The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel
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. Hos. 13:14
I will ransom... The 22nd prophecy in Hosea (Hos. 13:14-16: Hos. 13:14 unfulfilled; Hos. 13:15-16 fulfilled). Next, Hos. 14:3.
Five Predictions—Unfulfilled:
1. I will ransom them from the power of sheol (Hos. 13:14).
2. I will redeem them from death.
3. I will be their plagues.
4. I will be the destruction of Sheol.
5. Repentance (change of mind in these matters) will be hidden from My eyes.
פָּדָה
pâdâh
paw-daw'
A primitive root: to sever, that is, ransom; generally to release, preserve: - X at all, deliver, X by any means, ransom, (that are to be, let be) redeem (-ed), rescue, X surely.
Six Predictions—Fulfilled:
1. An east wind will come, the wind of the Lord from the wilderness, and dry up his water supply (Hos. 13:15)
2. He will spoil the treasures of the pleasant vessels.
3. Samaria will become desolate (Hos. 13:16).
4. They will fall by the sword.
5. Their infants will be dashed in pieces.
6. Women with child will be ripped up.
power of the... The authority and bondage of sheol.
מִנֵּי מִנִּ מִן
min minnı̂y minnêy
min, min-nee', min-nay'
For H4482; properly a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses: - above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since X then, through, X whether, with.
יָד
yâd
yawd
A primitive word; a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.), in distinction from H3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote: - (+ be) able, X about, + armholes, at, axletree, because of, beside, border, X bounty, + broad, [broken-] handed, X by, charge, coast, + consecrate, + creditor, custody, debt, dominion, X enough, + fellowship, force, X from, hand [-staves, -y work], X he, himself, X in, labour, + large, ledge, [left-] handed, means, X mine, ministry, near, X of, X order, ordinance, X our, parts, pain, power, X presumptuously, service, side, sore, state, stay, draw with strength, stroke, + swear, terror, X thee, X by them, X them-selves, X thine own, X thou, through, X throwing, + thumb, times, X to, X under, X us, X wait on, [way-] side, where, + wide, X with (him, me, you), work, + yield, X your-selves.
גָּאַל
gâ'al
gaw-al'
A primitive root, to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship), that is, to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative’s property, marry his widow, etc.): - X in any wise, X at all, avenger, deliver, (do, perform the part of near, next) kinsfolk (-man), purchase, ransom, redeem (-er), revenger.
grave... Hebrew: She’owl, the unseen world of departed spirits, not the grave where the body goes.
death... Hebrew: maveth, death; pestilence; ruin. It is the power of being ruined that God will deliver from. Satan had this power until Christ conquered him (Heb. 2:14-15). God will destroy death (1Cor. 15:24-28). This passage is quoted in 1Cor. 15:54-55.
מָוֶת
mâveth
maw'-veth
From H4191; death (natural or violent); concretely the dead, their place or state (hades); figuratively pestilence, ruin: - (be) dead ([-ly]), death, die (-d).
O grave... Hebrew: She’owl, as defined, above. God will also destroy the power of hell so that it will not touch His people whom He will redeem. Death and hell will only cause those who reject His redemption to be marred, ruined, and punished. Repentance by God or the changing of His mind and plans concerning death and hell will never be such hope for the rebellious is vain and eternally hidden from the very eyes of God.
שְׁאֹל שְׁאוֹל
she'ôl she'ôl
sheh-ole', sheh-ole'
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.
Placing the strong affirmation of deliverance so abruptly after a denunciation intensified the wonder of His unrequited love (compare 11:8-9; Lev. 26:44). This can apply to God’s restoration of Israel from Assyria, and in future times from all the lands of the dispersion, preserving them and bringing them back to their land for the kingdom of Messiah (Ezek. Chapter 37).
It also speaks of the time of personal resurrection as (in Dan. 12:2-3). Repentant Israelites will be restored to the land and even raised from death to glory. Paul uses this text (in 1Cor. 15:55; quoting the LXX), to celebrate the future resurrection of the church. The Messiah’s great victory over death and the grave is the first fruits of the full harvest to come, when all believers will likewise experience the power of His resurrection.
These images reveal God’s power over death (1Cor. 15:55).
This is a promise that God will redeem them. Jesus defeated death, when He rose from the grave. This is a promise of restoration to them. Not restoration to their homeland, but restoration to their God. God will not repent of their punishment but will use it to change them.
קֹטֶב
qôṭeb
ko'-teb
From the same as H6986; extermination: - destruction.
נֹחַם
nôcham
no'-kham
From H5162, ruefulness, that is, desistance: - repentance.
עַיִן
‛Ayin
ah'-yin
Probably a primitive word; an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy a fountain (as the eye of the landscape): - affliction, outward appearance, + before, + think best, colour, conceit, + be content, countenance, + displease, eye ([-brow], [-d], -sight), face, + favour, fountain, furrow [from the margin], X him, + humble, knowledge, look, (+ well), X me, open (-ly), + (not) please, presence, + regard, resemblance, sight, X thee, X them, + think, X us, well, X you (-rselves).
Israel lies in the way of its own redemption-how truly this has been forced home upon them in one chapter after another! Shall God then step in and work a deliverance on the brink of death? From the hand of Sheol shall I deliver them? from death shall I redeem them? Nay, let death and Sheol have their way. Where are thy plagues, O death? where thy destruction, Sheol? Here with them. Compassion is hid from Mine eyes.
This great verse has been variously rendered. Some have taken it as a promise: I will deliver. I will redeem So the Septuagint translated, and St. Paul borrowed, not the whole Greek verse, but its spirit and one or two of its terms, for his triumphant challenge to death in the power of the Resurrection of Christ. As it stands in Hosea, however, the verse must be a threat. The last clause unambiguously abjures mercy, and the statement that His people will not be saved, for God cannot save them, is one in thorough harmony with all Hosea’s teaching.
Traditionally Hos. 13:14 has been interpreted as an expression of hope and a promise of salvation (NASB, NIV). However, this view is contextually problematic. Though Hosea’s prophecy is characterized by abrupt changes in tone, such a shift appears to be premature here the shift in this section appears to come in Hos. 14:1) and would leave Hos. 13:14 awkwardly connected with what follows cf. Hos. 13:14, I will have no compassion. The first two statements may be translated better as rhetorical questions implying a negative answer: Shall I ransom them from the power of sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? (RSV)
The next two questions Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? would then be appeals for death to unleash its plagues and destruction against Ephraim (cf. Hos. 13:14-16), not a triumphant cry of victory over death. Of course the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, applied the language of this text in the latter sense (cf. 1Cor. 15:55-56). However, in that context Paul was drawing on the language of Scripture as traditionally understood (cf. the LXX); he was not offering a textual and exegetical analysis of Hos. 13:14.
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