August 25, 2026
by Nathan Engstrom
What profoundly and deeply touches me about Israel is her story. It is the story of God’s triumph over her unbelief. His unwavering love for an unworthy people who are the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8). Hosea captures so much of this, and chapter 14, his final prophecy, gives us hope that God will heal Israel. We are so like Israel. Unworthy. In need of a Savior. Hopeful.
When I was five, my parents began playing CDs as my younger brother and I fell asleep. I can still name every single CD in rotation; those melodies, soundscapes, and poems captured my imagination. Van Morrison’s croaking saxophone taking me along the Celtic Ray. Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring carried me through mountainsides and woods I never knew I would one day live so close to. This summer, Adrian Snell’s two “City of Peace” albums have retold Israel’s story, one I so desperately need to hear. Adrian, a close family friend, visited the Holy Land and Yad Vashem in the early ‘90s, which left an incredible impression on him. Much of his work flows from those experiences, especially his two “City of Peace” albums, which beautifully capture the Jewish roots of our Christian faith. They crash with judgment, drip with lament, and blossom with hope, keeping in step with Hosea. Adrian and Hosea masterfully capture God’s thoughts towards His people in a way that has hit me like a ton of bricks this summer: “You have strayed so far. Yet, I love you so much. Come to me; I will heal you and give you rest.” I’ll use Adrian’s music to expand on Hosea.
“Return, O Israel.” (14:1)
In 14:1-3, Hosea tells Israel they ought to repent and return to God. It echoes Hosea 6:1-3, where a “torn” Israel pledges to “press on to know the Lord”. Both passages articulate repentance, but in chapter 14 God compels Israel to take a step further and admit their specific sin and ask God to take away their iniquity. To confess and ask for forgiveness. He lists the specific sins they have committed: their trust in foreign nations, their Baal worship and child sacrifice to obtain favor, and their neglect of the destitute. I realized how essential it is to name our particular sins. Much like the language found in the BCP, identifying our specific "sins and offenses" is the catalyst for genuine repentance. This practice compels me to truly wrestle with them; speaking them out loud places me sin "ever before me (Ps. 51:3)", stripped of all shadow. I simply cannot retreat behind ambiguous guilt or rush past the weight of my actions to the comfort of grace. If we cannot confront what we have done, we will not heal.
“I will heal.” (14:4)
Then in verse 4, Hosea reaches for images every farmer in Israel would know: roots, blossoms, and fruit. Israel’s roots will go deep (14:5). Haven’t they been so dried up (9:16)? Israel will blossom (14:5, 7) and its shoots will spread out (14:6) to array its beauty, like the lily and the vine. It will produce fruit (14:6, 7), which is the sign of a flourishing plant! Remember what it’s like to bite into a farm-fresh peach in June, or tear off a piece of freshly baked bread? This is Israel’s hope as a light to the nations, as fruit and bread to all people. Of course, Jesus Christ, the root and descendant of David, is our bread of life. God clearly longs for his love to flow out in blessings unhindered by the prospect of coming judgment. Because of Him, we will heal.
"My every breath”
Adrian Snell’s albums naturally take us on this journey. His second album, which quotes plenty from Hosea, starts with what might be my favorite song of the two albums. He captures Israel’s story of rebellion and hardness of heart towards God, who is crazy about them. About us. In “My Every Breath”, Adrian sings,
“I would never ever leave you.
I watched over your first footsteps.
Come to me, and I will give you rest.
Ever since you were a child,
I loved you as a father loves his own.
But the more I sought to bring you home,
the more you wandered far away.
How you strained to break away alone
with hardened eyes.
How you turned your open hearts
to hearts of stone.
We could have made this journey hand in hand
Enjoyed the goodness of this land
Couldn't we?
Couldn't we?
Now a darkness falls upon you
Blinds your eyes and turns your gold to dust
But my heart is changed within me
How compassion fills my every breath”
Adrian draws directly from Hosea 11:1-4 in the second stanza. Can you hear God’s soft, caressing whisper to his people? He slowly agonizes over his child who won’t stop wandering. In prayer, I often repeat the first 5 lines of this song as if God is speaking them to me. Like Israel, we forget far too often. What chapter 11 gives voice to, the ache of the parent who won’t let go of a wandering child, is exactly what chapter 14 answers. God will heal us. God would never ever leave us. But we would leave Him, and the results are tragic. As Adrian says, they strained to break away and hardened their hearts. Kate said in her blog post what we have all been thinking: how hard it is to continually come up against Israel’s wretchedness in Hosea. Yet, how often have we strained? Perhaps this is also why it’s so hard to read Hosea. I can tell you I’ve strained to break away at times this summer even while confronted with Hosea every Sunday! Yet, God’s compassion fills his every breath.
Friends, it is such good news that our God has such compassion on us that he would send the Messiah to atone for our sins. Because of Him, we can return and be healed, EVERY TIME. Israel was full of rebellion, of exile, return, then exile again. And we are, too. But God’s compassion for us fills his every breath, and if we will turn, He will never ever leave us.
"Whoever is wise"
Hosea ends his book with a line meant for us, not just Israel: "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things" (14:9). That's the invitation of this whole prophecy. Not just to watch Israel's rebellion and healing from a distance, but to see our own story in it, and to return.
Because we strain to break away and storm off, just as Israel did, just as Adrian sings. And still, God does not let go. Adrian closes the albums with a song called "I Believe," and its opening line is the wisdom Hosea leaves us with:
***“***If I become a storm
Or if I blaze in rebellion against Him
Is He not still the one bleeding in my wounds?
My cries still praise, my cries still praise…
We cannot let go of each other
Not me of He
Nor I of Him…”
Whoever is wise, let him understand. Return, O Israel. He will heal you.
City of Peace, Pt. 1 - Moriah (Spotify, Apple Music)
City of Peace, Pt. 2 - My Every Breath (Spotify, Apple Music)
Adrian Snell wrote “Lion of Judah”, which opens with Hosea 6:1-3. It is situated between two other songs that illustrate the progression from guilt to repentance to healing and restoration. “The Cry” comes first, in which God hauntingly cries out to Cain over Abel’s spilled blood: “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!” Then in “Lion of Judah”, Adrian sings that God has “torn us into pieces” and “with humble hearts, we come.” Finally, “Children of the Dream” rings with the hope of Psalm 126: “When the Lord returned again the captive ones to Zion, we were children of the dream.” He illustrates Israel’s journey. From rebellion and its consequences, to repentance, and to restoration. Return, O Israel. ****