Hosea
6 reminds me of assigning chores to my kids. In our home, doing
chores was just an expected part of living here. Every Saturday
the kids would look at Dad’s Chore List to see the jobs assigned to
them. One of my sons did not like cutting the grass and he
seemed to invent new ways to destroy the lawnmower every time.
He was such an unwilling helper that it became a battle of wills.
I often thought that if he had just done it with a better attitude,
it would have been completed in half the time. Frequently I
would have to make him go out and redo places he missed. The
job eventually got done, but the quality reflected the lack of
effort. Today’s chapter looks at honoring God out of love
instead of out of obligation. The siblings of Israel and Judah
have been looking at God’s Chore List and realized that once
everything gets done; things will be a lot better. “Come,
let us return to the Lord“.
They had suffered from their rebellion, “He
has torn us to pieces but
He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds“.
The prophet includes a reference to the day Messiah would put an end
to the to-do list, “After two
days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us, that we
may live in His presence“.
On resurrection day, all of the boxes were checked off. Full
access to God was made available by faith.
The
siblings seem to understand that their attitude was the problem, “Let
us acknowledge the Lord“.
God was and will continue to be faithful, “As
surely as the sun rises, He will appear… like the spring rains that
water the earth“. But
like temperamental teens they were not too reliable. God said, “Your
love is like the morning mist… that disappears“.
Godly discipline is necessary to prevent much bigger dangers.
“I cut you in pieces with My
prophets… My
judgments go forth like the sun“.
Friend, have you been dealing with discipline?
The
next verse is critical to understanding God’s perspective on our
relationship; “For I desire
mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment…
rather than
burnt offerings“.
When we grudgingly do religious chores out of obligation, it shows.
In contrast, when we reflect mercy out of love, the results are
multiplied. How important is this? Jesus quoted this
verse twice to explain His purpose to the Jewish leaders of His day.
In Matthew 9 when they ridiculed Him for eating with sinners, He
quoted Hosea and added, “For I
have not come to call the righteous, but sinners“.
Then in Matthew 12, when they accused Him of breaking the Sabbath
laws by feeding the disciples, Jesus again quoted Hosea and added,
“For the Son of Man is Lord of
the Sabbath“. If the
Jewish leaders applied God’s Mercy to the Law perhaps the job would
have been completed sooner. God’s description of Israel
continues, “They have broken
the covenant; they were unfaithful to Me“.
Their attitude was rebellious and soon they managed to break and
mangle God’s Law, “As
marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests…
carrying out their wicked schemes… Israel is defiled“.
Please understand that my son, even in his defiance, was always my
son. At the end of the day we ate together. The chapter
closes, “For you, Judah, a
harvest is appointed… Whenever
I would restore the fortunes of
my people“. Are you
ready to live more abundantly? Try this attitude toward
honoring God; “Each of you
should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”
(2 Corinthians 9:7). God’s Mercy makes all that we do a labor of
love.