Thy Strong Word — Hosea 9:1-17: “Woe to them when I depart from them!” -God

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Hosea brings a sobering message to Israel, warning of the consequences of turning away from God. The prophet foretells exile, destruction, and the loss of joy, as their disobedience leads to divine judgment. Even their offerings and religious rituals are rejected, and the once fertile land will become barren. It’s a powerful reminder of the cost of unfaithfulness and the inevitable fallout from forsaking God’s covenant.

The Rev. Doug Griebenaw, pastor and Mission Advocate at KFUO Radio, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Hosea 9.

Hosea tells the powerful story of a prophet commanded to marry an unfaithful woman, Gomer, as a living symbol of God’s boundless love for Israel despite its repeated betrayals. Through heartbreak and redemption, Hosea’s marriage becomes a vivid portrayal of how deeply God desires His people to return to Him, even when they chase after idols. Packed with raw emotion, prophetic warnings, and a message of divine mercy, this book captures God’s relentless pursuit and offers a stirring reminder that restoration is always possible—through Jesus–no matter how far one has wandered.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: [e-mail].

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

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Hosea 9

The Lord Will Punish Israel

9 Rejoice not, O Israel!
Exult not like the peoples;
for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s wages
on all threshing floors.
² Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them.
³ They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,
but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.

⁴ They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,
and their sacrifices shall not please him.
It shall be like mourners’ bread to them;
all who eat of it shall be defiled;
for their bread shall be for their hunger only;
it shall not come to the house of the Lord.

⁵ What will you do on the day of the appointed festival,
and on the day of the feast of the Lord?
⁶ For behold, they are going away from destruction;
but Egypt shall gather them;
Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;
thorns shall be in their tents.

⁷ The days of punishment have come;
the days of recompense have come;
Israel shall know it.
The prophet is a fool;
the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity
and great hatred.
⁸ The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God;
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
and hatred in the house of his God.
⁹ They have deeply corrupted themselves
as in the days of Gibeah:
he will remember their iniquity;
he will punish their sins.

¹⁰ Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree
in its first season,
I saw your fathers.
But they came to Baal-peor
and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they loved.
¹¹ Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
¹² Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them till none is left.
Woe to them
when I depart from them!
¹³ Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm^[a] planted in a meadow;
but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.^[b]
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give?
Give them a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts.

¹⁵ Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal;
there I began to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no more;
all their princes are rebels.

¹⁶ Ephraim is stricken;
their root is dried up;
they shall bear no fruit.
Even though they give birth,
I will put their beloved children to death.
¹⁷ My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Footnotes

1. Hosea 9:13 Or like Tyre
2. Hosea 9:13 Hebrew to him who slaughters

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org