“Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.”
My Notes
What Does Hosea 7:13 Mean?
"Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me." God pronounces a double judgment — WOE and DESTRUCTION — for two specific sins: fleeing from God and transgressing against God. Then the deepest wound: 'though I have REDEEMED them, yet they have spoken LIES against me.' The redeemed people are the lying people. The rescued are the betrayers. The ones God saved are the ones attacking God's reputation.
The phrase "they have fled from me" (naddu mimmenni — they have wandered/fled from Me) describes spiritual desertion: the people actively MOVED AWAY from God. The fleeing is intentional departure — not drifting but running. The distance between God and the people is the people's doing. God didn't move. They fled.
The devastating contrast — "though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me" (va'anokhi epdhem vehemah dibberu alai kezavim — and I, I redeemed them, and they spoke lies against Me) — is the wound within the wound: the redeemed are the liars. The people God SAVED are the people who SLANDER God. The rescue produced not gratitude but misrepresentation. The salvation generated lies about the Savior.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What lies about God's character are you speaking or believing — despite being redeemed?
- 2.How does fleeing (active departure) differ from drifting (passive distance)?
- 3.What does 'though I redeemed them' teach about the wound of the rescued slandering the Rescuer?
- 4.What misrepresentation of God are you perpetuating — and does your redemption make it worse?
Devotional
Woe — because they fled. Destruction — because they transgressed. And the deepest cut: I REDEEMED them — and they spoke LIES about Me. The people God saved are the people attacking God's reputation. The rescued are the slanderers. The redeemed are the liars.
The 'fled from me' is the first offense: not falling, not stumbling, not drifting — FLEEING. Active, intentional departure. The people MOVED AWAY from God with purpose. The distance is self-created. The gap is self-produced. God didn't push them away. They ran.
The 'transgressed against me' is the second offense: not just departing but actively violating. The fleeing is distance. The transgressing is hostility. First they left. Then they sinned against the one they left. The departure wasn't just emotional. It was behavioral — active transgression against the God they fled from.
The 'though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me' is the wound that God actually FEELS: the 'though' holds both truths in agonizing tension. I REDEEMED them (I saved them, I bought them back, I rescued them from captivity). AND they speak lies ABOUT ME (they misrepresent My character, they slander My name, they tell falsehoods about who I am). The rescue was real. The lying is also real. Both from the same people. The Redeemer is slandered by the redeemed.
What lies are you speaking — or believing — about the God who redeemed you?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Woe unto them, for they have fled from me,.... From the Lord, from his worship, and the place of it; from obedience to…
Woe unto them, for they have fled from Me - The threatening rises in severity, as did the measure of their sin. Whereas…
Wo unto them! - They shall have wo, because they have fled from me. They shall have destruction, because they have…
Having seen how vicious and corrupt the court was, we now come to enquire how it is with the country, and we find that…
they have fled from me like birds scared out of their nest (Isa 16:2); but the Israelites have only themselves to blame…
Cross References
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