Hosea 14

CHAPTER 14

Repentance to Bring Blessing (14:1–9)

1–3 Hosea ends his book with words of exhortation and hope. He again calls on Israel to return to the Lord (see Hosea 10:12; 12:6). But they must take words with them when they return, words of true repentance (verse 2). They must confess their sins, especially their sins of relying on Assyria and worshiping idols (verse 3); without confession there can be no forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Finally, they must acknowledge the Lord as their only help, their only hope.

4–8 If God’s people will do as Hosea says in verses 1–3, then God will answer them with the gracious words of verses 4–8. In these verses the Lord presents a picture of a restored Israel, a revived people. And He also gives a marvelous promise: “I will heal their waywardness” (verse 4). He will heal our “waywardness,” our backsliding (Jeremiah 3:22). If we confess our sins, He will not only forgive us for our past sins but He will also help us avoid future sins. He will heal our waywardness; by His grace He will give us new hearts, new strength to do His will (see Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26–27).

The Israelites of Hosea’s time failed to appropriate these promised blessings, but the promise was never canceled. It was partially fulfilled when the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to Judah. It is being fulfilled in our time for the millions of people from every nation who are being reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. And one day the promise will be completely fulfilled for all believers—on the day Jesus Christ returns to reign.

In verse 8, the Lord says:“ . . . your fruitfulness comes from me.” All our usefulness, all our righteousness, all our fruit—it all comes from the Lord. And therefore, all glory must go to the Lord, and none to us. The surest way to lose our fruitfulness is to try to take credit for it. Let him who boasts boast in the Lord—in the Lord alone (1 Corinthians 1:31).

9 Hosea ends by offering his readers a choice: they can choose to walk or to stumble, to obey or to rebel. They can choose God’s way or their way. This is the basic choice that faces every man and woman on earth. May we choose wisely (see Psalm 1:1–6 and comment).

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¹ The text does not say whether Gomer was adulterous before Hosea married her; most likely she became unfaithful only after the marriage. This would better parallel the course of Israel’s history; Israel had at first been partly faithful to God, but then after King Solomon’s time the northern kingdom became progressively more unfaithful.

The three children of Gomer are called the children of unfaithfulness (verse 2). This simply means that they were born to a mother whose life was characterized by unfaithfulness. The text makes it clear that Hosea was the father of the first child (verse 3), and therefore it is probable he was the father of the other two children also.

² Jehu massacred the family of the wicked king Ahab (2 Kings 9:7–37; 10:1–11). He did this in general accordance with God’s will, and God commended him for it (2 Kings 10:30). However, Jehu had been more brutal and had killed more people than God intended; therefore, God limited the blessing He gave Jehu. God told him that his descendants would sit on the throne for only four generations (2 Kings 10:30). After that, the Assyrians would defeat Israel in the Valley of Jezreel, and Israel would be “scattered.”

³ The Lord saved Judah from the Assyrians when Israel fell in 722 B.C., and He saved Judah again in 701 B.C. when He sent an angel to put to death 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kings 19:35–36). It is the Lord who wins victories and defeats the enemy. However, He also uses human instruments to accomplish His purposes. For a discussion of the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, see Exodus 17:10–13; Esther 4:12–14; Jeremiah 18:1–10 and comments.

⁴ The Apostles Paul and Peter quoted Hosea 1:10, but applied it to the Gentiles–those who once were not God’s people but then, through Christ, became sons of the living God (see Romans 9:26; 1 Peter 2:10).

⁵ Though Baal was the chief Canaanite god, there were also local Baals which the people worshiped (verse 13). The Baals were believed to control the weather, the harvest, and fertility. Soon after the Israelites entered the promised land (Canaan), they began worshiping the Canaanite gods (see Judges 2:10–15).

⁶ God is a “God of second chances.” Whenever individuals or nations stray from Him, He at once begins to allure them, to persuade them to turn back to Him. When they don’t respond, He punishes them, He disciplines them (see Exodus 15:25–27 and comment). This is why, whenever we experience hardships and troubles, we need to ask ourselves: Why is this happening? More likely than not, it is because we have gone astray, and God is trying to lead us back. Obstacles in an evil path are really blessings in disguise.

⁷ A partial restoration of Israel took place when the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon. The final restoration will take place when Jesus returns to earth.

⁸ This is a play on words:the Hebrew word for master is “baal.”

⁹ Jezreel also means “God sows” (see Hosea 1:4,11). Notice the chain of “responses,” or secondary causes. God is always first to move; He is always the “first cause” that sets everything else in motion.

¹⁰ The price of a slave was thirty shekels (Exodus 21:32). Hosea apparently paid half the price in silver and the other half in barley (verse 2).

¹¹ Hosea also tells Gomer that she must not be intimate with any man (verse 3)—perhaps including himself. Some Bible scholars believe that Hosea was giving Gomer a trial period of abstinence, just as the Lord gave the Israelites a trial period of deprivation (the Exile) in order to test their faithfulness (see verse 4).

¹² Following Solomon’s death, the Israelites of the northern kingdom had abandoned the house of David and established their own line of kings. In the Messianic age, these Israelites would again seek a Davidic king, Jesus Christ, and submit to Him.

¹³ For further discussion on the subject of idolatry, see Exodus 20:3–6; 34:15–16; Deuteronomy 4:28 and comments.

¹⁴ We may think that verses 1–2 apply only to ancient Israel. But many modern societies today fit this description all too well.

¹⁵ Beth Aven, which means “house of wickedness,” is Hosea’s sarcastic name for Bethel (house of God), where Israel’s first king had established calf worship two centuries earlier (see 1 Kings 12:2830).

¹⁶ Ephraim was the most prominent tribe of the northern kingdom; its name became a synonym for Israel.

swept away by the whirlwind, the Asbring them shame instead of the blessings syrians. The Israelites’ false sacrifices will they had hoped for (verse 19).

¹⁷ For further discussion on the subjects of repentance and of hardening of the heart, see Exodus 4:21; Jeremiah 13:23 and comments; Word List: Repentance.

¹⁸ The tribal area of Benjamin, together with Judah, made up the southern kingdom in Hosea’s time; Gibeah and Ramah were important Benjamite towns close to the border of Ephraim (verse 8).

¹⁹ In verse 6, the Hebrew word for mercy also means “faithful love.” Such love comes from the heart; it is not superficial or temporary. It is the motivation for all true religious practices; without this love, this mercy, our religion is empty and meaningless (see Mark 12:28–34). So important is this issue, that Jesus twice quoted from Hosea 6:6 (see Matthew 9:13; 12:7).

²⁰ In verse 8, Gilead is the region east of the Jordan River where two and a half of Israel’s tribes settled. There may have been a city of Gilead as well. In verses 8–10, the historical references behind Hosea’s words are not known with certainty.

²¹ Samaria can also stand for all of Ephraim (the northern kingdom), not just the capital.

²² For the meaning of redeem, see Exodus 6:6–8; 13:11–16; Ruth 2:19–20 and comments; Word List:Redemption.

²³ Many people say they acknowledge God, but they do not truly know Him. God, in large part, is known through the Bible. It’s easy to say, “I acknowledge God,” but it has no meaning if we do not also obey His word.

²⁴ Memphis was the capital of northern Egypt; here it also represents bondage and burial in Assyria.

²⁵ Samaria was the capital of Israel (the northern kingdom), but here and elsewhere in Hosea it represents the whole northern kingdom.

²⁶ Jesus quoted part of verse 8 in Luke 23:30.

²⁷ Matthew quoted the words, out of Egypt I called my son (verse 1), and applied them to Jesus (see Matthew 2:13–15). Just as God preserved Jacob’s family (the Israelites) from famine by sending them to Egypt (Genesis Chapters 42–46), so God preserved Jesus from King Herod’s sword by sending Him to Egypt. Then, just as God brought Israel out of Egypt to fulfill His purposes, so He brought His Son Jesus out of Egypt to fulfill a still greater purpose: to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29; 3:16).

²⁸ Admah and Zeboiim were two cities that were totally destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 19:24–25; Deuteronomy 29:23).

²⁹ The great promise of restoration in verses 9–11 was partly fulfilled when the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon. But in these verses, a greater and still future restoration of Israel is in view, a restoration that will take place in the Messianic age. For further discussion about prophecies that concern both the near and distant future, see Isaiah 35:1–4 and comment.

³⁰ In Hosea’s time, Bethel was the most important worship center in the northern kingdom; that is where the infamous calf–idol was set up (1 Kings 12:28–29; Hosea 10:5).

³¹ While the Lord’s statement in verse 14 refers primarily to Israel’s national restoration at the end of history, the words can also refer to the resurrection of individuals from the dead. Paul used the words in this sense when he quoted from verse 14 in 1 Corinthians 15:55. It is Christ who has “ransomed” and “redeemed” us from the grave, from death; He has paid the price to free us from the penalty of sin (see Mark 10:45). For further discussion of what it means to redeem someone, see Exodus 13:1116; Ruth 2:19–20 and comments; Word List: Redemption.