PUNISHMENT FOR REBELLION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Should I ransom them from the grave? Should I redeem them from death?”

“O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them.”

“Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the Lord—will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”

Hosea 13:14-16 (NLT)

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Israelites in the days of Hosea the prophet had chosen to turn away from their God, the God who made them, the God who was their only true Master, the God who had commanded them to have no other gods but Him.

It was a blatant act of rebellion, plain and simple, an outright rejection of the way God had ordered them to live spiritually.

It also was a huge mistake, possibly their worst mistake ever, because they had decided to oppose the Lord God Almighty who possessed unlimited power and could not be rivaled by anyone or anything.

How would God respond to the revolt of His people?

As we see in today’s passage from the closing verses of Hosea 13, the response came in the way of terrifying punishment. Look again at these words here:

“Should I ransom them from the grave? Should I redeem them from death?”

“O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them.”

“Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the Lord—will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”  Hosea 13:14-16 (NLT)

The Lord begins with two questions regarding whether or not He should spare His people from His judgment, judgment that surely would bring loss of life. He answers His own questions in chilling fashion saying:

 “O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them.”

The people had rebelled against God and turned away from Him, worshiping false gods and idols, actions He saw as disgusting and deplorable. Through their actions, they sent a message that they had no need for God, withdrawing from Him to give their devotion to pagan gods, and so God withdrew His pity and protection from them.

Death could bring on its terrors and the grave, its plagues. Even pregnant women and children would perish as God would not spare His people from the consequences of their sins.  

Punishment would come in the way of marauding, invading forces from Assyria and Babylon, both bent on stealing anything they could before destroying everything in their path, taking any survivors from the nations they assaulted into custody. As God promised in today’s passage, “every precious thing” the Israelites owned would be “plundered and carried away”.

And so it was.

The Assyrians attacked the northern kingdom of Israel, leaving it devastated and uninhabited.

The Babylonians laid siege to the southern kingdom of Judah, ravaging it before leaving it desolate after taking the Israelites into a seventy year captivity, seventy years to think about how rebellion against God was a very bad idea.

Today, we have the privilege of studying the mistakes of the past made by God’s people and the opportunity to ensure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. But in looking at our world today, I can’t help but get the feeling we are heading down the same road as the Israelites of Hosea’s day, a road paved with rebellion and disobedience, a road that will lead us to punishment if we don’t wake up, repent of our sins, and turn back to the only God who can forgive and restore us to His good graces.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

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