Single lesson
Hosea 13: God’s Anger against Israel
Hosea 13:1–8; Hosea 13:9–14; Hosea 13:15–16
Hosea 13:1–8 warns that Israel’s pride and idol worship have led to guilt and coming judgement. The passage uses sharp pictures to show both how serious their sin is and how completely they have forgotten the God who cared for them. This lesson also brings together Death and Resurrection, Judgment on Samaria.
Before you teach
In these verses, the speaker contrasts Ephraim’s earlier influence with later guilt through Baal, then describes growing sin, crafted idols and the claim that people offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves. The passage also recalls Yahweh as Israel’s God from Egypt and the one who knew them in the wilderness.
Explain the central teaching of Hosea 13: God’s Anger against Israel, using two details from the reading. This passage teaches that forgetting Yahweh and turning to idols brings guilt and judgement, even after receiving his care. Hosea 13:9–14 shows that opposing God brings judgement, while God also speaks of ransoming and redeeming from the power of Sheol and from death. Hosea 13:15–16 teaches that present fruitfulness and stored wealth cannot protect Samaria from judgement for rebelling against God.
Welcome: Hosea 13: God’s Anger against Israel
5 minIntroduce “God’s Anger against Israel”, “Death and Resurrection”, “Judgment on Samaria” and locate Hosea 13:1–8; Hosea 13:9–14; Hosea 13:15–16. This passage teaches that forgetting Yahweh and turning to idols brings guilt and judgement, even after receiving his care. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Hosea 13:1, Hosea 13:5, Hosea 13:8
Read and explain the passage
12 minGod’s Anger against Israel (Hosea 13:1–8): The passage begins with Ephraim in a place of weight and influence, where his speech caused trembling. That changed when he became guilty through Baal. The line ‘he died’ marks a devastating reversal, showing that exaltation in Israel did not protect Ephraim once he turned to another god.
Death and Resurrection (Hosea 13:9–14): The passage opens with a direct charge: Israel is destroyed because they are against God, the one called their helper. This makes the problem plain. Their ruin is not described as chance. It is tied to resisting the very one who could help them.
Judgment on Samaria (Hosea 13:15–16): The passage begins with a surprise. Someone is described as fruitful among his brothers, suggesting growth or success. Yet that condition does not last. Fruitfulness here is not a shield against what is coming, so the verse turns quickly from increase to threat and loss.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “God’s Anger against Israel”, “Death and Resurrection”, “Judgment on Samaria”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Hosea 13:1, Hosea 13:9, Hosea 13:15
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What change happens to Ephraim between the start and end of Hosea 13:1?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. Hosea 13:15–16 teaches that present fruitfulness and stored wealth cannot protect Samaria from judgement for rebelling against God. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Hosea 13:1, Hosea 13:10, Hosea 13:11, Hosea 13:16
Make and respond: Vision and message evidence map
12 minWork on “Hosea 13: God’s Anger against Israel: Vision and message evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “God’s Anger against Israel”, “Death and Resurrection”, “Judgment on Samaria” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Hosea 13:1, Hosea 13:9, Hosea 13:16
Closing: return to Judgment on Samaria
3 minRevisit Hosea 13:15–16. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Judgment on Samaria and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Hosea 13:15, Hosea 13:16
Questions to explore
What change happens to Ephraim between the start and end of Hosea 13:1?
Notice the movement from being exalted in Israel to becoming guilty through Baal and the statement that ‘he died’.
Hosea 13:1
What do verses 10 and 11 say about kings and judges?
Notice the questions about saving power in verse 10 and the statement in verse 11 that God gave a king in anger and took him away in wrath.
Hosea 13:10, Hosea 13:11
According to Hosea 13:16, why will Samaria bear her guilt?
The verse gives the reason directly: it says Samaria has rebelled against her God.
Hosea 13:16
Make, think or respond
Hosea 13: God’s Anger against Israel: Vision and message evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage describes”, “What is explained in the text”, “What question remains”.
- Read Hosea 13:1–8; Hosea 13:9–14; Hosea 13:15–16. Use “God’s Anger against Israel”, “Death and Resurrection”, “Judgment on Samaria” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Circle an explanation the passage itself provides. Leave unexplained details as questions for further reading.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Hosea 13: God’s Anger against Israel connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “God’s Anger against Israel”, “Death and Resurrection”, “Judgment on Samaria” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Hosea 13:1–8; Hosea 13:9–14; Hosea 13:15–16. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Hosea 13:1–8; Hosea 13:9–14; Hosea 13:15–16. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Hosea 13
1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, but when he became guilty through Baal, he died.
2 Now they sin more and more, and have made themselves molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, ‘They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves.’
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the dew that passes away early, like the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing floor, and like the smoke out of the chimney.
4 “Yet I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt; and you shall acknowledge no god but me, and besides me there is no savior.
5 I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore they have forgotten me.
7 Therefore I am like a lion to them. Like a leopard, I will lurk by the path.
8 I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and will tear the covering of their heart. There I will devour them like a lioness. The wild animal will tear them.
9 You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.
10 Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities? And your judges, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 I have given you a king in my anger, and have taken him away in my wrath.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up. His sin is stored up.
13 The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him. He is an unwise son, for when it is time, he doesn’t come to the opening of the womb.
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your destruction? “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.
15 Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come, the breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; and his spring will become dry, and his fountain will be dried up. He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.
16 Samaria will bear her guilt, for she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.