John Calvin Commentary Hosea 13:14

"I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from death: O death, where are thy plagues? O Sheol, where is thy destruction? repentance shall be hid from mine eyes." — Hosea 13:14 (ASV)

The Prophet, I do not doubt, continues here with the same subject: namely, that the Israelites could not bear the mercy God offered them, though he speaks here more fully. God seems to promise redemption, but he does this conditionally. Therefore, in my judgment, those who take these words in the same sense as when God, after reproving and threatening, lessens the severity of his instruction and adds consolation by offering his grace, are mistaken.

But the meaning of this passage is different. For God, as we have already said, does not here simply promise salvation but shows that he is indeed ready to save, but that the wickedness of the people, as has been mentioned, was an impediment in the way. Let us, however, more carefully examine the words.

From the hand of the grave, he says. By "the hand," he doubtless means power, for Jerome is merely trifling when he speaks here of works and says that the works of the grave are our sins. But this is far from the Prophet's meaning. Indeed, it is a common metaphor in Scripture for "the hand" to represent power or authority.

Then it is, I will redeem them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death; that is, unless they resist, I will willingly become their Redeemer. Some have therefore rendered the passage in the subjunctive mood: “From the hand of the grave I would redeem them, from death I would deliver them.”

But there is no need to change the tense, though, as I have said, those who do so faithfully convey the Prophet's intention. So that no one may say that this is too far removed from the words, the Prophet's text can be very well understood, even if the future tense is preserved.

I will then redeem them, as far as this depends on me, for a condition is to be introduced as if God came forward and declared that he was present to fulfill the office of a Redeemer. What, then, stands in the way? It is the hardness of the people, for they would have preferred to perish a hundred times rather than turn to the Lord, as we will soon see.

He afterwards adds, I will be thy perdition, O death; I will be thy excision, O grave. By these words, the Prophet more distinctly sets forth the power of God and magnificently extols it, so that people should not think that there is no way open for him to save when no hope appears according to human judgment. Hence the Prophet says, “Though people are now dead, there is still nothing to prevent God from giving them life. How so? For he is the ruin of death, and the excision of the grave;” that is, “Though death should swallow up all people, though the grave should consume them, yet God is superior to both death and the grave, for he can slay death, he can abolish the grave.” We now perceive the Prophet's real meaning.

1. We may learn from this passage that when people perish, God still remains unchanged, and that neither his power, by which he is mighty to save the world, is extinguished, nor is his purpose changed so that he is not always ready to help; but that human obstinacy rejects the grace that has been provided and that God willingly and bountifully offers.

2. We may also learn that the power of God is not to be measured by our standard: even if we were lost a hundred times, let God still be regarded as a Saviour. If, then, despair should ever so cast us down that we cannot lay hold of any of God’s promises, let this passage come to our minds, which says that God is the excision of death and the destruction of the grave.

   “But death is near to us; what then can we hope for anymore?” This is to say that God is not superior to death. But when death claims so much power over people, how much more power does God have over death itself?

   Let us then be assured that God is the destruction of death, which means that death can no longer destroy; that is, death is deprived of that power by which people are naturally destroyed. And though we may lie in the grave, God is still the excision of the grave itself. This is the application of what is taught here.

   But someone offers this version, “I will be your perdition to death,” as if this were addressed to the people. It is an absurd perversion of the whole passage and deprives us of a most useful doctrine.

But many interpreters, thinking this passage is quoted by Paul, have explained what is said here as referring to Christ, and have erred in many respects.

First, they have said that God promises redemption here without any condition; but we see that the Prophet's intention was far different. Then they have assumed that this is said in the person of Christ: “From the hand of the grave will I redeem them.”

At the same time, they have thought, with too much subtlety, that the grave or hell stands for the torments with which the reprobate are afflicted, or for the place itself where they are tormented.

But the Prophet repeats the same thing in different words, and this characteristic of the Hebrew style is well known. The grave, then, here does not differ from death, though Jerome labors and contends that the grave means something wholly different from death; but everything he says is frivolous.

They have, then, been deceived regarding these words. And then into the Prophet's words, “I will be your excision, O hell (or grave),” they have introduced the word 'bait' and have allegorically explained it concerning Christ, saying that he was like a hook.

For just as a worm, when fastened to a hook and swallowed by a fish, becomes death to it, so also Christ, as they have said, when committed to the sepulcher, became a fatal bait; for as fish are taken by the hook, so death was taken by the bait of Christ's death.

And these vain subtleties have been received with great applause; hence, throughout the entire Papacy, it is accepted without doubt as a divine truth that Christ was the bait of death.

But let anyone closely examine the Prophet's words, and he will see that they have ignorantly and shamefully misused the Prophet's testimony. And we ought especially to take care that the meaning of Scripture is preserved as true and certain.

But let us see how to respond to the claim that Paul quotes this passage. The solution is not difficult. The Apostles do not always explicitly cite passages that, in their entire context, apply to the subject they are discussing; but sometimes they only allude to a word, sometimes they apply a passage to a subject by way of analogy, and sometimes they bring forward passages as testimonies.

When the Apostles use the testimonies of Scripture, then the genuine and real truth must be sought out; but when they only glance at a word, there is no need for any anxious inquiry; and when they quote any passage of Scripture by way of analogy, it is an overly scrupulous anxiety to try to find out how all the parts agree.

But it is quite evident that Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, has not quoted the Prophet's testimony for the purpose of confirming the doctrine of which he speaks. What then? As the resurrection of the flesh was a truth very difficult to believe, indeed, wholly contrary to natural judgment, Paul says that it is no cause for wonder, because Christ will come to raise us.

How so? Because it is God's unique prerogative to be the perdition of death and the destruction of the grave; as though he said, “Even if people were to putrefy a thousand times, God would still retain that power of which he declared when he said that he would be the ruin of death and the destruction of the grave.”

Let us then know that, though natural judgment rejects the truth, yet God is endowed with that incomprehensible power by which he can raise us from a state of decay. Indeed, since he created the world from nothing, he will also raise us up from the grave, for he is the death of death, the grave of the grave, the ruin of ruin, and the destruction of destruction.

And Paul's simple object is to extol with these striking words that incredible power of God, which is beyond the reach of human understanding.

Now if anyone were to quote for the same purpose this passage from the Psalms, “The Lord’s are the issues of death,” (Psalms 68:20), would it be necessary to inquire in what sense David said this or of what time he speaks? By no means; but what is spoken of is the unchangeable prerogative and power of God, of which he can never be deprived.

So also in this passage we see what he declares by Hosea, and what he would have done, had there not been an obstacle in the ingratitude of the people; for he says, I will be your ruin, O grave; I will be your death, O death.

And since God has promised this, let us be assured that we will at last find this to be true for ourselves. We now, then, perceive how the Prophet's real meaning agrees with the subject Paul discusses.

It now follows, consolation, or, repentance is hid from my eye; for נחם, nuchem, means both. נחם, nuchem, signifies to repent, and it signifies to receive consolation.

If the term 'consolation' is preferred, the sense will be: “There is no reason for anyone to wonder that I speak so sharply and do nothing but thunder against my people, for consolation now has no place among them; therefore, consolation is hidden from my eyes.”

And this was the case because the irredeemable wickedness of the people did not allow God to change his severity into mildness, so as to give any hope of pardon and salvation. In this sense, then, it is said that consolation was hidden from his eyes.

But if the word 'repentance' is more preferred, it will show exactly the same thing — that it was fully determined to destroy that people. “There is then no reason for you to hope that I can become milder in the course of time, for repentance is hidden from my eyes. This shall remain fixed: you shall be reduced to nothing, for you are past all hope.”

We then see that both words refer to the same thing: that God takes away from this miserable and reprobate people every hope of salvation.