His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
God promises backsliding Israel that when they return to Him He will heal their backsliding, love them freely and turn away His anger, making them flourish and thrive in growth and peace under His care. Its spreading branches mean abundant, spreading growth, its beauty like the olive tree means loveliness and renewed dignity, and its scent like Lebanon means fragrance, freshness and vitality. This flourishing is given on condition of repentance, requiring those who have left truth and righteousness to realize their sin, renounce trust in Assyria, horses and handmade idols, and turn to the Lord with confession asking Him to take away all iniquity and receive them graciously. When they so return He cleanses them from impurity in thought, word and deed and surrounds them with a fragrant, pure and holy influence as those who love Him and keep His commandments. Though spoken to Israel in Hosea 14, it stands as present truth calling God's people to be one in Christ rather than form a separate party, and as His invitation to the fruitless professed believer to respond to the Holy Spirit, keep the mind stayed upon Christ and grow up into Him in faith and the fruit of the Spirit, lest the refusing heart be hardened and cut down.
Promise of Restored Flourishing
Hosea 14:6 is God's promise to backsliding Israel that when they return to Him He will heal their backsliding, love them freely, and turn away His anger from them. The restored people are then caused to flourish and thrive in growth and peace under His care, heeding His reproof and correcting their course. Like a well-watered plant they spread and become fruitful, showing the renewed life that follows His healing, freely given love, and keeping.
Its three images portray that renewed life together as abundant growth, beauty, and vitality. Spreading branches mean spreading, abundant growth like a thriving plant, beauty like the olive tree means beauty and loveliness with renewed dignity, and scent like Lebanon and its cedars means fragrance, freshness, vitality and abundance.
In its passage the verse belongs with God coming as dew to Israel, with growth as the lily and deep rooting as Lebanon. Those dwelling under His shadow revive as corn and grow as the vine, forsaking idols and receiving fruit found from God Himself. At the close the just walk in the Lord's right ways, which the wise understand, while transgressors fall therein.
Repentance and Present Application
The flourishing is given only on condition of repentance, and was spoken through Hosea as an opportunity to repent when anger is turned away and backsliding is healed and loved freely. Those called are those who have left truth and righteousness, lost interest and devotion, followed the world, transgressed the law and defiled thought, word and deed, and kept impure thoughts without fragrant spiritual influence. They must heed reproof and correct their course, realize their sin and their transgression of the law, and show repentance toward God and toward Jesus Christ. They must renounce trust in Assyria and in horses and in handmade idols, and turn to the Lord with confession, taking words and asking Him to take away all iniquity, receive them graciously and show them mercy.
When they so return, perceptions are refined by divine grace and impurity in thought, word and deed is cleansed away. The restored then honor Him as His law requires, and are surrounded by and marked with a fragrant, pure, clean and holy spiritual influence as those who love God and keep His commandments.
Though written in times past in Hosea 14 as promises of blessing to Israel, the word has present-day application. It belongs to instruction that is present truth and applies to the time when those who know the truth must unite. It calls the people to be one and not to form a separate party under a human leader, but to blend with one another in service for God and link with Christ. It is spoken to every man, woman, youth or child who fears and loves Him and refuses to be enticed amid a world of corruption, upon whom God looks with pleasure.
It is God's present invitation to the fruitless professed believer to return to the Lord his God and to respond to divine agencies and the influence of the Holy Spirit. That return comes through Christ's unwearied labor in the added time of probation, keeping and watering night and day and digging about and dressing the tree, with fruit found from God Himself. Those who keep their minds stayed upon Christ, constantly looking to Him and patterning after Him as a personal Saviour, receive Him as the rain, as the former and latter rain upon the earth, and as the Sun of Righteousness with healing. By that abiding they grow up into Him in all things, with growing faith and belief in His Word, a sanctified conscience, and works and words more and more like Christ. They bear the fruit of the Spirit in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, while the heart that refuses to respond becomes hardened until it must be cut down as a cumberer of the ground.
God promises backsliding Israel that when they return to Him He will heal their backsliding, love them freely and turn away His anger, making them flourish and thrive in growth and peace under His care. Its spreading branches mean abundant, spreading growth, its beauty like the olive tree means loveliness and renewed dignity, and its scent like Lebanon means fragrance, freshness and vitality. This flourishing is given on condition of repentance, requiring those who have left truth and righteousness to realize their sin, renounce trust in Assyria, horses and handmade idols, and turn to the Lord with confession asking Him to take away all iniquity and receive them graciously. When they so return He cleanses them from impurity in thought, word and deed and surrounds them with a fragrant, pure and holy influence as those who love Him and keep His commandments. Though spoken to Israel in Hosea 14, it stands as present truth calling God's people to be one in Christ rather than form a separate party, and as His invitation to the fruitless professed believer to respond to the Holy Spirit, keep the mind stayed upon Christ and grow up into Him in faith and the fruit of the Spirit, lest the refusing heart be hardened and cut down.
Promise of Restored Flourishing
Hosea 14:6 is God's promise to backsliding Israel that when they return to Him He will heal their backsliding, love them freely, and turn away His anger from them. The restored people are then caused to flourish and thrive in growth and peace under His care, heeding His reproof and correcting their course. Like a well-watered plant they spread and become fruitful, showing the renewed life that follows His healing, freely given love, and keeping.
Its three images portray that renewed life together as abundant growth, beauty, and vitality. Spreading branches mean spreading, abundant growth like a thriving plant, beauty like the olive tree means beauty and loveliness with renewed dignity, and scent like Lebanon and its cedars means fragrance, freshness, vitality and abundance.
In its passage the verse belongs with God coming as dew to Israel, with growth as the lily and deep rooting as Lebanon. Those dwelling under His shadow revive as corn and grow as the vine, forsaking idols and receiving fruit found from God Himself. At the close the just walk in the Lord's right ways, which the wise understand, while transgressors fall therein.
Repentance and Present Application
The flourishing is given only on condition of repentance, and was spoken through Hosea as an opportunity to repent when anger is turned away and backsliding is healed and loved freely. Those called are those who have left truth and righteousness, lost interest and devotion, followed the world, transgressed the law and defiled thought, word and deed, and kept impure thoughts without fragrant spiritual influence. They must heed reproof and correct their course, realize their sin and their transgression of the law, and show repentance toward God and toward Jesus Christ. They must renounce trust in Assyria and in horses and in handmade idols, and turn to the Lord with confession, taking words and asking Him to take away all iniquity, receive them graciously and show them mercy.
When they so return, perceptions are refined by divine grace and impurity in thought, word and deed is cleansed away. The restored then honor Him as His law requires, and are surrounded by and marked with a fragrant, pure, clean and holy spiritual influence as those who love God and keep His commandments.
Though written in times past in Hosea 14 as promises of blessing to Israel, the word has present-day application. It belongs to instruction that is present truth and applies to the time when those who know the truth must unite. It calls the people to be one and not to form a separate party under a human leader, but to blend with one another in service for God and link with Christ. It is spoken to every man, woman, youth or child who fears and loves Him and refuses to be enticed amid a world of corruption, upon whom God looks with pleasure.
It is God's present invitation to the fruitless professed believer to return to the Lord his God and to respond to divine agencies and the influence of the Holy Spirit. That return comes through Christ's unwearied labor in the added time of probation, keeping and watering night and day and digging about and dressing the tree, with fruit found from God Himself. Those who keep their minds stayed upon Christ, constantly looking to Him and patterning after Him as a personal Saviour, receive Him as the rain, as the former and latter rain upon the earth, and as the Sun of Righteousness with healing. By that abiding they grow up into Him in all things, with growing faith and belief in His Word, a sanctified conscience, and works and words more and more like Christ. They bear the fruit of the Spirit in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, while the heart that refuses to respond becomes hardened until it must be cut down as a cumberer of the ground.