Hosea · chapter 6 of 14
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Hosea 6 begins with a call from the people to return to the Lord, who wounds and heals and will raise them on the third day. God answers that their love is like the morning cloud and like dew that goes away early. He declares that he wants steadfast love and knowledge of God more than sacrifice, and denounces the betrayal of the covenant in cities like Gilead and Shechem.
Hosea 6 follows the withdrawal of God in Hosea 5. It is a chapter of contrast: beautiful words of repentance, followed by God's question about how long they will last. It contains one of the most quoted verses of the book, the one that speaks of love and knowledge of God more than sacrifice, which Jesus took up in the Gospels.
A group speaks: come, let us return to the Lord, for he has torn us and will heal us, he has struck us and will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, and we will live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn, and he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rains that water the earth. Interpreters debate whether these words reflect sincere repentance or a superficial confidence that God will forgive without anything changing; God's answer leans toward the latter.
God answers with a painful question: what shall I do with you, Ephraim, and what shall I do with you, Judah? Their love is like a morning cloud and like the dew that goes early away. That is why he has hewn them by the prophets and killed them by the words of his mouth, and his judgment goes forth like the light. He declares that he desires steadfast love and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
But they, like Adam, transgressed the covenant, and there they dealt faithlessly with him. Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with blood. Like bands of robbers, the priests murder on the way to Shechem, and they have committed shameful acts. In the house of Israel God has seen a horrible thing: there is the whoredom of Ephraim and Israel is defiled. For Judah also a harvest is appointed, when God restores the fortunes of his people.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Come, let us return to the Lord: he has torn us and he will heal us. The words are correct in their theology, because they acknowledge that only God wounds and heals, but God will question whether the heart goes with them.
God asks what he will do with Ephraim and Judah, whose love is like the morning cloud and like the dew that soon disappears. A repentance that lasts a short time does not change a life.
God desires steadfast love and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. He does not reject the worship he himself commanded, but worship without love or obedience; Jesus quotes this phrase to defend compassion.
Like Adam, they transgressed the covenant and were faithless to God. The text is debated in translation: it may refer to the first man or to a place called Adam, but in both cases it points to the deliberate breaking of a relationship.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That he has torn them and will heal them, struck them and will bind them up, and will raise them up on the third day. — Hosea 6:1-2
Answer: To the morning cloud and to the dew that goes early away. — Hosea 6:4
Answer: Steadfast love and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. — Hosea 6:6
Answer: They transgressed the covenant and were faithless to God. — Hosea 6:7
Answer: That the priests murder on the way, like bands of robbers. — Hosea 6:9
Answer: That a harvest is also appointed for him, when God restores his people. — Hosea 6:11
Hosea 6 invites us to examine the kind of repentance we offer. It is easy to say the right words after a problem and go back to the old ways. In a class or small group you can ask what concrete fruits accompany our prayers of confession.
The phrase I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice protects against a religion of appearances. For those who serve in the church, it is a call that meetings, programs and offerings not replace love for God and neighbor. And for those who know they have failed, the invitation of verse 1 stands: the God who wounds is the same one who heals.
Hosea 6 leaves an open question: what shall I do with you? In Hosea 7 God will show how deep Israel's corruption runs, from the palace to alliances with other nations, even though he would like to heal it.
The text speaks of God raising up the people on the third day, as an image of national renewal, and the New Testament does not cite it explicitly. Some Christians see an echo of Christ's resurrection, while others prefer to see it as language of restoration. It is best to present it with caution.
God does not reject the sacrifices he commanded in the law, but those offered without loyal love or knowledge of God. Jesus quotes this verse when he defends eating with sinners and healing on the Sabbath as reflecting God's heart, and uses it to teach that compassion is not optional.
The Hebrew text allows translating as Adam, the first man, or at Adam, a place. In both cases the sense is that Israel broke its commitment to God knowingly, as the command given in the garden was broken.