August 15, Hosea 6
"What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early." - Hosea 6:4
Sometimes preachers or writers find a text that sounds like it fits the point they want to make. Unless they're careful to examine the verse in context, they may misuse the words and give them a meaning that they did not have in the original setting.
Hosea 6 begins with some fine sounding words that would make an excellent text for some important subjects. These words express the noble ideas of mutual encouragement and our need for repentance. They admonish us to turn from sin, turn to God and trust his mercy. They anticipate God's blessings. They express confidence that God will surely heal, revive and refresh their spirits.
That's all fine. God said in the last verse of the preceding chapter that he was waiting for them to acknowledge their guilt and seek his face. Israel and Judah needed to say (and do) these things. But there is no evidence from Scripture or contemporary history that Israel or Judah ever acted on those lofty expressions of intent.
Maybe the people never said any of this in response to Hosea and the other late prophets. Perhaps these words were the words of Hosea or God, modeling what the idolatrous people's response should have been. That seems to be the case in light of the text verse, where God expressed exasperation with their expressions of love that evaporated before they ever became demonstrations of love. God didn't need advice about what to do. He asked the question as an introduction to a history of what he had already done, and a prophecy of what he was going to do in judgment against the rebellious idolaters.
God did not discount the importance of obeying the law about sacrifices and offerings when he said he desired steadfast love and knowledge of himself more than sacrifice and burnt offerings. He called them to match their lives with their worship. As Jesus would put it to the Christ-rejecting Pharisees centuries later, "These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."
But the history of the human race and the nation of Israel was a sad display of disobedience and rebellion against a loving God. Israel and Judah enjoyed special favor and privilege as the people God chose out of all other nations. But they betrayed God by breaking the covenant he made with them and prostituting themselves with idols. The Lord rebuked them both, because both were guilty of abandoning their covenant. In light of their disobedience and impenitence, God appointed a harvest to come. It would be a bitter harvest of wrath and ruin.
When you and I suffer the consequences of disobeying God, we need to rekindle our faith and trust and see the hardship as corrective discipline from God's own hand. We have his sure promises that he will receive and restore those who return to him. We must guard our hearts and live our lives so that our profession of Jesus as Lord does not evaporate like the morning dew when temptation or trials come. Are we conscientious about worshiping God in the ways he's commanded? That's good, but it cannot compensate for disobedience in daily conduct. The law of sowing and reaping has never been repealed. Let's make sure we live our lives so that our harvest will be a joyful one, and not one of suffering and separation from our God.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—August 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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