Israel Restored with Sacrifices of Praise

Hosea 14:1-9

1 O Israel, return to the LORD your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;

2 Take words with you,
And return to the LORD.
Say to Him,
"Take away all iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.

3 Assyria shall not save us,
We will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands,
'You are our gods.'
For in You the fatherless finds mercy."

4 "I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
He shall grow like the lily,
And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.

6 His branches shall spread;
His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And grow like a vine.
Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8 "Ephraim shall say, 'What have I to do anymore with idols?'
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
Your fruit is found in Me."

9 Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.

For the ways of the LORD are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.

God’s people were restored to good standing by His grace.  When they stumbled because of the iniquity in their hearts leading to sins of idolatry and immortality, He called them to repentance and restoration.  They were encouraged to speak to their LORD with words of praise as sacrifice as they begged Him to receive them in forgiveness for their sin as they turned from sin to Him to be reconciled.  They also confessed that no one else was able to deliver them from their enemies or from their sin, no Assyrian army nor the idol works of their hands because they were the work of God’s hands and only He was the Creator.  They were not and so could only worship their Maker, not a god of their own imagination and crafting.  Only in the true God could they find mercy as if orphans.  They trusted in the forgiveness and healing love of God for their souls as He relented His wrath and healed them of their desire to wander away from Him again.  He promised to water them so they could again put roots down into Him and grow back towards Him once more (Isaiah 37:30-31).  They would hear fruit as they branched out in the beauty of holiness as they lived under the shadow of He who loved them so to become a sweet smelling aroma once more (Ephesians 5:2) like a fine wine of divine vintage.  Then even rebellious Ephraim would swear off idols and acknowledge that they could only bear righteous fruit in the LORD instead.  These things were written as a reminder to God’s people then and now that wisdom comes from understanding the scriptures and really knowing them by taking to heart His commandments in willing obedience out of love because He loved us first (1 John 4:10, 19), pursuing holiness to see God (Hebrews 12:14) and no longer stumbling (Jude 1:24-25) over idols of the works of our own hands in place of relying on His grace and work in us for salvation and sanctification (Philippians 2:12-13).  We have been restored and reconciled to God our Father in His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to continually offer sacrifices of praise to God as Hebrews 13:15 reminds us.  Praise Him!