Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

13:9-11 The question where now is your king? (v. 10) need not mean that Israel had no king but that the royal leadership was inept to save, for the kings were against your helper (v. 9). I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath (v. 11) may be a reference to Saul, the first king of Israel; Israel asked for the wrong kind of king (1 Sam. 8:4-9), and still does.

13:12-13 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store, probably suggests that Ephraim holds on to its sins and will not let the Lord take them away. he does not present himself. Ephraim, in its refusal to repent and be healed, is likened to a baby who refuses to be born--which would be most unwise, since it would be fatal (cf. v. 14).

13:14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? In the OT, "Sheol" is a proper name and can be a poetic personification of the grave (e.g., 1 Kings 2:6; Ps. 141:7). But it can also designate the grim destination of the wicked after death (e.g., Ps. 49:14-15). The parallel wording with Ps. 49:15 suggests that Hosea sees Ephraim's "death" as leading to Sheol in the second sense, i.e., as damnation. Thus God asks himself whether he should rescue Ephraim from such consequences. O Death, where are your plagues? If the Lord is their strong deliverer, then not even death will be able to terrify them or harm them. In 1 Cor. 15:55 Paul cites part of Hos. 13:14. In that context, he is viewing the general resurrection as God's triumph over not only bodily death but also eternal judgment, for the faithful. Sadly, in Hosea's time Israel is rejecting the only power that can save her. Thus compassion is hidden from God's eyes, and Israel will perish miserably (vv. 15-16).