Hosea 14

2 receive [us] graciously. Lit., as R.V., “accept that which is good.”

the calves of our lips. That is, the sacrifices of thanksgiving with our lips; cp. Heb. xiii. 15.

3. Asshur shall not save us, etc. In these words they renounce their three chief sins: dependence upon Assyria, recourse to Egypt (riding upon horses), and idolatry.

5 grow. Or, “blossom,” as R.V. So in ver. 7. Lebanon. The trees of Lebanon.

7 the wine of Lebanon. Lebanon has long been celebrated for the excellence of its wines. These varied images, depicting beauty, strength, fragrance, and usefulness, show the blessed results of God’s restoring grace.

8 a green fir tree. “The berosh, one of the large genus of the pine or fir, or (as others translate) the cypress, was a tall stately tree (Isa. iv. 13), in whose branches the stork could make its nest (Psa. civ. 17): its wood precious enough to be employed in the Temple (1 Kings v. 8, 10; vi. 15, 34); fine enough to be used in all sorts of musical instruments (2 Sam. vi. 5): strong and pliant enough to be used for spears (Nah. ii. 3). It was part of the glory of Lebanon (Isa. xxxvii. 24; ix. 13)” (Pusey).

9 who is wise, etc. A postscript to the whole series of Hosea’s prophecies.

the just shall walk in them. The plainest Divine instructions, and the most urgent Divine appeals, will profit those only who prayerfully study God’s Word, and obediently follow His will.

THE central message of this Book is the promise of the Spirit. This, too, is its great link with the New Testament and with the Christian Church of to-day.

It was a promise made in an unpromising time. The exact date of the Book is not known. Some authorities put it as early as the time of Joash, of the Kingdom of Judah, about 830 B.C. (cp. 2 Kings xi. 4-21; 2 Chr. xxiv. esp. v. 19). In favour of this date is the fact that, while the prophet mentions the Phoenicians, Philistines, Egyptians and Edomites (iii. 4, 19), he makes no reference to the Assyrians or Babylonians, and there is no mention of kings or princes, but rather of elders and priests (i. 14; ii. 16, 17). Others consider that the Book was written after the exile, as late as 444 B.C. But whatever the time was, it was a time of famine and drought. Wave after wave of desolation and destruction had swept over the land (i. 4). The harvest had perished; the fruit-trees were withered; the very seeds rotted in their clods, and the cattle were perplexed because there was no pasture (i. 10-12, 17-20). In that dark hour the promises of God flashed out: “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten”; “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh” (ii. 25, 28). There is no hour in life so dark, for the individual, the nation, or the Church, that the promises of God cannot brighten it.

It was a promise repeated and fulfilled upon the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 16-21). To the very men whom St. Peter accused of crucifying the Saviour he also says, “The promise is unto you and to your children” (cp. Acts ii. 36 with Acts ii. 39). No one is so far from God that the Spirit of God cannot reach him.

The Book is also a call to repentance, both personal and national (i. 14; ii. 13, 15. Cp. Acts ii. 38). It is a message for our own time as well as for the days of Joel.

The closing chapter deals with the future of the nations. Some of it has already been fulfilled (e.g. iii. 4, 19). Much of it awaits fulfilment (iii. 12-14). But the final issue is clear. “Judah shall dwell for ever,” and “the Lord dwelleth in Zion” (iii. 20, 21).