God's Mission and Expectation
J. W. Bray. 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 symbolism of the Bible is unrivalled for beauty and suggestiveness. The text suggests — I. THE MINISTRY OF THE DIVINE TO THE HUMAN. God's influence comes as close to men as the dew to the flower. It is inspiring to know that ours is not a God who lives only in the light of His own majesty, but dwells with the humble everywhere. He not only rides in the rolling chariot of the stormy skies, or sits in silence above the crested billows of the heaving ocean; but He stoops to earth, and kisses the face of the flowers with His presence, and touches the weak and the weary with a tenderness that surpasses that of the dewdrop as it rolls into the heart of the lily, and becomes there a hidden fountain of strength and refreshment. What is God to the soul that trusts in Him? Is He not, as the dew to the flower, its unseen source of strength? Men need to realise, above everything else, the readiness of God to help them. Why does the dew come to the flower? To bless it, of course. When the dew is on its petals, it breathes its whole sweet fragrance in response. It is for this that the Lord approaches humanity, that we may become better men, or, to put it in the words of the text — "He shall grow as the lily." II. THE DIVINE EXPECTATION. It is only natural for the Lord to expect us to "grow," when He has nourished us. We know how the "lily grows." Its first endeavour is to growl. 1. Strong. We are to "grow" like sturdy Christians. It is the stunted growths, the dwarfs of Christianity, that bring it most discredit. But it also grows — 2. Beautiful. We are to "grow" in the beauty of holiness. The Lord wants all His servants to be giants, but He does not want them to be clumsy. We are to develop symmetry as well as strength. Next, the "lily" grows — 3. Useful. It has medicinal as well as floral uses. Our characters can never be complete until we "grow" after this order — strength, beauty, service. APPLICATION. The Lord is waiting to fill every life, as the dew fills every flower. And when He enters, and not till then, will our lives burst into blossom, and fragrance, and fruit. (J. W. Bray.) Parallel Verses KJV: I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. WEB: I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.