In our study of Hosea chapter six, we look at the promise that God made to His people to bring restoration. In chapter 5, we saw how Israel's relationship with God was broken by their disobedience.
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Come, let us return to ADONAI; for he has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck, and he will bind our wounds.
The prophet issues the call for Israel to return to the Lord. He described how their relationship was torn apart but that God brings healing. That same promise is for each and every one of us.
After two days, he will revive us; on the third day, he will raise us up; and we will live in his presence.
Although these words were spoken to God's people about 750 years before their fulfillment, they clearly point to the fact that Jesus Christ is the only way for the healing to come. Throughout the Bible, the number three is associated with the earthly display of God's will and we see that it was His will to repair the relationship through Jesus. This verse is a clear picture of the coming death and resurrection of Jesus.
Let us know, let us strive to know ADONAI. That he will come is as certain as morning; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rains that water the earth.
The number two, throughout the Bible, is the number of witnessing as it was the number of people required to establish something as fact. Here, we see, in the repetition of the call to acknowledge the Lord, that the truth is man cannot repair their relationship with God and that it can only come by accepting what Jesus has done. The promise is as sure as the rising of the sun and the harvest is guaranteed by the coming of the rains.
"Efrayim, what should I do to you? Y'hudah, what should I do to you? For your 'faithful love' is like a morning cloud, like dew that disappears quickly.
Here, God compares the love of His people for Him to the dew that appears in the morning. When the sun comes up and the day begins, the dew begins to disappear. The same type of thing happened with Israel and can even happen with us today. We can get caught up in our daily lives and drift away from the daily call of the Lord on our lives.
This is why I have cut them to pieces by the prophets, slaughtered them with the words from my mouth - the judgment on you shines out like light. For what I desire is mercy, not sacrifices, knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
God did not want mere rituals performed by people but instead wanted His people to turn their hearts towards Him. He would send the prophets to warn and correct them but many times they would not listen and so suffer judgment. It is much the same way with God's people today in that many just want to fulfill what they see as their obligation (going to worship, tithing, etc.) but really don't want the true walking with God on a daily basis.
"But they, just like men, have broken the covenant, they have been faithless in dealing with me.
In Leviticus 26, God set the conditions of the covenant between Himself and Israel. This was a covenant of obedience and the first part was to stay away from idolatry. During Hosea's time this covenant had been broken by God's people.
Gil'ad is a city of criminals, covered with bloody footprints; just as bands of robbers wait to ambush someone, so does a gang of cohanim. They commit murder on the road to Sh'khem! Their conduct is an outrage!
God compares the priests to murderers as they are leading the people to idolatry. They were supposed to worship in Jerusalem but were teaching the people to go elsewhere for worship and was in disobedience to God. This reminds us of what Paul was telling Titus about sound teaching and its importance (see Titus 2).
In the house of Isra'el I have seen a horrible thing; whoring is found there in Efrayim, Isra'el is defiled.
In going to worship God in any place that they chose, they were trying to make God to be the "god" that they wanted. This is idolatry or what is referred to here as prostitution. The same type of thing is going on today in the body of Christ as men are trying to shape God into a form that complies to their ways of thinking. A good example of this, today, is the fact that many preach that God is a God of love and that He would not condemn any man and so we are all going to heaven no matter what we believe.
For you, too, Y'hudah, a harvest will come! "When I restore the fortunes of my people,
God promises a judgment day (harvest) for all men and that day is set. On that day, all will be brought back to life and God's people will receive their rewards. (see Revelation 22:12)
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