What is the meaning of Hosea 9:14? Give them, O LORD— • Hosea speaks as an intercessor, but instead of pleading for mercy he calls for judgment, echoing Jeremiah 7:16 where the LORD forbids prayer for wayward Judah. • Israel has persisted in idolatry (Hosea 9:1) and rejected the prophets (9:7). The prophet now aligns himself with God’s righteous verdict, illustrating Amos 3:3—two cannot walk together unless they are agreed. • The phrase shows that judgment flows from the LORD Himself; covenant curses come directly from the covenant-Giver (Deuteronomy 28:15). what will You give? • This rhetorical pause underscores deliberation: what disciplinary act best fits Israel’s sin? Compare Psalm 109:12–13, where David likewise asks the LORD to determine a fitting recompense. • The question highlights divine justice: God does not punish capriciously but chooses consequences that correspond to the offense (Galatians 6:7). • It invites readers to weigh the seriousness of spiritual adultery: idolatry is a breach so grave that even the blessings of family and future can be withdrawn (Hosea 2:9-13). Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that dry up! • Infertility and loss of children are explicit covenant curses (Deuteronomy 28:18, 41). Hosea 9:11–13 already lamented, “Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.” Verse 14 caps that lament with a prayer that the curse be carried to completion. • Cutting off offspring removes both present joy (Psalm 127:3-5) and future hope for a nation. The punishment matches the sin: Israel chased fertility gods such as Baal (Hosea 2:5-8); now the true God withholds fertility to expose the idols’ impotence. • The imagery of dry breasts points to prolonged grief. A mother unable to nourish her child pictures a land stripped of sustenance (Joel 1:10). Physical barrenness symbolizes spiritual barrenness—life disconnected from God’s covenant presence (John 15:6). • Though severe, the judgment still serves a redemptive aim: to bring Israel to repentance so the LORD can later promise, “I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely” (Hosea 14:4). summary Hosea 9:14 is a prophet’s startling prayer that the LORD impose the covenant curse of barrenness upon a persistently rebellious people. By asking God to withhold the gift of children, Hosea spotlights the depth of Israel’s unfaithfulness and God’s right to judge. Yet even this harsh petition fits within a larger narrative of love: divine discipline intends to expose idolatry, awaken repentance, and clear the way for restoration promised in the closing chapter of Hosea. |
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