Roots Before Branches 

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     Let me understand this: first a seed, then roots, then branches.      Got it! Cedar roots spread normally, as deep as six feet. But, one root, the tap root, may reach 25 feet in depth. Cedar trees...figures of speech.

Roots

     The book of Hosea. Punishment ends. The Messiah comes: 

     Chapter 14:4, "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them." 

     Ch. 14:5, "Like a cedar of Lebanon, he will send down his roots, his young shoots will grow." 

Branches

     Ch. 14:6, "His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon." 

     Ch. 14:7, "He will blossom like a vine and his fame will be like wine from Lebanon."

     Ch. 14:8, "I am like a green pine; your fruitfulness comes from me."  

     Ch. 14:9, "Who is wise? Who is discerning? The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them." 

     After punishment, God would heal and restore them. Their life would be like the cedars of Lebanon; the people would be strong, highly prized and deeply rooted in all God's Word. 

     Who is wise? True wisdom involves receiving God and his ways. Wisdom in the Bible is never just intellectual skill; it is always practical and includes a right relationship with the lord. 

     Deepening roots. What roots feed the branches becomes a fragrance for God. 

     Psalm 92:12, "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.

     The temple and palace with all their cedar were destroyed. Only those with God in their hearts (roots) would remain.

The promise in Hosea and Psalm 92 is yet to be fulfilled.