Hosea 13:11
So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.
So in My anger
The phrase "So in My anger" reflects God's deep displeasure with Israel's demand for a king. The Hebrew word for "anger" here is "אַף" (aph), which often conveys a sense of nostrils flaring in rage. This anthropomorphic expression underscores the intensity of God's emotions. Historically, Israel's request for a king was a rejection of God's direct rule, as seen in 1 Samuel 8:7. This anger is not capricious but is rooted in Israel's persistent disobedience and idolatry.

I gave you a king
The giving of a king was initially a concession to Israel's demands, as recorded in 1 Samuel 8:22. The Hebrew verb "נָתַן" (natan) means "to give," indicating that God allowed this as part of His permissive will. Saul, the first king, was chosen to fulfill this role, symbolizing the people's desire to be like other nations. This act was both a judgment and a test, revealing the consequences of their choices and the limitations of human leadership compared to divine governance.

and in My wrath
The word "wrath" here is "קֶצֶף" (qetseph), which conveys a more intense form of anger, often associated with divine judgment. This wrath is not arbitrary but is a response to continued rebellion and the failure of the kings to lead the people in righteousness. It serves as a reminder of God's holiness and justice, which cannot tolerate sin indefinitely.

I took him away
The removal of the king, particularly Saul, is a demonstration of God's sovereign control over the affairs of nations. The Hebrew verb "לָקַח" (laqach) means "to take" or "to remove," signifying God's active role in deposing leaders. This action is a fulfillment of divine judgment, as seen in the downfall of Saul and later kings who led Israel astray. It serves as a sobering reminder that human authority is subject to God's ultimate authority and that leadership is a sacred trust that must align with His will.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Hosea
A prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Hosea's ministry was marked by his call for Israel to return to God amidst their unfaithfulness.

2. Israel
The Northern Kingdom, often characterized by idolatry and rebellion against God during Hosea's time.

3. Kings of Israel
The monarchy in Israel, which began with Saul and included a series of kings who often led the people away from God.

4. God's Anger and Wrath
Reflects God's righteous response to Israel's persistent disobedience and idolatry.

5. The Monarchy's Rise and Fall
The establishment and eventual downfall of Israel's monarchy as a result of their rejection of God.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Leadership
God is ultimately in control of who leads His people. Even when leaders are appointed in response to human demands, God remains sovereign over their rise and fall.

Consequences of Rejecting God
Israel's demand for a king was a rejection of God's direct rule. This decision led to consequences that affected the entire nation, reminding us of the importance of seeking God's will in our decisions.

The Danger of Idolatry
The kings of Israel often led the people into idolatry, which provoked God's anger. We must guard against allowing anything to take God's place in our lives.

Repentance and Return to God
Despite Israel's unfaithfulness, God's desire was for them to return to Him. This is a call for us to continually seek repentance and restoration in our relationship with God.

Understanding God's Discipline
God's actions, whether in giving or taking away, are rooted in His desire for His people to return to Him. We should view God's discipline as an opportunity for growth and realignment with His will.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the account of Israel demanding a king in 1 Samuel 8 relate to God's statement in Hosea 13:11?

2. In what ways can we see the consequences of rejecting God's leadership in our own lives or communities today?

3. How can we ensure that we are not allowing modern-day "idols" to take precedence over our relationship with God?

4. What steps can we take to align our decisions with God's will, especially when faced with significant life choices?

5. How can we view and respond to God's discipline in our lives as an opportunity for spiritual growth and renewal?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Samuel 8
This chapter describes Israel's demand for a king, which displeased God, yet He granted their request, leading to Saul's anointment.

1 Samuel 15
God's rejection of Saul as king due to his disobedience, illustrating the removal of a king in God's wrath.

2 Kings 17
The fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which is a culmination of their persistent idolatry and rejection of God.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20
God's instructions for a king, highlighting the conditions under which a king should rule, which Israel failed to follow.
A Gift of God's AngerJeremiah Burroughs.Hosea 13:11
Answers to Improper PrayersEvenings at Home.Hosea 13:11
SaulJ. H. Newman, B. D.Hosea 13:11
God-ExaltationJ. Orr Hosea 13:9-14
Ruin, Retribution, and ResurrectionC. Jerdan Hosea 13:9-16
The Vanity of Earthly KingsJ.R. Thomson Hosea 13:10, 11
People
Hosea
Places
Egypt, Samaria
Topics
Anger, Angry, Kings, Wrath
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Hosea 13:10-11

     5370   kingship, human

Library
Destruction and Help
'O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help.'--HOSEA xiii. 9 (A.V.). 'It is thy destruction, O Israel, that thou art against Me, against thy Help' (R.V.). These words are obscure by reason of their brevity. Literally they might be rendered, 'Thy destruction for, in, or against Me; in, or against thy Help.' Obviously, some words must be supplied to bring out any sense. Our Authorised Version has chosen the supplement 'is,' which fails to observe the second occurrence with 'thy
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Letter xxxvi (Circa A. D. 1131) to the Same Hildebert, who had not yet Acknowledged the Lord Innocent as Pope.
To the Same Hildebert, Who Had Not Yet Acknowledged the Lord Innocent as Pope. He exhorts him to recognise Innocent, now an exile in France, owing to the schism of Peter Leonis, as the rightful Pontiff. To the great prelate, most exalted in renown, Hildebert, by the grace of God Archbishop of Tours, Bernard, called Abbot of Clairvaux, sends greeting, and prays that he may walk in the Spirit, and spiritually discern all things. 1. To address you in the words of the prophet, Consolation is hid from
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Joyous Return
"When God's right arm is bared for war, And thunders clothe his cloudy car." e'en then he stays his uplifted hand, reins in the steeds of vengeance, and holds communion with grace; "for his mercy endureth for ever," and "judgment is his strange work." To use another figure: the whole book of Hosea is like a great trial wherein witnesses have appeared against the accused, and the arguments and excuses of the guilty have been answered and baffled. All has been heard for them, and much, very much against
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

"For if Ye Live after the Flesh, Ye Shall Die; but if Ye through the Spirit do Mortify the Deeds of the Body, Ye Shall Live.
Rom. viii. s 13, 14.--"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." The life and being of many things consists in union,--separate them, and they remain not the same, or they lose their virtue. It is much more thus in Christianity, the power and life of it consists in the union of these things that God hath conjoined, so that if any man pretend to
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How a Private Man must Begin the Morning with Piety.
As soon as ever thou awakest in the morning, keep the door of thy heart fast shut, that no earthly thought may enter, before that God come in first; and let him, before all others, have the first place there. So all evil thoughts either will not dare to come in, or shall the easier be kept out; and the heart will more savour of piety and godliness all the day after; but if thy heart be not, at thy first waking, filled with some meditations of God and his word, and dressed, like the lamp in the tabernacle
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

What the Scriptures Principally Teach: the Ruin and Recovery of Man. Faith and Love Towards Christ.
2 Tim. i. 13.--"Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." Here is the sum of religion. Here you have a compend of the doctrine of the Scriptures. All divine truths may be reduced to these two heads,--faith and love; what we ought to believe, and what we ought to do. This is all the Scriptures teach, and this is all we have to learn. What have we to know, but what God hath revealed of himself to us? And what have we to do, but what
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Thoughts Upon Striving to Enter at the Strait Gate.
AS certainly as we are here now, it is not long but we shall all be in another World, either in a World of Happiness, or else in a World of Misery, or if you will, either in Heaven or in Hell. For these are the two only places which all Mankind from the beginning of the World to the end of it, must live in for evermore, some in the one, some in the other, according to their carriage and behaviour here; and therefore it is worth the while to take a view and prospect now and then of both these places,
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

The Knowledge of God
'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' I Sam 2:2. Glorious things are spoken of God; he transcends our thoughts, and the praises of angels. God's glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the several beams by which the divine nature shines forth. Among other of his orient excellencies, this is not the least, The Lord is a God of knowledge; or as the Hebrew word is, A God of knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of his own essence, he has a full idea and cognisance
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers.
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Hosea
The book of Hosea divides naturally into two parts: i.-iii. and iv.-xiv., the former relatively clear and connected, the latter unusually disjointed and obscure. The difference is so unmistakable that i.-iii. have usually been assigned to the period before the death of Jeroboam II, and iv.-xiv. to the anarchic period which succeeded. Certainly Hosea's prophetic career began before the end of Jeroboam's reign, as he predicts the fall of the reigning dynasty, i. 4, which practically ended with Jeroboam's
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Hosea 13:11 NIV
Hosea 13:11 NLT
Hosea 13:11 ESV
Hosea 13:11 NASB
Hosea 13:11 KJV

Hosea 13:11 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Hosea 13:10
Top of Page
Top of Page