I WILL LOVE THEM FREELY

Passage: Hosea 14:1-9

Key verse: 4

NIV

Repentance to Bring Blessing

14 [a]Return,(A) Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins(B) have been your downfall!(C)
2 Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive(D) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(E)
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[b](F)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(G)
    we will not mount warhorses.(H)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(I)
    to what our own hands have made,(J)
    for in you the fatherless(K) find compassion.”

4 “I will heal(L) their waywardness(M)
    and love them freely,(N)
    for my anger has turned away(O) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(P) to Israel;
    he will blossom like a lily.(Q)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(R)
    he will send down his roots;(S)
6     his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(T)
    his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(U)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(V)
    they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(W) like the vine—
    Israel’s fame will be like the wine(X) of Lebanon.(Y)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[c] to do with idols?(Z)
    I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(AA)
    your fruitfulness comes from me.”

9 Who is wise?(AB) Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.(AC)
The ways of the Lord are right;(AD)
    the righteous walk(AE) in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.

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Footnotes
  1. Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
  2. Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
  3. Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

A Plea to Return to the Lord

14 (A)Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for (B)you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all iniquity;
accept (C)what is good,
    and we will pay with bulls
    (D)the vows[a] of our lips.
3 (E)Assyria shall not save us;
    (F)we will not ride on horses;
and (G)we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
(H)In you the orphan finds mercy.”

4 I (I)will heal their apostasy;
    (J)I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.
5 (K)I will be like the dew to Israel;
    (L)he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall take root like the trees (M)of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be (N)like the olive,
    and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and (O)dwell beneath my[b] shadow;
    they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8 O (P)Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.[c]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    (Q)from me comes your fruit.

9 (R)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
    whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
    and (S)the upright walk in them,
    (T)but transgressors stumble in them.

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Footnotes
  1. Hosea 14:2 Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit
  2. Hosea 14:7 Hebrew his
  3. Hosea 14:8 Hebrew him
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Take words and return to the Lord (1-3) When we return to the Lord after sinning, God wants us to confess our sins with our mouth as the fruit of a repentant heart. We need to admit that earthly things cannot save us, just as Ephraim had to repent of trusting in idols and the Assyrian Empire. 2. God's healing comes (4-9) God promises to heal his people of their sinfulness himself, with no restrictions on the outpouring of his grace. He ultimately accomplished this through Jesus' cross. When we are opened to the dew of God's grace, he nourishes us spiritually so we can grow. We put down roots in his word, then send up shoots, and finally produce good fruits. Then we and our nation can be a source of blessing, like a vine with abundant fruit or a spreading tree that can provide shade to many. We must acknowledge that all our fruitfulness comes from the Lord.

Prayer: Father, I confess my sin to you and forsake all my idols. May your abundant love in Jesus come upon us.

One Word: My fruitfulness comes from you