In this enlightening episode, we delve into Hosea chapter 13, exploring God’s unwavering judgment against idolatry and the promise of salvation. As Allen J. Huth reflects on his decades of Bible journaling, we uncover the harsh realities faced by Ephraim and the broader implications for Israel’s forgotten God. The narrative not only reveals historical events but also provides a mirror for our own lives, urging us to identify and move beyond modern-day idols that stand between us and authentic worship.
Welcome to ADDBIBLE, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in Hosea chapter 13, the second to the last chapter of the book of Hosea. We’ll listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s recording of the 16 verses of Hosea 13. Hosea 13
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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.
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It is said of them, Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves.
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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.
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But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt. You know no God but me, and besides me there is no Savior.
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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 forgot 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. 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. 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. Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the 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.
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In 1991, in my Bible reading plan, I read chapters 12 through 14 on one day as I finished the book of Hosea. In 2007, I was reading a chapter at a time, so I just read Hosea 13. And in 2012, I finished Hosea with both chapters 13 and 14 on this day. I say that just as a reminder that there are various ways to read the Bible. Don’t get trapped into just one way of reading the Scripture. Vary your Scripture reading so it doesn’t get old and stale. You may notice that in AddBible, we basically do a chapter each day. And we move back and forth as we complete books from the Old Testament to the New Testament and from the New Testament back to the Old Testament. We do that so you can receive the whole counsel of God. Many Christians have never read the whole Bible. And many Christians just stay in the New Testament or maybe the book of Psalms of the Old Testament. But very few have read through the whole Bible cover to cover. Now back to that journal in 1991, I did write one line concerning chapter 13. I wrote, for there is no savior besides me, quoting verse 4. In 2007, I wrote in my journal, now they sin more and more, quoting verse 2. They worship idols rather than the creator. Quoting verse 4. And then quoting verse 6. And being satisfied, their heart became proud. Therefore, they forgot me. In 2012, I was in Breckenridge, Colorado over Thanksgiving weekend still, and again I finished with both chapters 13 and 14, but I did write something about chapter 13. I quoted verse 2, Though God reaches out, they sin more and more. Then I wrote, We create our own gods and fail to acknowledge or worship the one true God. And then I quoted verse 14. But in the Lord, death has no power. In chapter 11, God expressed his love for Israel. In chapter 12, he went through some of their history to remind them that he had always been with them, though they had left him. And here in chapter 13, he continues his relentless attack or judgment on Israel. In verse 2, he says, Now they sin more and more. And how were they sinning more and more? By worshiping idols. Now it’s doubtful that you have a metal image in your house or you’ve set up a calf to worship. But it doesn’t mean we’re not still worshiping idols in our day to day. A simple definition of an idol might be anything that keeps you from God, anything that keeps you from worshiping God, anything that keeps you from a deep relationship with God. And in that way, you may have many idols in your life. After this podcast, you may want to think about what keeps you from your relationship with God. Because God reminds us in verse 4, But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt. You know no God but me, and besides me there is no Savior. That verse might remind you of a verse in chapter 11 that we listened to. Verse 9, For I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst. So God wants our allegiance. He actually wants our full attention. And He deserves it, because there is no Savior other than God. And then Hosea reminds us in verses 5 and 6, Now when things are tough, we have a better tendency to look to God. But when things get good again, we have a tendency to forget God. He said, 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 forgot me. So not much has changed since Hosea’s day. When people are desperate, when people are in trouble, they look up to God. They cry out to God. But when things get better, when things get back to normal, we go back to our normal life and sort of put God back in the drawer or back in the box. and in verse 14 hosea makes a statement that is quoted in the new testament and we’re going to refer to it there but in verse 14 it says shall i ransom them from the power of sheol shall i redeem them from death o death where are your plagues o sheol where is your sting the apostle paul goes back and quotes this verse in first corinthians chapter 15 when we start in verse 50, when he talks about the power of the resurrection. He says, I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. At the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on the immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Earlier in this chapter, Hosea had just told us, But I am the Lord your God, and besides me there is no Savior. Saved from what? Saved from death. And in that great passage, 1 Corinthians 15, Paul goes back to that verse when referring to Jesus’ victory over death, hell, sin, and the grave. Quoting again verse 57, But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Besides me, there is no Savior. The Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ. He gains the victory over death, hell, and the grave. Lord, we thank you for the reminder that you are the Lord, our God, and that there is no Savior besides you, and that you do win the victory over death, hell, and the grave through the powerful resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Thank you that there’s a thread of consistency between the Old Testament and the New Testament. There is one God, one Savior, and he shows up both in the Old Testament and the New. And we’re thankful. We give you praise and thanks for the victory over death through the blood of Jesus, our Savior. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. Across our listening audience, more and more of you are supporting AdBible by visiting our website at EzraProject.net and purchasing resources like Club 365 subscriptions, Bible reading journals, and one or more of our day-by-day through the Bible devotional books. We thank you so much and encourage more of you to do the same. You will find helpful and inspirational tools to enhance your personal time in God’s Word. Today I want to review the three tools we see most listeners getting. First, Club 365. This is a monthly subscription opening our vault of all Add Bible audio recordings and all printed pages of the entire Day by Day through the Bible devotional series. By joining Club 365 for only $7 a month, you have access to both audio and written information on all 66 books of the Bible. Club 365 is a goldmine, and it is completely flexible to your personal Bible reading plan. So if you’re reading Matthew or Isaiah or Psalms or Revelation, you have access to audio or written comments, applications, and prayers on any of them at your fingertips. Get Club 365 at EzraProject.net today, like so many others have. Secondly, another hot seller are our Bible reading journals. We offer two. One is a chronological Bible reading journal that contains a daily Bible reading plan chronologically. You don’t have to buy a chronological Bible, just get our chronological Bible reading journal. It has over 200 pages, so you can journal your way through the entire Bible. This book is our number one bestseller over the last two decades. The other journal is called the Trio Bible Reading Journal because it has three annual Bible reading plans in it. a New Testament schedule, an Old Testament schedule. But if you do them both on the same day, a complete Bible reading plan, you’ll finish the Bible in 365 days. We have a limited supply of the TRIO Bible reading journal. The cool thing about our journals is they start when you start. Day one of the schedule is the day you start, not January 1. Again, completely flexible to your Bible reading habits. Order your journal for just $9 at EzraProject.net and we ship it free. And the third product people are ordering is one of our day-by-day through the Bible devotional books. There are only 11, but they cover all 66 books of the Bible, filled with comments about passages, applications from the passages, and prayers related to the passages. Listeners are understanding Bible passages in a whole new way, thanks to digging deeper with a day-by-day supplement to their daily devotions. You can find all 11 books on our website at EzraProject.net. They are available in print and digitally. Get one today and start understanding your Bible in a whole new way. So that’s all for today. Join me tomorrow for another chapter of AdBible. I know you’re going to enjoy it. And want to share it with others. Amen.
