Hosea 14:7,8

PEACE REMAINSLOVED

TEXT: Hosea 14:7-8

7

They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the grain, and blossom as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

8

Ephriam shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have answered, and will regard him: I am like a green fir-tree; from me is thy fruit found.

QUERIES

a.

Who's shadow are they to dwell under?

b.

Who is like a green fir-tree?

PARAPHRASE

All the faithful people who dwell in the shady peaceful and restful influence of this new Israel shall prosper in the presence of the Lord. They will produce and bear fruit because Israel is abiding in the Lord. Israel will say, I will have nothing more to do with idols. And the Lord will have answered out of His concern and care, I have become your everlasting source of joy and satisfaction; in Me you have found life and fruitfulness.

SUMMARY

The idyllic portrait of the Messianic age now comes to a climax from the artist Hosea. God's gracious invitation is responded to by new Israel who finds God able to do exceeding abundantly above all that can be imagined.

COMMENT

Hosea 14:7 THEY THAT DWELL UNDER HIS SHADOW SHALL RETURN. They undoubtedly includes all the nations who shall dwell under the shadow of the new-Israel. It is they now, not henot Israel, but they that dwell under his shadow. It is certainly confirmed from other prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, etc., that the promises to new-Israel belong to the nations (Gentiles) in the coming Messianic age (the Church), Furthermore, as we have noted in our comments on Hosea 1:6, Hosea 2:23, the promises to new-Israel belong to the Gentiles also since the apostle Paul applied Hosea 1:6 ff to them in Romans 9-11. G. Campbell Morgan says, The fulfillment of all this is coming through Christ. This nation as an earthly people was rejected when Jesus said in the Temple courts, -The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.-' Almost immediately after, the Lord was alone with His own disciples, and He said, -I am the Vine, ye are the branches. Everything of beauty and of glory and of strength and of fruitfulness, is to be produced through Him, and those associated with Him as branches in the Vine. And this newIsrael, as a result of the free love of God shown through His Son, will be drawn to Him (cf. John 12:32) forever. Israel's response will be, What have I to do any more with idols?Ephraim has broken with idols. What has brought this break with idols? What is it that sweeps idolatry out of the soul of a man, or of a nation? It is the loving care God expresses for men (once they have known and experienced it). Or, as our text puts it, I have answered and will regard him (new-Israel). The love of God, as it has been revealed through Jesus Christ our Lord, is the power that drives sin, anxiety, and fear out of the hearts of men (cf. 1 John 3-4). We love Him because He first loved us and if we have this hope in us we are able to purify ourselves by it (cf. also 2 Peter 1:3-4).

Hosea 14:8. I AM LIKE A GREEN FIR-TREE; FROM ME IS THY FRUIT FOUND. This is from God's mouth, God compares Himself to a cypress becoming green, not only to denote the shelter which He will afford the new-Israel, but as the true tree of life, on which the new-Israel finds its fruitsa fruit which invigorates the spiritual life of the new-Israel. We add here the comments of Keil; The salvation which this promise sets before the people when they shall return to the Lord, is indeed depicted, according to the circumstances and peculiar views prevailing under the Old Testament, as earthly growth and prosperity; but its real nature is such, that it will receive a spiritual fulfillment in those Israelites alone who are brought to belief in Jesus Christ.

QUIZ

1.

Who are the they of Hosea 14:7? How do you know?

2.

What motivates Israel to renounce idolatry?

3.

When was all this fulfilled? To whom?