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Hosea 14

After thirteen chapters of accusation, the book ends with a way back. Hosea scripts the very words Israel should bring: confess the sin, renounce Assyria and the horses and the "gods" their own hands made, because "in you the fatherless finds mercy." Watch how the imagery shifts from drought to dew, lily, and the cedars of Lebanon.

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Hosea 14 (WEB)
  1. 1

    Israel, return to the LORD your God; for you have fallen because of your sin.

  2. 2

    Take words with you, and return to the LORD. Tell him, “Forgive all our sins, and accept that which is good; so we offer bulls as we vowed of our lips.

  3. 3

    Assyria can’t save us. We won’t ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’ for in you the fatherless finds mercy.”

  4. 4

    “I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely; for my anger is turned away from them.

  5. 5

    I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.

  6. 6

    His branches will spread, and his beauty will be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon.

  7. 7

    Men will dwell in his shade. They will revive like the grain, and blossom like the vine. Their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.

  8. 8

    Ephraim, what have I to do any more with idols? I answer, and will take care of him. I am like a green cypress tree; from me your fruit is found.”

  9. 9

    Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Who is prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

From idols to a green cypress

God's reply reverses the whole book: "I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely." Ephraim, bound up with the calves it kissed, hears God ask "what have I to do any more with idols?" — and God, not Baal, becomes the source of fruit: "I am like a green cypress tree." The closing verse turns to the reader directly: "Who is wise?" The same paths are right for the righteous and a stumbling block for the rebellious.

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