Hosea 14:7, commentary and pictures

Those who return to dwell under God's shadow and protection are restored to renewed life, reviving like grain and growing like the vine with fragrance and abundance. This flourishing comes when God heals backsliding and turns away anger in freely given love, coming as dew to make His people grow as the lily, root as Lebanon, and spread as the olive. It was a conditional blessing to Israel on repentance, yet it still applies today, and it is Christ's present invitation to the fruitless professed Christian to return and be healed, revived, and made fruitful from Him rather than be cut down. That reviving and growing is God's own work in those who trust in Christ, secured not by human care or effort but by receiving Christ and the Holy Spirit as plant and child receive air, sunshine, food, and rain. It comes by keeping the mind stayed on Christ as personal Saviour and patterning life after Him, to whom they constantly look until faith strengthens and character and conduct become like His. So the promise calls those fallen by iniquity to turn with confession and renounce trust in human help and idols, that cleansed perceptions and obedience to God's commandments may mark a united people surrendered to God and linked to Christ.

Promise of Renewed Life

Those who return to dwell under His shadow and protection are restored to renewed life. They revive as grain or corn and grow as the vine, blossoming and flourishing under His care. Their renewed life gives a pleasing fragrance and abundance like the wine of Lebanon. This is the spiritual renewal He longs to give His people when they repent and turn from sin, a restoration and peace for those turning from backsliding.

That flourishing follows His healing of backsliding and His freely given love after anger is turned away. When Israel returns to the Lord, that healing and love bring renewed life, fruitfulness and fragrance pictured by Lebanon's wine. By it He is as dew to cause growth as the lily, with rooting as Lebanon and spreading as the olive tree.

The promise was a blessing to Israel given on condition of their repentance. Though given in times past, it has a present-day application.

Spoken concerning Israel, it is Christ's present invitation to the fruitless professed Christian who cumbers the ground in the Lord's vineyard. It shows that in mercy God does not cut down the barren tree but gives added time to dig about it and dress it, and to keep and water it every moment night and day. Those who dwell under His shadow and return to the Lord in response to divine agencies are healed of backsliding, freely loved, revived and made to grow. Their growth and fruitfulness are found from Him.

Growth Through Receiving Christ

Reviving like grain and growing like the vine is God's own work of spiritual growth in those who trust in Christ. As He brings bud to bloom and flower to fruit, and brings seed from blade to ear to full grain, and makes the lily grow, so He alone begets spiritual life and causes its increase. That growth is not secured by human care or anxiety or effort, but by receiving what God furnishes, as plant and child grow by receiving air and sunshine and food from their surroundings. It comes as the heart rests on Christ and receives the Holy Spirit, like a plant receiving rain and dew and sunshine, and as those who remain under God's care rely on Christ and open their hearts to the Holy Spirit. What those gifts of nature are to animal and plant, Christ is to believers, their everlasting light and sun and shield and dew and rain and living water and bread from heaven that ministers life.

Reviving as the corn and growing as the vine describe spiritual growth that comes from keeping the mind on Christ, looking to Him as personal Saviour, and patterning life after Him. This constant looking and patterning makes faith stronger and character and conduct more like Christ. Those who keep their minds stayed upon Christ revive and grow because He comes to them as the former and latter rain upon the earth and arises as the Sun of righteousness with healing. This reviving and growing happens by constantly looking to and patterning after Christ as personal Saviour and growing up into Him in all things. It is marked by growing faith, a sanctified conscience, increasing likeness to Christ in all works and words, and belief in His Word.

Repentance, Unity, and Obedience

The promise is given to those who have fallen by iniquity, and it calls even those who look upon themselves as superior to their brethren to turn with words of confession, renouncing all trust in human help and in idols. It belongs among the many opportunities to repent that are given while protesting against idolatry and evil, assuring that those who turn from idols to God will be healed of backsliding, freely loved after anger is turned away, and made to return and flourish again under His protection with renewed life, growth, beauty and fragrance. To those who dwell under His shadow God gives return, reviving as grain and growing as the vine with a pleasing scent, as He is as dew causing growth as the lily, rooting as Lebanon and spreading as the olive tree.

Those whose interest in God's work has abated and whose devotion is gone, who have followed the tread of the world and failed to keep their thoughts pure, clean, and holy, can recover from the snare of the enemy. Recovery comes by realizing they are transgressing God's law and by showing repentance toward God and Jesus Christ. When spiritual perceptions are revived to see that they have not honored God as His law requires, and are refined by divine grace and cleansed from every stain of impurity in thought, word, and deed, they again honor God as His law requires and dwell under His shadow in revived life and growth. Then the scent thereof is the fragrant spiritual influence that marks those who love God and keep His commandments.

In its setting this restoration stands alongside the teaching that the wise understand God's ways and the just walk in them, so that obedience to God's commandments is the true sign of sanctification while disobedience shows disloyalty and apostasy. The instruction is present truth applying to the time addressed, calling those who know the truth to close up the ranks. It portrays the renewed life and fruitful witness of a church fully surrendered to God and growing in Christlike unity, returning to Him and flourishing like grain and the vine with influence like the fragrant wine of Lebanon. God's people are to be one, blending with one another in service for God and linking up with Christ instead of forming a separate party with a man as leader.