Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hosea+013

 

Hosea 13 (ESV)

1 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.

 

REFLECTION:

• Why does a person of God, or a people under the name of God, fall from the grace of God? Two reasons are listed in this section:

1. “He incurred guilt through Baal” (1). This is the sin of “spiritual fornication” mentioned repeatedly in the Book of Hosea. Israel originally had a status in the world and its words had weight, but it is now abandoned by God. Servants and believers of God must be careful. When our hearts no longer respect God as the head, we “die” and lose our spiritual vitality and power.
2. “They became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me.” (6) People tend to rely on God in times of hardship, but when they are rich, they forget the grace of God, so they are proud and abandon the true God. The Lord said: “It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.” (5) Let us recognize God’s provision, always be grateful and rely on Him.

• God is gracious; but He is also strict to those who forsake Him and oppose Him. In this chapter, God is described as a lion, leopard, and bear (7-8), devouring and ripping open rebellious people; the Israelites will face God’s judgment. But thank God, Chapter 13 is not the end of the Book.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for the Lord to protect you from committing the sin of “spiritual fornication” and you will not forget God’s grace in your abundance, lest that you will be proud and abandon the true God. Ask the Lord to strengthen your heart and believe that you have no other saviour besides Jesus.

 

HYMN: