Exhortation to Repentance and Promise of God's Blessing
Hosea
1 An exhortation to repentance, 4 A promise of God's blessing
1 Sam 7:3-4;Isa 55:6-7;Hos 12:6 O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Heb 13:15;Rom 8:26;Joe 2:17 2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 ¶ I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.