Hosea 13

12 The Lord says that Ephraim’s sins are kept on record. All of our deeds—both good and bad—are “kept on record” (Revelation 20:12). But when our sins are forgiven through the death of Christ, they are no longer held against us; they are, in effect, erased and forgotten.

13 Here the Lord compares Ephraim (Israel) to a woman in labor, helpless and in pain; the baby won’t come out, and so the woman dies. But within this same analogy, Israel is also compared to the baby; the baby is without wisdom and won’t take the opportunity to be born into a new life with God.

14 Here God interrupts His words of judgment and expresses His desire—indeed, His intention—that the Israelites be saved from permanent destruction. God is stating this intention primarily in reference to the northern kingdom of Israel: Israel will one day be revived and restored. This national restoration will take place in the Messianic age, as predicted by many of the Old Testament prophets³¹ (see Isaiah 32:14–18; 35:1–4; 60:1–3 and comments). But the generation of Israel ites alive in Hosea’s time will have to suffer punishment; because of their persistent sin and their hardened hearts, God will have no compassion on them.

15–16 God ends with these final words of judgment: An east wind from the LORD will come (verse 15). The “east wind” was Assyria, whose armies crushed Israel in 722 B.C. and carried the surviving Israelites into captivity. Hosea managed to escape to Judah before the end, and so he lived to see his prophecies come true.