Israel Restored
Hos 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Hos 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
The prophet speaks to Israel to return unto God, for their sins have caused them to fall away. If you fall, then fall towards God and humble yourself and he will lift you up. Ask him to forgive you and to take away our iniquity and receive his grace; they would offer sacrifices from their lips, like the offering of calves. The LORD wants true repentance.
Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Hos 14:3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
No longer will Israel trust in Assyria or worship idols made by their hands.
Hos 7:11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
Psa 33:17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Psa 41:4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
Hos 14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
Hos 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
Isa 12:1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Hos 14:5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Hos 14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
Israel shall prosper in beauty like the lily, they will take root and grow in their land as the trees of Lebanon.
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Hos 14:7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
Dwelling under the shadow of God or perhaps the glory cloud of God. Or the shadow of the LORD is as the shadow of a rock in a weary land. Jesus is the rock in a weary land.
Isa 32:1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
Isa 32:2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
Psa 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Hos 14:8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
We can all echo these words: What have I to do any more with idols?
Lev 19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
The LORD is like a green fir tree, majestic, ever watchful and from him comes your fruit. All good fruit comes from the LORD. From this, the LORD is not saying we should worship fir trees, although we sometimes cut a small one for a Christmas tree. Never is the tree worshipped, but it is symbolic to us of light and beauty. Almost any object has been worshipped at sometime by some people. We are not to worship but to give God the glory for his creation and the fruit of his grace towards us. He is their prosperity.
Hos 14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Walk in line with the ways of the LORD. Walk as Jesus walked for our example. Who is wise? Wisdom is from God. Prudent is to perceive or consider, to have insight concerning the ways of the LORD. His ways are right, and the righteous walk in them. In summery Hosea is saying that we must know God, be faithful to him knowing him in righteousness while avoiding idols and backsliding and stumbling over the truth of God. Keep your covenant with the LORD your God, trust and obey.
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