Hosea 6

Week 5, Monday: The God Who heals
Hosea, speaking for God, calls the people to return to Him. He will deal harshly with His people, but His love means He will be ready to receive them back when they return. Hosea points the people beyond the judgment of God to His welcoming and receiving love.

We need to linger over verses 1-3, beginning with the first 2. Because returning to the Lord in order to know Him is a calling each of us needs to heed, every day.

And don’t miss the nod toward Jesus implicit in our passage for today.

Read Hosea 6

Meditate on Hosea 6.1, 2
1.  It is often characteristic of God’s prophets to identify with the people in their sin (“let us”), even though they themselves may not be guilty of the specific sins in view. Why is this a good idea?

2.  As strong as God can be in disciplining His people, He is just as strong in restoring them (v. 1). It is always the case, when God sends His prophets to warn the people of judgment, that He points beyond the judgment to a day of restoration. Judgment, as it was endured, would prove the reliability of God’s Word and the strength of His power. Given this, why was it important to hold out the offer of restoration before judgment actually began? What can we learn from this about trusting the Word of God?

3.  Notice the goal of God’s work of restoration at the end of verse 2. What does it mean for someone to “live in God’s sight” (the Hebrew is literally, “before His face”)?  

4.  The mention of “two” and “three” days for judgment is not to be taken literally (v. 2). Israel would suffer judgment much longer than that, and Judah for 70 years. It is likely that not even Hosea would have seen this phrase as a pointer to Christ, but we know it to be so. But wait: Who suffered for two days before the third day, the day of restoration? Does the suffering of Israel as a nation point to the suffering of Christ? If so, what does the suffering of Christ tell us about the judgment of God?

5.  What were the primary hindrances keeping the people of Israel from hearing Hosea’s call to return to the Lord? How can we prevent such hindrances from making us deaf to the Lord’s call for repentance?

Summary
God’s love never fails. Even in the midst of judgment, He points the way for sinful people to return to Him. How might memorizing this passage help you in your daily walk with the Lord?

Closing Prayer
But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.
I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.

Psalm 22.19-24

T. M. Moore

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A primary theme of the book of Hosea is Israel’s failure to keep covenant with the Lord. God’s covenant is a central theme and provides the organizing motif for all of Scripture. Learn more about God’s covenant by ordering a copy of T. M.’s book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.