In these final chapters of Hosea, we see an heroic triumph of mercy for Israel.

The Lord reminds His people of their infancy- the days of the patriarchs and their deliverance from Egypt.

There is a principle in biblical interpretation that is mainly used in the Epistles, but I think might also be appropriate in the messages from God to His people.

The principle is called “no empty exhortations.” It means, if the writer encourages, exhorts, or commands something, there’s a reason for it. It isn’t an “empty exhortation.” And if you’re a parent or have ever been in management, you have used it.

👩🏻 Mom: “You’re not going to go over to your friend’s house until your room is clean.”

What might we infer from that “exhortation?”

😏 Sounds like the kid’s room is a wreck.

Exactly. Here’s another one:

👷🏽‍♂️ Supervisor: “Ok guys, I want you on site before work time is supposed to begin. If you’re arriving at starting time, you’re late.”

What issue do you think the supervisor is addressing?

🤔 Sounds like some of the crew are showing up late and it’s keeping them from starting work on time.

Correct.

Now let’s look at one from God in Hosea:

“So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭12‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Why would God need to tell them this?

🤔 Sounds like they left Him and threw away love and justice while they were at it.

Good.

Let’s do a couple more…

“I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Why would God tell them that HE was the God Who brought them out of Egypt unless they were confused on that point? Why would He state that HE is the One that will make them live in tents again like nomads unless He knew that they were primed to assume other causes for their expulsion from their permanent dwelling?

“I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables.

By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬, ‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Let’s ask ourselves, “Why would God need to say this?”

Might it be because there was confusion among the people about the authority and messages of the prophets? There were plenty of false prophets after all, muddying the spiritual waters. The people are mostly disregarding Hosea. But it’s likely that – in their minds – they were disregarding a man. But in fact, they were disregarding God Himself. And it seems to suggest that they had reframed their own history to diminish or dismiss God’s role in the Exodus from Egypt and their survival in the wilderness.

Americans today do this in spades. If you read the documents of the country’s founders, they frequently gave credit to God for the wisdom and ability to establish this country; and for our national survival. But if you sat in a typical American classroom today, it’s all been reframed to exclude any ideas about God.

To my brain, deciphering the reason for the exhortation feels kind of like crawling through a sentence backwards but it rewards one with more clarity on the text.

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King Hoshea Can’t Save You! – Hosea

We learned from the opening verse of Hosea that he prophesied from the time of Uzziah to Hezekiah.

Hoshea was the final king of Israel. His reign overlapped with Hezekiah. Notice the similarity between the names Hosea and Hoshea. They are only similar in English. In Hebrew they are EXACTLY the same.

And (rather ironically) the name means “deliverer.” Here’s the root word:

This is also the root word in Jesus’ name, Yeshua:

With all of that in mind, now let’s read this:

“Where now is your king [Hoshea], to save [yasha] you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭13‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There is a kind of mocking irony here. The prophet named “Deliverer” says that King “Deliverer” cannot “deliver” them.

And in verse 13 Israel is depicted as a baby who fails to be delivered. That is a critical situation. Seconds matter. In the ancient world before emergency C-sections, a baby who could not be naturally born meant certain death for both mother and baby.

In this context of failed delivery we have verse 14 which the Apostle Paul quotes in First Corinthians.

“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭54‬-‭57‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We recently read the text in Isaiah 25:8 where “Death is swallowed up.”

Some translations (LEB, NASB) have Hosea 13:14 as a series of questions:

“Should I redeem them from the power of Sheol? Should I deliver them from death? Where are your plagues, O Death? Where is your destruction, O Sheol? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭13‬:‭14‬ ‭LEB‬‬

The ESV has it as statements (I will redeem, etc) then questions (where are your plagues?, etc), while the KJV presents them all as statements:

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭13‬:‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Recall that there is no punctuation in the original manuscripts so there is a bit of ambiguity here.

The Septuagint (which is most likely the text Paul referenced) does something different.

“I will deliver them out of the hand of Hades and will redeem them from death. Where is your penalty, O Death? O Hades, where is your sting? Pity is hidden from my eyes.” – Hosea 13:14, St. Athanasius Academy LXX

It seems to be not a question of whether Israel is going to “die” or not. To go back to the birth metaphor, both mother and child are doomed. Israel is about to perish. But the Lord says it’s not the end of the story. There is going to be a resurrection. One day, Death itself will die. Destruction itself will be destroyed. And God will not pity Death or change His mind about it. It will take time but it IS coming. And it will be the final battle.

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭26‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I imagine that must’ve felt like a far-away dream for Hosea. How blessed we are to have the whole book! We can peek ahead at the ending.

There is an older woman at my library who confessed to me (with a rather embarrassed giggle) that she always peeks at the back of a book to read the end of the story before she starts. She said she wants to make sure it has a happy ending.

We can do that too. And when we do, we find that John observed the fulfillment of what God said through the prophet Hosea about the destruction of Death and Hades:

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I gotta be honest, I’m not a huge fan of “repeat-after-me” prayers for salvation. Sometimes they have “magical incantation” vibes; like “If you say these magic words, POOF! you will be transformed into a Christian!” (Surely-to-goodness a rational adult can figure out how to honestly tell God they’ve blown it and have come to Him for rescue.) But I’m reading along in the final words of Hosea to these people who are as lost as a goose in a snowstorm and what do I find? A sample prayer for them to pray:

“Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises. Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.””
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭14‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s short but it carries true repentance. No more dependence on the world or our own strength or idols.

And – because this is the Bible – in verses 4-8 we get to read God’s answer to the prayer they haven’t even prayed yet!

“The Lord says, ‘Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.’”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭14‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Even at the bitter end, in the face of Death and the Grave, (just punishment for their sin!) the LORD is extending grace and mercy and love.

When critics go on about “the God of the Old Testament” being “cruel” it tells me they haven’t read all of the Old Testament. They have only cherry-picked passages of judgment. You can’t read Hosea and honestly come away thinking that Yahweh is cruel. His own people, that He made and rescued and provided for, spit in His face and chased after every other god in the host of heaven. If He was “cruel” He would’ve pulverized them all by the end of Solomon’s reign and left the rest of humanity to slit each other’s throats in the dark. He did no such thing.

He is, in fact, keeping both justice and mercy in perfect balance. He is promising a Divine King and a resurrection; a permanent victory over Death. That is a God worth knowing and trusting- no matter what may come.

And if the Lord wanted faithless Israel to return to Him, there’s no reason to believe that He doesn’t want you.