Hosea 13: God’s Power Over Death

Hosea 13: God’s Power Over Death

Collin Leong.  January 1, 2026

(v1-16) The LORD's Relentless Judgment on Israel

(v1-3) When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died. 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!" 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.

Exp: In v1, Ephraim is both a tribe and a symbol for Israel as a whole. The trembling shows its former prestige and authority, but Hosea emphasizes that this exalted position collapsed under idolatry. In v2, the phrase "Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!" is a critique of Israel's idolatry. This may refer to 2 Kings 17:17, where it spoke about Israel, who "sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire." (Note that Judah's kings also sacrificed their children, eg: King Ahaz (1 King 16:2), and King Manasseh (2 Kings 21:6). Kissing was a gesture of reverence or worship (cf. 1 Kings 19:18, where people “kissed” Baal). Here it means bowing down to and honoring the calf idols. Israel’s worship is both grotesque (like sacrificing humans) and ridiculous (kissing metal calves).

(v4-8) But I am the LORD you God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought; but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forget me. So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. 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.

Exp: In v7-9, each animal mentioned represents God and His judgement on Israel:

• Lion - Symbol of strength, dominance, and unstoppable power. Represents God’s overwhelming authority and the inevitability of judgment. Lions in prophetic texts often symbolize divine wrath (cf. Amos 3:8). God’s authority cannot be resisted

• Leopard - Known for stealth and sudden attack. Symbolizes God’s judgment as unexpected, swift, and unavoidable. The lurking leopard conveys danger waiting in ambush — Israel cannot escape. Judgment comes unexpectedly

• Bear (robbed of her cubs) - Image of ferocious rage and protective fury. Symbolizes God’s anger as deeply personal — Israel’s betrayal provokes a visceral response. The maternal bear robbed of cubs highlights intensity and uncontrollable violence. Betrayal provokes fierce divine anger

• Wild Beast - General image of untamed destruction. Symbolizes chaos, tearing apart without restraint. Represents the culmination of judgment: Israel exposed to raw, uncontainable forces. Israel faces total devastation

(v9-11) He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper. Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers - those of whom you said, "Give me a king and princes"? I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.

Exp: In v9, Hosea frames God as both judge and helper — the paradox is that Israel’s destruction comes precisely because they rejected the One who could save them. Hosea recalls Israel’s demand for a king in 1 Samuel 8:5–7, when the people asked Samuel to appoint a king “like all the nations", and God response was "...they have rejected me from being king over them." Hosea is mocking Israel’s misplaced trust in human rulers. The kings and princes they demanded cannot save them from judgment. Hosea dramatizes their rejection of God as true king and helper.

(v12-13) The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store. The pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening of the womb. 

Exp: In v13, Israel is compared to a child in labor who refuses to be born. God is giving Israel the opportunity for renewal and deliverance (birth pangs). Israel resists, staying in the womb, which leads to death instead of life (unwise son). Israel’s stubbornness prevents them from experiencing salvation. Instead of embracing repentance and life, they cling to sin and face destruction.

(v14) I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

Exp: Sheol is interpreted as "grave" in other versions. The Apostle Paul cites it in 1 Corinthians 15:55, reworking Hosea’s imagery of death and Sheol into a triumphant declaration of resurrection victory: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”  Death is defeated, as Jesus has power over death when He resurrected. The "ransom" is establish through Jesus Christ. 

The phrase "compasion is hidden from my eyes" are debated, whether they belong in v14, or as the beginning of v15. If it is the end of v14, it means that the ransom will not happen for Israel at that point (until after Jesus' resurrection). If it's the start of v15, then v14 is a prophecy of Jesus resurrection, and v15 continues the judgement of Israel without "compassion".

(v15-16) Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind of the LORD shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing. Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open. 

Exp: In Israel’s geography, the east wind (khamsin/sirocco) comes from the desert — hot, dry, and devastating to crops. Here it represents Assyria, the instrument of God’s judgment. Israel’s life-source (prosperity, fertility, security), their wealth and resources will be cut off. Samaria is the capital of the northern kingdom, representing Israel as a whole. The destruction will be done in a cruel way by the Assyrians, killing even babies and pregnant women.

Key Messages

Hosea 13 intensifies the prophetic indictment by portraying Israel’s fleeting prosperity and deep rebellion against God. Through vivid metaphors—morning mist, lions and bears, childbirth pangs, and the east wind—the chapter dramatizes how idolatry leads to inevitable collapse. Ephraim’s sin is “stored up,” their refusal to repent likened to an unwise child resisting birth, and their flourishing stripped away by divine judgment. Yet embedded within the rhetoric is God’s sovereign power over death, later reinterpreted in the New Testament as resurrection victory. Hosea 13 thus underscores the seriousness of covenant betrayal while foreshadowing God’s ultimate triumph over death.

1. Fleeting Prosperity and Idolatry (vv. 1–6)

Israel’s exaltation turns to guilt as they worship Baal and craft idols. Their prosperity leads to pride, and pride leads to forgetfulness of God.

Application: Prosperity without humility breeds idolatry. When success lifts the heart away from God, it evaporates like mist. True security lies in remembering the Lord even in abundance.

2. God as Predator Against Rebellion (vv. 7–9)

God compares Himself to a lion, leopard, and bear, tearing Israel apart because they oppose their only Helper.

Application: Resistance to God transforms Him from protector to adversary. Trusting in human rulers or self-sufficiency leaves us vulnerable; only God is our true defender.

3. Stored Sin and Unwise Son (vv. 12–13)

Ephraim’s guilt is bound up, preserved for judgment. Israel is like a child who refuses to be born, missing the moment of deliverance.

Application: Sin unrepented does not disappear; it accumulates. Refusing God’s call to new life is spiritual folly, like resisting birth itself. Wisdom is to embrace repentance when God opens the way.

4. God’s Power Over Death (v. 14)

God declares His ability to ransom from Sheol and redeem from Death, taunting death’s sting. Yet compassion is withheld in Hosea’s context.

Application: God alone holds authority over death. For us, this finds fulfillment in Christ’s resurrection, where death’s sting is truly removed. Hope rests not in human strength but in God’s victory over the grave.

5. The East Wind and Samaria’s Collapse (vv. 15–16)

Though Ephraim flourishes, the east wind (Assyria) will dry up their springs and strip their treasures. Samaria will bear guilt, falling by the sword, with even children and pregnant women suffering war’s atrocities.

Application: Flourishing apart from God is fragile. Judgment strips away wealth, vitality, and community. Our security must be rooted in covenant faithfulness, not fleeting prosperity or political alliances.\

Hosea 13 warns that idolatry, pride, and rebellion lead to stored-up judgment, missed opportunities for renewal, and devastating collapse. Yet it also reveals God’s sovereign power over death, later fulfilled in Christ. The chapter calls us to humility in prosperity, repentance when confronted with sin, and trust in God alone for deliverance and life.