John Calvin Commentary Hosea 14:6-7

"His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive [as] the grain, and blossom as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon." — Hosea 14:6-7 (ASV)

The Prophet continues with the same subject, but joins the beginning of the first verse with the second clause of the former verse. He had said that the roots of the people would be deep when God would restore them. Now he adds that their branches shall go on.

He explains that “to go on” is used metaphorically, meaning to extend far. For branches of trees seem to “go on” when they extend and spread themselves far and wide. His branches, then, shall go on; this means that a tree, after striking roots, does not remain in the same state but grows and spreads out its branches in all directions.

In short, God promises a daily increase to His blessing after He has once begun to show Himself generous to the people of Israel. “I will then be generous at the beginning; and further,” He says, “my blessing will, as time passes, increase and be multiplied.”

He afterwards adds, His comeliness shall be like the olive. The Prophet accumulates similes so that he might more fully confirm the people.

And we certainly see that the minds of people grow faint when they look for prosperity from this or that quarter. Indeed, there is hardly one in a hundred who is fully persuaded that when God is gracious, all things turn out well and happily. For people do not regard the love of God when they wish for things to be well with them, but wander here and there throughout the whole world; now they seek prosperity from themselves, then from the earth, now from the air, then from the sea.

Since, then, it is so difficult to impress this truth fully on the hearts of people—that the love of God is the fountain of all blessings—the Prophet has collected a number of similes to confirm what he teaches. Then, he says, his comeliness shall be like the olive; and further, his fragrance like that of Libanus. Fragrant trees, we know, grow on Mount Libanus.

But by these various similes, the Prophet shows that the state of the people would be prosperous and happy as soon as they are received by God into favor. He afterwards adds, the dwellers under his shadow shall return; but I will defer this until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we are so miserable as soon as You withdraw Your favor from us, O grant that we may deeply feel this conviction. May we thus learn to be humble before You and to hate ourselves. May we not in the meantime deceive ourselves with such allurements as commonly prevail, causing us to put our hope in creatures or in this world.

Instead, let us raise our minds upwards to You, fix our hearts on You, and never doubt that when You embrace us with Your paternal love, nothing will be lacking for us. And in the meantime, may we humbly flee to Your mercy. With true and genuine confession, may we acknowledge this to be our only protection: that You are gracious enough to receive us into favor and to abolish our sins.

Into these sins we not only daily fall, but by them we also deserve eternal death. May we daily rise through Your free pardon, until at length our Redeemer Christ, Your Son, will appear to us from heaven. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

The dwellers under his shadow shall return (so it is literally); they shall revive themselves with corn (or, revive as the corn); they shall grow as the vine: his odour shall be as the wine of Libanus. The Prophet proceeds with the same subject: that God would show Himself generous to His people, so that it might plainly appear from their different state that they had before suffered just punishment.

And he says, The dwellers under his shadow shall return. But the verb ישבו, ishibu, in this place rightly means “to be refreshed,” as in Psalm 19, where the law of God is spoken of as משיבת, meshibet, converting the soul, which signifies the same as refreshing or restoring the soul.

So the Prophet intimates that after the Israelites begin to flourish again, their shadow would be life-giving, such as would restore and refresh those lying under it. He identifies “the dwellers under his shadow” as all those who belong to the people. He compares the common state of the people of Israel to a tree full of leaves, which extends its branches far and wide, so that those who flee under its shadow are defended from the heat of the sun. We now see the design of this metaphor and what the Prophet means by the verb ישבו, ishibu.

He afterwards adds, They shall vivify themselves with corn, or, revive as corn. If we read the word in the nominative case, the preposition כ, caph, is to be understood. The ablative case is more approved by some: “They shall vivify themselves with corn.”

But the former sense seems more suitable; for, as I have said yesterday, the Prophet, as he handles a truth difficult to be believed, on this account accumulates similes that serve for confirmation. Hence, they shall revive as corn; that is, they shall increase. As from one grain, we know, many stalks proceed, so also, since the Prophet speaks of the increase of the people after their restoration to God’s favor, he says that they would grow like corn.

But he adds, They shall germinate as the vine. This simile strengthens what I have just said: that the people are compared both to trees and to corn, and also to vines. And what is said of dwellers ought not to appear strange, for he wished more fully to express how this common benefit would come, that is, to every one.

He afterwards adds, His odour shall be as the wine of Libanus. That is, when they germinate as the vine, they will not produce common or sour wine, but the sweetest, such as is made on Mount Libanus, and which is of the best odour. But the Prophet means no other thing than that the Israelites will be happy, and that their condition will be prosperous and joyful, when they are converted from their superstitions and other vices and wholly surrender themselves to be governed by God. This is the meaning.