Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah
5:1 Hear this, O priests!
Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For the judgment is for you;
for you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread upon Tabor.
2 And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter,
but I will discipline all of them.
3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
Israel is defiled.
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
Judah also shall stumble with them.
6 With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
for they have borne alien children.
Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;
we follow you, O Benjamin!
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I make known what is sure.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like those who move the landmark;
upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after filth.
12 But I am like a moth to Ephraim,
and like dry rot to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.
But he is not able to cure you
or heal your wound.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me. (ESV)
Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant
6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
4 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 early away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood.
9 As robbers lie in wait for a man,
so the priests band together;
they murder on the way to Shechem;
they commit villainy.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.
11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed,
when I restore the fortunes of my people.
(ESV)
6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
God uses judgment to bring his people back to him. Reminds me of the book of Judges where time and again the people would sin, God would judge them, they would cry out for help and God would save them. Hebrews 12:6 says that God punishes the ones he loves. I want to accept punishment from God. But I also want the punishment from God to lead me to repentance. I’m so thankful God is a loving God that is involved in my every day life. I can’t get away from him.
Mmmm amen Meisha. Let’s be contradictions that love to get punished! Great post!
amen!
Mhhhmmm, when we were young baby Christians we didn’t understand the punishment but now we do as older more mature ones, and now we enjoy it! Another way we stand out for Him in this world. Great comment!
5:4 Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord.
Oh no! God says that these people have drifted so far away from God that He is saying they can never return to Him. But how can that be? Doesn’t it even say in v. 15 that “I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me”?
Well here’s my opinion, and please correct me if I’m wrong. God’s mercy means that He is willing to accept any sinner if they “earnestly seek” God. However, these people He is addressing have gotten so far into sin and adultery that it has hardened their heart to the point of never wanting God again. Just like Pastor Bobby once said in a sermon, once a person lives in sin enough their conscience will be scorched to the point of being numb. However, that is all the more reason we should seek God today! Before our hearts become hard, we must turn from our lives and start living for Christ!!
6:4 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 early away.
God’s main beef with Israel and Judah here is that their love is temporary. It’s powerful one minute, non-existent the other. They’re on fire one minute, but ice cold the other. Christ specifically said that it is these kind of people he wants to puke out of His mouth. I want to never be this kind of person, who only calls on God’s help or will when hard times come. I resolve to keep my love for Christ strong 24/7, augmenting it every day.
Great comment Dominic! I also never want to be the kind of person who calls on God and desires Him only when they are in trouble! Thank you for your encouraging comment this morning!
5:3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
Israel is defiled.
Israel thought that God couldn’t see her play the whore and follow after other gods and idols. Because Israel had mixed in the worship of the true God with other false gods, Israel assumed that God would be okay with it. But God sees through the deception, and knows of Israel’s true heart. He knows that they don’t truly worship Him. God knows everything that we do. He knows of our external actions, as well as our hearts. We need to be checking our motives for doing what we do, for the Lord knows all. I need to be doing things for the glory of the Lord, not just to check the box and go through the motions.
6:4 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 early away.
Israel and Judah’s love are compared to dew or morning clouds. What does this mean? It means that their love shows up for a little while, then disappears. They love God for a little, but then get caught up in idolatry and ignore Him. This has been the pattern throughout Israel’s history, like in the time of the Judges. Then God raised up a judge (not a courthouse judge; a judge then was a leader or governor) to lead the people in holiness and in conquest. But once the judge died, the people went right back into sin. It was going on in the time of the judges, and it was happening at the time when Hosea was penned. Even today, God’s people don’t love Him as they should; we lose our first love for God. This is something that we have talked about in True North many times. I am praying that the Lord will return me to my first love of Him, when I was so passionate and on fire for His glory! I need to stop loving God like the dew, and love Him all of the time with all of my heart!
I agree Cameron!! We cannot fool God!! He knows all of our thoughts and our motives!! We should be striving to our best to make them pleasing to God!! :)
Israel is defiled.
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
good deeds and being a good person wont get you intp Heaven. what will is repenting and turning away from our sins. we need to make that 180 turn if we havent already. and after that, we need to behave like a christian. so its okay to do good deeds and being a really good person, but you need to know that that it will not get you to Heaven.
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
this sounds alot like when Jesus comes back. He will return again and many people will be taken with Him back to Heaven, while others are left behind. the tribulation is a scary time to be living in. no one wants to be here when that time comes. all there will be is sin sin and even more sin! if we are already saved, i think its important that we start telling unsaved people about God’s Word and how we will spend eternity with Him. amen.
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
God did not delight in the religious deeds that were performed by the Israelites. They would come to him in worship with impure hearts and oftentimes would merely add the worship of the Lord to the worship of other gods. This worship was not pleasing to the Father. He demands our whole heart and not merely religious acts.
Matthew 15:8 says, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” I need to examine my heart to see what is stealing my love for the Lord. At times that could be my own comfort, my friends, my family, or my own pride. Let’s do a heart check today to make sure that we are giving the Lord our whole heart! May there be no other god in my heart.
1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
These verses are such an encouragement! After israelites sinned and didnt follow Gods commands for the promise land, God still forgives them. Of cource He was mad, but God is a forgiving God. Now this doesnt mean I can just go on sinning and always know God will forgive me. I need to put every effort into striving for holiness and repenting of my sins daily.
These two chapters show the two ways you can go in response to being in sin and being disciplined by God.
In CHAPTER 5 it is clear that they continue in sin because they don’t really have a relationship with God.
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
This is a very scary place to be. In Hebrews 10:26 and the following verses it describes someone who knows the truth but doesn’t do it, they deliberately keep on sinning instead. All this person has to look forward to is the fearful expectation of judgment. Yikes! It is so sad to see young people today who have had the privilege of growing up in the church and yet they still want to live like the world and don’t walk in God’s ways. I am praying for those I know at True North, that they will repent!
In CHAPTER 6 we see a group of people who returns to the Lord (this chapter is probably a prophesy of what Israel will do in the future as described in the book of Revelation). Instead of continuing in sin they want to return to the Lord. They realize why he has judged them and learn from it.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
I am praying that this is exactly what will happen to us in three weeks at REVIVAL X! I pray that all of us who are Christians will make sure we are living before the Lord in our maximum capacity and not trying to hide any sin in our lives. And I pray for those among us who have never known God, that this will be the time they truly repent of their sins and turn to him. Please join me in praying for a great revival among us in just 22 days!
See you at True North this weekend for Searching for Treasure #2!
Lookin forward to it pastor Bobby Arrrrrg!
Once again..WOW. Chapter 5&6 seem to be all about how the people responded to God’s words..in chapter 5, the people were sinful and they chose to stay sinful because they didn’t think they had a relationship with God and thought they couldn’t be saved (4 Their deeds do not permit them, to return to their God.For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord)….in chapter 6, some people realized that God’s tests were there for a reason and they chose to return to Him, because they knew He was the only way.
I really liked Chapter 6 verse 6….”For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” To me..this says that God doesn’t want sacrifices and burnt offerings..he wants steadfast love and the knowledge of God. Hosea is confusing at moments, but so extremely powerful & reminds me that I’m walking the narrow and hard road, that can be confusing or not make sense..but at least it is a better road than the wide and easy one. I’m trying to walk TRUE NORTH on the NARROW road to Him.
You are seeking God, in his Word, He is teaching you, He strengthens you, not yourself. This is a truth God teaches us in
His Word. Heres a verse for us in 2 Tim. 4:17 Where Ben was teaching us at the Welcome the freshman n00b night! ( which was 2 much fun)
But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. Seeking God is where our strength comes from. <3
xox
Great Comment Megan! See you this weekend! :]
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
While the Israelites were commanded by God to offer sacrafices for the sins of the people, it was not so much the action of the sacrifice that pleased God but the heart behind it, it was still important however that they obey what was commanded of them. Obedience or external conformity to the Law is not the end all. What God desired for the Israelites as well as for His children today, and what brings him the most pleasure and glory is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Lk. 10:27) and to know God as He really is. The outflow of loving and knowing God will them be obedience to whatever God has called us to.
…”know God as He really is.” sounds good doesn’t it? Amen!
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
idk why this remind me of when i step out of TN and my home, my school people dont even know about God n dont care! Others that i hve talk to know about him “was”a christian. They know the truth and doesnt care…
6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
This verse i really like alot, it reminds me of how i was in the drakness i didnt know what true love is, how i wasnt saved and i was just living for myslef. How God just can turn us around repent and put are faith in him. & now i love for him. :)
thats awesome Anita and an encouragemnet to me! :)
6:3,6 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
His going out is sure as the dawn;
He will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
I’m enjoying reading Hosea!
This verse is so true of God,
and encouraging to my soul, yours too?
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Only God can give us a desire through His Holy Spirit and His Word for His steadfast love, and a knowledge of Him.
Thank you God for your Word, that we can study
it, and learn your Truths. I thank God for Bobby,Ben
and the other Pastors in our body we can capture legiT treasures from.
Hosea Chapter 5:
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
God CONTINUALLY tells us in Scripture that FEAR of Him is the start of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of Him.
When I pray, I ask God to grow my fear of Him, so that my understanding of Him, His Word, and His will would be easily molded and shaped in accordance with His sovereign perspective. I pray for Him to grow my fear of Him so that I would pledge my allegiance to Him by living in obedience to His commands, and go on to share His Gospel Message of Truth with people on a daily basis.
These chapters point out our desperate need for a Savior. We are sinful cheaters against our Maker. God will not tolerate sin! In Jesus Christ we have the perfect Lamb Who came to be sacrificed for all those who would be given over to His teaching, “Repent!” and, “Follow Me!”
Yes, I am praying on my hands and knees to our mighty God, for a mighty work to be done in the hearts of many, and may it culminate into such at Revival X, where we may be set on giving Him all our worship and all the glory.
Amen Stacy!
Right on Stacy, great comment today!
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Verse 5 talks about God’s judgment. God will judge everyone when he comes back for us, and he has our whole entire life written down. That is a scary thought, everything we have ever done, deeds or sins, God knows about. I just thought about this when I read “I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.” I really liked verse 6! God specifically says he wants steadfast love. He does not want us to just sacrifice to him, but he wants to be in a personal relationship with us where we have steadfast love for him. God will always love us, but not everyone loves God sadly. I am really enjoying reading through Hosea and I can’t wait to read more!
I am too! its awesome! <3
6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
Like Meisha said God used judgement to bring his people back to him. the only problem was they were habitually sinning and not stopping with their sin. We need to make sure we do not habitually sin or we can not call ourselves christians.
TRUTH Aubrey!
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
What a beautiful verse! This determination to pursue the Lord should be the desire of every Christian as we continually live by faith.
This verse should cause all of us to think about our own spiritual lives. Are we complacent and content that there does not seem to be any major sin in our lives? Or are we passionate about running faster and harder after the Lord than ever before? This verse has increased my excitement to pursue God!
me too! Pastor Ben!
Hosea 5:15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
When it says here that He will return to His place, it refers to the previous allusion of the Lord being like a lion. He will return to his den after attacking the people, and wait for them to seek Him. These people are so deep in their sin, that they have ignored their guilt completely. The Lord will not come and rescue them from their distress until they acknowledge this guilt that they have ignored, and seek God. In this time, it is what seems to be a never ending cycle. The people get a little out of control with their sin and forget about God, so He rains down punishment on them to make them remember, Then, in the midst of their distress, they turn once again to Him. However, after a few decades or so, as time passes, the people forget that the only reason they are NOT in distress in because of their God. They forget to earnestly seek Him, and start seeking their own pleasure over God’s.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
God expresses here what He REALLY wants from His people. Its easy to sin, then just sacrifice some animal after you do it so the sin just disappears. However, what God really wants is our steadfast love and knowledge of Him. The adjective “Steadfast” in our dictionary today means resolutely or dutifully firm or unwavering. This is what our love for God needs to be like. It needs to stand the test of time unlike the people in Hosea, and be firm and unshakeable. He also desires us to have knowledge of Him. Our God doesn’t want us to worship some mystic being who we know nothing about, He wants us to know Him and have a relationship with Him.
From both of these verses, I can apply a lot to my life. First, I need to learn from the mistakes of the people in this chapter. They continually fall in and out of sin. My prayer is that when I realize I sin, that I will acknowledge it, an the guilt that comes with it, and that I can turn to God in asking forgiveness. Second, I pray that I will always be eager to read the Bible and learn more about God because in order to have a good relationship with someone, you need to know a lot about them. I pray that my faith will always stand firm and that it will stand the test of time and tribulation.
Well said! your openness is so encouraging. Praise God!
wow really good post jen :)
ELLO… I read
I like verse 2,”After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.”
I like this verse because it talks about JESUS rising from the dead, but the thing is JESUS still hasn’t even come onto the earth yet. This is just another thing that proves the BIBLE true.
CYA
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
I have read this book many times, and I still keep learning something new each time. I love this verse. We can only gain understanding when we turn away from ourselves. Since God is everything; He knows everything; and He made everything. He is the person I need to rely on because only He can teach me that He is everything. We can see this throughout history many times where people go away from God and want their own things. Israelites were like this. This book teaches the Israelites that they need God and they need to get away from sinful things. I know for a fact that I need God, and I want God. He is the one that gave me breath and He is the one that can take it away. I can learn so much from Him, I know I have already. He has opened up my eyes to many things that I have not seen in the past. This all started because I repented, because I knew that I know nothing and I can do nothing because I did not have Christ. Hosea is just one of the many amazing books of the Bible that I can learn from.
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
I love this verse! God doesn’t want us to just go through the motions, he wants our heart and our full attention when we worship Him! We need to work on learning more about God and what He wants for our lives and getting a closer relationship with Him. Rather than making sure we go to church every weekend, its good to go to church though! Its a perfect place to learn more about God! But if we aren’t there to learn more about Him, then we are probably just going through the motions. God hates it when people go through the motions! In my opinion, its better to straight up say I am not a christian, than to lie and go through the motions and deceive everyone else, and maybe yourself.
Great Comment Kellie!
6.6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
WOW! (feel like I have said that almost every time) These two chapters were indeed tense. This verse really stood out to me and how God need to be my one and only desire. Going back, this reminds me of,
1 Peter 2:2-3
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation–if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
God should be a craving and I need to be wanting and growing in Him everyday! He has everything! And He can give strength, and knowledge, and wisdom, and love, and well you get the picture. He has it all yet it feels like so many turn and want to find those things in this world. God is what I need to go after and I need to keep my eyes fixed on Him and I need to crave Him and His Word everyday! Praise the Lord for always being there and still loving me through everything! What a mighty and AWESOME God we serve! :]
See you all at TRUE NORTH this weekend!
Yes! Definitely! We need God’s milk as many times a day as babies need milk! What an awesome thought, thanks for bringing that up! one of my personal favorite verse, Great comment! :D
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
God did not like the religious deeds that were performed by the Israelites. God is not happy when we only give him a small percentage of our lives. The israelites thought that if they just worshiped God with their other gods that they would be fine. God does not accept any compromise. He want steadfast love and no phony baloney actions that mean nothing to him unless your heart is in the right place and mindset, serving and worshiping God. Anyone can claim they are a christian, but their actions will tell you otherwise. If we have the knowledge of God and have a steadfast love for him, we can set a great example by the way we live our lives and have a relationship with God.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
This is an interesting statement; God is saying here that His Words are slaying these people. This is a scary thought; if you ignore the Scriptures as these people did, you are bringing judgment upon yourself. God is merciful, but he will not allow people to ignore and abuse Him and go unpunished. I need to make sure that I am applying what I learn through my daily Scripture reading and through sermons on the weekend, so that instead of incurring wrath I will become more sanctified like Jesus Christ!
Interesting and enlightening thought, Mike. I seem to always need to be reminded that importance of keeping God’s word on my mind at all times.
6:1 Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
This reminds me of my favorite Christian song “Before the Morning” (if you’ve never heard it, I would suggest looking it up because it’s amazing!). We are always dwelling on the trials of right now, but we fail to remember that God only lets us suffer so that he can build us up when we are stripped of everything. I know that we do not know what will happen in the future, but we do know that God has a purpose and that there is a reason for our suffering.
6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.”
God knows that it is in our nature to sin, yet he hopes that we try to avert sin and make choices that please him. Therefore we need to make sure we walk with God and if ever temptation comes, he will be there for judgement but also forgiveness. I am so thankful for a God who heals us when we’re broken, fills us when we’re empty, and teaches us lessons by striking us down and then picking us back up again. Humility is a huge lesson that we need to imitate from Christ’s example, and in life we should care about what God thinks of us, not what our peers think of us (which leads to self obsession).
6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
This verse is taking about how the people did not understand the depth of their sins. And most if the people thought how God’s wrath would last only a few days, little did they know their nation would be taken down into exile. Israel was only interested in God for the material benefits he provided. We all need to be in God and in his word every day not for the benefits but because we love him.
Hosea 5:10: The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.
Okay this verse is scary!! God is saying that he is going to pour his wrath out on Israel! The notes for this verse in my study Bible say that “The word for ‘wrath’ carries the image of overflowing fury”. I dont know about you guys but that is a really scary thought. To have God’s overflowing fury being poured out of me is something I definitely do NOT want! However, just like God is saying that he is going to judge Israel and pour out his wrath on them unless they repent and seek him, God is one day going to judge all of us and everyone in the world! Praise God that he saved me, and lead me towards repentance and I will never have to face his overflowing fury!! But there are so many people that I know who have not repented of their sins and they need to “acknowledge their guilt and seek my(God’s) face, and in their distress earnestly seek me (God)” like verse 15 says. I need to be out there sharing the Gospel with people and telling them that they need to repent because God’s wrath is coming!!
6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
Like our parents, God punishes his people when they do wrong, except God’s punishment is worse and more humiliating. God loves us and does not want us to go stray into sin, He will punish us to get us back in line. Instead of getting mad at God for punishing me, I should accept it. I’m so thankful for a God who loves us and punishes us when we do wrong.
!!!MARANATHA!!!
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
This is an awesome verse, I love the last little bit of how it says “that we may live before him”, I cant wait for this day of when we may all go and live with Christ!
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
These people that are being described in this verse are going to be judged very heavily on judgement day. There are so many people, even today, who can be described of this, and they are not in a good position. We need to pray for these people every day!!
Definately need to pray for people who are falling from God, since the only one who can truley save them is God! Good Comment! :)
thank you!!!
“Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away” (v. 6:4) Love is not true love if it is only temporal. True love waits, as the old adage states. God’s love demands love, and not false love, but “steadfast love” (v. 6:6). Israel and Judah alike have not loved God, but have played the whore by denying God and following false gods of the land. But, God, in all His mercy and love, seeks to restore Israel and Judah to how they once were.
Throughout scripture, there seems to be a motif of returning and being restored to how one used to be (Genesis 3; Hosea 6:1; Revelations 2:2-7). God made man without blemish, yet man chose to sin. Because man chose to sin, God must punish sin. But, because God loves us, God chose to redeem us. His ultimate redemption comes from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, even though God had made redemption possible, it is not a free card that everyone can receive. This thought can be shown in God’s statement: “I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me” (v. 5:15). God desires that man should love him. This is not because God is like a vain woman that desires compliments, but understands to not love the thing with most value is unjust and unrighteous. God is the highest of high, the Lord of lords , the King of kings, etc. So, to deny loving God, is to deny the greatest enjoyment of life. Because man cannot find more joy outside of God, man’s highest enjoyment comes from WITHIN God (not from).
However, just like Israel and Judah did +2,000 years ago, man continues to fall into the same net. Man is born into sin and born in rebellion to God. It is only by God’s power one can be shown the excellency of God. Yet, being shown God’s common grace and love does not lead all to God. Quite the opposite, many people deny God’s love and extend that denial to the denial of His existence. Calling yourself a christian implies that you believe in God’s existence and that you have an intimate relationship with God by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. It should seem obvious that to sin as a christian is worse than sinning as a non-christian. However, many christians seem to see their sin with lesser value because they claim that they are washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Yes, how awesome is the cleansing of Jesus’ Blood! But, I cannot claim to be a christian if I live in habitual or continuous sin. My life should exemplify that I am a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Because if I am living in sin, my lifestyle shows that I don’t have the steadfast love for God, but the love like a “morning cloud” that Israel and Judah had.
12 But I am like a moth to Ephraim,
and like dry rot to the house of Judah.
this is what those people is Ephraim think of our God as a moth and a dry rot to the house of Judah i don’t know if that’s supposed to be a compliment but in my book moths and rot is bad and gross so they aren’t believers in my book.
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
We can act like we’re doing something to glorify God (in this case it is sacrifice and burnt offerings) but not really mean it, like the Israelites. It doesn’t mean much to God if we do something but our heart isn’t into it. God doesn’t just want us to do things for Him just to be doing it, but he wants true steadfast love for Him and for us to actually have knowledge of Him. Lots of times people try to do godly things to look good on the outside or impress others but don’t have the right intentions. I want to do things that glorify God out of true love and a willingness to please Him!
In a nutshell all Israel and Judah were living in opposition to God. Hosea is speaking on behalf of God who is angry and frustrated (pouring out his wrath).
The good news is that Hosea gives us hope and prophecy…6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
No matter how bad we blow it, God is quick to forgive as long as we have a truly repentant heart and turn to Him. Jesus died for EVERY sin and EVERY one so don’t be decieved by satan’s lies that we’re not good enough.
>For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
>the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
God is clearly saying that he wants our hearts, not just our actions. The people of Israel were willing to go through the motions, but it was loveless and distant. God was not convinced, and certainly not pleased. Sometimes we do the same. Reading the Bible becomes a chore. Church seems to drag on. These are evidences of a hardening heart.
But that’s not all! Not only did he want their hearts, he wanted their hearts consistently. Notice the Lord’s complaint just a couple verses earlier:
>Your love is like a morning cloud,
>like the dew that goes early away.
They would love him for a little bit, but it wouldn’t last. It would quickly disappear after only a short time. Even if we think we love the Lord with our whole hearts, if it goes away after a short time, then it was not true love. It’s not the enduring, committed love the Lord desires. That love can only come from God himself!
He has to renew our hearts through the grace of His son. Praise God that he was willing to give such a gift!
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
I really liked this verse because it shows how God wanted the people to turn away from their earthly desires and seek Him. Since God is a jelous God, He wants us to be 100% for Him. In the book of Hosea, all the people turned their backs on God. Because of this God was upset, and then punished them. But God did not leave them completely, He waited for them to come back to Him. (Seek Him) Sometimes in my own life, things of this world catch me and bring me down which sometimes causes me to turn my back on God. But because of Gods love, He waits with His arms open ready for me to come runnning back to Him! A good verse that helps explain Gods love in always being there for us is Deuteronomy 7:9, “So I want you to realize that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God. He keeps His covenant for all time to come. He keeps it with those who love Him and obey His commands. He shows them His love.” God is so loving and faithful, I pray that we would never loose our love for God and that we would not ever stray from Him! :)
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
This is a good verse showing that the we need to thrist for the knowledge and enrich ourselves with with the knowledge of God which can be found in the bible rather than in other worthless items or religions.
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
this is such a great verse because the Lord wants everyone to stop chasing the things of this world, recognize that they are in sin and seek Him. the things of this world will be destroyed and so many times i hope in the worldly things instead of the Lord. but this world will not last and i cant trust in it. i need to realize that i need to earnestly seek the Lord and not the things of this world. i need to realize that i am in sin and seek the Lord. he is everlasting and i need to put my hope in him.
1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
The Lord loves us therefor he doesnt want us to be in sin. he will punish us so that we will realize that what we are doing is wrong and we will repent of our sins. i am so thankful for a God that loves me enough to punish me for my sins and get me back on the path of righteousness. the Lord is so good :)
Yes Taylor! His punishment should lead us to turn from our sins!
3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
Israel is defiled.
I like cameron’s comment!! The Israelites thought they could get God’s approval if they worshiped God along with doing the sinful acts!! Like Pastor Bobby said in his sermon tonight, we cannot be worshiping God at church then leaving and falling into all kinds of sin and temptation!! It does not happen if you are a child of God! God knew what was going on in the hearts of the Israelites and it wasnt godly for certain.
We cannot fool God no matter what! We think sometimes that we can make God be pleased with our actions by throwing in good deeds too, but we cannot be living two different lives. I find myself doing this sometimes by deceiving myself into thinking that the sin I am in is ok if I throw something for God in there!! That is the completely wrong mindset! My thoughts need to be on God 24/7 and doing acts that would please Jesus Christ!! God knows my thoughts and that is who I am trying to please!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
A lot of people only ask God’s help for when they’re in huge predicaments…but it shouldnt just be that way; whether its big or small, or good and bad, God should be given credit, as he has a plan for everyone no matter how the situation might seem at the moment. not Praying is basically one way to leave God out of our lives; life’ be really hard w/o Him + I’d think he’d be mad if a “Christian,” who’s supposed to do his will, dont pray or read the Bible. cuz God has everything; all we have to do is ask…and wait.
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
God knows the condition of our heart. He is more concerned with how genuinely we worship and how whole-heartedly we love Him, than how outwardly we try to “show” our love for God.
The world will see and know our love for God by the what flows from us. As Pastor Bobby explained tonight our words and deeds are an outpouring of our hearts. “Fruit” is evident when God is our first Love!
I pray that God will always keep me humble, and that my love for the Lord will be evident to all by the outpouring of my heart. But most importantly; that even though I am not perfect, the condition of my heart would be pleasing to God.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
God wants our whole hearts and every aspet of them rather than a half-hearted relationship with him and an outwardly Christian appearance. He would rather have us loving and glorifying him. A lot of times, and I see this in myself too, we tend to just live for God with a 70% or 80% heart leaving 20 or 30 for ourselves. We need to rid ourselves of this and live for God with a 100% heart, because that is what God calls of us. We cannot be partially a Christian. Its either all or nothing.
So true Miranda! Pridefully we think that we deserve the 20% for ourselves. Let’s make sure that we’re serving Him with our whole heart!
I read…
At the beginning of chapter six, it talks about God bringing people back to Him through breaking them and punishing them for their sins. If we see an error in our life and do not correct it quickly, we can expect to receive some pain in our life that will cause us to quit sinning. I pray that I would respond to “logs in my eyes” quickly so that I would not have to learn the hard way when I see errors that need to be corrected in my life.
6 With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
for they have borne alien children.
Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
This is a great verse. These verses are kind of scary, and their meant to be. Here GOD is pronouncing judgement on the children of Israel. He is condemning them for their sin and their lack of love for him. It’s scary to think that this is the same fate that awaits all those who are non- christians, and because we know what awaits them, we should be even more urgent in our sharing of the good news with them. GOD may be loving, but he is also wrathful. He destroys utterly all those who are against him, and that is why it is so important to be with him. His wrath is coming; are we ready?
So psyched that you are on Teen Ministers Murphy!
6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
God is a jealous God. He does not want us worshipping any false idols. You can still worship God and have false idols at the same time. False idols are not just things like Buddah or Muhammad, but also things like money and whoredom. If you are focused more on these things that on God, you are worshiping a false idol. I think that everyone has there false idols that kind of draw there attention away from the Lord. This is also sin. It does not say in the ten commandments that greed is a sin but, IT IS! Not everyone realizes this but it is sooo true. In fact it is probably the most dangerous sin. We all have things that we need to work on in our lives and correcting this problem is a big part. So who do you focus more on? God or the rims on your car? which one is more important? which one will last a life time and which will last all of eternity?
Solid post Zach! Very encouraging brother.
“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
MAny times people use the objection that there is no God because if there is a God then why would he let there be hurt. Many times though we may not understand why God speaks to us through hurt. Sometimes he has to break us down to speak to us. That is why in times of hurt we should seek the Lord.
MARANATHA!!!
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
Yes, God is a loving and forgiving God, but he cannot and will not tolerate sin. Israel is directly rejecting the Lord and turning their faces against Him. God knows that Israel will return to Him one day, as in yesterday’s chapter 3:5 says “Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.”
God does not just accept the Israelites simply because He is loving and forgiving. They are in perpetual sin and God cannot be in the presence of it. It says that the Israelites will come to fear of the Lord and they will “acknowledge their guilt” (repent) and seek the Lord. Before God redeems His people, they must come to a state of realization of their sin before God. Many churches I hear about now days, focus solely on God’s love; yes, that is an amazing attribute of God, as well as a very important one in order to know Him, but it is not the foundation. First, we must realize that we are in dire need of a savior because of our sin that separates us from God. That’s what must happen in order for God to show His love to us. I am so thankful that God made me realize the lowly and sinful state I was in and brought me to repentance! His judgment is coming and I am so thankful that I will not have to be apart of His wrath on earth!
Great Comment Summer! I really like how you pointed out that the foundation in our relationship with God is realizing that we need God to save us from our sins! :)
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after filth.
If what we are focused on isn’t Jesus Christ we will never feel fully satisfied. If our desires are the world desires we are taking the wide path in life instead of the narrow path, the path that only few choose, but it is our job to choose that path. If we are living in the ways of the world it will not show that we are one of God.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
This yet another one of the many prophecies fulfilled later on in the New Testament. I am LOVING minor prophets so far!! :D verse three was so inspiring to me because it’s talking about how we must press on and on towards the Lord because just as sure as the cycles of nature are, so is our Lord. He is there if we pursue Him and don’t get distracted by the things of this world. I sooo easily become distracted and nearly consumed by my old sins and wants and I pray about it constantly because I am still an imperfect human being. Yet the Lord is there and He raised us with Him on the third day so that we might live before and with HIM. :D
MARANATHA.
Only 49 comments! Lame!!! On a separate note, that kindof reminded me of Bobby’s tidbit of knowledge in today’s sermon…
Anyways… this is pathetic. We have so much time to go on now that school is out, and yet still have so little comments! lame. We need to pump this up. Facebook status’s and all!
But to get to my comment…
ch 6 v 1 reminded me of Job 5:17.. which can definitely be encouraging stuff.
And then ch 6 v 2 almost seemed like a prophecy about Jesus’ resurrection on the third day.
But that’s not what I want to comment on. : p
ch 5 v 14-15 is where it’s at.
These people tried to go to man to be saved, not realizing that man is useless–it’s God that really matters. He is the only one capable of saving, and therefore we’re only wasting our time striving for anything else in this world. It’s God that matters. He is what we should be focusing on, because he not only is the one true source of sustenance, but he is also a consuming fire, destroying all opposition.
I’m reminded at this point of Bobby Blakey’s “viral video”
“Heaven, or flames? Where are you at?”
Your attitude about God makes the difference.
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord
Isreal messed up. They shouldn’t recieve any mercy from God because of their actions.
They need to confess and repent their deeds so they may once again know God. And He gives them opportunities to ask for forgiveness, He wants to forgive them, but Isreal has to own up first and admit they were wrong.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.
Isreal didn’t repent, so they were still impure in Gods eyes.
But that’s what’s so good about our God, He is a God of second chances and we can always rely on His undying mercy and love for us.
Reading the Bible like here on SOTD and going to True North, we all know that God is loving but also just. If we sincerely come before our God and ask for repentance he will gladly give it. God doesn’t say only a certain kind of person can, or only with a certain background can be saved- as long as it’s true genuine trust in our one and only savior, Jesus and repenting of our sin. These chapters show us that our hearts will either be hardened by rejecting Christ and deliberately keep on sinning, or we’ll respond to the gospel and have a real relationship with God. We need to know whose team were on, and who we are going to live our life for. Maranatha!
4 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 early away.
This verse talks about the people of Ephraim and Judah and their love to God. There love to God is not steadfast. They are not fervent in serving he Lord. They start out thinking they love HIm but their love eventually dies out and goes away. We need to be steadfast in our relationship with God. Unlike These two territories, we need to ALWAYS do our best to honor Him not just sometimes but always!
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
Israel’s sin here is keeping them from God and His love. That is a bad place to be. All Israel has to do is repent and they have everything they will ever need.
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
I really like these verses because it reminds me of something my small groups talked about awhile back. We should dwell and think about the Lord and who he is even if we can’t pinpoint specifically who he is. Its good to constantly seek out God in everything. I often find myself at lost of words to describe God, of course there are the usual attributes: merciful, jealous, sovereign. But who is HE REALLY? sometimes is too hard for me to comprehend Him but i feel that everytime I talk to him, read my bible and discuss it with myself or others I see Him that much clearer. Yeah i probably make no sense. But im just so glad that He gives me guidance and answers, even though their not right when I think I need them. He so mysterious but so constant! Wow, what a God!
Hosea 5 & 6
5:15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.
God removed His presence and protection from both Israel and Judah for their faithlessness. This has been God’s just pattern from the very beginning with Adam and Eve. The Lord removed His favor from Israel and Judah over and over again. Even today the Lord removes His Spirit from those who walk in unfaithfulness. In separation from God you can take one of two pats. The first would be to continue living a life that is centered on sin and the second would be to turn to seek a life that is centered on the Lord. God uses His absence to remind us of how dependent we are on Him whom he uses to lead us into repentance and faith. Lord thank you for disciplining us with your absence which leads us out of sin and death.
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
It is so important for me to be constantly confessing my sin, repenting of it, and pursuing holiness each and every day. Without asking for forgiveness, i build a wall between me and God, and allow the sins in my life to start scaring my conscience. Paul says, and i wholeheartedly agree, that to have a clear conscience is one of the most important blessings a person can have. I need to recognize that the Lord is holy, perfect, and all powerful. I need to put this in to perspective, and hold him at the high respect that he deserves. I need to be earnestly seeking the Lord, his grace, forgiveness, commands, mercy (etc.) constantly, and bringing all of my requests before him. He needs to have my whole heart, that includes my joys and sorrows. I need to tell him everything, and make sure that i am doing what he wants me to do. I want to be growing exponentially in the direction that the Lord wants me to, and i can only do that through prayer and petition to the Lord. My prayer life needs to be so strong, and that is what i am going to be working on this summer, to strengthen the communication that i have with my savior. Lord use me to do the will of your kingdom! (:
I really liked the these two chapters. The first chapter talked about judgement just like on today’s and yesterdays sermon. Pastor Bonby said w need to take out the log in our eye before we pick at somebodys peck. What really got me is the book. I know God has a book for me and van pick out a bunch of pages to judge me. I know I don’t look forward to it, but I can learn from it and what I could of done better. The last chapter reminded me of how we need Hid and Jesus. Without Jesus rising and dying for our sins we can’t really be save. Also we wouldn’t be able to do anything without him. Through him we can do it. Revival X!!