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Hosea Chapter
Fourteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 14
This
chapter concludes the book, with gracious promises to repenting sinners, to
returning backsliders. It begins with an exhortation to Israel to return to the
Lord, seeing he was their God, and they had fallen by sin from prosperity into
adversity, temporal and spiritual, Hosea 14:1; and
they are directed what to say to the Lord, upon their return to him, both by
way of petition, and of promise and of resolution how to behave for the future,
encouraged by his grace and mercy, Hosea 14:2; and
they are told what the Lord, by way of answer, would say to them, Hosea 14:4; and
what he would be to them; and what blessings of grace he would bestow on them;
and in what flourishing and fruitful circumstances they should be, Hosea 14:5; and the
chapter ends with a character of such that attend to and understand those
things; and with a recommendation of the ways of the Lord, which are differently
regarded by men, Hosea 14:9.
Hosea 14:1 O Israel,
return to the Lord
your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
YLT 1Turn back, O Israel, unto
Jehovah thy God, For thou hast stumbled by thine iniquity.
O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God,.... From whom
they had revolted and backslidden; whose worship and service they had forsaken,
and whose word and ordinances they had slighted and neglected, and had served
idols, and had given into idolatry, superstition, and will worship; and are
here exhorted to turn again to the Lord by repentance and reformation, to
abandon their idols, and every false way, and cleave to the Lord with full
purpose of heart; and the rather, since he was their God; not only their
Creator, Preserver, and kind Benefactor, but their God, by his special choice
of them above all people; by his covenant with them; by his redemption of them;
and by their profession of him; and who was still their God, and ready to
receive them, upon their return to him: and a thorough return is here meant, a
returning "even unto"F23עד יהוה "asque ad Dominum", Montanus, Tigurine
version, Oecolampadius, Schmidt, Burkius. , or quite up to the Lord thy God; it
is not a going to him halfway, but a going quite up to his seat; falling down
before him, acknowledging sin and backslidings, and having hold upon him by
faith as their God, Redeemer, and Saviour: hence, from the way of speaking here
used, the JewsF24T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 86. 1. have a saying, as Kimchi
observes,
"great
is repentance, for it brings a man to the throne of glory;'
the
imperative may be here used for the future, as some take it; and then it is a
prediction of the conversion of Israel, "thou shalt return, O Israel"F25שובה "revertere", i. e. "reverteris",
Schmidt. ; and which was in part fulfilled in the first times of the Gospel,
which met with many of the Israelites dispersed among the Gentiles, and was the
means of their conversion; and will have a greater accomplishment when all
Israel shall be converted and saved:
for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity; or
"though thou art fallen"F26כי כשלת "etsi corruisti", Luther apud Tarnovium. ;
into sin, and by it into ruin, temporal and spiritual; from a state of great
prosperity and happiness, both in things civil and religious, into great
adversity, and calamities of every sort; yet return, repent, consider from
whence thou art fallen, and by what; or thou shall return, be recovered and restored,
notwithstanding thy fall, and the low estate in which thou art. The Targum is,
"return
to the fear of the Lord.'
Hosea 14:2 2 Take
words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away
all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices[a] of our
lips.
YLT 2Take with you words, and
turn to Jehovah, Say ye unto Him: `Take away all iniquity, and give good, And
we do render the fruit of our lips.
Take with you words, and turn to the Lord,.... Not mere
words without the heart, but such as come from it, and express the true sense
of it; words of confession, as the Targum; by which sin is acknowledged, and
repentance declared, and forgiveness asked. Kimchi's note is a very good one;
"he
(that is, God) does not require of you, upon return, neither gold nor silver,
nor burnt offerings, but good works; therewith confessing your sins with your
whole hearts, and not with your lips only;'
and
which best agrees with evangelical repentance and Gospel times, in which
ceremonial sacrifices are no more; and not any words neither; not tautologies
and multiplicity of words, or words of man's prescribing, but of the Lord's
directing to and dictating; the taught words of the Holy Ghost, which he
suggests and helps men to, who otherwise know not how to pray, or what to pray
for; and these expressed under a sense of sin, and sorrow for it, and in the
strength of faith, and are as follow:
say unto him, take away all iniquity; which is to
be understood, not of the taking away of the being of sin; which, though very
desirable, is not to be expected in this life: nor of the expiation of sin by
the sacrifice of Christ, which is done already; he has taken the sins of his
people from them to himself, and has bore them, and carried them away, and
removed them out of the sight of divine justice, which is satisfied for them:
nor of the taking away of the power and dominion of sin; which is done by the
Spirit of God, and the efficacy of his grace on the hearts of converted
persons: nor of an extinguishing all sense of sin in men; for none have a
quicker sense of it than pardoned sinners, or are more humble on the account of
it, or more loath it; but of the taking of it away from the conscience of a
sensible truly penitent sinner or backslider, by a fresh application of
pardoning grace and mercy: sin is a burden, a heavy one, when the guilt of it
is charged and lies upon the conscience; pardon of sin applied is a lifting up,
as the word here used signifies, a taking off of this burden from it, a causing
it to pass away; which is done by the fresh sprinkling of the blood of Jesus,
which purges the conscience from sin, and clears it from the guilt of it, and
speaks peace and comfort; and which is the blessing here prayed for, and every
backslider, sensible of his case, sees he stands in need of, and even to have
"all" taken away; for, if but one sin remains, and the guilt of it
continues, he can have no peace, nor stand up under it; but, when God forgives
sin, he forgives "all" sin;
and receive us graciously; receive into grace and
favour, that is, openly and manifestly; the free love and favour of God is
always the same, but the manifestations of it are different; sometimes more or
less, and sometimes scarce any, if any at all, and is the ease here; and
therefore a petition is made for the remembrance of it, for a renewed discovery
and application of it: or accept us in a gracious manner; acceptance with God
is not on account of the merits of men, but his own grace and mercy; not
through any works of righteousness done by them, which are impure and
imperfect; but through Christ the Beloved, in whom God is well pleased with the
persons, and services, and sacrifices of his people, and receives all for his
sake, and which is here asked for; as well as that he would take them into his
protection, and open affection. It is, in the original text, only,
"receive good"F1קח טוב "accipe bonum", Pagninus, Montanus: Munster,
Cocceius, Schmidt, Burkius. ; meaning either their good hearts, made so by the
grace of God; their broken hearts and contrite spirits, which are sacrifices
not despised by him, but acceptable to him through Christ: or their good words
they were bid to take, and did take, nod use; their good prayers offered up
through Christ, in his name, and in the exercise of faith, which are the Lord's
delight: or their good works, done from a principle of love, in faith, to the
glory of God, and with which sacrifices he is well pleased: or rather, as the
same word signifies, to give as well as receive; see Psalm 68:18. It may
be rendered, "give good"F2"Acceptum confer
bonum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius. ; take good, and give
it to us, even all good things, temporal and spiritual, especially all
spiritual blessings in Christ; all which good things come from God, and are his
gifts; particularly the good Spirit of God, and his grace, which the Lord gives
to them that ask; and all supplies of grace from Christ; and more especially,
as some interpreters of note explain it, the righteousness of Christ imputed
and applied; which goes along with pardoning grace, or the taking away of sin, Zechariah 3:4; and
is the good, the better, the best robe; a gift, the gift of grace; a blessing
received from the Lord, and to be asked for of him:
so will we render the calves of our lips; not calves,
bullocks, and oxen, for sacrifice, as under the law; but the sacrifices of
praise and thanksgiving for pardoning grace, for a justifying righteousness,
and for all good things: these are the fruit of the lips, as the apostle
interprets it, Hebrews 13:15; and
which are sacrifices more acceptable to God than calves of a year old, or an ox
or bullock that has horns and hoofs, Psalm 69:30. This
shows that the text and context refer to Gospel times, to the times of the
Messiah; in which the Jews themselves say all sacrifices will cease but the
sacrifice of praise. The Targum is,
"turn
to the worship of the Lord, and say, let it he with thee to forgive sins, and
may we be received as good, and the words of our lips be accepted with thee as
bullocks for good pleasure upon the altar.'
Hosea 14:3 3 Assyria
shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the
work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’ For in You the fatherless finds
mercy.”
YLT 3Asshur doth not save us, on
a horse we ride not, Nor do we say any more, Our God, to the work of our hands,
For in Thee find mercy doth the fatherless.'
Ashur shall not save us,.... This is still a
continuation of the words repenting and returning Israel are directed to make
use of before the Lord, declaring they would not do any more as they had done;
to Assyria, or the kings of Assyria, as the Targum, for help, and desire
assistance, and expect deliverance and salvation from thence; see Hosea 5:13;
we will not ride upon horses; to seek for help
elsewhere; or go to Egypt for them, as they had done; or put their trust in
them for safety, in a time of war; or think to make their escape by them when
in danger; see Psalm 20:8;
neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ye are
our gods; that is, say so to, or concerning, their idols, which were made
by their hands, or by their orders, as they had formerly done to the golden
calf in the wilderness, and to the calves at Dan and Bethel; see Exodus 32:4; now, by
all these expressions is meant, that they would determine not to put any
confidence in any creature, or in any creature performance; that they would not
trust in their own merits, but in the mercy of God through Christ for the of
their sins; nor in any works of righteousness for their justification before
God, and acceptance with him; nor expect salvation in any other way than by the
free grace of God, and his abundant mercy in Christ:
for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy; and in thee
only; hereby declaring that the Lord was the only Saviour; that there was
salvation in Christ, and in no other; and that they would have no other saviour
but him; that they would look to the mercy of God proclaimed in him, and
communicated from and through him, the mercy seat, and to his mercy alone for
eternal life; in whom the most destitute persons, as the fatherless, who are
destitute of friends, of help and assistance, of counsel and advice, find
favour, kindness, and mercy, even such as are most hopeless and helpless; which
is a great encouragement to look to the Lord, to trust in him, and hope in his
mercy.
Hosea 14:4 4 “I
will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned
away from him.
YLT 4I heal their backsliding, I
love them freely, For turned back hath Mine anger from him.
I will heal their backslidings,.... This and what
follows is the Lord's answer to the above prayer; and this clause particularly
is an answer to that petition, "take away all iniquity", Hosea 14:2; sins
are diseases, natural and hereditary, nauseous and loathsome, mortal, and
incurable but by the grace of God, and blood of Christ; backslidings are
relapses, which are dangerous things; Christ is the only Physician, who heals
all the diseases of sin, and these relapses also; he will do it, he has
promised it, and never turns away any that apply to him for it; and which he
does by a fresh application of his blood, whereby he takes away sin, heals the
conscience wounded with it, and restores peace and comfort; which is a great
encouragement to take words, and return unto him; see Hosea 6:1;
I will love them freely; this is in answer to
that petition, "receive us, graciously"; or "receive good",
or rather "give good", Hosea 14:2; not
that the love of God or Christ begins when sinners repent and turn to him, or
he applies his pardoning grace, since his love is from everlasting; but that in
so doing he manifests his love, and will continue in it, nor shall anything
separate from it: and this love, as it is freely set upon the objects of it,
without any merits of theirs, or any motives in them, but flows from the free
sovereign will and pleasure of God in Christ; so it is as freely manifested,
and continues upon the same bottom, and is displayed in a most liberal and
profuse donation of blessings of grace to them: this love is free in its
original, and is liberal and bountiful in the effects of it; and makes the
objects of it a free, willing, and bountiful people too:
for mine anger is turned away from him: from Israel,
which, under former dispensations of Providence, seemed to be towards him, at
least when under his frowns, resentment, and displeasure, as is the case of
that people at this day; but when they shall return to the Lord, and he shall
manifest and apply his pardoning grace to them, his anger will appear no more,
and they shall be in a very happy and comfortable condition, as Israel or the
church declares, Isaiah 12:1; which
refers to the same times as these words do; see Romans 11:26; and
compare Psalm 85:2; where a
manifestation of pardoning grace is called the Lord's turning himself from the
fierceness of his anger; and especially this suits with Gospel times,
satisfaction being made for sin by the sacrifice of Christ.
Hosea 14:5 5 I
will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his
roots like Lebanon.
YLT 5I am as dew to Israel, he
flourisheth as a lily, And he striketh forth his roots as Lebanon.
I will be as the dew unto Israel,.... To spiritual Israel,
to those that return to the Lord, take with them words, and pray unto him,
whose backslidings are healed, and they are freely loved; otherwise it is said
of apostate Israel or Ephraim, that they were "smitten, and their
root dried up, and bore no fruit", Hosea 9:16. These
words, and the whole, context, respect future times, as Kimchi observes; even
the conversion of Israel in the latter day, when they shall partake of all the
blessings of grace, signified by the metaphors used in this and the following
verses. These words are a continuation of the answer to the petitions put into
the mouths of converted ones, promising them many favours, expressed in
figurative terms; and first by "the dew", which comes from heaven, is
a great blessing of God, and is quickening, very refreshing and fruitful to the
earth: and the Lord is that unto his people as the dew is to herbs, plants, and
trees of the earth; he is like unto it in his free love and layout, and the
discoveries of it to them; which, like the dew, is of and from himself alone;
is an invaluable blessing; better than life itself; and is not only the cause
of quickening dead sinners, but of reviving, cheering, and refreshing the
drooping spirits of his people; and is abundance, never fails, but always
continues, Proverbs 19:12; and
so he is in the blessings of his grace, and the application of them; which are
in heavenly places, in Christ, and come down from thence, and in great
abundance, like the drops of dew; and fall silently, insensibly, and unawares,
particularly regenerating grace; and are very cheering and exhilarating, as
forgiveness of sin, a justifying righteousness, adoption, &c. Deuteronomy 33:13;
and also in the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, which distil as dew; these are
of God, and come down from heaven; seem little in themselves, but of great
importance to the conversion of sinners, and comfort of saints; bring many
blessings in them, and cause great joy and fruitfulness wherever they come with
power, Deuteronomy 32:2.
The Targum is,
"my
Word shall be as dew to Israel;'
the
essential Word of God, the Messiah; of whose incarnation of a virgin some
interpret this; having, like the dew, no father but God, either in his divine
or human nature; but rather it is to be understood of the blessings of grace he
is to his people as Mediator; being to them wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption, and every other, even their all it, all:
he shall grow as the lily; to which the church and
people of God are sometimes compared, especially for their beauty and
comeliness in Christ, Solomon in all his glory not being arrayed like one of
these; particularly for their unspotted purity, being clothed with fine linen,
clean and white, the white raiment of Christ's righteousness, and having their
garments washed and made white in his blood; see Song of Solomon 2:1;
and here for its growth. The root of the lily lies buried in the earth a long
time, when it seems as if it was dead; but on a sudden it springs out of the
earth, and runs up to a great height, and becomes very flourishing; which is
not owing to itself, it "toils not"; but to the dew of heaven: so
God's elect in a state of nature are dead, but, being quickened by the grace of
God, spring up on a sudden, and grow very fast; which is not owing to
themselves, but to the dews of divine grace, the bright shining of the sun of
righteousness upon them, and to the influences of the blessed Spirit; and so
they grow up on high, into their Head Christ Jesus, and rise up in their
affections, desires, faith and hope to heavenly things, to the high calling of
God in Christ, and become fruitful in grace, and in good works. The Targum is,
"they
shall shine as the lily;'
see
Matthew 6:29;
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon; as the tree, or trees,
of Lebanon, as the Targum; and so Kimchi, who adds, which are large, and their
roots many; or as the roots of the trees of Lebanon, so Jarchi; like the cedars
there, which, as the word here used signifies, "struck"F3ויך "percutiet", Montanus, Tarnovius, Rivet,
Cocceius; "figet", Calvin, Pareus; "defiget"; Zanchius;
"et infiget", Schmidt; "incutiet", Drusius. their roots
firm in that mountain, and stood strong and stable, let what winds and tempests
soever blow: thus, as in the following, what one metaphor is deficient in,
another makes up. The lily has but a weak root, and is easily up; but the
cedars in Lebanon had roots firm and strong, to which the saints are sometimes
compared, as here; see Psalm 92:12; and
this denotes their permanency and final perseverance; who are rooted in the
love of God, which is like a root underground from all eternity, and sprouts
forth in regeneration, and is the source of all grace; is itself immovable, and
in it the people of God are secured, and can never be rooted out; and they may
be said to "strike" their roots in it, as the phrase here, when they
exercise: a strong faith in it, and are firmly persuaded of their interest in
it; see Ephesians 3:17;
they are also rooted in Christ, who is the root of Jesse, of David, and of all
the saints; from whom they have their life, their nourishment and fruitfulness,
and where they remain unmoved, and strike their roots in him, by renewed acts
of faith on him, claiming their interest in him; and are herein so strongly
rooted and grounded, that all the winds and storms of sin, Satan, and the
world, cannot eradicate them; nay, as trees are more firmly rooted by being
shaken, so are they; see Colossians 2:7. The
Targum is,
"they
shall dwell in the strength of their land, as a tree of Lebanon, which sends
forth its branch.'
Hosea 14:6 6 His
branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance
like Lebanon.
YLT 6Go on do his sucklings, And
his beauty is as an olive, And he hath fragrance as Lebanon.
His branches shall spread,.... As the well rooted
cedars in Lebanon; see Numbers 24:6. This
respects the propagation of the church of God, and the interest of Christ in
the world, as in the first times of the Gospel, and will be in the latter day;
when the Gospel shall be spread everywhere; churches set up in all places; the
Jews converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; and these like
spreading branches, and fruitful boughs, abounding in grace and good works. The
Targum is,
"they
shall multiply or increase with sons and daughters:'
and his beauty shall be as the olive tree; which lies in
its being laden with excellent fruit, and being always green; for which reasons
particular believers, and the whole church of God, are sometimes compared to
it; having that fatness in them, with which God and men are honoured; and that
true grace, which is signified by oil in the vessels of the heart, and is
called the unction and anointing of the Holy One; and they persevering in this
grace to the end, which is evergreen and durable, immortal, and dies not; see Psalm 52:8. Here
again it may be observed, that the trees of Lebanon, though they had strong
roots, and spreading branches, yet were not fruitful; and the deficiency of
that metaphor is supplied by this of the olive:
and his smell as Lebanon; as the trees of Lebanon,
the cedars, trees of frankincense, and other odoriferous trees and plants,
which grew upon it; here what is wanting in the olive tree, whose smell is not
so grateful, is made up by this simile of the trees of Lebanon, and the smell
of them; which may denote the sweet and grateful smell the Lord smells in his
people, or his gracious acceptance of them in Christ; whose garments of
righteousness and salvation on them are as the smell of Lebanon; and whose
graces in them exceed the smell of all spices; and whose prayers are odours,
and their praises a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour to God; see Song of Solomon 4:10.
Some render it, "as incense"F4"Ut thuris",
Grotius. called "lebonah" in Hebrew, from whence the mountain is
thought to have its name, frankincense growing upon it. So the Targum,
"and
their smell as the smell of the incense of spices.'
Jarchi
says, as the sanctuary, which was made of the cedars of Lebanon.
Hosea 14:7 7 Those
who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like
grain, And grow like a vine. Their scent[b] shall
be like the wine of Lebanon.
YLT 7Return do the dwellers
under his shadow, They revive [as] corn, and flourish as a vine, His memorial
[is] as wine of Lebanon.
They that dwell under his shadow shall return,.... Either
under the shadow of Lebanon, as Japhet and Jarchi; the shadow of that mountain,
or of the trees that grew upon it; or under the shadow of Israel, the church,
to which young converts have recourse, and under which they sit with pleasure;
or rather under the shadow of the Lord Israel was called to return unto, and
now return, Hosea 14:1; as the
Israelites will in the latter day. So the Targum,
"and
they shall be gathered out of the midst of their captivity, they shall dwell
under the shadow of their Messiah;'
thus
truly gracious persons sit under the shadow of Christ, who come to themselves,
and return unto the Lord; even under the shadow of his word and ordinances,
where they desire to sit, and do sit with delight and pleasure, as well as in
the greatest safety; and find it a very refreshing and comfortable shadow to them;
even a shadow from the heat of avenging justice, a fiery law, the fiery darts
of Satan, and the fury of the world; and, like the shadow of a great rock in a
weary land, exceeding pleasing and cheering to weary travellers; see Song of Solomon 2:3
Isaiah 25:4;
they shall revive as the corn: which first
dies, and then is quickened; or which, after a cold nipping winter, at spring
revives again: thus do believers under the dews of divine grace, under the
shadow of Christ, and the influences of his Spirit: or, "shall revive with
corn"F5יחיו דגן
ζησονται σιτω, Sept.
"vivent tritico", V. L. "vivificabunt frumento", Munster,
Castalio; so Syr. & Ar. ; by means of it; by which may be signified the
corn of heaven, angels' food, the hidden manna, the Gospel of Christ, and
Christ himself, the bread of life; by which the spirits of his people are
revived, their souls upheld in life, and their graces quickened; which they
find and eat, and it is the joy and rejoicing of their hearts:
and grow as the vine: which, though weak, and
needs support, and its wood unprofitable; yet grows and spreads very much, and
brings forth rich fruit in clusters: so the saints, though they are weak in
themselves, and need divine supports, and when they have done all they can are
unprofitable servants; yet through the power of divine grace, which is like the
dew, they grow in every grace, and are filled with the blessings of it, and
bring forth much fruit to the glory of God:
and the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon; like the wine
of those vines which grow on Mount Lebanon, and judged to be the best. On Mount
Lebanon, about the midway between the top and the bottom of it, there is now a
convent called Canobine, situated in a very pleasant place; and Le Bruyn in his
travels relates, that it is preferable to all other places on account of its
wines, which are the richest and finest in the world; they are very sweet, of a
red colour, and so oily that they stick to the glass. At Lebanon was a city
called by the Greeks Ampeloessa, from the excellency of its wine, as Grotius
from PlinyF6Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 18. observes. Gabriel SionitaF7Apud
Calmet, Dictionary, on the word "Wine". assures us, that even to this
day the wines of Libanus are in good reputation. Kimchi relates from Asaph, a
physician, that the wines of Lebanon, Hermon, and Carmel, and of the mountains
of Israel and Jerusalem, and of the mountains of Samaria, and of the mountains
of Caphtor Mizraim, were the best of wines, and exceeded all others for scent,
taste, and medicine. Japhet interprets it, the smell of their vine afar off was
as the wine of Lebanon; and so Kimchi, the smell of the wine of the vine, to
which Israel is compared, is like the smell of the wine of Lebanon. This may
denote the savouriness of truly converted gracious souls, of their graces,
doctrines, life, and conversation. Some choose to render it, "their memoryF8זכרו "memoria ejus", Montanus, Junius &
Tremellius, Tarnovius, Cocceius, Castalio, Schmidt, Burkius. shall be as
the wine of Lebanon"; so the Targum interprets it of
"the
memory of their goodness;'
the
saints obtain a good report through faith, and have a good name, better than
precious ointment; their memory is blessed; they, are had in everlasting
remembrance; the memory of them is not only dear to the people of God in after
ages; but the memory of their persons, and of their works, is exceeding
grateful to God and Christ.
Hosea 14:8 8 “Ephraim
shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and
observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in
Me.”
YLT 8O Ephraim, what to Me any
more with idols? I -- I afflicted, and I cause him to sing: `I [am] as a green
fir-tree,' From Me is thy fruit found.
Ephraim shall say, what have I to do any more with idols?.... This is
to be understood, not of apostate Ephraim, as in the times of the prophet, who
was so wedded and glued to the idols, that there was no hope of getting him
from them; and therefore is bid to let him alone, Hosea 4:17; but of
Ephraim Israel returning to God at his call, under the influence of his grace,
in the latter day, Hosea 14:1. Idols
are the same with the works of their hands, Hosea 14:3; and to
be interpreted, not of graven or molten images, to the worship of which the
Jews have not been addicted since their captivity to this day; see Hosea 3:4; but of
the idols of their hearts, their impiety, their unbelief, their rejection of
the Messiah, which, at the time of their conversion, they will loath, abhor,
and mourn over; likewise the traditions of their elders, they are now zealous
and tenacious of, and prefer even to the written word; but will now relinquish
them, and embrace the Gospel of Christ; as well as the idol of their own
righteousness they have always endeavoured to establish; but shall now
renounce, and receive Christ as the Lord their righteousness. The like to this
is to be found in common in all truly penitent and converted sinners; who,
being made sensible of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, detest and abhor it,
and declare they will have nothing to do with it; not but that it continues in
them, and has to do with them, and they with that; yet not so as to live and
walk in it; to yield their members as instruments of it; to serve and obey it
as their master; to make provision for it, and to have the course of their
lives under the direction and power of it; and so likewise, being convinced of
the imperfection and insufficiency of their own righteousness to justify them,
they will have nothing to do with that in the business of justification before
God, and acceptance with him: now these are the words of the Lord, affirming
what Ephraim should say, as Kimchi rightly observes; he promises for him, as he
well might, since it is he that gives repentance to Israel, and works in his
people principles of grace, and enables them both to will and to do, to make
such holy resolutions, and perform them. Some render the words, "O
Ephraim, what have I to do"F9אפרים מה לי עוד
"Ephraim, vel O quid mihi amplius", &c. Montanus, Junius
& Tremellius, Tigurine version, Castalio, Cocceius, Schmidt, Burkius. ?
&c. and take them to be words of God concerning himself, declaring he would
have nothing to do with idols, nor suffer them in his service, nor should they;
for "what concord hath Christ with Belial?" or "what agreement
hath the temple of God with idols?" 2 Corinthians 6:15;
but the former sense is much best; rather what Schmidt suggests is more
agreeable, who, rendering the words in the same way, makes them to be the words
of a believing Gentile returning and dwelling under the shadow of Israel; so he
interprets Hosea 14:7, and
takes this to be the language of such an one throughout. The Targum is,
"they
of the house of Israel shall say, what is it to us to serve idols any
more?'
I have heard him; says the Lord; Ephraim
bemoaning himself, repenting of his sins, and confessing them; his prayers for
pardon and acceptance, and the resolutions made by him in the strength of
divine grace, Hosea 14:2; see Jeremiah 31:18; and
this is what his idols he once served could not do, who had ears, but heard not;
but the Lord not only heard, but answered, and granted his request. So the
Targum,
"I
by my Word will receive the prayer of Israel, and will have mercy on him:'
and observed him; looked at him, and on
him; with an eye of pity and compassion; with a favourable and propitious look,
as the Lord does towards those that are poor, and of a contrite spirit;
observed the ways and steps he took in returning to him; marked his tears and
humiliations, groans and moans, and took notice of his wants in order to supply
them;
I am like a green fir tree: these are the words of
the Lord continued; though some take them to be the words of Ephraim; or, as
Schmidt, of the Gentile believer, like those of David, Psalm 52:8; but
they best agree with Christ, who may be compared to such a tree, as he is to
many others in Scripture; because a choice one, as he is to his Father, and to
all believers, chosen and precious, lovely and beloved; a tall tree, so Christ
is highly exalted as Mediator, higher than the kings of the earth, above the
angels in heaven, yea, higher than the heavens. The boughs of this tree, as
Jarchi and Kimchi observe, bend downward so low as to be laid hold on; Christ,
though the high and lofty One, dwells with humble souls, and suffers himself to
be laid hold upon by the faith of everyone that comes to him. Pliny saysF11Nat.
Hist. l. 16. c. 10. , that this tree is of a cheerful aspect, smooth, and
scarce any knots upon it; and its leaves so thick that a shower of rain will
not pass through it: Christ is most amiable, and altogether lovely to look at
in his person and fulness; and he looks in a loving smiling manner upon his
people; he is without any knot of sin or corruption in him, as to principle or
practice; and is a delightful shade from the wrath of God, or rage of man, from
the heat of a fiery law, and the darts of Satan: and as this tree, as here, is
ever green, so he is always the same; he ever lives, and his people in him, and
by him; his fulness always continues to supply them. Once more, the fir tree is
the habitation of the stork, an unclean creature by the law of God; so Christ
is the dwelling place of sinners, he receives them, and converses with them, Psalm 104:17. The
Septuagint version renders it, "as a thick juniper tree": which
naturalists sayF12Varinus apud Rivet. in loc. has such a virtue in
it, as by the smell to drive away serpents. So the old serpent the devil was
drove away by Christ in the wilderness, in the garden, and on the cross; and
resisting by faith, holding out his blood and righteousness, causes him to flee
from the saints, The Arabic version is, "as the fruitful cypress
tree"; which is of a good smell, and its wood very durable; and so may be
expressive of the savour of Christ, his righteousness and sacrifice, the graces
of his Spirit, and of his duration. Some take this to be a promise that Ephraim
should be as a green fir tree, so Aben Ezra; with which agrees the Targum,
"I
by my word will make him as the beautiful fir tree;'
and
to which sometimes the saints are compared; see Isaiah 41:19; and
this being a tree that bears no fruit, it follows, to make up that defect in
the metaphor,
from me is thy fruit found; from Christ are all the
spiritual blessings of grace, peace, pardon, righteousness, adoption, a right
and meetness for eternal life, and that itself; all the fruits and graces of
the Spirit, as faith, hope, love, &c. and all good works, which spring from
union with him, are done in his strength, and influenced by his grace and
example; see Philemon 1:11.
Hosea 14:9 9 Who
is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him
know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The
righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.
YLT 9Who [is] wise, and doth
understand these? Prudent, and knoweth them? For upright are the ways of
Jehovah, And the righteous go on in them, And the transgressors stumble
therein!
Who is wise, and he shall understand these things?
prudent,
and he shall know them?.... Contained in this
book, and particularly in this chapter; which expresses so much of the goodness
of God and grace of Christ to Israel; though it may be applied to the whole
Scripture, and to all the mysteries and doctrines of the Gospel, respecting
Christ and his grace; and be a recommendation of these to the consideration of
every wise and prudent man; where he will find enough to exercise his wisdom
and understanding; though he need not be discouraged in his search and inquiry
into them. It suggests as if there were but few such wise persons, and that
they are the only wise men that do know and understand these things; and all
others are but fools, let them be thought as wise as they will:
for the ways of the Lord are right; straight,
plain, even, according to the rules of, justice and equity; there is no
unrighteousness in them; none in the ways in which he himself walks; either in
his ways and methods of grace, his decrees and purposes, his counsels and
covenant; or in his providential dispensations; nor in those he directs others
to walk in, the paths of faith and doctrine; or the ways of his commandments:
and the just shall walk in them; such as are, justified
by the righteousness of Christ, and have ills grace wrought in them, and live
righteously; these walk, and continue to walk, in the ways of God; which shows
that the doctrine of justification by Christ's implored righteousness is no
licentious doctrine:
but the transgressors shall fall therein; the
transgressors of the law of God, not being used to his ways, as Kimchi's father
observes, stumble in them and fall; or rather, as Jarchi and the Targum, they
fall into hell, into ruin and destruction, because they walk not in them;
though the sense seems to be, that as Christ himself, so his ways and his word,
his doctrines and his ordinances, are stumbling blocks to wicked men, at which
they stumble, and fall, and perish; see Luke 2:34 Romans 9:33.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)