Read: Hosea 6-7
“Come, let us return to the Lord!” This is the plea of Hosea as he urgently
exhorts the people to return to God. Even
though Israel deserved punishment, the God of mercy stood ready to restore His
people and heal their nation. With
repentance they can be fully restored. The
prophet assured them of God’s forgiveness if they repented. This forgiveness was as sure of the dawning
of the sun each day and as sure as the spring rains. God is compassionate, with genuine repentance
there would be not only forgiveness but restored blessing. God asks a rhetorical question in 6:4, “What shall I do with you?” The faithfulness of the people was like the
dew that disappeared quickly in the morning.
In His loving concern, God sent prophets to warn the people but now the
words of the prophets will be fulfilled – the people will experience judgment
(6:5). He then gets to the heart of the
matter in 6:6. The sacrificial system
was never meant to be an end in itself but as an expression of genuine love and
commitment to the Lord and His holy ways.
Any offering without sincere faithfulness to the Lord and true
acknowledgement to Him was meaningless ritual.
What the Lord desired was devotion, not rituals. The Israelites lived like they could do
whatever they wanted (including cultic pagan worship) as long as they turned up
at the temple and took part in the necessary sacrifices and festivals. God says that true worship is not found in
saying the right words or obeying rituals but in trying to live according to
the will of God. God desired their
hearts. Just like Adam failed and was
exiled from the Garden, Israel had failed and would be exiled from the Promised
Land. Hosea declared that even the
priests were corrupt (6:9) like a murderous gang of thieves. One of the most disgusting aspects of
Israel’s rebellion was their sexual sin (6:10).
Because of this a harvest time is coming (6:11a). Even though God has tried to woo His people
through the prophets because of their deep sin and moral wickedness they didn’t
even notice what He was trying to do so they did not receive the healing that
He promised. In fact, it was so bad that
their evil made the king glad (7:3). Their
spiritual adultery is likened to four different things. First, an oven that is supposed to be kept
hot while the dough rises (7:4) except the baker doesn’t show the needed
attention to the flames. He then uses
the illustration of a cake that is half baked.
The basic problem here is that they have failed to seek the Lord
(7:10). The third image is that of a
dove. Doves are often noted for their
good qualities but Hosea is clear that this dove is without sense (7:11) by
making secret alliances with the two opposing powers of Egypt and Assyria. The last picture is that of a treacherous bow
(7:16). Bows that lose their tension so
that the archer cannot hit his intended target are very dangerous. Israel’s relaxed attitude towards God will
cause them to fail.
Prayer and Journaling
1. God is compassionate. Each time we turn to Him with genuine
repentance we are forgiven. Ask the
Lord to show you the depth of the forgiveness that He has given you, if you
have sincerely repented. Spend some time
thanking Him for His love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness.
2. God says that true worship is not found in
saying the right words or obeying rituals but in trying to live according to
the will of God. Sometimes it’s easy to
get caught in the trap of going through the motions without engaging with
God. Re-read Hosea 6:6, mediating on
it. What does God want to say to you
today about this? How does this verse
apply to your life?
3. Pray for believers to experience a deepened
awareness of the need to walk in genuine relationship with God. Pray for many people in our church to model
this in the way they live their lives.
Pray for the church to grow in authentic worship of God.
