SEV Biblia, Chapter 14:5
Yo seré a Israel como rocío; él florecerá como lirio, y extenderá sus raíces como el Líbano.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Hosea 14:5
Verse 5. I will be as the dew unto Israel] On these metaphors I gladly avail myself of the elegant and just observations of Bp. Lowth. "These verses ( ver. 5-7) contain gracious promises of God's favour and blessings upon Israel's conversion. In the fifth verse, it is described by that refreshment which copious dews give to the grass in summer. If we consider the nature of the climate, and the necessity of dews in so hot a country, not only to refresh, but likewise to preserve life; if we consider also the beauty of the oriental lilies, the fragrance of the cedars which grow upon Lebanon, the beauteous appearance which the spreading olive trees afforded, the exhilarating coolness caused by the shade of such trees, and the aromatic smell exhaled by the cedars; we shall then partly understand the force of the metaphors here employed by the prophet; but their full energy no one can conceive, till he feels both the want, and enjoys the advantage, of the particulars referred to in that climate where the prophet wrote."-Lowth's twelfth and nineteenth prelection; and Dodd on the place. What a glorious prophecy! What a wonderful prophet! How sublime, how energetic, how just! The great master prophet, Isaiah, alone could have done this better. And these promises are not for Israel merely after the flesh; they are for all the people of God. We have a lot and portion in the matter; God also places his love upon us. Here the reader must feel some such sentiment as the shepherd in Virgil, when enraptured with the elegy which his associate had composed on their departed friend. The phraseology and metaphors are strikingly similar; and therefore I shall produce it.
Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poeta, Quale sopor fesses in gramine, quale per aestum Dulcis aquae saliente sitim restinguere rivo. Nec calamis solum aequiparas, sed voce magistrum. Fortunate puer! tu nunc eris alter ab illo. Nos tamen haec quocunque modo tibi nostra vicissim Dicemus, Daphninque tuum tollemus ad astra: Daphnin ad astra feremus: amavit nos quoque Daphnis. VIRGIL. Ecl. v., ver. 45.
"O heavenly poet, such thy verse appears, So sweet, so charming to my ravish'd ears, As to the weary swain with cares oppress'd, Beneath the sylvan shade, refreshing rest; As to the feverish traveler, when first He finds a crystal stream to quench his thirst. In singing, as in piping, you excel; And scarce your master could perform so well. O fortunate young man! at least your lays Are next to his, and claim the second praise. Such as they are, my rural songs I join To raise your Daphnis to the powers divine; For Daphnis was my friend, as well as thine."
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 5. I will be as the dew unto Israel , etc.] To spiritual Israel, to those that return to the Lord, take with them words, and pray unto him, whose backslidings are healed, and they are freely loved; otherwise it is said of apostate Israel or Ephraim, that they were “smitten, [and] their root dried up, [and bore] no fruit”, ( Hosea 9:16). These words, and the whole, context, respect future times, as Kimchi observes; even the conversion of Israel in the latter day, when they shall partake of all the blessings of grace, signified by the metaphors used in this and the following verses. These words are a continuation of the answer to the petitions put into the mouths of converted ones, promising them many favours, expressed in figurative terms; and first by “the dew”, which comes from heaven, is a great blessing of God, and is quickening, very refreshing and fruitful to the earth: and the Lord is that unto his people as the dew is to herbs, plants, and trees of the earth; he is like unto it in his free love and layout, and the discoveries of it to them; which, like the dew, is of and from himself alone; is an invaluable blessing; better than life itself; and is not only the cause of quickening dead sinners, but of reviving, cheering, and refreshing the drooping spirits of his people; and is abundance, never fails, but always continues, ( Proverbs 19:12); and so he is in the blessings of his grace, and the application of them; which are in heavenly places, in Christ, and come down from thence, and in great abundance, like the drops of dew; and fall silently, insensibly, and unawares, particularly regenerating grace; and are very cheering and exhilarating, as forgiveness of sin, a justifying righteousness, adoption, etc. ( Deuteronomy 33:13); and also in the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, which distil as dew; these are of God, and come down from heaven; seem little in themselves, but of great importance to the conversion of sinners, and comfort of saints; bring many blessings in them, and cause great joy and fruitfulness wherever they come with power, ( Deuteronomy 32:2).
The Targum is, “my Word shall be as dew to Israel;” the essential Word of God, the Messiah; of whose incarnation of a virgin some interpret this; having, like the dew, no father but God, either in his divine or human nature; but rather it is to be understood of the blessings of grace he is to his people as Mediator; being to them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, and every other, even their all it, all: he shall grow as the lily ; to which the church and people of God are sometimes compared, especially for their beauty and comeliness in Christ, Solomon in all his glory not being arrayed like one of these; particularly for their unspotted purity, being clothed with fine linen, clean and white, the white raiment of Christ’s righteousness, and having their garments washed and made white in his blood; (see Song of Solomon 2:1,2,16); and here for its growth. The root of the lily lies buried in the earth a long time, when it seems as if it was dead; but on a sudden it springs out of the earth, and runs up to a great height, and becomes very flourishing; which is not owing to itself, it “toils not”; but to the dew of heaven: so God’s elect in a state of nature are dead, but, being quickened by the grace of God, spring up on a sudden, and grow very fast; which is not owing to themselves, but to the dews of divine grace, the bright shining of the sun of righteousness upon them, and to the influences of the blessed Spirit; and so they grow up on high, into their Head Christ Jesus, and rise up in their affections, desires, faith and hope to heavenly things, to the high calling of God in Christ, and become fruitful in grace, and in good works. The Targum is, “they shall shine as the lily;” (see Matthew 6:29); and cast forth his roots as Lebanon ; as the tree, or trees, of Lebanon, as the Targum; and so Kimchi, who adds, which are large, and their roots many; or as the roots of the trees of Lebanon, so Jarchi; like the cedars there, which, as the word here used signifies, “struck” their roots firm in that mountain, and stood strong and stable, let what winds and tempests soever blow: thus, as in the following, what one metaphor is deficient in, another makes up. The lily has but a weak root, and is easily up; but the cedars in Lebanon had roots firm and strong, to which the saints are sometimes compared, as here; (see Psalm 92:12); and this denotes their permanency and final perseverance; who are rooted in the love of God, which is like a root underground from all eternity, and sprouts forth in regeneration, and is the source of all grace; is itself immovable, and in it the people of God are secured, and can never be rooted out; and they may be said to “strike” their roots in it, as the phrase here, when they exercise: a strong faith in it, and are firmly persuaded of their interest in it; (see Ephesians 3:17,18 Romans 8:38,39); they are also rooted in Christ, who is the root of Jesse, of David, and of all the saints; from whom they have their life, their nourishment and fruitfulness, and where they remain unmoved, and strike their roots in him, by renewed acts of faith on him, claiming their interest in him; and are herein so strongly rooted and grounded, that all the winds and storms of sin, Satan, and the world, cannot eradicate them; nay, as trees are more firmly rooted by being shaken, so are they; (see Colossians 2:7 Isaiah 37:31). The Targum is, “they shall dwell in the strength of their land, as a tree of Lebanon, which sends forth its branch.”
Matthew Henry Commentary
The abuse of God's favour leads to punishment. (Hos. 13:1-8) A promis of God's mercy. (Hos. 13:9-16)
Hos. 13:1-8 While Ephraim kept up a holy fear of God, and worshippe Him in that fear, so long he was very considerable. When Ephrai forsook God, and followed idolatry, he sunk. Let the men that sacrific kiss the calves, in token of their adoration of them, affection for them, and obedience to them; but the Lord will not give his glory to another, and therefore all that worship images shall be confounded. N solid, lasting comfort, is to be expected any where but in God. God no only took care of the Israelites in the wilderness, he put them in possession of Canaan, a good land; but worldly prosperity, when it feeds men's pride, makes them forgetful of God. Therefore the Lor would meet them in just vengeance, as the most terrible beast tha inhabited their forests. Abused goodness calls for greater severity.
Hos. 13:9-16 Israel had destroyed himself by his rebellion; but he could not save himself, his help was from the Lord only. This may wel be applied to the case of spiritual redemption, from that lost stat into which all have fallen by wilful sins. God often gives i displeasure what we sinfully desire. It is the happiness of the saints that, whether God gives or takes away, all is in love. But it is the misery of the wicked, that, whether God gives or takes away, it is all in wrath, nothing is comfortable. Except sinners repent and believe the gospel, anguish will soon come upon them. The prophecy of the ruin of Israel as a nation, also showed there would be a merciful and powerfu interposition of God, to save a remnant of them. Yet this was but shadow of the ransom of the true Israel, by the death, burial, an resurrection of Christ. He will destroy death and the grave. The Lor would not repent of his purpose and promise. Yet, in the mean time Israel would be desolated for her sins. Without fruitfulness in goo works, springing from the Holy Spirit, all other fruitfulness will be found as empty as the uncertain riches of the world. The wrath of God will wither its branches, its sprigs shall be dried up, it shall com to nothing. Woes, more terrible than any from the most cruel warfare shall fall on those who rebel against God. From such miseries, and from sin, the cause of them, may the Lord deliver us __________________________________________________________________
Original Hebrew
אהיה 1961 כטל 2919 לישׂראל 3478 יפרח 6524 כשׁושׁנה 7799 ויך 5221 שׁרשׁיו 8328 כלבנון׃ 3844
