses four common experiences of men to figuratively express the rapid demise of Israel. As suddenly as the morning clouds vanish, as quickly as the dew is dried up, as violently as the chaff is driven through the air by a whirlwind, and as completely as the smoke rising from a cooking fire vanishesso will Israel suddenly, quickly, violently and completely vanish from the land. Hosea uses dew in other places as a figure of other experiences (cf. our comments on Hosea 6:4 and Hosea 14:5).

Hosea 13:4-5. I AM JEHOVAH THY GOD FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT. I DID KNOW THEE IN THE WILDERNESS. Again the prophet sets forth the contrast between the true God and the false gods. The enormity of their sin is evident once the comparison is recognized. Their God, Jehovah, delivered them from the power of Egypt and Egypt's gods by demonstrating, through Moses and Aaron, the impotency of Egypt's idols and His own omnipotence. Jehovah delivered them, sustained them in the wilderness and revealed His will to them by mighty miraculous signs and wonders which their forefathers had seen with their own eyes (cf. Deuteronomy 32:1-43). How utterly stupid of this generation then, not to recognize that there is only One True God, Jehovah, and that He alone can save them.

Hosea 13:6. THEY WERE FILLED AND THEIR HEART WAS EXALTED. How could a later generation (of Israelites be so mentally and spiritually depraved as to forget the facts of history? The answer is here in the sixth verse. Pride! They did exactly what Moses warned them not to do in Deuteronomy 8:11-20! When Israel became affluent, they did like so many other nations have done, and like America is doing today, they lifted up their hearts in pride and said My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. Pridewhether it is military pride, political pride, affluent pride or intellectual pridecauses men to wilfully ignore the fact of history as Peter points out in II Per. Hosea 3:3-5. Pseudo-scientists, proud of their intellectualism, proud of their erudition, holding to evolutionary, uniformitarian views, will deliberately ignore the historical, empirical facts which testify to creation and catastrophism. Theologians, proud of their erudition or their religious heritages, will deliberately ignore the historical, textual integrity of the Bible and substitute theology and philosophy for the Word of God. Pride is the trap that snared the devil, snared Eve and then Adam and snares many millions today (cf. 1 Timothy 3:6-7).

Hosea 13:7-8 THEREFORE I AM UNTO THEM AS A LION. AND WILL REND THE CAUL OF THEIR HEART. God's flock had been caused to lie down in green pastures and drink beside the still waters. But now God will come upon this flock of helpless sheep (Israel) like all of the wild beasts and tear this nation to pieces. Caul is the pericardium or membranous sac surrounding the heart. God is going to tear the very heart out of this nation. He will cause it to be devoured and swallowed up in Assyrian captivity, like a lioness devours its prey.

QUIZ

1.

Who trembled when Ephraim spoke?

2.

When did Israel begin her downward plunge into moral decadence?

3.

Did men actually kiss claves? Why?

4.

How did Paul, the apostle, argue against idolatry to philosophers?

5.

Why should Israel have known the difference between Jahovah and idols?

6.

Why did Israel refuse to acknowledge the difference between God and idols?

7.

How extensive will the judgment of God be upon Israel?