Hosea 14; Joel 1-2

Hosea 14

“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God…”

• “you have stumbled because of your iniquity”
  • sin is the cause of their collapse (not external forces)

Key phrases:

• “Take words with you”
  • Bring the proper words of worship to the LORD
• “Take away all iniquity”
• “accept what is good” 
• “we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips”
  • Hebrew: וּנְשַׁלְּמָה פָרִים שְׂפָתֵינוּ (uneshalmah parim sefatenu)
  • Meaning: words replace empty sacrifice

Humbleness 

• “Assyria shall not save us”
• “we will not ride on horses”
• “we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands”
• “in you the orphan finds mercy”

“I will heal their apostasy…”

• “apostasy” = מְשׁוּבָה (meshubah)
  • same root as “turning away”
• “I will love them freely”

Restoration Imagery (Garden Motif)

• “I will be like the dew to Israel”
  • In an arid land: dew = life-giving, sustaining 
• “blossom like the lily”
• “take root like the trees of Lebanon”
• “shoots shall spread out”
• “olive tree”  longevity, richness
• “fragrance like Lebanon” desirability
• “grain… vine… wine”
• Full reversal of Hosea 9 (loss of fruitfulness)

“O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?”

•  break with idolatry

God’s Response

• “I answer and look after him”
• “I am like an evergreen cypress”
• God becomes the true source of life and stability
• “from me comes your fruit”
  

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things…”

Reversal of Covenant Curses

Earlier (Hosea 8-10)	Hosea 14
barrenness	flourishing
exile imagery	garden imagery
broken relationship	restored intimacy

Joel 1

Joel (יוֹאֵל, Yo’el) = “YHWH is God”
No genealogy, no king mentioned 
Speaks to Judah (South Kingdom)

When Was Joel Written? (Debated
Two main views:
1.Early Date (9th century BC)

• During time of priestly influence (like 2 Kings 11–12)
• No mention of Assyria or Babylon

2.Late Date (Post-exilic, ~500 BC)

• Focus on temple and priests
• No king mentioned and fits post-exile Judah

The date doesn’t change the meaning of the book 

“The word of the LORD that came to Joel…”

Locust description

• “cutting…swarming…hopping…destroying”
• Will lead to famine 
• Echo of covenant curse: Deuteronomy 28:38

Address to drunkards

• Wine cut off 
• Fig tree and vine destroyed = destroying symbols of blessing

Lament like a bereaved bride “virgin wearing sackcloth for the husband of her youth”

 Worship disrupted

• Grain and drink offerings cease
• Priests mourn and temple system impacted

Farmers and vinedressers ashamed due to total agricultural failure

• “Joy withers away” 
• Jeremiah 12:13

 the Day of the LORD

Priests lead repentance

• Sackcloth, fasting, solemn assembly

 “Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near”

• First explicit mention
• יוֹם יְהוָה (Yom YHWH)
• Not just future ALREADY happening

Total collapse

• Food cut off
• Animals groan 

Joel cries out personally

• Fire imagery
  •  drought or devastation in general
• Even animals cry to God 

Joel 2

 Trumpet alarm in Zion  “A day of darkness and gloom”

Judgment to come (contrasted with judgment already happening in chapter 1) 

 Destructive imagery

• Fire before and after
• Eden to wilderness transformation
• Genesis 2-3 reversal

Army description

• Highly ordered, unstoppable
• “They do not swerve” 
• God gives them power

Cosmic disturbance

• Sun, moon, stars darkened
•  Isaiah 13:10
• Common prophetic Day of the LORD motif

The LORD leads the army

• “Who can endure it?”
•  Malachi 3:2

The Call to True Repentance “Return to me with all your heart”

• “Rend your hearts and not your garments”
  • True repentance and not just tearing your clothes
  • Internal vs. external repentance
• Psalm 51:17
• God’s character quoted:
  • “gracious and merciful…”
  • Exodus 34:6

 Urgent call to repentance

• Everyone included: elders, children, bridegroom
• Priests intercede: “Spare your people”
• Concern for God’s reputation among nations
• Ezekiel 36:22

 Restoration After Repentance

The LORD becomes jealous for His land

Reversal of judgment

• Grain, wine, oil restored
• Northern army removed
• Possibly symbolic of locusts or invading forces

Creation rejoices

• Land, animals, people addressed
• “Early and latter rain”

“I will restore the years…”

• God restores not just crops but lost time and blessings
• “You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel”
• “My people shall never again be put to shame”

Spirit poured out on all flesh

• Sons, daughters, old, young, servants
• Expansion beyond prophets/kings
• Fulfilled in Acts 2:16-21

Salvation promise

• “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved”
• Romans 10:13 Remnant theology: “among the survivors”

Application

Both Joel and Hosea 14 emphasize that what God desires is not outward ritual but genuine return “rend your hearts,” not just your circumstances. The hope is that no matter how far someone has drifted, God’s character remains “gracious and merciful” and ready to restore.