John Calvin Commentary Hosea 14:5

"I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." — Hosea 14:5 (ASV)

The Prophet now again repeats what he had said: that God, after restoring the people to favor, would be so beneficent as to make apparent the fruit of reconciliation. Seeing that the Israelites had been afflicted, they should have imputed this to their own sins; they should have perceived by such proofs the wrath of God.

They had been so foolish as, on the contrary, to imagine that their adversities happened to them by chance. The Prophet had been much engaged in teaching this truth: that the Israelites would always be miserable until they turned to God, and also that all their affairs would be unhappy until they obtained pardon.

He now speaks of a change: that God would not only by words show Himself propitious to them, but would also give a proof by which the Israelites might know that they were now blessed because they had been reconciled to God; for His blessing would be the fruit of His gratuitous love.

This, then, is how this sentence, I will be to Israel as the dew, should be connected: He intimates that they were previously dry because they had been deprived of God’s favor. He compares them to a rose or lily. For when the fields or meadows are burned up by the heat of the sun, and there is no dew distilling from heaven, all things wither.

How then can lilies and roses flourish, unless they derive moisture from heaven, and the dew refreshes the ground so that they may put forth their strength? The reason then for the similitude is this: because people become dry and destitute of all vigor when God withdraws His favor. Why? Because God must, as it were, distill dew; otherwise, as has been said, we become wholly barren and dry. I will be then as dew to Israel.

And further, He shall Flourish as the lily, and his roots he shall send forth. Some render ויך, vaic, “and he will strike;” and נכה, nuke, means to strike. Others render the words, “His branches will extend;” but the verb is in the singular number, and the noun, “roots,” is in the plural.

The Prophet then speaks of Israel, that he strikes his roots; but the meaning is to fix them in a metaphorical sense: he will then fix his roots. Just as when we strike, we deliver a blow and extend our arms, so he will spread forth his roots like Libanus. This is the second effect of God’s favor and blessing, which means that the happiness of the people would be perpetual.

With regard to the rose or lily, the meaning of the metaphor is that God would suddenly, and as in a moment, vivify the Israelites, though they were like the dead. Just as in one night the lily rises, and unexpectedly also the rose, so sudden would be the change signified by this metaphor.

But as the lilies and the roses soon wither, it was not enough to promise Israel that their salvation would come suddenly; but it was necessary to add this second clause—that though they would be like lilies and roses, they yet would also be like tall trees, which have deep roots in the ground, by which they remain firm and flourish for a long time.

We now, then, perceive the meaning of the Prophet. He mentions here the twofold effect of God’s blessing concerning the Israelites—that their restoration would be sudden, as soon as God would distill like the dew His favor upon them, and also that this happiness would not be fading, but enduring and permanent. And the words may be rendered as Libanus, or as those of Libanus: (for instance) as Libanus he shall cast forth his roots, like the trees which grow there; or, he shall cast forth his roots like the trees which are in Libanus. But as for the sense, there is no difference.