Hosea 14:6

His branches shall spread,.... As the well rooted cedars in Lebanon; see Numbers 24:6.

His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. His branches shall spread - shoots, or suckers. And his beauty shall be as the olive - which never loses its verdure.

His branches, his tenderest branches which are new sprung out, shall gather strength, not be broken off, but by these shall they multiply in number of boughs. Shall spread; grow great and beautiful, and excellent for shade. As the olive tree; which retains its verdure all the winter, and is rich in fruit; so the true Israel of God shall flourish, pot in fruitless beauty and stateliness, but in desirable and lovely fruit, even in winters of affliction and troubles. As Lebanon; the mountain famous for cedars, where also were the trees that afford the frankincense, which sweat out that excellent aromatic, and where many more sweetest flowers grow and perfume the air; such shall the spiritual fragrance of the church be to God and man.

Hosea 14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.Ver. 6. His branches shall spread] Heb. shall walk, or expatiate; shall reach out, and stretch themselves all abroad: so shall the Church be propagated all the earth over; she shall flourish as the palm tree, which though it have many weights hung on the top, and many snakes hissing at the root, yet it still saith, Nec premor, nec perimor, I am insuperable: "I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever," Psalms 52:8. And his beauty shall be as the olive tree] That goodly tree, Leviticus 23:40, that retaineth her greenness in the depth of winter; yea, in that universal deluge, Noah’ s dove met with an olive leaf. "The Lord hath called thy name," saith the prophet to the Church, Jeremiah 11:16, "a green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit." The cypress is fair, but not fruitful; the fig tree fruitful, but not fair and flourishing. But the olive tree is both fair and fruitful; her fruit also is of singular use to mankind, both for food and medicine and light for the lamp, Exodus 29:20 Leviticus 6:15-16. In one respect it is an emblem of peace, it maketh the face shine, Psalms 104:15; and in the other, it is an emblem of grace and spiritual gifts, 1 John 2:20, of increasing with the increase of God, by the Spirit, and of reigning with him in eternal glory. And his smell as Lebanon] Whereby is meant the sweet savour of the gospel, which spreadeth itself abroad in the ministry of the word, and in the lives of believers, 2 Corinthians 2:14-15, who besides their continual offering up to God spiritual incense and services in prayers, thanksgivings, alms, and good works, they perfume the very air they breathe upon by their gracious and savoury communication, Ephesians 4:29; yea, the very company they come into: as a man cannot come where sweet spices and odours are beaten to the smell but he shall carry away the scent thereof in his clothes. When the Spirit of Christ blows upon them, and grace is poured into their hearts, then their lips drop sweet-smelling myrrh, Son 5:13; Son 4:16, then also their "good name is better than a precious ointment," Ecclesiastes 7:1; see the note there; when the wicked stink alive and dead, Nihil nisi foetidum et foedum exhalavit (Rivet.).

(5, 6) As the Dew.—For this imagery see Psalms 130:3. Properly it is “a copious mist, shedding small invisible rain, that comes in rich abundance every night in the hot weather, when west or north-west winds blow, and which brings intense refreshment to all organised life” (Neil’s Palestine Explored, p. 136). The lily, which carpets the fields of Palestine (Matthew 6:29), has slender roots, which might easily be uptorn, but under God’s protection, even these are to strike downward like the roots of the cedars.[13] Branches are to grow like the banyan-tree, until one tree becomes a forest, and the beauty of the olive in its dancing radiance is to cover all, while the fragrance shall go abroad like the breezes from the forest of Lebanon. [13] The lily of the Bible is identified by some with the Lilium chalcedonicum, or Scarlet Martagon, which grows profusely in the Levant, and is said to abound in Galilee in the months of April and May. Wetzstein, on the other hand, identifies it with a beautiful dark violet lily which grows in the large plain south-east of the Hauran range of mountains, and is called susân. The opinion of the Chaldee paraphrast and of Rabbinical writers, that the rose was really meant by the Hebrew, may safely be rejected.

6. His branches shall spread] For ‘branches’ render saplings. It is the same word as in Isaiah 53:2 (where A. V. ‘tender branch’). There the prophet’s idea is that after Israel’s vine has been cut down, a slender plant will spring up from the root; here, that the root of the living tree shall send forth many fresh plants. In fact, Israel is to be like not merely a tree, but a garden. as the olive-tree] Beautiful doubtless in itself, but with a beauty enhanced by the serviceableness of the fruits. Jeremiah compares Israel to ‘a fresh-green olive-tree, fair, and of goodly fruit’ (Jeremiah 11:16). his smell as Lebanon] As the balsamic odour of the cedars and of aromatic shrubs. Comp. Son 4:11.

4-8. The sentiments expressed in Hosea 14:1-3, are essentially different from those expressed in Hosea 6:1-3.