Question 1

What does the phrase "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself" mean?

Accepted Answer

This line shows that Israel’s ruin comes from their own choices. God had been their help and protector, but the people turned to idols and trusted in human rulers instead of Him. Their sins, not God’s lack of care, brought judgment on them. The idea is that when people reject God’s ways, they harm themselves and cannot blame God for the results. Yet even as He says this, God adds, “but in me is thine help,” showing that if they would turn back, real help is still found only in Him.

Question 2

What is meant by God saying "I will be thy king" in this passage?

Accepted Answer

When God says, "I will be thy king," He is reminding Israel that He alone is their true ruler and savior. The people had once demanded kings and princes, thinking human leaders would give them safety and success. God even gave them a king in anger, showing He allowed what they wanted, though it was not for their good. Now He asks, "Where is any other that may save thee?" to show that no earthly king can rescue them from the judgment their sins deserve. Only God, as their rightful King, can truly save.

Question 3

What does it mean that "the iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid"?

Accepted Answer

This picture is like tying something up and storing it away. It means Israel’s sins are not forgotten or lost. They are kept in view before God and will be brought out for judgment at the right time. “Hid” here does not mean forgiven or erased, but stored up and not yet dealt with openly. The people continued in idolatry and hardness of heart instead of confessing and turning back. So their guilt remained, waiting for a day when God would uncover it and repay them for what they had done.

Question 4

Why is Israel compared to an "unwise son" and to a woman in travail?

Accepted Answer

The pains of a woman in labor picture the sharp, unavoidable troubles that are coming on Israel because of their sin. Judgment will come like sudden birth pains. Calling Israel an “unwise son” points to their foolish response in such a moment. In childbirth, a child must come out into life, but Israel is pictured as a child that will not come out, staying in the place of breaking forth. Instead of using their distress as a chance to turn back to God, they remain stubborn. They waste the warning and refuse the way of rescue.

Question 5

What does "I will ransom them from the power of the grave" teach about God?

Accepted Answer

Here God speaks as the one who has power over death itself. To “ransom” means to pay the price to set someone free. God promises to buy His people back from the grave and to redeem them from death. This points beyond the near judgment to His deeper purpose to save a people for Himself. Later Scripture connects these words with Christ’s death and resurrection, where God truly breaks the hold of death. It shows that even when His people face death, He is able to give life and bring them out of the grave.

Question 6

How are the words "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction" fulfilled?

Accepted Answer

These words are God’s promise to strike death itself, like a plague, and to tear down the grave. Death and the grave are pictured almost as enemies that God will punish. Later, these lines are taken up when speaking about Christ’s rising from the dead, where death loses its victory. In that light, this promise looks ahead to the day when God turns death’s own weapon against it. For those who belong to Him, death is no longer the final word. God’s purpose is not only to judge sin, but to finally defeat death for His redeemed people.

Question 7

What does "repentance shall be hid from mine eyes" mean in this verse?

Accepted Answer

The wording here has been read in more than one way. In the immediate context of judgment, it can mean that God will not change His mind about bringing the announced punishment on stubborn Israel. Their time of putting off repentance is over, and now His sentence will stand. Read together with the promise to redeem from death, it can also be taken to show that His deeper plan of salvation will not be taken back. In either case, the point is that God is serious, both in warning of judgment and in carrying out His saving purpose.

Question 8

How does this passage show both judgment and hope at the same time?

Accepted Answer

The passage is very sharp about sin. God says Israel has destroyed itself, that its guilt is stored up, and that pain like birth pains is coming. Human kings cannot rescue them. Yet right in the middle of this, God says, “in me is thine help” and promises to ransom from the grave and redeem from death. The same God who judges sin also provides the only way out. Judgment is real, but it is not His last word. For those who return to Him, He meets self-made ruin with mercy and even victory over death.

Question 9

How can the message "in me is thine help" apply to believers today?

Accepted Answer

The line “in me is thine help” reminds us that our deepest problems do not come from bad luck or lack of human support, but from sin and turning away from God. It also reminds us that real help is found only in Him, not in our own strength or in leaders we trust too much. When life falls apart, this passage pushes us to stop blaming God and to see where we have walked away from Him. Then it points us to turn back, trusting that He is still willing and able to save, even from death itself.

Hosea 13:9

¶ O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

Death and Resurrection

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Hosea 13:9

¶ O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

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Death and Resurrection

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