Repent and Be Saved – Hosea 14

The closing chapter of the book of Hosea reflects a very different, and in fact, opposite view of Ephraim and Israel than the rest of the book. Instead of punishment, it speaks of reward; instead of sin, it speaks of righteousness. This chapter outlines the product of repentance for Ephraim and for anyone who is willing to repent of sin and commit themselves to Christ.

Not unlike the rest of the book, there is a revelation as to God’s purpose for providing us with forgiveness. God will forgive us and “receive us graciously [so] that we may present [to Him] the fruit of our lips” (Hosea 14.2). God forgives so that He will receive praise for our salvation. It is His eternal purpose for Himself, that He receives praise from His creation. It is true that because “God so loved the world” that he provided a means for salvation, but we must look at the element through which we receive salvation, which is faith (John 3.16). “By grace, [because God loves the world…,] you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2.8). And if anyone is saved by faith, regardless of what his life looks like, he is to sing praises to God (James 5.13).

There is a more intricate explanation for why we should praise God than simply to say that He saves us. It is not just that He has made accommodation for us that we can be saved, but that He has made accommodation when there was no other way. We cannot be saved by the world (Assyria) and we cannot save ourselves by rising up against God (war horses). We should not praise our own creation because our creations cannot save us. Rather, those of us—all of us—who are fatherless will find compassion in God. Notice it says “‘in’ you [God]” (Hosea 14.3). It is in God, not by God that we receive compassion. So it is when we make the choice to place ourselves under the lordship of Christ, so that we are in Christ, that we receive salvation. It is only by letting go of our connection to the world and by submitting to Christ that we are saved.

It is by this submission that fruit is produced for God through us. However, it is not us who produce the fruit. “…your fruitfulness comes from me [God]” (Hosea 14.8). What fruit is produced?

I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
he will send down his roots;
his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
Men will dwell again in his shade.
He will flourish like the grain.
He will blossom like a vine,
and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.
(Hosea 14.5-7)

All of the blessing that Israel sought after would have been theirs if they had followed God. For us, blessing is ours if we follow God. It is just that simple.
What’s the point of all of this? What lesson do we learn from this? For those who do not know Jesus Christ as their savior, it is a direct call to abandon your current direction and dedicate your life to God and then praise Him for your new eternal hope, for salvation. For those who are already have knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus Christ and have made a commitment to follow, there are some major implications.

1. If you are wise, you will understand these things, the word of God.

2. If you are discerning, you will not only understand, but commit them to memory. You will recognize their value and have a desire to remember them.

3. If you are righteous, you will put them in to practice. A discerner can know what is right, and make an effort to remember it, but it is only through practice that you can be righteous.

4. If you are rebellious, you will put faith in your own hands or in the hands of the world. If you have heard the word of God and are not righteous—practicing what it says—then you are rebelling against God.

If you don’t understand these things which are in the word of God, commit them to memory and put them into practice, then you are rebelling against the ways of God. You make the same mistake as Ephraim did. You put your faith into material things, in which there is not hope, only eternal condemnation.