Ransomed From the Grave - Hosea 13:14

In the book of Hosea, Hosea shared how Jehovah God said, “the iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid. The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children”, and in chapter thirteen and verse fourteen of Hosea, Hosea shared how Jehovah God said, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave” where we read,

I will ransom 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: repentance shall be hid from my eyes.

The verse begins, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death:” Hosea began with the words, “I will ransom them” or “I, Jehovah God, shall redeem, rescue and deliver them, the people of Ephraim” “from the power of the grave” which means “separate and apart from the hand, strength and portion belonging to sheol, the underworld, hell and the pit”; “I will redeem them” or “I, Jehovah God, shall avenge, act as a kinsman-redeemer and deliver them, the people of Ephraim” “from death” which means “separate and apart from the realm of the dead, pestilence and pain”. Hosea shared how Jehovah God said He would rescue and deliver “Ephraim” from the strength of the underworld and the realm of the dead. 

The verse continues, “O death, I will be your plagues;” Hosea added the words, “O death” or “O pestilence, pain and realm of the dead”, “I will be your plagues” which means “I, Jehovah God, shall exist as your, death's, pestilence, murrain and cattle-disease”. Hosea shared how Jehovah God vowed to be the realm of death's pestilence and murrain.

Finally the verse says, “O grave, I will be your destruction: repentance shall be hid from my eyes.” Hosea ended this verse with the words, “O grave” or “O sheol, the underworld, hell and the pit”, “I will be your destruction” which means “I, Jehovah God, shall exist as your, the grave's, extermination”; “repentance shall be hid from my eyes” or “ruefulness, desistance and sorrow will exist as concealed and kept secret separate and apart from my, Jehovah God's, vision and sight”. Hosea concluded this verse by sharing how Jehovah God would also be the extermination of the underworld and hell, and desistance, sorrow and pity would be concealed from His vision and site.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Hosea how Jehovah God was going to rescue the people of “Ephraim” from the strength of the realm of the dead and the underworld, and He would take vengeance upon “death and the grave” and would not have pity upon them. God considers “death” as the last enemy He shall destroy, (See 1 Corinthians 15:26) and Paul the apostle asked, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” (See 1 Corinthians 15:56). God wants to save every person from eternal “death” and separation from Him, and He made this possible by His Son Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and help us to understand and receive His power over “death, hell and the grave”. (See Revelation 1:18)

Next time Hosea shares how Jehovah God says what will happen, “though he be fruitful among his brethren”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".