THERE IS NO SAVIOR BUT GOD

Passage: Hosea 13:1-16

Key verse: 4

NIV

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(A)
    he was exalted(B) in Israel.
    But he became guilty of Baal worship(C) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
    they make(D) idols for themselves from their silver,(E)
cleverly fashioned images,
    all of them the work of craftsmen.(F)
It is said of these people,
    “They offer human sacrifices!
    They kiss[a](G) calf-idols!(H)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears,(I)
    like chaff(J) swirling from a threshing floor,(K)
    like smoke(L) escaping through a window.

4 “But I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt.(M)
You shall acknowledge(N) no God but me,(O)
    no Savior(P) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(Q)
    in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
    when they were satisfied, they became proud;(R)
    then they forgot(S) me.(T)
7 So I will be like a lion(U) to them,
    like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(V)
    I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(W) I will devour them—
    a wild animal will tear them apart.(X)

9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
    because you are against me,(Y) against your helper.(Z)
10 Where is your king,(AA) that he may save you?
    Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
    ‘Give me a king and princes’?(AB)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(AC)
    and in my wrath I took him away.(AD)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
    his sins are kept on record.(AE)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(AF) come to him,
    but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(AG) arrives,
    he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(AH)

14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(AI)
    I will redeem them from death.(AJ)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
    Where, O grave, is your destruction?(AK)

“I will have no compassion,
15     even though he thrives(AL) among his brothers.
An east wind(AM) from the Lord will come,
    blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
    and his well dry up.(AN)
His storehouse will be plundered(AO)
    of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(AP) must bear their guilt,(AQ)
    because they have rebelled(AR) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(AS)
    their little ones will be dashed(AT) to the ground,
    their pregnant women(AU) ripped open.”[b]

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Footnotes
  1. Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
  2. Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
    (A)he was exalted in Israel,
    but he incurred guilt (B)through Baal and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
    and (C)make for themselves metal images,
idols skillfully made of their silver,
    (D)all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of them,
    “Those who offer human sacrifice (E)kiss calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be (F)like the morning mist
    or (G)like the dew that goes early away,
(H)like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
    or (I)like smoke from a window.

4 But (J)I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
(K)you know no God but me,
    and (L)besides me there is no savior.
5 (M)It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
    in the land of drought;
6 (N)but when they had grazed,[a] they became full,
    (O)they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
    (P)therefore they forgot me.
7 So (Q)I am to them like a lion;
    (R)like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
8 I will fall upon them (S)like a bear robbed of her cubs;
    I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
    (T)as a wild beast would rip them open.

9 He destroys[b] you, O Israel,
    for you are against me, against (U)your helper.
10 (V)Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
    Where are all your rulers—
those of whom (W)you said,
    “Give me a king and princes”?
11 (X)I gave you a king in my anger,
    and (Y)I took him away in my wrath.

12 The iniquity of Ephraim is (Z)bound up;
    his sin is (AA)kept in store.
13 (AB)The pangs of childbirth come for him,
    but he is an unwise son,
for at the right time he does not present himself
    (AC)at the opening of the womb.

14 (AD)I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
    (AE)I shall redeem them from Death.[c]
(AF)O (AG)Death, where are your plagues?
    (AH)O (AI)Sheol, where is your sting?
    (AJ)Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

15 Though (AK)he may flourish among his brothers,
    (AL)the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,
    rising from the wilderness,
(AM)and his fountain shall dry up;
    his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip (AN)his treasury
    of every precious thing.
16 [d] Samaria (AO)shall bear her guilt,
    because (AP)she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
    (AQ)their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
    and their (AR)pregnant women ripped open.

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Footnotes
  1. Hosea 13:6 Hebrew according to their pasture
  2. Hosea 13:9 Or I will destroy
  3. Hosea 13:14 Or Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death?
  4. Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Hebrew
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Ephraim forgot God (1-8) When Israel worshiped God, she was an influential nation. When Israel worshiped Baal, she died, first spiritually, then nationally. God had brought them out of Egypt and cared for them in the desert. He is their only Savior; but the people forgot as soon as they were fed and were satisfied, and now punishment was coming on them. We must remember the first commandment, that there is no God but the Lord, no Savior except him. 2. God punishes and God redeems (9-16) Northern Israel was finally destroyed because they set themselves against their only helper, God. Kings and princes could not save them. Trouble came upon their nation like birth pains, but they had forgotten how to respond by turning to God. Their nation was doomed to fall. But God can save a people even when they are already destroyed, because he has resurrection power. By faith, we can even mock the power of the grave, as Apostle Paul did (1Co 15:55).

Prayer: Father, there is no God or Savior besides you. Help me believe your power to save no matter what.

One Word: God redeems his people from death