Hosea Fourteen
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Hosea 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
Hosea 14:3 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.
Hosea 14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
Hosea 14:5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Hosea 14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
Hosea 14:7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
Hosea 14:8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
Hosea 14:9 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.
Who is wise. True wisdom exists only in those whose minds have been redeemed and are focused on God (2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 11:33-36; 1 Corinthians 2:6-8; Colossians 2:3).
ways of the Lord. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25). In contrast, “the ways of the Lord are right!”
