Hosea 14

14:1-9 Destruction was not God’s last word to his covenant people. Although judgment must come, God’s healing, restoring grace is always more powerful than human sin.

14:2-3 Hosea composed a model prayer of confession to help his people return to the Lord. God’s prophets not only identified with God in his outrage over Israel’s rebellion; they also identified with the people in their broken condition (see also Dan 9:4-19). • Forgive all our sins: The Israelites should throw themselves upon God’s mercy and grace, freely acknowledging their many sins. • so that we may offer you our praises: Israel’s inclination was to offer animal sacrifices for sin, but the Lord had made it clear that sacrifices were not the solution (see Hos 6:6). Israel should offer God genuine repentance.

14:3 The Israelites must renounce their dependence upon idols, foreign alliances, and their own military strength. Although they were God’s own children (11:1), they made themselves orphans through their rebellion. When they sincerely and completely repented, they could again find mercy.

14:4 Then I will heal you: Healing by God is the only solution for the disease of sin. The Lord heals all our diseases, both physical and spiritual (Ps 103:3).

14:5-7 Hosea describes the effect of God’s healing love on repentant Israel. God promises to provide the fertility that Israel had sought from the baals.14:5 like a refreshing dew: In the semi-desert climate of Israel, dew was an important source of life-giving moisture (Gen 27:28; Deut 33:28). • it will send roots deep: When Israel lived in faithfulness to their covenant with the Lord, they would be solid and stable like the majestic cedars in Lebanon (Ps 92:12).

14:7 under my shade: A place of safety and relief (Ps 91:1; Isa 25:4).

14:8 Hosea exhorts Israel one final time to stay away from idols. Their life comes only from the Lord; he is an evergreen tree that always bears fruit.

14:9 This final verse commends Hosea’s words to wise and discerning believers of all generations.