Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

14:2-3 Take with you words means to know ahead of time what you will say. Hosea then gives the words of repentance and confession that the people should use before the Lord (vv. 2b-3). These verses are peppered with terms from the covenant that express God's grace and the proper response of gratitude: take away all iniquity evokes Ex. 34:7 ("forgiving"; cf. Ps. 32:5), while pay with bulls the vows of our lips probably describes peace offerings (cf. Ex. 24:5; Num. 7:88), in which the grateful worshiper enjoys a meal in God's presence. This is what Israel can expect, if only they will return to the Lord. Also (Hos. 14:3), no longer will they place their trust in foreign princes (such as Assyria) or in implements of warfare (horses); neither will they worship handmade gods (cf. 13:3-4).

14:4 As so often happens with calls to repentance, there follow astounding promises to entice Israel to return. The Lord will heal their apostasy. As noted in 5:13-14, the prophets often depict sin as a sickness and renewal as healing. I will love them freely. It is not that the Lord had stopped loving Israel, but now he will love them without the prospect of imminent judgment.

14:5 I will be like the dew. Dew was one of the key sources of water for Israel. It would be vital for the growth of the kind of plants that follow. like the lily. The Hebrew term can refer to several different lily-like flowers; all are prized for their beauty. Biblical authors regularly celebrate the trees of Lebanon (especially cedars) as the most majestic (e.g., Ps. 104:16).

14:6 his shoots shall spread out. Here the imagery depicts an expanding kingdom like the growth of a great tree: Israel's original calling was to spread its influence through the whole world. beauty shall be like the olive. The olive was regarded as a symbol of strength and prosperity (cf. Ps. 52:8). fragrance like Lebanon. A reference to the scent of cedars.

14:7 they shall flourish like the grain . . . like the vine . . . like the wine. Israel again becomes a choice vine, which was her design from the beginning (cf. 10:1). The landscape here depicted is an Eden-like paradise, illustrating covenant renewal by the replanting of Israel as a lush garden (cf. 2:14-23).

14:8 I am like an evergreen cypress. Nowhere else in the OT is the Lord likened to a tree, which leads some to suggest that these words are spoken by Israel. However, in 5:12 Hosea uses an equally bold comparison of the Lord with "a moth" and "dry rot," so this suggestion is unnecessary. An "evergreen" tree is ever full of life and strength.

14:9 Hosea has an apt conclusion for his book. The Lord has made his case, and is justified in punishing Israel for ingratitude and covenant breaking. Yet there is a final appeal for the wise, who understand (the same verb used in 4:14: "people without understanding shall come to ruin"). This verse is full of terms otherwise met in the Psalms and Proverbs, such as "wise," "understand," discerning, the ways of the Lord, and the contrast between the upright and transgressors. Most of the book has addressed Ephraim as a corporate body, but these terms in Hos. 14:9 focus on the moral response of individual Israelites. The positive terms in such a setting refer to those who really grasp the grace of the covenant. They also guide them in their own course of life, even when terrible disaster overtakes the people as a whole.