Hosea Chapters 13-14 (02/01/2026)

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
Teach us kindness
Real world
Flesh and blood kindness
With messy people
full of fear and shame
Angry sometimes
Broken sometimes
Defended
Resistant

Grant us the courage
To be vulnerable enough to care
To be considerate
To slow down
And look up
From our own preoccupations
To learn about their joys
To learn about their pain

And let us be as open
To receive kindness
As to offer it
So we can put aside our
Pride
And our defenses
And our need to control
And enjoy the pleasures
Of being loved
And of loving
And we can experience the joy
Of your life
Your fruit
Growing
Day after day
Coming to life
In the real world
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Intro: If there were ever to be a roll-call of Christian heroes,

We’d find a wide assortment of characters throughout history
– and, for all the controversy surrounding his life,
• I’m certain Lonnie Frisbee would be among them
◦ in our first encounter I experienced someone with uncanny
◦ it was like bumping into a New Testament apostle
• Lonnie was the most effective hippie preacher in the Jesus Movement (in my opinion)
– a friend of mind attended a large meeting where Lonnie was speaking
• he later told me, Lonnie quoted the Bible, rambled a bit,
◦ then, fell silent, a few moments later he suddenly, shouted, “Get saved!”
• instantly, a third of crowd jumped to their feet

I’m going to suggest, that the essence of God’s word to Hosea was “Get saved”
– only it is more than what Lonnie meant
• in the narrow evangelical context “saved” means ” from something
• but the broader biblical meaning means to be saved into something
◦ for instance, into a new life with God
◦ and into the potential person God sees when he looks at you
– God presented a living parable through Hosea
• he played back Israel’s history as he viewed it through his divine eyes
◦ he told stories, painted pictures, spoke through poetry,
◦ and delivered an number of prophetic threats and promises
• God wanted his people to see what they had become,
◦ but also what they could have been, and could possibly still become

In today’s chapters, God adds the last pieces of the puzzle

In these verses we learn how Israel failed their destiny
When Ephraim spoke in trembling,
he was a prince in Israel,
but he was guilty with Baal and died.
And now they continue to offend
and make themselves molten images
from their silver in their form of idols
all of it craftsmen work.
To them they say:
sacrifices of man, calves to be kissed.
Therefore shall they be like a morning cloud
and like early dew that melts away,
like chaff whirled out from the threshing floor
and like smoke from a chimney Hosea 13:1-3

I remind you, “Ephraim” was the chief tribe in the north, and is understood as Israel
– there was a period when he “spoke in trembling”; that is to say with reverence
“Hear the word of the LORD,
you who tremble at his word” (Isa. 66:5)
“Do you not fear me? declares the LORD.
Do you not tremble before me?” (Jer. 5:22)
• but their devotion to God disappeared when they went over to Baal
◦ and with that move, the nation experienced a sad loss of status and wealth
• you think they would realize their decline and return to Yahweh, but,
“And now they continue to offend” (v. 2)
◦ do you remember in chapter 7, they did not discern they were in decline?
“Strangers consumed his strength,
but he did not know.
His hair turned suddenly gray,
but he did not know” (v. 9)
◦ Hosea picks up another theme already mentioned in chapter 8, that idols are the product of human hands (v. 6)
“a craftsman made it, and it is not a god”
– there are many people living in denial regarding the state of our nation
• it amazes me that they cannot see how we are rapidly sliding downhill
◦ we’ve become a divided and troubled nation, and a disgusting nuisance
◦ I wonder how much ruin it will take for more people to wake up

This opening stanza ends with a list of similes (or metaphors)
– all four represent something transient, that quickly evaporates, flies away, or disappears

God’s response to Israel’s deterioration
Yet I am the LORD your God
ever since the land of Egypt,
and no God save Me shall you know
and no rescuer except for Me.
I knew you in the wilderness
in a parched land.
When they grazed and they were sated,
the were sated and grew proud.
Therefore they forgot Me.
And I will become to the like a lion,
like a leopard I spy on the way.
I will meet them like a bear robbed of her cubs
and rip the sinews round their heart.
And I will devour them there like a lion,
the beasts of the field shall tear them apart Hosea 13:4-8

While they were decaying from being misled by pagan gods and idols,
– the Lord says, “Yet I am the LORD your God”
• here is the same warmth of affection we saw last week
◦ from the time they left Egypt, they were to know only Yahweh
◦ and in the wilderness Yahweh traveled with and knew them
• the Hebrew word translated “know” has several meanings
◦ all related to being “informed” and “familiar with”
◦ I think here we’re to understand in this instance it is an intimate knowing
– v. 6, when Israel settled in Canaan, they became spoiled by God’s blessings
• sadly, God had previously and explicitly warned them of these very things Hosea addresses
“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God . . . lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied, then your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt . . . and go after other gods and serve and worship them” (De. 8:7-20)
• like the previous stanza this one also concludes with a list of similes
◦ these illustrate the harsh nature of God’s punishment
◦ their shepherd through the wilderness becomes like predatory animals when they’re settled in the land

Now we learn who is to blame for Israel’s ruin
You are ruined, O Israel,
for who will come to your aid?
Where is your king then?
Let him rescue you in all your towns.
And your leaders to whom you said,
“Give me a king and nobles.”
But I will give you a king in My wrath
and take him away in My anger.
Ephraim’s crime is bundled up,
hidden, his offense Hosea 13:9-11

The “usual suspects” include kings, their appointed leaders, and all other religious and civic authorities
“Woe, negligent shepherds, who scatter the sheep of My flock, said the LORD. Therefore, said the LORD God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd My people, you have let my flocks scatter . . . and did not attend to them” (Jer. 23:1-2)
“Woe, shepherds of Israel who were shepherding them. Will not the shepherds [feed] the flock? . . . You did not strengthen the weak ones you did not heal nor bind up the one with a broken limb nor bring back the one that had wandered nor did seek out the one that was lost. And by force you held sway over them with crushing labor.” (Eze. 34)
– God locates the fault of Israel’s failure in the realm of human government
• but the people are not innocent either;
◦ these were the leaders they clamored for,
◦ and they stood by them even when abused and led astray
– again, this is relevant to our nation at this dangerous moment in history
• I don’t feel I need to explain or elaborate, it is all too obvious
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear

Israel’s destiny would be a day of debt collection
Birth pangs come upon him,
and the child is not wise.
For now he shall not last
on the birth-stool for children.
From Sheol shall I ransom them,
from death shall I redeem the?
Where are your words, O Death,
where your scourge, O Sheol?
Regret is hidden from My eyes.
Though he put forth fruit in meadows,
the east wind shall come, the LORD’s wind,
from the desert rising up.
And his fountain shall dry up
and his spring shall arid be.
It shall ravage treasure,
every precious vessel Hosea 13:13-15

First, there will be difficulty with pregnancy and,
– the child born will be defective – and not survive
• the way Robert Alter’s translation reads verse 14, is that God is asking Israel these questions
• if the nation waits to turn to God only when they finally recognize disaster that has come upon them,
◦ will they expect him to rescue their children from Sheol?
(Sheol was the grave, the underworld, the abode of the dead)
– God’s empathy and mercy throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is overwhelming
• but there is a limit – and when Israel has is resisted him to the very end,
he says, “Regret is hidden from My eyes” – no empathy, no recovery
◦ this tragedy is what God had been trying to spare them

This verse belongs to the previous chapter
Samaria is guilty,
for it rebelled against its God.
They shall fall by the sword,
their infants shall be smashed,
and their pregnant women split apart Hosea 14:1

When Israel would finally be defeated by the Assyrian army,
– their enemies would deal with them brutally, and showing no mercy to anyone

Now, at the end, Hosea’s does not end in despair
Turn back, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
for you have stumbled in your crime.
Take words with you
and turn back to the LORD.
Say to Him, “All crime You shall forgive.
And take what is good,
and we shall offer our speech instead of bulls Hosea 14:2-3

We will hear three voices in this chapter
– first, the voice of Hosea, urging God’s unruly children,
“Turn back, O Israel, to the LORD your God”
• having taken the wrong path for so many years,
◦ they “stumbled” in it, and that is where they now find themselves
• they need to go to God and say what needs to be said
◦ that doesn’t mean their speech is insincere,
◦ or that they’re trying to talk God into accepting them

What comes to mind is the parable of the “Prodigal Son,” who when returning home prepares a speech to deliver to his father. His words are sincere and his willingness to live by them is authentic. This is what Hosea has in mind for Israel. An authentic confession of their need for him and willingness to give him all that he asks.

• the problem is, the rituals of sacrifice no longer work
◦ they had devoted those gifts to pagan deities, and now they’ve become corrupted and meaningless
◦ what they have to do is speak the truth
– there’s a psalm that covers this perfectly:
“For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps. 51:16-17)

Next, we hear the voice of the people
“Assyria will not rescue us,
on horses we shall not ride.
And we shall say no more ‘our God’
to our handiwork,
as in You alone the orphan is shown pity” Hosea 14:4

They renounce all the empty commitments they had embraced
– they are orphans, knowing only God would adopt them

Then, third, we hear God’s voice as he imagines welcoming them home
“I will heal their rebellion
I will love them freely,
for My wrath has turned back from them.
I will be like dew to Israel.
He shall blossom like the lily
and strike root like Lebanon.
His branches shall go forth
and his glory be like the olive tree,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
Those who dwell in his shade shall come back,
they shall give life to new grain,
and like the vine they shall blossom.
His fame is like Lebanon wine.
Ephraim—‘Why more should I deal with idols?
I have answered and I espy Him
I am like the lush cypress.
From me your fruit is found.’” Hosea 14:5-9

They will flourish, as God has always wanted them to flourish
– living in his presence, enjoying his goodness
– and his promise! “I will love them freely”
• there are many days when I need to be loved freely
• loved generously, without deserving it, built up by it
“love edifies”

Conclusion: The very last verse is not at all in the prophetic style

It is, in fact, straight out of the wisdom literature; that is to say, like the Book of Proverbs
Who is wise and can grasp these things,
discerning, and can know them?
For straight are the ways of the LORD,
and the righteous shall walk on them,
but rebels shall stumble on them Hosea 14:10

In other words, Hosea requires a careful and intuitive reading
A major portion of the book is analogy,
and some parts have more than one layer of meaning
When we go back over it, we must read each passage with both our mind and heart
But for now, we are invited to run into God’s arms, and belong to him
Only, let’s make certain we are walking in HIS ways
Frederick Buechner, “We have only one life, and the choice of how we are going to live it must be our own choice, not one that we should let the world make for us.”
To “get saved” in this way is not me becoming a better version of myself
Rather, it’s about becoming the person God dreams me to be
And his dream for us, if difficult, or painful, or seemingly impossible, is still fantastic