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.
