Focus

Let your soul take a moment of rest as you hear God’s word. Put your busy schedule, wandering mind, stressful thoughts, and burdened heart at the feet of the cross and open up to God’s voice as the Giver of Life tends your soul.

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Read

Hosea 6:1-10 (NRSV)

“Come, let us return to the LORD;
for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
he has struck down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD;
his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”

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.
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

But at Adam they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.
Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood.
As robbers lie in wait for someone,
so the priests are banded together;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
they commit a monstrous crime.
In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
Ephraim’s whoredom is there, Israel is defiled.

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Reflect

Someone said that the story of Hosea is a “love story that went wrong.” When that happens, there’s suffering. Hosea’s prophecy is a cry from the heart of God, “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” (6:4). A morning cloud on the horizon to Hosea was a reminder of the flimsy love that Israel had for her God—just like a passing cloud.

Israel had forgotten God. She’d brought illegitimate offspring into being in the form of idolatrous practices and worship, and had been spiritually unfaithful to God. Israel had known the gracious provision of God during the 40 years in the wilderness, only to stray from the truth in such a way. God was longing to find a sign of honest repentance from Israel and a restoration to her part of the covenantal relationship.

The Book of Hosea, indeed, is a love story that went wrong. The message is clear and simple: God loves the loveless and takes action to declare a message of love. It’s a story of love revealed, of love rebuffed, and of love restored. God seeks us out and takes the necessary initiative to restore a covenantal relationship with us.

In what ways has God sought you and made known God’s love? From what should you repent and seek restoration with God? In what ways might you express your love to God more faithfully today?

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Pray

Lord, you “desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (6:6). I confess my failure to live up to these ideals, so I ask you to help me in my efforts to be more faithful to you this day. May I demonstrate my love for you by expressing your love to all whom I encounter this day. Amen.

Go with God.