TEXT [Commentary]

  7.   God’s consolation for repentant Israel (14:4-8)

4 The LORD says,

“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;

my love will know no bounds,

for my anger will be gone forever.

5 I will be to Israel

like a refreshing dew from heaven.

Israel will blossom like the lily;

it will send roots deep into the soil

like the cedars in Lebanon.

6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,

as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.

7 My people will again live under my shade.

They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.

They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.

8 “O Israel,[*] stay away from idols!

I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.

I am like a tree that is always green;

all your fruit comes from me.”

NOTES

14:4 [5] I will heal you. The verb for healing (rapa’ [TH7495, ZH8324]) appeared several times before. God reminded Israel that turning to the king of Assyria could provide no healing for its problems (5:13). God himself desired to heal the people of their sins, but their entrenched apostasy prohibited him from doing this (7:1). Nevertheless, Hosea pleaded with his countrymen to return to the Lord, who alone could heal them from their sins (6:1).

faithlessness. The noun in the MT here is meshubah [TH4878, ZH5412] (waywardness). Derived from the same root as the verb translated “return” (shub [TH7725, ZH8740]), the root provides thematic stitching for both main sections of the chapter. It is Israel’s apostasy that remains the basic flaw that has occasioned all its sin and guilt.

14:5 [6] like a refreshing dew. Previously God condemned Israel’s love for him as being no more lasting than the dew that disappears quickly with the rising sun (6:4). Israel’s fascination with idolatry would soon be so thoroughly judged that they themselves would disappear “like dew in the morning sun” (13:3). The imagery here emphasizes the refreshing nature of the dew, which nourishes the land and its vegetation (cf. Isa 26:19). Micah predicted that one day a restored Israel would be “like dew sent by the LORD” (Mic 5:7).

like the lily. It is unclear which of the many flowers called “lily” (shushan [TH7799, ZH8808]) is intended here. Keil (1954:165) declares that it is a white lily, while Stuart (1987:210) calls it a crocus. Walker (1957:114, 118) identifies shushan both as an iris that “is very delicate in color, of soft lemon and slight orchid-blue shade” and as the red chalcedonicum lily, which is “known as the Scarlet Martagon because of its brilliant scarlet petals and sepals.”

like the cedars in Lebanon. “Cedars” does not occur in the MT here or in 14:6, but probably both are intended—Hosea often wrote elliptically. Garrett (1997:278) suggests that the sudden threefold reference to Lebanon here at the end of the book contains an underlying implication that “all of the good things that Israel thought to get from Baal will finally come from Yahweh.”

14:6 [7] branches. Lit., “shoots.” The NLT extends the tree imagery to include shoots that grow to maturity as blossoming branches.

like beautiful olive trees. Lit., “its splendor will be like the olive tree.” The olive was a staple in Israel. Walker (1957:154) reports that “one tree could supply a whole family with fats, for olive oil was used instead of butter” and that “a full-sized tree yields a half ton of oil yearly.”

14:7 [8] My people will again live under my shade. Lit., “they who dwell in its shadow will return.” The fact of a return meant that captivity and exile had to precede the return. The predicted return was also an assurance of God’s continuing love for his people.

grain . . . grapevines. Together with the olive tree, the mention of grain and wine is an indication of Israel’s renewed covenant status (see notes on 2:8; commentary on Joel 1:10).

14:8 [9] O Israel, stay away from idols! Lit., “O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?” The NLT has used “Israel” in place of “Ephraim” in this verse for simplicity and clarity. The NLT has also formulated the rhetorical question found in the Hebrew as an exclamation, capturing its general force.

a tree that is always green. This tree has been identified as a juniper (LXX), a cypress (NRSV), or a pine (NIV; cf. Isa 60:13). Stuart (1987:211) renders it simply “fir.” Because the yielding of fruit is mentioned in connection with the tree that is ever green, it may intend the stone pine, which produces edible seed.

fruit. The noun here is also used to depict Israel as a plant that bears no fruit because its roots are dried up and withered (9:16). In another context, Israel was charged with misusing God’s fruitful blessing by pursuing pagan worship practices (10:1) and by trusting in military buildup rather than God (10:13). Fruitful Israel (Ephraim) has also courted other nations, one of which will ultimately come against them and destroy them (13:15).

COMMENTARY [Text]

God’s last oracle through Hosea is a reminder to Israel of who he is and how he will respond to them should they follow Hosea’s admonition to repent. Only he can heal their apostate condition. Their long history of unfaithfulness and idolatry can yet find forgiveness and cleansing. Their return and submission to him will allow them to experience the fullness of his undying love for them. True repentance and acknowledgment of the Lord would mean the relenting of his judicial anger toward them—forever.

What blessing could be theirs! In yet another series of sparkling similes, God likened his renewed relation to his people to the morning dew, which brings fresh vitality to the landscape. In a series of agricultural images, God promised that with his renewed provision Israel would again blossom like the lily. Its natural beauty would mirror the abundance of its prosperity. Like the fabled cedars of Lebanon, a restored people in a newly established state would have deep roots in the soil of the land.

Continuing the tree imagery, the Lord pointed out that Israel’s splendor would be like that of an olive tree, a gift from the Lord of the covenant (cf. Josh 24:13). Israel would no longer be a stench in the nostrils of the nations but would be held in such esteem that they would resemble the fragrance of Lebanon’s cedar forests and finest wine. (Although the wine of Lebanon is not celebrated in the OT, it was apparently well-known in the ancient world; cf. Pliny Natural History 14.7.) Further, a productive Israel will be sought after for its agricultural and viticultural prominence.

Completing the imagery, God assured his people that one day Israel would return to dwell in safety in the land. God’s love and concern for his people is always as fresh and available as an evergreen tree that remains fruitful throughout the year. God’s power and availability is not seasonal but continuous.

Therefore, God can ask the penetrating question (see note on 14:8 [9]) that succinctly summarizes his whole case against Israel: “What have I (ever had and even now have) to do with idols?” Idols and Yahweh have nothing in common. Not only is idolatry expressly forbidden in the second commandment, but in the final analysis, no comparison exists between God and the gods represented by the idols (cf. Deut 6:4, 13). Indeed, Hosea’s rhetorical question (see the note on 14:8 [9]) invites the people to consider the impossibility of comparing Yahweh with the idols of mankind. Hosea’s contemporary Isaiah also castigates the settled idolatry of the people, condemning as utter folly those who first manufacture the idols (Isa 2:8; 40:19-20) and then bow down and worship the work of their own hands (Isa 44:12-20). Rather, Israel must realize that the Lord is the incomparable one (Isa 40:18) who alone is the almighty creator and sustainer of mankind (Isa 40:25-31) and the only God who is the source of man’s righteousness and strength (Isa 45:22-25). Therefore, those who confess to being believers should “stay away from idols” (14:8)—not only those manufactured by man but “anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” (1 John 5:21).

Could Israel not see this? All their long history of fascination and preoccupation with Baal had brought them nothing but guilt before God—hence, his rapidly approaching judgment (cf. Isa 42:15). Only a sincere return to him could ever give them the things they thought they had gained by going over to Baal and the other false gods. It was a time of decision. Would they choose their present path (leading to death; cf. Deut 8:19) or all the abundant blessings available in the one who alone could heal them?

Unfortunately, the Israel (and Judah) of past history made the wrong choice. They persisted in apostasy and political intrigues right up to the end. Although they missed the opportunity for the blessings God wanted to pour out upon them, the prophets predicted that one day Israel would be restored to the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants (Gen 13:14-15; cf. Isa 10:21-22; 35:8-10; 49:9-13; Jer 31:7-14; Ezek 34:13-16; 36:24-28; 37:21-27; Amos 9:14-15).

There they would know the great blessings assured to them in the new covenant (Isa 54:1-10; Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 37:21-28). For David’s descendant, the Messiah, will dwell among them, reigning in holiness, righteousness, and justice. He will provide safety, peace, and everlasting felicity for all (cf. Isa 11:1-9; 61:1-3; Jer 33:15-18; Ezek 34:25-31; Dan 7:13-14, 26-27; see the commentary on Joel 3:17-21 and on Zeph 3:9-20).

New Testament believers also look forward to that blessed time. As Old Testament believers hoped for that era when they would be regathered to the land, so Christians look to that day when Christ shall come and gather them unto himself (John 14:3; 1 Thess 4:16-17). As Old Testament believers cast their eye toward that age when God’s enemies would be defeated and the Messiah would extend his just and glorious reign over a new and refreshed earth (cf. Isa 2:3-5; 60:1-22; 62:1-5; 65:17-25; Zech 14:1-9), so New Testament believers long for the coming of Christ to subdue all evil and to reign over a new and revitalized world where sin and death cannot exist and believers can live in fellowship with their King and Lord forever (Rev 11:15-18; 19:11–22:20).