Hosea 13:9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.
The punctuation in our verse breaks the verse into three sections: Calling, Conviction, and Consolation. This is one of the gems we find in the daily reading of our Bible, a nugget of truth that is packed to the gills with Bible truth and current truth from thousands of years ago. God had a message of hope for a backslidden nation on the brink of destruction, and that same message goes out to all those on the brink of destruction today. We'll look at it according to the three natural breaks in the verse.
Calling
Our verse doesn't start with a word but a sound “O." God’s love for us moves Him not only to call us unto Himself but to affectionately call us. Brother Maclaren, in his sermon "Destruction and Help," described this verse as "The wail of the parental love of God over the ruin which Israel has brought on itself." God was moved to call them, not moved by obligation, but deeply moved, the type of affection that would cause a man to groan and call out "O" my child! We see this same type of parental love on display as our Lord Jesus cried "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings..." His heart has not grown cold over sinners through the ages; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever and His heart still cries out for sinners in this age.
He calls them by name, but, surprisingly, he calls them Israel and not Jacob. They had been acting like Jacob more than Israel. I believe this shows us this call's tender nature and motive. The title Israel would remind them of the promises of God attached to it. The meaning of the Name “He will rule,” which was not just a title but a promise. It would remind them of what God had told them through the prophet Hosea in the previous chapter as well; In Hosea 12:3-6 he reminds them how Jacob “by his strength had power with God,” which was a lesson to them to lay hold to repentance and righteousness as Jacob laid hold on his brothers heel and would not let go, and how he laid hold on the angel of the Lord and wouldn’t let go. The calling by their redemptive name was no accident, seeing that God was calling them to redemption. Today, still, Jesus is tenderly calling, calling the the weary to rest, while the call is to “all men everywhere” It is personally addressed to us as individuals. I remember when he called me, The preacher was addressing a crowd of 75-100 people that evening, I doubt he could even see my little head hidden beneath all the adults towering over me, yet there were eyes greater than the preachers that saw me, a voice much more personal than his and a hand that was unseen but certainly felt. The preacher's voice was calling sinners, but as an individual the Holy Spirit was calling me to come to Christ, tenderly and affectionately calling “O Caleb” and today, perhaps he is calling you.
Conviction
The following statement isn't pleasant, but it is true and comes from a place of love. It is the love of God that opens our eyes to our own destruction and to who is responsible for it. Our deceitful hearts, society, and Satan spend a considerable amount of time trying to hide the following statement from us: “Thou hast destroyed thyself.” Being in this world and living in reality forces us to ask why there is hurt, lies, and destruction. Then our hearts begin to blame our parents or society, or circumstances, but we are so resistant to the truth that we are responsible for the destruction we see around us. Maybe not all of it, but we have certainly added to it and are just as guilty as any person we could point a finger at. God comes with a word of conviction, and this is the offensive part of the gospel that most people never get past. It opens our eyes, and we don’t like what we see, so we run from the truth, stop our ears, close our eyes, even gnash our teeth, and kill the people revealing it. This is the guilty sentence that you must accept, that you are a sinner, you have destroyed yourself, and will continue to. The fact that we have to be told this proves the advanced state of our depravity. When a mutilated limb loses its feeling, it is near a total loss. Like the church at Laodicea, they were so blinded that they supposed themselves to need nothing, yet Jesus called them “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” They were the most in need and supposed themselves to be the best off. God loves us too much to allow us to go on living in a delusional state. So he sends his word, and like a sword, it cuts through all the lies we have been told about what a good person we are, and for the first time we come to the unpleasant reality, “Thou hast destroyed thyself.”
Consolation
Here is the first word of Consolation, “But” it is a conjunction, a divine interruption of their destruction and it is attaching the contrasting thought of hope. Although Israel’s idolatry and sinfulness had destroyed them, it had not changed God in the least. He was still the God who is slow to anger, full of mercy, still as faithful to his promises as he ever had been. Many times the word “But” comes as a consolation in the scripture, “But Noah found Grace,” “But with thee will I establish my covenant,” “But I have prayed for thee.” This morning God has given us one of these divine interruptions to remind us that even when we have destroyed ourselves He is ready to but in and help.
Secondly notice where this consolation is found, “In me.” This is not an error on the translator's part. Our help is not only of the Lord but it is in the Lord, that is, we have a position in him. Being a part of the family of God is a birth, a birth which gives you a position. The moment I was born to David Taft, I had a position in his family as the firstborn son. That position afforded me a bed to sleep in, a table to pull up to, a place in his will, and one day an inheritance. That is what our position in Jesus affords us, and so much more. In this verse, God is not offering his helping hand, but the God attached to the hand, a position in him, in his family, access to “All spiritual blessings, in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.” This is the consolation of God, as presented in the gospel message, “But in me is thine help.”
Lastly is our final word of consolation, “Thine help.” Note the personal word he used, thine. Not their help, but thine, a personal, individual assurance that he will be your help, yes you, whomever you may be. You could read this verse as such and it would be absolutely applicable: “O, __(insert your name)__, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.” The word help is a word that requires humility, and help must be received. We’ve all heard it said, “You can’t help someone who won’t help themselves.” That is not a Bible verse yet, we find that the principle is true even in God’s dealings with man. Man can refuse the help of God and will not receive it. God makes the offer, calls, convicts, and even consoles, but at the end of the day, man may refuse the help of God. The leaders of Israel did in Jesus' day, and many of the Israelites in the day of Hosea did, as well as in Noah’s day. All of these groups were called, convicted, offered consolation, and yet they refused the help of God and went on to eternal destruction. Dear reader, God has extended his loving hand of help this morning, don’t push him away, “His Spirit will not always strive with man.” This could very well be the day that the Door of Salvation closes for you, as it did in Noah’s day. God has one more message for you, “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.”
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