Hosea 14:5-7 I will be as the dew to Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.… The prophecy of Hosea may be likened to a tempestuous summer's day. Here we have peace after storm. Consider the comparison Jehovah here employs. 1. Dew is refreshing. A godless soul is like a rainless, dewless, desert land — everything is dead or dying. There are noble faculties and Divine capacities. but they have no life. Seek, I beseech you, the benign presence of your God and Saviour. 2. Dew is beautifying. What more delightful than to go forth into the fields with the sunrise and see them lit up with millions of sparkling diamonds, and sown with myriad pearls! And how beautiful have been the characters of those in whose hearts God has dwelt. And the presence of God is the true beauty of a Church. 3. Dew is fertilising. Regions where the dew falls copiously are remarkable for their fertility. Fertility implies two things — luxuriant growth, and abundant fruit. 4. Dew is gentle. In its descent it does not break the tenderest filaments; it does not wound the most fragile blossom. And so God deals tenderly with His children. 5. Dew is impartial in its distribution. It descends upon the evil and the good, upon the just and unjust. It falls alike on the poor man's plot and on the broad acres of the rich. So impartial is the love of God, so impartial are the benefits of the Gospel. (Joseph Halsey.) Parallel Verses KJV: I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. |
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