Slices
Prepare
Take time to ‘earnestly’ seek God now (Hosea 5:15).
Bible passage
‘Sound the trumpet in Gibeah,
the horn in Ramah.
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven;
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste
on the day of reckoning.
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.
I will pour out my wrath on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.
12 I am like a moth to Ephraim,
like rot to the people of Judah.
13 ‘When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,
and sent to the great king for help.
But he is not able to cure you,
not able to heal your sores.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.
15 Then I will return to my lair
until they have borne their guilt
and seek my face –
in their misery
they will earnestly seek me.’
Israel unrepentant
6 ‘Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.’
4 ‘What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth –
then my judgments go forth like the sun.
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
they were unfaithful to me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
stained with footprints of blood.
9 As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,
so do bands of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.
10 I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:
there Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.
11 ‘Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed.
‘Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,
Explore
For Israel (signified by Ephraim here, 5:9), punishment is on its way. The people consort with their godless enemy, Assyria (v 13) – but there is no easy cure-all there. Although Judah’s leaders try to shift the boundaries (5:10), it hasn’t escaped God’s notice. Judgement will follow for them too. The rot has already set in (v 12). God’s repeated calls to return to him are ignored, and now his people have chosen a miserable outcome (v 15). But notice the hints of hope: until they ‘seek my face’ (v 15).
Watch out for the possible double meanings in chapter 6:1–3. Are these beautiful, prophetic words of restoration, even pointing to Christ’s resurrection (v 2)? Or are they words of sardonic reproof to those who take God’s love and forgiveness for granted (see also Psalm 78:36,37)? Either (or both) might be the case, but here in Hosea’s message the result is God’s exasperated rebuke: ‘What can I do with you?’ and a reminder that his judgement is also as certain as sunrise (vs 3,5). Good-sounding words and religious practice don’t account for broken covenant, violence and unfaithfulness: God desires our true acknowledgement (vs 6,7). He sees us (v 10). And Judah? A time of reckoning (‘harvest’) is coming for them too (6:11).
Respond
Do we sometimes persist with our own ways, assuming that outward appearances will get God’s approval? Ask God to help you worship him in truth as you seek to live for him today.
Deeper Bible study
Loving Saviour, help me to know the cost of your love for me, that I may be able to cling to you and find the comfort you promise.
This passage reminds us, as followers of God, that when we are disciplined we must draw near to God rather than turn away and seek help elsewhere. Hosea’s audience had rebelled against God and reaped the consequences. In their pain, they were now looking to find help from other nations. Those nations, however, could not offer the kind of help that the people needed. Running to God is always better than running from God.
There are plenty of examples in the Bible of people who try to run from God. Jonah is the classic example. No matter how far we go or how fast we think we are, God is always there. For us who love Jesus, the principal challenge we face revolves around our obedience to God’s command and call. Jesus, who took our punishment, commands us to love and calls us to serve. However that love and service may manifest in your experience, there will be time when it hurts, costs and feels hopeless. It is at those times that we may choose to give up, in effect running away to others for comfort. It is here, however, in the hurt and the pain, that we find that our Saviour understands us perfectly.
Just as Hosea declares, with God there is healing, revival, restoration and an abiding presence. His listeners could have a hope that goes beyond their circumstances. We, today, have a hope too, one that looks back at the cross of Jesus and one that looks forward to our eternal experience; both the backward and forward hope help us to have a living hope today. That hope inspires us to press in close to God, no matter what we are feeling, and there we can find his healing, revival, restoration and presence.
Think about your community of faith. Are there people who currently need to hear this message of hope? How can you show them this life of hope?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Leviticus 19,20; Psalms 23,24
Prepare
Pray for Local Mission Partner Southampton City Mission as they engage with schools in various activities and RE classes, praying especially that through exploring the Bible with children and young people they will be able to create more Grow Communities.
