Hosea 6:6

Hosea 6:6 says, For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.  God was not looking for empty acts of worship, but for the hearts of His people to be changed.  They were to show mercy and be in a real relationship with God.  Wearing a cross, or even carrying a Bible everywhere, means very little if we don't have mercy for all those around us.  If we want to keep God for a particular group of people or limit Him to a particular place or particular area of our lives, then we are never going to please God.  God calls us to be changed people.  We are to show God to the world, not by symbols and occasional practices, but by the way we live our lives every day.  If we have no mercy for those around us, or even for those anywhere in the world, we cannot witness for God as we should.  Verse seven adds, But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacrously against me.  God's people had transgressed the covenant they had with God.  Covenants, or contracts seem to mean very little anymore.  An example would be people who had a contract with a company for retirement benefits, but suddenly the company declares the pension fund bankrupt.  There are many more we could cite, but usually when a contract, or covenant is broken, the one with the most power breaks it.  This is never true with God.  He has all the power, but it is people who break the covenant and never God.  Verse eight continues, Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.  This tells us the result of God's people acting with treachery toward God.  What should have been a city of refuge was a city polluted with blood.  As followers of Christ, when people come to us seeking help, we should offer them a place of refuge, not a place of condemnation.  We can look at the news about the world today and see that there are many more places filled with blood than there are places of refuge.  This still falls under the showing of mercy and not just empty worship.  There was indeed no balm in Gilead at this time.  Verse nine states, And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.  God said the priests in that day were no better than the other people.  They murdered by consent and acted with lewdness toward others.  We today as followers of Christ are a priesthood of believers, and we need to make sure that we do not endorse sinful acts or commit lewd acts toward God. When we offer empty sacrifices and worship to God, this is exactly what we are doing.  Verse ten adds, I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled. This is a sad commentary on God's people.  Since they chased after false gods, they were defiled before God.  Verse eleven continues, Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.  God had rescued Judah from captivity, but they were also turning to false Gods and would soon fall also without God's power keeping them safe.  We today as followers of Christ have been delivered from the power of sin, and we need to make sure that we do not begin to chase after false gods.

Hosea 6:1

Hosea 6:1 says, Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.  This is a call for the return of God's people to Him so that they might be healed.  We can never be truly healed of the results of sin, which will indeed tear us down, until we return to God to be lifted up by Him.  Israel and Judah had felt secure in their place in the world without God, relying on their own abilities.  When God left them without His protection, they were defeated and torn apart as a nation.  Verse two adds, After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.  After calling for the people of Israel and Judah to return to Him, He told them that He had provided the way for them to be restored.  I believe this verse refers to the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah so long awaited by God's people.  Too often, though, when time passed without the appearance of the Messiah, the people began to look to other gods for their salvation. We today cannot be impatient with God.  Verse three continues, Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.  Hosea told the people of Israel that there was still hope.  He said they could know this hope if they followed God.  We today have that same promise.  We do not have to guess if we put our faith in Christ.  We can know that we are God's children forever. Hosea told them when they returned to God, He would restore and refresh them.  Verse four states, O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.  This did not mean that God did not know what He should do to them but was more of a question of what they really thought He should do.  Their goodness melted away like the morning cloud and early dew, quickly passing away.  Even they should know what they deserved from God, and that was punishment for their sins.  The same is true today.  If our faith melts away at the first temptation, then we are deserving of God's punishment.  It is only through faith in Christ that we can be restored.  Verse five adds, Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.  Hosea said God had sent His prophets to hew His people, to call them to cut out the idolatry and sinful actions.  God sent His words to them, and was like a light that went before them, if they would only listen and see.  God's word and light are still here in the world today, if we will only listen and see.

Hosea 5:6

Hosea 5:6 says, They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.  After worshipping other gods, God's people would finally start seeking Him.  Matthew Henry points out this was most likely directed at Judah, who did still worship God, but they did not worship Him exclusively.  We never find God of our own ability, but He finds us through His mercy and grace.  Verse seven adds, They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions. God was telling His people that they were not dealing with Him honestly.  They were to be children of God through their faith in Him, but they were leading their children to be strangers to God.  We as followers of Christ have a responsibility to God to teach our children about Him.  They may not always listen, but that does not relieve us of the responsibility to tell them.  If we fail to do so, they may end up as the children of Israel in Hosea's day, being strangers to God.  Verse eight continues, Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.  Through two cities, one in Judah and one in Israel, God was sounding the warning to both kingdoms. It was too late to sound the trumpet in Bethaven, or Bethel, since it had already fallen, but the people could still cry a warning. The entire kingdom, divided or not, was going to fall.  If we begin to stray from God, someone needs to sound the alarm.  Israel and Judah, God's chosen people, had turned to other gods, and they fell captive to other nations.  We should never feel that we are above the same thing.  Verse nine states, Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.  God had made known to His people what was going to happen, and there could be no doubt what would occur.  They, divided kingdom or not, were all turning to false gods, and God was removing His protective hand.  Verse ten adds, The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.  Judah was following Israel in rebelling against God, so they to were going to lose His protection.  We need to be careful that when we see a fellow Christian fall into sin that we do not start feeling superior to them.  We are all sinners saved by grace. Verse eleven continues, Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.  Ephraim, one of the tribes of Israel, willing followed the commandment of the king to worship the false idols.  God pronounced the result of this idolatry.  They would be oppressed and broken.  Verse twelve says, Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.  A moth destroys silently, and rottenness destroys by infecting everything it stays in contact with.  God was not going to loudly destroy Ephraim and Judah, who were mentioned here, but was going to let them be eaten up or rotted away from their own sins.  Verse thirteen adds, When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.  When God's people saw what was happening, they didn't turn to God, but to other worldly leaders.  If we find ourselves overcome due to sin we can look to God alone for restoration.  Verse fourteen continues, For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.  God's judgment would be like a lion, and no one could rescue His people until they repented and returned to Him.  We must rely on God alone to deliver us from the power and consequences of sin.  Verse fifteen concludes, I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.  God was removing His protection until His people acknowledged their sins and sought Him again.  He would stand ready to come to them again as their God.  If we allow sin into our lives, until we repent and ask God's forgiveness, we cannot enjoy all the blessings He awaits to pour out on us.

Hosea 5:1

Hosea 5:1 says, Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.  In their prosperity, Hosea was warning them that God's judgment was coming.  We may feel so secure in our own wealth that we begin to forget God and attribute our success to our own abilities, but we must never allow this attitude if we are truly followers of Christ.  Israel was warned of the coming judgment against them, because the priests and kings had become corrupt.  We today can expect no less.  We cannot be unfaithful to God and still expect Him to bless us.  If we want God to bless America again, we must start by blessing Him.  I think we have become too much like Israel was in Hosea's day, professing to be God's people while ignoring His leadership.  We, of our own merit, are no more deserving of God's blessing than people anywhere in the world.  The nation of Israel in Hosea's day had become vain.  They felt that God would be with them no matter what.  We today need to be careful that we don't become the same way.  Verse two adds, And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.  Those who were revolting against God were profound in their beliefs, but that did not make them right.  We can be deeply convinced of our beliefs, but if they go against the word of God, they will always be wrong.  Hosea, as God's prophet, rebuked them, from priests to rulers.  We today must speak out against sin, no matter who is proclaiming it to be right.  Verse three continues, I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled. The people of Ephraim and Israel, those who had been chosen by God to represent Him, were not hiding their sin from Him.  They may have thought that God wasn't involved in the world when they felt they didn't need Him, but they were sadly mistaken.  The same holds true today.  Verse four states, They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.  They had become arrogant in their sin.  They would not put an end to their sin and turn to God.  There was an even greater indictment in that Hosea said they had not known God.  We have to wonder how this could be true of God's chosen people, but many today who call themselves God's people refuse to acknowledge Him.  They reject the truth that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone.  Verse five adds, And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.  The people of Israel had pride in themselves, but Hosea gave them a warning that all God's people were going to fall due to their sins.  Judah may have lasted longer, but iniquity would also claim them in time as they turned away from God.

Hosea 4:10

Hosea 4:10 says, For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.  I believe God was warning His people that no matter how well off they became materially, they were never going to be satisfied because they were no longer faithful to God.  When we begin to look for peace and purpose in the things of this world and forget God's will for us, we will never be satisfied.  There is a saying that you can never be too rich, but if riches are seen as an end unto themselves, without being placed under God's guidance in their use, then I do not believe this to be true.  When we start chasing after material things instead of following God, we will never be satisfied.  Verse eleven adds, Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.   God was still referring to the relationship between Israel and Himself.  When they started chasing after other gods and physical pleasure, their hearts were turned from obedience to God.  We today can let things slip between God and us as we follow other gods.  I think of those who follow horoscopes, for example, to determine what they will do each day.  Verse twelve continues, My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.  I believe that what God was saying in this verse is that His people were looking to false religious symbols to guide their lives, much like following things like horoscopes today.  God calls it the spirit of whoredoms, or that cheating of His people in their relationship to Him.  We cannot be faithful followers of Christ and look to anything in this world to guide us spiritually but the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirteen states, They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.  God said that His people were very open in their religious ceremonies, but they were not worshipping Him.  As followers of Christ, God's people in the world today, we need to make sure that when we are openly worshipping that we are doing it for the glory of God and not our own glory.  Verse fourteen adds, I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.  I believe God was saying that He sometimes just allows people to go on in their sins with no immediate punishment.  Matthew Henry equated this with people being given over to vile affections as Romans 1:24 would later say.  These were the people who called themselves God's people and felt that just claiming that made them special.  Verse fifteen continues, Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.  Judah, part of the divided nation, had not become as corrupt as Israel.  Israel was more prosperous, and Judah could have been tempted to follow after them and chase false gods.  Verse sixteen says, For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.  The nation of Israel had turned away from God, and He was going to remove His protective hand from them.  We cannot expect to call ourselves God's people and follow other gods and still expect His guidance and protection.  Verse seventeen adds, Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.  I believe that this is God's warning that we must avoid those who claim to be His but are committed to false gods. We must leave them alone.  Verse eighteen continues, Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.  The nation of Israel was committed to following false gods and the rulers were only looking out for what would bring them the most reward materially.  Verse nineteen concludes, The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.  Though the people of Israel, God's chosen people, might be feeling prosperous and not in need of God, there was coming a day when they would be ashamed of their idolatry.

Hosea 4:5

Hosea 4:5 says, Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.  God was warning the people of Israel that they were going to be destroyed because of their actions.  God was not allowing them to fall as a nation because of any failure on His part.  The people of Israel as a nation had turned their backs on God, and even the prophets had become corrupt. People today, even followers of Christ, often do not want to hear what God teaches, but put their faith in the things of the world.  I will state again that as followers of Christ, when we do not follow His leadership, that does not mean we are uno longer saved, but it does mean that we are no longer effective witnesses for Christ and no longer find satisfaction in life.  God's promise to Abraham was still in effect.  Those who were truly God's people, though small in numbers would still see His promise fulfilled.  Today people of the world, those who would love to eliminate God from any aspect of life, refuse to listen to those who proclaim God, and do everything they can discredit those who proclaim Him.  Verse six adds, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  I do not believe that the warning could have been more direct.  Those who called themselves God's people had no knowledge of Who He really is.  If we forget the knowledge of God, we will no longer be a priest, one set aside to serve God, to Him.  When we forget the law of God, He will allow us to suffer the consequences in this old sinful world.  It was a sad thing that God was going to forget those who were to be His representatives in the world.  Again, this was based on their forgetting His law.  We today may display God's law on signs and monuments, but until it is written in our hearts and directs our actions, it is but an empty display.  Verse seven continues, As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.  God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be vast in numbers, but here God says that as their numbers increased, they sinned against Him.  Today, the numbers of those who profess to be followers of Christ may be great, but many sin against Him by proclaiming other requirements in order to obtain salvation than simply faith in His sacrifice.  God said He would change their glory into shame. When we glory in our own abilities instead of God's abilities, we will end up shamed in God's eyes. Verse eight concludes, They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.  God said those calling themselves His people were full of sin and set their hearts, their innermost nature, on iniquity.  When we allow other things to get between God and us, we are chasing after iniquity.  Verse nine states, And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.  None of God's people, including the priests, those who were to represent Him to His people, can sin without expecting a penalty to have to be paid.  As followers of Christ, we never lose our relationship with God if we sin again, but we lose our effectiveness and the joy that salvation brings.  Sin is never without consequences.

Hosea 4:1

Hosea 4:1 says, Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Hosea begins to tell the people more directly what awaits them due to their disobedience to God.  God had a controversy with them.  We can be certain today that if God has a controversy with us that it is not due to His being wrong.  Hosea listed some things that caused God to have a controversy with His people.  God said there was no truth, mercy or knowledge of God in the land.  We need to remember that this was Israel, the ones that called themselves God's people, that God was speaking to through the prophet Hosea.  There was no truth, mercy or knowledge of God in the nation of Israel as a group at that time.  As a nation that calls itself a Christian nation, are we becoming guilty of the same thing?  We continue to try and remove the name of God from as many places as we can.  We seem to too often seek revenge against instead of showing mercy to those who harm or even just offend us.  We often attempt to change the truth, that which is based on God's word, to a lie based on the knowledge of man.  Verse two adds, By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.  As the sins increased, so would the murders, or blood touching blood as Hosea stated it.  These do not sound like the actions expected of God's people, but the are what was happening in those days.  Unfortunately, they still occur today with some who call themselves followers of Christ. God was sending a warning to Israel through Hosea, and He will send a warning to us today when we fail to follow His will.  Verse three continues, Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.  God was warning the people of Israel, His chosen people, that their rebellion against Him would have consequences.  The same is true for His followers today.  If we are truly followers of Christ, we are forever saved, but we may lose all the joy of that salvation if we begin to allow the things of this world to creep back into our lives.  No matter how successful we may become in the view of the world, we will never be successful in God's view.  The nation of Israel at this time were relying on their own abilities and not the mercy of God.  God warned that He was going to remove His mercy and protection from them until they once again trusted in Him.  Verse four concludes, Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.  People today, like those in Israel in the time of Hosea, do not want anyone to tell them that what they are doing is wrong, especially from a priest, which means a representative of God to the people.  So much of the world today denies the very existence of God, so we as His followers must stand firmly in His truth.