Hosea 14
The foregoing part of this book abounds with denunciations
of punishment;
this closing
chapter SUPERABOUNDS
WITH PROMISES OF PARDON! Wave after wave
of
threatened wrath had rolled over
offer
of grace is made to them.
1 “O
previous departure, or distance, or wandering from God. The return
to which they
are
invited is expressed, not by la,, to or towards, but by r[, quite up to,
or
as far as right home; the penitent, therefore, is not merely to turn his
mind or his face toward God, but to turn
his face and his feet home to
God; he is not to go half the way and then turn aside, or part of
the way
and
then turn back, but the whole
way; in other words, his repentance is to
be
complete and entire, wanting nothing,
according to the statement of the
psalmist, “It is good for me
to draw near to God” (Psalm 73:28).
As
punishment was threatened in case of obstinate impenitence, so mercy is promised
on condition of THOROUGH REPENTANCE - “for
thou hast fallen by
thine iniquity.”
A reason is here assigned for the
preceding invitation; ka-shalta
is
properly “thou hast stumbled,” “made a false step,” fallen, yet so that
recovery
was
among future possibilities. The same thought may be included in the fact
that Jehovah continues to call His erring people by the honored and
honorable name of
many and grievous were the calamities into which by their fall they had
been precipitated; neither were any to blame but themselves — their
iniquity or their folly
was the cause, nor was there any one to lift them up,
now that they lay
prostrate, SAVE JEHOVAH! After referring to
the
desolation of
the
last verse of the previous chapter, Jerome adds, “All Israel is invited to
repentance, that he who has been debilitated, or has fallen headlong
in his
iniquities, may return to the physician and recover health, or that
he who
had
fallen headlong may begin to stand.” The
penitent is to direct his
thoughts to Jehovah; to Him as Center he is attracted, and in Him
he
finds his place of rest; nor is
there other means of recovery or source of
help. Thus Kimchi says, “For thou seest that through thine iniquity
thou hast
fallen, therefore it behooves thee to return to Jehovah, as
nothing besides
can
raise thee from thy fall but thy return to him.” “There is none,” says
Aben Ezra, “can raise thee from thy fall but the Eternal
alone.”
2 “Take with you words, and turn to the Lord:” Words alone are vain. Yet, in the
order of nature, words are the expression of thought and sentiment and resolve.
Especially must words uttered to Heaven be sincere and truthful; for He is the
Searcher of hearts, whose favor the sinner beseeches with contrition and with
confidence. Let it, then, be understood that the words here suggested as suitable
for the repenting sinner’s address to God are the utterance of deep emotion and
sincere resolution. “Take with you words, and turn to the Lord:” These words
encourage
sound of the heart’s desires. There is an allusion, perhaps, to the requirement of the
Law: “None shall appear before me empty.” (Exodus 23:15; 34:20; Deuteronomy
16:16).
Not outward sacrifices, but words of confession, were the
offering to be
presented. Thus Cyril eloquently explains it: “Ye shall propitiate
the Deity,
not
by making offerings of riches, not by dedicating gold, not by honoring
Him with silver vessels, not gladdening Him by sacrifices
of oxen, not by
slaughtering of birds; but ye shall give Him discourses and wish to
praise
the
Lord of the universe, appeasing Him.” To the same purport is the
exposition of Aben Ezra: “He desires not
from you, when ye go to seek His
favor, treasures or burnt offerings, only words with which ye
are to
confess;” so also Kimchi: “He does not
require of you on your return to
Him silver or gold or offering, which the Israelites lavished
at great expense
on
their idols, but good works with which ye are to confess
your
iniquities” - “say unto Him, Take away all iniquity,
and receive us
graciously:” - On turning to the Lord with their whole heart, not with
their
lips only, they are furnished with a form of sound words which God by His
prophet puts into their mouth. Elsewhere a formula is prescribed,
thus:
“Publish ye,
praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of
16:35.
The position of כָל
before the verb creates a difficulty and
causes
Diversity of rendering; for example:
·
besides the ordinary
rendering, which takes kol as holding
its peculiar
position by an hypallage, there is a
modification of it: “All take away of
iniquity.”
·
Some supply mem, and translate accordingly: “From all take away
iniquity.” Kimchi explains it as a
transposition: “All iniquity forgive,”
understanding le, “Forgive to every one iniquity.” The object of
the
separation may be for greater emphasis.
In like manner, the following clause is also subject to
diversity of translation and
interpretation.
·
There is the rendering
of the Authorized Version, which appears to supply le
before tov: “Receive us for
good,” viz. in bonam partem,
or graciously; or,
“receive
our prayer graciously.”
·
Another rendering or
exposition is: “Take what is good (of thine own
to bestow it on us);” thus
in Psalm 68:18, God is said to receive gifts
among men, i.e. for distribution among men, and
hence the apostle,
in Ephesians 4:8,
substitutes ἔδωκε - edoke – gives - for ἔλαβε –
elabe – receiveth - and thus
expresses the sense.
·
The literal sense is
the correct sense, namely, “and receive
good:”
“And receive good,” says Jerome,
“for unless thou hadst borne away our
evil things we could not possibly have any good thing to offer
thee, according
to that which is written, ‘Cease
from evil and do good’” (Isaiah 1:16-17).
Thus also the words are
translated and interpreted by Pusey: “When then
mean only the good which thou thyself hast given; as David
says, ‘ Of thine
own we have given thee’’ (I Chronicles 29:14); while he adds in a note
on these words, “No one would have doubted that קי ט means,
‘receive
good,’ as just before, קי
די means ‘take words,’ but for the seeming
difficulty — What good had they?” – “so will we render the calves of our
lips.” This is more accurately rendered, “So will we
render young bullocks,
even our lips.” The word shillem, to render, or repay, is almost technical in
its application to thank offerings or sacrifices in fulfillment of a vow; the best
animals for thank offerings were parim,
or young oxen; but the lips, that is,
the utterances of the lips, consisting of prayers or
praises, or both, are to
take the place of the animal sacrifices offered in
thanksgiving. Thus the
psalmist says, “I will praise the Name
of God with a song, and will magnify
Him with
thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or
bullock that hath horns and hoofs” (Psalm 69:30-31). The Septuagint, reading
פְרְי instead of פָרְים;, renders by καρπὸν χείλεων – karpon cheileon –
fruit of the lips - to which the inspired author of Hebrews alludes, “By
Him therefore
let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,
that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks [margin, ‘confessing’] to
His
Name;” or perhaps the reference in Hebrews is to Isaiah 57:19, “I create
the fruit of the
lips.” Further, as words of confession
in v. 2 take the
place of sacrifices of sin offerings, so here words of thanksgiving
replace
sacrifices of thanksgiving.
3 “Asshur
shall not save us: we will not ride upon horses:
neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our
gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth
mercy.” This was the practical
side of
repentance. Here was a renunciation of all hope of safety from the
world
powers — both Assyria and
to
Assyria for help, nor to
unaided power or prowess; while this renunciation of worldly power
and
carnal confidences implied, as its opposite, unfaltering faith in
the
protecting power and saving strength of Jehovah. All this was much,
and
yet
more was required; next to such renunciation of merely human aid, as
indicated, and its contrary, the recognition of Divine assistance, comes the
absolute and complete abandonment of their national and besetting
sin of
idolatry. They have so
far come to themselves and received the right use of
reason as to confess that
the manufacture of man’s hands cannot be man’s
god, thus giving up
with feelings of contempt and disgust the groveling sin
of
idolatry with its attendant vices. Still more, they are penetrated with the
conviction that man without God is a poor fatherless creature, in no
better,
if
not in a worse, condition than that of a weak orphan child. They have the
consolation at the same time that for all such, on their return to
Him, the
father of the fatherless and the God of the orphan has bowels of tenderest
compassion. To the presumed prayer of the penitent an answer
overflowing
with mercy is promised at once, and by God Himself in the next section.
The Fallen Invited to Return vs.1-3)
The history of
·
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.
The history of
history of mankind in general. Their history is the history of sin
and of
salvation, of ruin and of recovery, of the mercy of God and of the
backsliding of man. Their bondage in
their rescue out of the hand of the oppressor, our redemption;
their sojourn
in the wilderness, our pilgrimage on the earth, their
entrance into
admission into the better country, even the heavenly; their backsliding
from
time to time, our own wanderings of heart and life from the
living God;
their return to the path of obedience, our repentance.
·
GOD’S READINESS TO RECEIVE THE PENITENT. The reproofs
for sin and threatenings of wrath
scattered over the preceding chapters of
this book now give place to invitations to repentance and
promises of
mercy. The former were a preparation for the latter. Not only
so, even
interspersed with reproofs for sin we find most gracious calls to
repentance; alongside the threatenings
of wrath are the most precious
promises. It is in this way
that God wounds in order to make whole; when
He convinces us of sin, His
object is to comfort us; when He brings to mind
our sin, it is that He may lead us to the Savior; when He
proves to us our
ruin by sin, He is at pains to point us to the remedy and
provide for our
restoration; having warned us of our danger, He urges us to the
discharge
of duty. He deals with us as with
refers, showing us our fall and how we are to rise again; He
urges us to
repentance, instructing us what to do and what to say, and
encouraging us
withal by God’s willingness to receive us on repentance.
·
MAN’S FALL AND ITS CAUSE. In the passage before us the words
apply in the first instance to
meaning of the original word. Their stumbling-blocks were their
idols; they
had forgotten the living and true God; they had proved
ungrateful for His
benefits and unmindful of His favors. Despising the riches of His
goodness
and forbearance, they had lapsed into gross idolatry; they had
sunk deep
into that degrading sin, making molten images of their silver
and idols
according to their own understanding, — all of it the work of the
craftsman. Their ingratitude for the Divine goodness made their
iniquity
still less excusable, for according to the multitude of his
fruit they increased
the altars, according to the goodness of his land he made
goodly images.
No wonder the Majesty of heaven
was provoked with that stiff-necked and
rebellious people. But the fall of
leads us naturally to revert to the infancy of our race.
Ø
Before the Fall. When we picture to
ourselves, as far as the Scripture
record enables us, the place of our first parents in the
state of pristine
innocence, we think of that lovely garden “planted eastward in
of its trees and shrubs; of its fruits and flowers; of the
rivers that watered
it (Genesis 2:8-14); of its unclouded sky; of the genial
warmth of the
glorious sun fructifying and beautifying it; of the dews that
refreshed it;
of man its caretaker and cultivator of his pleasant position
in that paradise,
placed there as he was to dress it and to keep it. To this must
be added
the communion of the creature with the Creator, so close, so cordial,
and so confidential as that communion then must have been.
If Enoch, after sin and
Satan had done their worst, still walked with God
(Ibid. ch.
5:24); if Abraham was called, not only the father of the faithful,
but the friend of God (II Chronicles 20:7: James 2:23); if God
spake face
to face with Moses, as a man speaketh
with his friend (Exodus 33:11); —
we may form some faint idea, and it is only a faint idea, of
that heavenly
communion which man there enjoyed with his Maker as he walked in the
garden in the cool of the day.
Ø
After the Fall. We know how the scene was changed — suddenly and
shockingly changed. We have seen a picture designed to represent the
change which sin introduced into
INIQUITY
WROUGHT! In one part of the
picture all is beauty, all is
loveliness; the sky is clear, earth beneath is charming; above,
below,
around, everything appears inexpressibly happy, grand and
gorgeous.
Man is the monarch of all;
every bird of every wing is subject to him,
every animal of every species is submissive to his sway, even
the
most savage beast of prey owns his sovereignty. The lion
crouches
at his feet, he strokes the tiger with his hand. But no
sooner has he
tasted the forbidden fruit than the sky is clouded, lightning
flashes
with fearful fury, the elements are at war with him. The
animals,
lately so meek and mild, rise in rebellion against him — the lion
opens
his mouth in wrath, the tiger is wild with fury. Our first
parents
themselves, shivering with horror, shuddering with fright, are
hurried out
of
side the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). Such is the painting referred to, and
it pictures a dread reality. It points out how man fell, and
how far he fell
from his state of primeval bliss, of fellowship with the Holy
One, and of
Divine
favor.
Ø
The cause of such a fall. Iniquity was the cause, as we here read of
various elements; when analyzed it is found to be made up of
several
component parts. There was the lust of the flesh, for the tree was
good
for food; there was the lust of the eyes, for that tree was
pleasant to the
eyes; there was the pride of life, it was a tree to be desired
to make one
wise (Ibid. ch. 3:5-6; I John
2:15-17). “Ye shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil.” There was,
in short, rebellion against the mildest
authority; there was disobedience to the most reasonable command.
Ø
Consequences of the fall are seen in
posterity. When we read the
records of the ancient nations of heathendom, even the most
enlightened
and polished, we cannot fail to be convinced of the deep degradation
into which man by iniquity had fallen. In
men worshipped animals and plants, and even reptiles (I saw on
the
internet today the American agenda:
smoke pot, ban guns, kill babies –
CY –
2012). In
aesthetic tastes, and fine arts, men worshipped a host of false
gods,
deified men, and even impersonations of the lowest passions and
worst
vices that agitate the human heart; while of
that you could as easily find a god as a man in that celebrated
city. In
national divinities, they readily admitted into their pantheon the
gods,
however monstrous and motley, of the nations which they conquered.
Among the people of
was idolatry with all its foul accompaniments. In heathen
lands at the
present day it is still the same; multitudes bow down to stocks
and
stones, and call these vanities gods. Can anything afford clearer
evidence
of the fearful fall of our race than this sottish
idolatry of ancient and
modern heathen (
rapidly becoming heathenistic – CY –
2012), as also of the Hebrew
people, though so highly favored with the written Law, besides
that
which they had in common with their heathen neighbors? We
forbear
to speak of the gross impurities and SHOCKING IMMORALITIES
THAT
GO HAND IN HAND
WITH IDOLATRY!
Ø
Illustration of the Fall. Of manifold
illustrations which the subject
admits take that of a stately tree. Its dimensions are mighty and
magnificent — its top waves high in air, its branches spread far
around, its leafy honors are luxuriant, its foliage umbrageous;
it claims
or seems to claim supremacy over all the forest trees. But
the axe is
laid to its root. You beg the woodman to spare that tree. It is
vain,
however; he has made up his mind, and it is doomed to fall. Blow
after
blow is struck; the sturdy strokes are redoubled; at length the
root is
giving way, the top is nodding, the tree topples to its fall. One
creak,
one crash, and the goodly tree is prostrate; ruin spreads the
ground.
Ere long the branches
wither and the leaves decay. What a
contrast
between that tree flourishing in the stateliness of its strength
and the
loveliness of its life, and that same tree felled to the earth, its
leaves
stripped off, its branches lopped, the whole a sad emblem of decay,
a
solemn memorial of destruction! Such is the contrast between man
in his original purity, while standing by faith, and man at
the present
day fallen by iniquity.
Ø
Greatness of the Fall. When the great Roman
dictator had usurped the
liberties of his country and changed the republican form of
government to
the imperial; when he had overcome all opposition, conquered
all enemies,
and fully gained the mastery; when he had reached the summit
of
popularity and power; — just then the daggers of the conspirators
smote
him to the earth. He fell at the foot of his great rival’s
statue. The friend
who spoke his funeral oration and improved the occasion did
justly
magnify that fall, exclaiming, as well he might, “What a fall was
there, my
countrymen!” But what, after all, is the fall of the warrior, or
hero, or
emperor, even from the pinnacle of his fame and of his fortune, compared
with the fall of an IMMORTAL SOUL by sin, dragged down into
the deep pit of perdition? The sight of the fallen warrior, as
he sat amid
the ruins of
while historians have commented on the fact; and it is indeed
sufficiently
impressive. The harmony that existed between the person and the place
was necessarily striking and even startling; the fate of the
one was so
like that of the other, the downfall of the one was so similar
to the
desolation of the other, that we scarcely know which of the two is
more entitled to the tear of pity or sigh of sympathy — the
degradation
of the chieftain or the destruction of the city. Yet
greater far are THE
DEGRADATION AND
DESOLATION which THE BLIGHT
OF SIN brings upon person or place.
Ø
Practical considerations. We need not travel far for proof of our fallen
state; we do not need to go back to our first parents except for
the purpose
of tracing the evil to its fountain-head; we need not visit
pagan lands,
whether past or present; we do not require to quit the lands of
Christendom. The condition of the Hebrew people as set forth by the
Prophet Hosea is one that
often repeats itself in the experiences —
some of them sad enough — of everyday life. How many have
fallen
by iniquity around us! How many are falling by iniquity at
our very doors,
on this side and on that! How many have we known to begin
life well,
but they fell by iniquity! The wrecks of the fallen are strewn
on the right
hand and on the left. Some fall by drunkenness, some by
lewdness,
some by want of rectitude and right principle, some by what the
world
calls unsteadiness. If the sword slays its thousands, INIQUITY
SLAYS its tens of thousands.
Ø
Personal duties. Several personal duties of much importance may be
learned from this part of the subject; these may be expressed in
Scripture
language as follows: “Let him that standeth take heed
lest he fall;”
“Give diligence to make
your calling and election sure; for if ye do these
things, ye shall never fall” (II Peter 1:10); “Beware lest ye also, being
led away with the error of
the
wicked, fall from your own
steadfastness” (Ibid. ch. 3:17). Also pity the fallen; try to
lift them up; pray for the backslider who has fallen back from
the
position he seemed to have attained, and seek to restore such a
one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest ye
also be
tempted! (Galatians 6:1)
·
THE RETURN OF THE PENITENT. Many motives, and those of the
most powerful kind, urge the sinner to return to God.
Ø
There is the character of the invitation. It is an earnest one, a precious
one, and a glorious one. It is the gospel reechoing through
the past and
resounding about us at the present. This invitation proves the height,
and depth, and
length, and breadth of the DIVINE GOODNESS!
Ø
There is the Author of the invitation. It proceeds from the Friend
whom we have treated so ungratefully and so ungraciously; He
comes
after us, as it were, calling and entreating us to return; He
promises us
a hearty welcome when we do return; He assures us that His
heart and
hearth and home stand open to receive us; His arms are stretched
out
to embrace us.
Ø
There are the persons
invited. The vilest are subjects of this invitation;
the oldest, the worst, the most wicked, are comprehended; they
are
offered present pardon, they are assured of instant
forgiveness, and
all without money and without price: “The Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let
him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life
freely” (Revelation 22:17).
Oh, then, since God is waiting
and willing to be gracious, let not the sinner ignore that
goodness, nor
regard it with insensibility, nor trample underfoot His great
mercy
(Hebrews 10:29), nor treat
His gracious overtures as the idle wind
that passeth by; but allow himself to be led by the goodness of
God to repentance. (Romans 2:4)
·
THE MODE OF RETURNING TO GOD. We are to take with us
WORDS as the worshipper in the olden time
did not go empty-handed, but
brought with him an offering when he went to worship God.
Ø
The words we are
required to bring are words of confession, like the
poor prodigal when he said, “Father,
I have sinned against Heaven,
and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son”
(Luke 15:18); like the
contrite publican when he cried, “God be
merciful to me a sinner.” (Ibid. ch.18:13). If we thus confess
our sins, “He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
Ø
There must be petition as well as confession; our words must be
words of earnest pleading. Nor are we left without instruction
on this
head; suitable
petitions are suggested, and the very words put in
our lips. There is,
according to the Authorized Version, a petition
for forgiveness and one for favor. The former is, “Take
away all
iniquity;” for it is iniquity that
has wrought our ruin, it is sin
that is the source of all our sorrows; take it away, for by it we
have fallen. Take it all away:
o
the guilt of it,
o
the defilement of it,
o
the dominion of
it,
o
the love of it, and
o
the
practice of it.
o
Ø
Take it all away and
forever, for it is only thus we can be saved; only
thus our souls are washed
and justified and sanctified in the
Name of the Lord Jesus and by the
Spirit of our God. The second
part of the petition pleads for favor; it is, “Receive us graciously;” that is,
receive us into thy favor, thy family, and thy service. Receive us
graciously, that is, gratuitously, of thy free favor and sovereign
grace;
not on the ground of innocence, for:
“Not
in our innocence we trust —
We
bow before thee in the dust:
And THROUGH OUR SAVIOUR’S BLOOD ALONE
We
seek acceptance at thy throne.”
Ø
Not on the ground of
merit, for we have sinned and merit only wrath;
not on the ground of price, for we have nothing to pay:
“Nothing
in our hand we bring,
Simply
to thy cross we cling.”
Not on the ground of works,
for we are saved solely of the
DIVINE MERCY according to the
riches of His grace in
Christ
Jesus. (Ephesians 1:7)
Ø
There are words of thanksgiving. The calves, even
the lips, are the
thank offerings and service of the lips in general; nor do these
differ
aught from the fruit of the lips.
o
Thanksgiving,
o
praise,
o
prayer,
o
self-dedication,
and
o
self-surrender
ARE ALL
EXPRESSED BY THE LIPS, and are thus
their offerings, or their fruit.
“Nay,
rather unto me, thy God,
Thanksgiving offer thou;
To
the Most High perform thy word.
And fully pay thy vow:
And
in the day of thy distress
Do thou unto me cry;
I
will deliver thee, and thou
My Name shalt
glorify.”
·
FRUITS MEET FOR REPENTANCE. These in the present instance
consist in the complete rejection of carnal confidences and sole
dependence
on God. The penitent Israelite renounces all confidence in
worldly policy,
and worldly allies as secured by such policy — the Assyrian
and the
Egyptian
alike. He renounces his idolatrous
practices and superstitious
devotions; and, depending no longer on foreign help, or objects and
observances of idol-worship, or domestic resources, he places his entire
and undivided trust in the living God. Henceforth the rule of his conduct
and motto of his life may be conceived as summed up in the words
of the
psalmist: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:
but we will
remember the Name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7). It has
been
well said that “there is no sin more usual among men than
carnal confidence;
to lean on our own wisdom, or wealth, or power, or supplies
from others
(We are taught “Trust
in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine
own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge Him
and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6); to deify counsels
and armies, or horses and treasures, and to let our hearts
rise or fall, sink
or bear up within us, according as the creature is helpful or
useless, nearer
or further from us; as if God were not a God afar off, as
well as near at
hand.” This was one of
renounced. This is a common sin, and
one which all must renounce,
trusting, not in an arm of flesh, but
sanctifying the Lord alone in our hearts.
It is when we feel our condition
in this world to be one of orphanage, of
weakness, destitution, desolateness, and distress, that we repose
trustfully
and securely in the Divine mercy and gracious fatherhood of
God.
Verses 4-7 describe the happy result of
to
backsliding, and so
for all minor trespasses. The acceptance prayed for is presently
and
plentifully vouchsafed. The dark storm-cloud of God’s wrath is dispersed and
dispelled forever.
We next learn the fullness of God’s forgiving love and His
superabundant
mercy to them that trust in Him. By the most pleasing figures we
are taught
what God promises to be to His people; what they themselves become; and
what a blessing they prove to others.
There is a
pictorial character in
Divine teaching. We find great
variety as well as great beauty in the lessons of
the
Bible. There is great variety, for all nature, animate and inanimate, is laid
under
contribution to supply fit illustrations of Divine things; there is
great beauty, for the
loveliest objects above us, around us, and beneath us are employed
for this
purpose. (I recommend typing in Fantastic
Trip in your browser and take about
a
ten minute journey outward and inward in God’s great Creation – CY – 2012)
In the passage before us there is a cluster of lovely
natural objects
employed in this manner to set forth spiritual truths with all the
reality of
nature and all the vividness of life. Here we read of the dew,
the deep-rooted
and
everlasting hill, the lily, the tall tree with umbrageous foliage,
the
olive ever green, and
springing corn, the blooming vine, and wine of aromatic odor. These,
it
must be acknowledged, are beautiful figures, and the facts which they are
intended to convey are equally blessed. But what enhances the
beauty and
the
blessedness is the circumstance that the persons to whom these facts
and
figures have reference are those very persons who had erred and
strayed from the Lord their God — even
iniquity,
provoked the just anger of the Almighty; but
praying and pleading, giving up their false refuges and casting
aside
their
false gods. Oh how cheering and
encouraging that God welcomes His
erring children to return! Like the father in the parable (Luke
15), He runs to
meet the prodigal, He casts the arms of His love around him;
He receives the
penitent to His fond embrace, laying aside the wrath that had been
provoked;
He bestows the love that had been undeserved; He forgives
the sins that had
been committed; He foregoes the punishment that had been
incurred; and,
physician-like, He heals the backslidings great and manifold.
4 “I will heal their
backsliding, I will love them freely: for
mine anger is turned away from him.” The penitential prayer put in the
mouth of the people receives in this verse a gracious response;
words of
contrite confession are echoed back in accents of compassion and
consolation. When thus penitent and prayerful they returned to the
Lord,
He promises them favor as well as forgiveness, so as to heal the moral
malady under which they had long labored, remedy the evil
effects of their
apostasy, and withhold the stripes He was going to inflict. Meshubhatham
–
means their turning away from God and all included therein
— defection, rebellion,
idolatry, and other sins.
The disease would be healed,
and its consequences
averted.
Some, however, understand the word, in a good sense, to
mean “conversion ‘ or
“the converted,” the abstract
being put for the concrete; the blessing is thus promised
them when they turned or returned to God.
The Septuagint again, connecting meshubhah
with yashav, to sit or dwell,
render it by κατοικίαν – katoikian - I will heal their
dwelling.
They are next
assured of God’s love, and that spontaneously (נְדָבָה, the preposition le understood)
with readiness, willing and unfeigned.
God’s love is free, anticipating its objects,
not waiting to be merited or purchased, without money and without price;
it is
also purest and most sincere affection, altogether unlike that feigned
affection sometimes found among men, who profess much love while
their
heart goeth after their covetousness,
or after some other and different
object from that pretended. Then follows an assurance that there is no
barrier to the exercise and no obstacle to the outgoing of God’s
love; the
turning away of God’s anger from
Some copies read mimmeni, my anger is turned away from me, instead of
mimmena; this, however, is
erroneous, though the sense is not much
affected by it. The error may have arisen from a misunderstanding
of
Jeremiah 2:35. Rashi explains the
verse correctly: “After they have
thus
spoken before me: I will heal them of their
apostasy, and love them of my
own free will; although they themselves are not
worthy of love, yet will I
love them freely, for mine anger has turned away
from them.” Aben Ezra
says. “Backsliding is in the soul what disease is in the body,
therefore he
uses the word ‘heal.’ But God proceeds to
perform what He has promised;
He does not confine His goodness to words, He exhibits it
in works, as the
following verses show.
5 “I will be as the dew
unto
meaning, varying with the situation or authority of the
speaker.... Sometimes, from the
circumstances of the case, the command becomes a permission: v.6. ‘I will be as the
dew to
(Driver). In lands where there is little rain, the dew, falling
copiously,
fertilizes the earth, refreshes
the languid plants, revives the face of nature,
and
makes all things grow. Thus the dew becomes the
source of
fruitfulness. So God, by His Spirit’s
grace, is THE SOURCE OF ALL
This comparison suggests many qualities, any one of which
may characterize, or all
of
which may combine in, the spiritual
growth thus pictured. There is the
purity
of
the lily, the beauty of the lily, the fecundity of the lily, the perfume of the
lily, the rapidity of its growth, the stately slightness of its stem. We may
combine the rapidity of its growth; its fecundity, with
regard to which
Pliny informs us that a single root produces fifty bulbs;
its beauty, to which
our
Lord refers in contrast with the glory of Solomon. But its
root is weak,
and
he, on that account perhaps, subjoins: “and cast forth (margin, strike)
his roots as
comparison is stability. “As the trees of
strike their roots as far down into the depths as they lift their
heads up into
the
air, so that they can be shaken by no storm, but by their stable
massiveness maintain their position.”
Return to God: Its Immediate Effects (vs.
4-5)
So soon as
self-condemning supplication (vs. 2-3), they shall receive a glad welcome
from Him “who delighteth in
mercy,” and who will not “keep his anger for
ever” (Micah 7:18). The first clauses
of this answer of blessing remind us that there
are
three results of religious revival which begin to be experienced at once.
These are “the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ,” in the form of
healing; “the
love of God,” in the
gift of positive and full salvation; “and the communion
of the
Holy Ghost,” as manifested in the
enjoyment of Divine influence.
(II Corinthians 13:14)
The answer corresponds to the prayer of the penitents,
only that the blessings promised are even larger and richer than those which
have been asked. “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians
3:20). “With
the Lord there
is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.” (Psalm 130:7)
·
SPIRITUAL HEALING. “I will heal their backsliding” (v. 4); or
rather, “their falling away; ‘ “their apostasy.” The Lord will
remove the
injuries which His people’s apostasy has brought upon them, and
will cure
them of the malignant disease itself. This blessing of healing
includes:
Ø
the forgiveness of
sin;
Ø
deliverance from its
pollution;
Ø
the cure of the
tendency to backslide; and
Ø
removal of the
chastisements and sorrows which past guilt has
entailed.
How does God heal all these
wounds? He does so BY THE
APPLICATION
OF THE BLOOD OF
CHRIST! That blood is the
one unfailing salve for the
sinner’s conscience and heart, and it
procures also his redemption from all
future evil. All men, Jew and Gentile alike, who accept the gospel
message,
receive such healing in our time; and in “the latter days” this
gracious
promise shall be completely fulfilled in the national conversion
of
well as in the “coming in” of “the fullness of the
Gentiles.” (Romans 11:25)
·
FULL SALVATION. “I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned
away from him” (v.
4). Jehovah’s wrath being gone, and His people’s
apostasy healed, His generous love is now free to go forth without
restraint.
He finds in His people
themselves, it is true, no cause why He should love
them. In himself the backsliding sinner is repulsive and
unlovely; and the
only acceptable gift which he can bring when he returns is
merely feelings
and “words”
(v. 2). But, as a mother’s love for her child is not based
upon the child’s character, or upon the return which he makes
for her
goodness, so also love is instinctive and natural to the Divine
heart. He
loves “freely,” or
spontaneously, just because HE HIMSELF “is love.”
(I John 4:8). The Lord heals His people’s backslidings by
discovering
anew to their souls the greatness of His tender mercy towards
them. His
wonderful love leads Him first to be the soul’s
Physician, and then to
become its Husband. His free favor bestows upon the healed one
the
health of holiness, and continues to be the springing well-head
of the
believer’s salvation.
·
DIVINE INFLUENCE. “I will be as the dew unto
This promise announces the
reversal of the curse of barrenness recorded in
ch. 13:15. We think of Jehovah
as being “the dew” in connection
with the gracious operations of His Spirit. He rewards the
prayer and the
life of penitence, and evinces His free love to His people, by the gift of the
Holy Ghost, the
Comforter. There are many points of
analogy between the
descent of the dew and the work of the Spirit. The Divine dew,
like the
natural, is:
Ø
Mysterious and heavenly. It has its source
high above us. The falling
of the dew is independent of man’s skill and power (Micah
5:7; Job
38:28); much less are the
workings of grace the result of any human
process (John 3:3-8).
Ø
Gentle and silent. No
one sees or hears the dew falling, and
experience alone has taught man that it is really an important force
of nature. Similarly the
grace of the Spirit “cometh not with
observation” (Luke 17:20).
It works on in secrecy, and becomes
visible only in its beneficent results upon character and life.
Ø
Abundant. In
some extent for the absence of rain. The Divine dew, in like manner,
is often seen to be most abundant, especially in a time of
religious
revival. The work of the Spirit may influence for much good an
entire
Church, or even a whole
nation, so as to enrich its life as a Christian
community.
Ø
Penetrative. The dew pierces the soil, and insinuates itself into the
fibers
of every herb and plant; so the
Holy Ghost, using the Divine Word,
“pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit” (Hebrews
4:12), and searches through
the whole nature of man, to purify and bless it.
Ø
Given daily. The grace of God, like the dew, is not given once for all,
but is day by day waited for, and day by day renewed. Yet doth
it not
pass away, like the fitful goodness of God’s former people
(ch.6:4), but
turns into the growth and spiritual substance of those on whom
it
descends.
Ø
Refreshing and fertilizing. The dew produces
verdure and fruitfulness.
So the constant presence of the Holy Spirit within the soul
and in
the Church is essential to
spiritual freshness and usefulness. The clauses
that follow (vs. 5-8)
show that this is the main point of the emblem as
employed here, and trace with exceeding beauty of poetic diction
the
results of the Lord’s gracious activity when He comes “as the dew.
He shall so come in “the
last days” — blessed be his Name! —
“unto
the whole Israel of God, of every nation, who follow
spiritually in the
footsteps of Abraham. (“For
he is not a Jew, which is one
outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward
in the flesh: But he
is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in
the letter; whose
praise is not of men, BUT OF GOD.”
(Romans 3:28-29)
6
“His branches shall spread,” - margin, go;
rather, go on. This feature
in
the representation denotes enlargement or expansion. The tender
branches
(suckers) spreading out in all
directions very aptly set forth the multiplication of
and
ill-shaped would rather be a blemish than a beauty. It is, therefore, added:
“his beauty shall be as the olive tree,” – The olive has been called the
crown
of
the fruit trees of
splendor of its green, and the enduring freshness of its foliage,
make it a vivid
picture
of that BEAUTY OF HOLINESS or
SPIRITUAL GRACES
which it is here employed to represent. There is still an additional element of
interest pertaining to this goodly tree, namely, “and his smell as
This signifies the fragrance of this beautiful
tree of righteousness. The smell of
is like the smell of
flowers, and aromatic shrubs, and fragrant vines,
the
air with the most delightful odors. Thus acceptable
to God and pleasing
to man shall
Rosenmüller’s explanation of the individual features of this inimitable
picture: “The rooting indicates stability; the spreading of the
branches,
propagation and the multitude of
inhabitants; the splendor of the olive,
beauty and glory, and
that constant and lasting; the fragrance, hilarity and
loveliness.” The simile
changes into the metaphor;
likened to a tree, becomes the tree.
7 “They that dwell under
his shadow shall return; they shall revive as
the corn, and grow (margin,
blossom) as the vine: the scent (rather, renown)
thereof shall be as the wine of
consequent diversity of rendering and explanation in connection
with this verse.
If the tree be
shadow are the members of the nation, separately and
severally, flourishing under the
widespread branches of this umbrageous tree. The word yashubhu is explained:
·
return, i.e.
betake themselves to his shadow, which is incongruous,
for how could they be said to return to their own shadow or
dwell securely
under it?
·
return to their native
land, so the Chaldee, — this is somewhat better;
·
return to the worship
of Jehovah, said of Israelites who had abandoned
it, not properly of Gentiles turning to that worship;
·
Rosenmüller, comparing Judges 15:19 and I Samuel 30:12,
explains it in the sense of coming to themselves, reviving.
Keil constructs yashubhu adverbially
by a common idiom with yechayyu, and
translates “shalt give life to come again,”
that is, “Those who sit beneath the shade
of
or
produce it for nourishment, satiety, and strengthening.” Similarly the Vulgate,
“sustain life by corn.” This,
however, must appear tame after the splendid promises
that went before.
Vivify; i.e. produce seed like corn, and
rejoice in a numerous offspring
as
from a seed of corn many proceed; according to this, “seed” ([r"z,) must
be
supplied, and caph of comparison. The
added clause agrees with this,
for
the flourishing of the vine also symbolizes prolific persons (compare
Psalm 128:3). Further, the vine does not always flourish,
yet, not like
the
corn which after harvest ceases and is no more seen, its root remains,
and
next year grows green and yields its fruit anew. The fame of the wine
of
physician, as writing that the wine of
the
mountains of
flavor, taste, and for medicinal purposes.
8 “Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?”
This is full, final, and for ever a renunciation of
idolatry on the part of
From me is thy fruit found.” THIS
IS GOD’S PROMISE, that
His eye is
fixed on
him, and to protect and prosper him; while the figure of a green fir tree is
the
pledge of
shelter and security. But, though the fir
tree is evergreen,
IT IS FRUITLESS, and
therefore it is added that God will prove the
Source of
fruitfulness, and supply all that His people shall or can
ever
need. (“But
my God shall supply all your need according to His
riches in glory by Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:19).
9 “Who is wise, and he
shall understand these things?
prudent, and he shall know them? for the
ways of the Lord are right,
and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall
fall therein.”
This verse demands attention to all the prophet has
written, whether for
warning, or reproof, or correction in righteousness (II Timothy
3:16), or
encouragement to piety and virtue, and evidently alludes to Deuteronomy
32:4.
The ways of the
Lord are those He prescribes for them to walk in, as also
the ways He takes in GUIDING, GUARDING and GOVERNING
MEN! Like the dictates
of the Word, so the dispensations of His providence
are
to some THE SAVOR OF LIFE and to
others THE SAVOR OF
DEATH (II
Corinthians 2:15-16), therefore it is added that, while the righteous
walk therein, the wicked stumble in them (compare Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
God’s Ways (v. 9)
“Who is wise, and
he shall understand these things? prudent, and he
shall
know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk
in
them: but the
transgressors shall fall therein.” God has
His ways, His
methods of action. He proceeds on certain principles in all His
operations,
both in the realm of matter and of mind. The Infinite has a way of doing
things.
·
HIS WAYS ARE TO BE STUDIED. “Who is wise, and he shall
understand these things? prudent,
and he shall know them?” It is one
thing to know the works of a man, and another thing to know his
ways, his
methods of action. He only knows a man who understands his way of
doing things. God’s ways are
the highest subjects of study. It is
said
that He made known His “way ‘ unto Moses, His “works
‘ unto the children
of
“prudent,”
the initiated, like Moses, understand His ways (Revelation 15:3;
Matthew 11:25). Brother, come away from the study of details,
ascend into
the realm of principles. Men who understand God’s ways become
prophets.
They can foretell the future.
·
HIS WAYS ARE RIGHTEOUS.
“The
ways of the Lord are right.”
Ø
They are right; THEY CANNOT BE
OTHERWISE! They are
right because they are His. He cannot do wrong; there is no law
external to Him, no law above Him. WHAT
HE DOES IS
RIGHT BECAUSE HE
DOES IT! To say He does a thing
because it is right is tantamount to the assertion that there is
something independent of Him.
Ø
They are right; human
conscience attests it. No conscience
in
heaven, earth, hell, doubts the rectitude of God’s ways. If
sinners
in hell felt they were wrong, they would feel no remorse for
their
conduct. They are right ESSENTIALLY, IMMUTABLY,
EVERLASTINGLY,
RIGHT!
·
HIS WAYS ARE TO BE PURSUED. “The just shall
walk in them.”
They are not merely to be studied,
but to be practically followed. You
cannot do what God does, but
what you do you can do in God’s way —
do silently, lovingly, beneficently. Walk in this way, the
way of love and
usefulness.
·
HIS WAYS MAY RUIN.
“The transgressors shall fall therein.” As
God moves in calm majesty and
resistless force on His way, He crushes in
His march all
who oppose Him. His chariot-wheels
grind them into powder.
(Matthew
21:44). Recipitur ad modum recipientis. What is received
influences according to the qualities of the receiver. “The same
sun,” says
an old author, “softens wax and hardens clay. But of all
transgressors those
certainly have the most dangerous fatal falls that fall in the ways of
God,
that split on the Rock of Ages, and suck poison out of the balm of
·
WISDOM IS TESTED BY THE ACCEPTANCE OR REFUSAL OF
GOD’S WAYS. “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things?
prudent, and he shall know them?”
Ø
The wise recognize the rightness of God’s ways. They are taught
of God to recognize this rightness. Plain as the truth seems
that GOD’S
WAYS ALONE ARE
RIGHT, the natural heart is incapable of
receiving it (I Corinthians 2:14).
Ø
The wise show their wisdom by walking in God’s ways.
“The just shall
walk in them.” Wisdom is a practical
thing.
It implies THE ADOPTION OF THAT WHICH WE KNOW
TO BE
RIGHT! Wisdom is connected with UPRIGHTNESS!
It is the upright in
heart — the just — who choose the right ways.
Ø
The unwise show their folly BY REJECTING GO’S WAYS!
This is their RUIN! “The transgressors shall fall therein.”
(One
has to put out an effort to live in sin because “the way of
the trangressors is hard!” (Proverbs 13:15)
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