August 22, Hosea 13
“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.” - Hosea 13:9 KJV
We admire the self-made individual who built a successful business through hard work and unswerving commitment to reach his or her goals. We celebrate their success as an achievement, and perhaps find in their example fresh motivation to pursue our own dreams and goals.
If we appreciate self-made success, surely we must pity the person who destroys himself. It’s sad to see someone fail because of unfavorable circumstances or a lack of sufficient resources. But it’s more tragic to see that man or woman who ruins their health, their marriage or their career by their own foolish choices and actions.
I chose the King James reading of the text verse because it illustrates the great heart of God for sinners. It also emphasizes that sin destroys us, and reminds us of the sad reality that we destroy ourselves when we turn away from God.
Israel had a great start as a nation with their deliverance from Egypt and their subsequent defeat of the Egyptians at the Red Sea. They had grown strong as a nation, and Ephraim was one of the strongest, largest tribes. But Ephraim fell from prominence when they turned to Baal worship. Their idolatry severed their relationship to God and brought spiritual death upon them. Instead of turning back to God, they grew worse, and went deeper into sin. They crafted idols with their own hands and then worshiped their creation. Both idols and worshipers were earthly things without substance like dew on the ground, chaff blown by the wind, or a wisp of smoke.
God is eternal and only. He has always been and there is none like him. He made them a nation, fed them when they were hungry, and guided them in the trackless wilderness. But when they were full and thought they had arrived, they forgot God.
God warned them that the anger he was about to pour out on them was more fierce than a mother bear whose cubs had been stolen. He would tear them like a hungry lioness rips her prey. God punished them for forgetting and turning away from him. The king they wanted so badly could not save them from God’s wrath, nor could their idols do anything to help them. Their rebellion and impenitence brought the wrath of God down on them. God would destroy them as a nation, and the enemy would be ruthless, killing innocent little children and ripping open expectant mothers.
Chapter 13 reminds us that sin destroys our relationships with God and others. Sin grows worse and worse. And sin brings awful consequences of death and destruction. They died spiritually when they disobeyed God, but their rejection of the Lord as their God and their King set off a chain of events that led to their physical deaths as well.
The ESV reading of the text is, “He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper.” It acknowledges the hand of God on the disaster that ended northern kingdom Israel’s shameful history. But the text also explained why it happened: “for you are against me.” God did not turn away from Israel until they forsook and turned against him. And the text reminded them that the One they turned against had been their helper. He had sustained them and given them victories in the past. The nation was doomed, but he extended offers of reconciliation and restoration to individuals who would listen and turn back to him.
This chapter reminds us of several important lessons. It illustrates what self-destructive folly it is to turn away from God to embrace anything or anyone we turn into our idol. When we grow prosperous and full, it’s easy to trust our gifts and forget that God is the one who gave us the gifts. And though we may look inside ourselves and find many reasons to repent, we must look outside ourselves to find our only hope for redemption from the ruin that sin will surely bring.
Far from being just a story about these ancient people and their disastrous turn away from God, these words point to spiritual realities that are very real in our world and in our lives today. It will be to our eternal benefit to learn from their tragic failures.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—August 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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