Hosea 13 & 14

Hosea concludes his book by foretelling of the restoration of Israel with only a remnant remaining. He makes many promises and confirms that he is the savior- "there is no savior besides me." 13:4b I pay particular attention to verses that make such statements because there are many cults that don't believe that Yahweh and Jesus Christ are one in the same. John 4:42 says "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." If God makes the statement in Hosea that 'there is no savior besides me' and then tells us in the New Testament that Christ is the savior of the world, we now know they are the same God.



God makes another reference to the work that He would do through Jesus in Hosea 13:14- "I will ranson them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!" God's love for us is so abundant and His desire to have His people with Him so strong...He's just issued 7 chapters of judgment on Israel and now promises them that He will uphold His covenant and give them the ultimate redemption. God made this promise to all- death has no power in the Christian life!



"I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him." - Hosea 14:4

For all of us who fight the daily battle with our flesh, this is a wonderful promise. We know from many passages that He seeks to have us repent, but think about the magnitude of love that God must have for each of us. We shouldn't ever think 'God is mad at me', because all we have to do is repent and His promise is that He'll love us freely and His anger will be abated.

Hosea is a love letter from God to His people. He shows us just how much pain He is willing to endure for the sake of our relationship with Him. There was no greater disrespect than that of the wayward wife, which we all play with God. Yet, He continually seeks us. We run, He chases. If you're ever running from God, rest assured that He will doggedly pursue you- you'll have to try much harder to avoid Him than you will to return to Him. He's our promise, our provider, our savior.