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The Lord's People Speak
1Let's return to the Lord.
He has torn us to shreds,
but he will bandage our wounds
and make us well.
2In two or three days
he will heal us
and restore our strength
that we may live with him.
3Let's do our best
to know the Lord.
His coming is as certain
as the morning sun;
he will refresh us like rain
renewing the earth
in the springtime.
The Lord Speaks to
4People of Israel and Judah,
what can I do with you?
Your love for me disappears
more quickly than mist
or dew at sunrise.
5That's why I slaughtered you
with the words
of my prophets.
That's why my judgments blazed
like the dawning sun.
6 I'd rather for you to be faithful
and to know me
than to offer sacrifices.
7At a place named Adam,
you betrayed me
by breaking our agreement.
8Everyone in Gilead is evil;
your hands are stained
with the blood of victims.
9You priests are like a gang
of robbers in ambush.
On the road to Shechem
you murder and commit
other horrible crimes.
10I have seen a terrible thing
in Israel—
you are unfaithful
and unfit to worship me.
11People of Judah,
your time is coming too.
The Lord Wants To Help Israel
I, the Lord, would like to make
my nation prosper again
1and to heal its wounds.
But then I see the crimes
in Israel and Samaria.
Everyone is deceitful;
robbers roam the streets.
2No one realizes
that I have seen their sins
surround them like a flood.
Reflect
“Come, let us return to the Lord … let us press on to know the Lord” (6:1,3).
It’s one thing to consider that God takes an interest in human beings, encouraging us to follow his paths and allowing negative consequences to occur when we don’t. It’s another step to reflect on the possibility that God gets angry, withdraws blessing and, perhaps, inflicts hard times on stubborn and rebellious people.
That’s what Hosea was saying to the people in his generation, characterizing them as unfaithful and completely deserving God’s censure.
Yet Hosea was also able to soften his criticism with a call to repentance. He is convinced of the basic goodness of God, confident that God actually wants to bring healing and renewal to those who desire to be back in his good books. Despite the Lord’s severe chastening, return is always possible.
The work of restoration involves an element of human will. God is endlessly enticing, yet he does not compel. The prophet strongly encourages us to seek the Lord, and to trust that he will bring us back into his fold. “Let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers; like the spring rains that water the earth” (6:3).
And what does God want from us? In a word, love. What does God not want from us? Mere conformity to religious ritual. “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (6:6).
Reconciliation is the very heart of the Christian gospel. God wants his followers to orient their lives to his nature. He’s not much interested in religious practices that don’t effectively attune our hearts to God. He wants his ways to inform the ordinary of our lives.
Respond
O God, what can I do when I’ve wandered far from you? Simply return, and know that the one who created me in his image yearns for me to draw near, to know you better and love you more. God, in you mercy, draw me closer every day. Amen.
Doug Koop
Doug Koop is a writer currently serving as a Spiritual Health Practitioner at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. From 1987 to 2012 he worked as an editor with ChristianWeek newspaper, covering Christian faith and life in Canada. He and his wife, Margaret, are the parents of two adult sons and two daughters-in-law. http://www.christianweek.org http://www.promisekeepers.ca/seven/ http://digital.faithtoday.ca/faithtoday/20121112#pg1