Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“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.
After two days he will revive us;
    on the third day he will restore us,
    that we may live in his presence.
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.”
“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.
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.
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
    and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
    they were unfaithful to me there.
Gilead is a city of evildoers,
    stained with footprints of blood.
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.
I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:
    There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
    Israel is defiled.
“Also for you, Judah,
    a harvest is appointed.
“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,

• Hosea 6:1-11

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Hosea 5:8-6:11 ‘Hosea and Assyria’: “During the 30 years from the end of Jeroboam’s reign in 753 B.C. to Samaria’s fall in 722, the situation in northern Israel changed drastically. Political life suffered a rapid change of rulers occasioned by intrigue and assassinations. A resurgent Assyria, in successive attacks, succeeded in stripping away more and more of Israel’s territory.
“Some of Hosea’s oracles may reflect the confusion of this time. In 743 B.C. Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria campaigned against the Syro-Palestinian states. Israel under King Pekah (752–732 B.C.) joined Aram (Syria), hoping to stop the Assyrian advance. Pekah and Aram also pressured Judah to join them, prompting the Syro-Ephraimite War from 735 to 732 B.C. (see Is. 7:1). Both Judah and Israel (called ‘Ephraim’) suffer, fighting each other (Hos. 5:10–14).”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

Hosea 5:15-6:3 ‘Prerequisite of the Second Coming’: “ In 5:1-14, Hosea spells out a broad sweep of prophecy that has now been fulfilled. In this prophecy, sometimes the focus is on Judah, sometimes it is on Israel, and sometimes it is on both. This overview includes what was fulfilled through the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian captivity, and the events of A.D. 70.
“God, who does all the speaking throughout chapter 5 of Hosea, concludes by saying in verse 15, ‘I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.’
“There are certain presuppositions behind the understanding of this verse. Before anyone can return to a place, he must first leave it. In this passage, God states that He is going to go back to “my place,” which is heaven. Before God can go back to heaven, He must first leave it. The question is, When did God ever leave heaven? At the incarnation, in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. Then, because of one specific offense (the word is singular) committed against Him, God returned to heaven at the ascension from the Mount of Olives. Hosea 5:15 further states that God will not come back to the earth until the offense that caused Him to return to heaven is acknowledged or confessed.
“What is that Jewish national offense com-mitted against the Person of Jesus? This does not refer to killing Him, for the actual killing of Jesus was done by Gentile, not Jewish, hands. He was condemned and sentenced by a Gentile judge. He was crucified by Gentile soldiers. But all this is ultimately irrelevant, for regardless of Jewish acceptance or Jewish rejection, Jesus would have had to die anyway to become the sacrifice for sin. The national offense of Israel was the rejection of His messiahship. According to Hosea 5:15, only when this offense is acknowledged or confessed will Messiah return to the earth.
“Note that Hosea 5:15 concludes with a warning: ‘In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.’ The term ‘affliction’ is one of the common Old Testament names for the Tribulation in general and Armageddon in particular. Indeed, in the context of Armageddon, the Jewish people will begin to search for the Messiah earnestly. There are two prerequisites, then, to the second coming: First, there must be the confession of Israel’s national sin (Leviticus 26:40-42; Jeremiah 3:11-18); and second, there must be a pleading for the Messiah to return (Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 23:37-39).
“This will take place when the armies of the Antichrist are at the city of Bozrah, in the last three days of the campaign of Armageddon.
“The first three verses of Hosea 6 are actually a continuation of Hosea 5 and contain the acknowledgment of sin that is demanded in p5. Verses 1-3 are a call issued by the Jewish leaders exhorting the nation to repent of their national sin. Only then will the physical blessings Israel once enjoyed be restored to her, and the leaders of Israel will finally recognize the reason why the Tribulation has fallen on them. Whether this will happen through the study of the Scriptures, or by the preaching of the 144,000, or through the testimony of the two witnesses of Revelation 11, or by the future ministry of Elijah is not clearly stated. Most likely, it will be a combination of these things. But the leaders will come to a realization of the nation’s sin in some way.
“In the three days mentioned in Hosea 6:1-3, the confession of Israel’s national sin will take place during the first two days. This confession appears in Isaiah 53:1-9 and admits that the nation had looked upon Jesus as nothing more than another man, a criminal who had died for His own sins. However, on this occasion they will recognize that Jesus was no ordinary man, but the perfect Lamb of God, the Messiah Himself Then on the third of the three days, the people as a nation will be saved, fulfilling the prophecy of Romans 11:25-27.”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Hosea 6:1-2 ‘training children’: “Tender fathers seek first to train their children by gentle means. The Lord, in his patience, dealt kindly with his stumbling Israel, sending them favor after favor and blessing after blessing.-But the more he multiplied his blessings, the more they multiplied their iniquities. So they spent the mercies of God in sacrifice to their idols and committed transgressions with the false gods of the heathen, consuming with their lusts the mercies God had sent to bring them to repentance. When at last God saw that this measure did not move them, because their sin was written as with an iron pen and engraved on the horns of their altars, then he tried harsher means. He cut them by the prophets. They rose early, and they prophesied until the going down of the sun, giving line online, precept on precept, threatening them with the anger and vengeance of God. At last that vengeance came. He carried them away captive, and they went into an unknown land among a cruel people whose speech they could not understand. Again he delivered them out of the hand of their enemy; and yet, again, because of their sin, he sold them to Assyria, and afterwards to Babylon, that at last, after they had been rent and torn, they might say with-in themselves, ‘Come, let us return to the LORD.’ Of course, the people of Israel are but a picture of us. God has tried us with mercy on mercy, kept us long in health till we scarcely ever had a day’s sickness, given us all we could wish, till our cup was brimming and flowing over. But we used his mercies for our own self-indulgence, and the bodily strength given to us to be a blessing, we have made a curse. God has grant-ed us streams of mercy never ceasing, but our return has been streams of sin-broad, and black, and deep.
“To return to God is not a cruel request. He does not ask us to perform a pilgrimage and blister our weary feet or to thrust an iron in our back. He doesn’t ask us to lie on a bed of spikes or starve ourselves until we can count our bones. He asks no suffering from us, for Christ has suffered for us. All he asks is that we return to him, and what is that? That we be genuinely sorry for our past sins, that we ask his grace to keep us from sin in the future, that we now believe in Christ who is set forth to be the propitiation for sin, that through faith in his blood we may see our sin forever put away and all our iniquity cancelled. That is neither a hard nor a cruel demand. It is for our good as well as for his glory.“

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Hosea 6:1 ‘God judges the sin of any nation’: “This is God’s last call to the northern kingdom in that day, but it also looks to the future of that nation when God will heal them; although He has torn them, He intends to bind them up. This should be a warning that God will judge the sin of any nation that makes a profession of being a Christian nation and which has had the benefit of the Word of God.”

• J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi

Hosea 6:2 ‘a hope for mercy’: “Israel hoped for mercy. Although the call to repentance that begins in verse 1, on Israel’s part, appears to be an acknowledgment of God’s just judgment on them, it is not enough (see vv. 4–5 and God’s rejection). The crucial requirement of admitting guilt is lacking. This contrasts sharply with Hosea’s closing song of penitence (see Hos 14:1–3). The verbs ‘revive’ and ‘restore’ anticipate God’s restoration of his people.”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)

Hosea 6:3 ‘we only know imperfectly’: “God always acts like Himself, wherever He may be and whatever He may be doing; in Him there is neither variableness nor shadow of turning. Yet His infinitude places Him so far above our knowing that a lifetime spent in cultivating the knowledge of Him leaves as much yet to learn as if we had never begun. …
“So imperfectly do we know Him that it may be said that one invariable concomitant of a true encounter with God is delighted wonder. No matter how high our expectation may be, when God finally moves into the field of our spiritual awareness we are sure to be astonished by His power to overwhelm the mind and fascinate the soul. He is always more wonderful than we anticipate, and more blessed and marvelous than we had imagined He could be.”

• A. W. Tozer, That Incredible Christian

Hosea 6:3 ‘we must know God’: “Our business is to proceed to know the Lord. And that implies, first, that we begin with knowing the Lord. We cannot proceed with what we have not embarked on. There is a religiousness that contains in it no knowledge of God whatever. Beware of it. The religion that consists only in the knowledge of outward rites and ceremonies, or the knowledge of orthodoxies, the knowledge of doctrinal distinctions, the knowledge of religious language and pronunciations and experiences or the knowledge of popular hymns-that religion is vain. There must be knowledge of God. And if we know God, we will think little of ourselves. The person who doesn’t know God thinks man a noble being, but one who has seen God thinks man to be dust and ashes. He who doesn’t know God’s holiness thinks himself to be a good creature, but when he sees a holy God, he says, ‘I abhor myself.’ He who doesn’t know God thinks man to be a wonderful being, able to accomplish whatever he wills. But in the sight of God, human strength is burned up, and man becomes lighter than vanity. Do we know God in the majesty of his justice as condemning our sin and us for sin? Do we know God in the splendor of his love, as giving Jesus Christ to die for sinners, blending that love with justice-for love gave Jesus and justice killed him? Do we know God in the fullness of his power to save, renewing the heart, changing the mind, subduing the will? The knowledge of God is the basis of all saving experience. This is the one great business of human life-to know the Lord.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Hosea 6:4 ‘what fizzles at the finish’: “My Old Testament college professor, Dr. Don Garner, compared this verse to the words of an exasperated parent who has given a rebellious child every advantage and opportunity.  What more can I do than what I have done?
“God knew their love was temporary and fleeting.  One of my favorite adages describing superficial devotion declares ‘if it fizzles at the finish it was flawed from the first.’ God knew their love was flawed and incapable of lasting.”

• Jay McCluskey, A Long Walk with the Minor Prophets

Hosea 6:5 ‘presenting the Word of God’: “In other words, God says, ‘I skinned them alive by the prophets.’ I appreciate the many letters I receive that commend us for giving out the Word of God as it is, for hewing to the line and letting the chips fall where they may. I have always tried to do that throughout the years of my ministry, and I have found that the folk who sincerely want to hear the Word of God will appreciate it. Others will oppose it, and I expect to hear their criticism also. God says to His people here, ‘I’ve skinned you alive by the prophets—they have been faithful in telling it like it is—but you have not listened to them.’ And in our day, although there is a great interest in and turning to the Word of God, we wonder how much of it has really transformed the hearts and lives of those who hear.
“’I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.’ They were not sinning because of ignorance—there was no lack of information. God had sent the prophets to them, but they had turned their backs on God and His Word.”

• J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi

Hosea 6:6 ‘Lord of the Sabbath’: “Two events–the disciples plucking grain and Jesus healing a man’s hand on the Sabbath–have often been understood as expressing Jesus’ authority over the Law of Moses. This concern is certainly expressed in the assertion: ‘the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath’ (Matt. 12:8). But the evangelists have a more primary concern. In both events Jesus emphasized that keeping the spirit and intent of the law was more important than strictly adhering to the letter of its ritual requirements.
“This point is emphasized by Jesus’ question to those in the synagogue: ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?’ (Mark 3:4). Both Matthew and Mark address this issue in the story about the grain. Mark recounts Jesus’ interpretation that the law was given for humanity’s benefit; humanity was not created for the sake of the law (Mark 2:27). Matthew reports Jesus’ reference to Hos. 6:6, stressing God’s desire for humans to put mercy, concern for people, before sacrifice as legalistic ritual observance (Matt. 12:7).”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

Hosea 6:6 ‘mercy and acknowledgment of God’: “God has always wanted religious activity to reflect what is in the heart (see Mt 9:13; 12:7). The importance of the sacrificial system, which God himself had given, is not denied; but God’s plan for sacrifice, which was to be an outward manifestation of inner faith, is defined. The outward rituals are meaningless to him unless ‘mercy’ and the ‘acknowledgment of God’ form the inward reality.”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)

Hosea 6:7 ‘men … covenant’: “A reference to the Mosaic Covenant (cf. 8:1; Ex. 19:5, 6).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Hosea 6:8 ‘balm of Gilead’: “The city of Gilead is best known to us for the ‘… balm in Gilead …’ (Jer. 8:22), which was an aromatic gum or resin used for medical purposes. However, in Hosea’s day only iniquity came out of Gilead.”

• J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi

Hosea 6:9 ‘committing murder’: “In other words, the priests in refusing to give the people the Water of Life and the Bread of Life were actually committing murder. To be honest with you, I think that a minister who stands in the pulpit and does not give out the Word of God is guilty just as it is stated right here. I did not think that up—it is the Word of God which says that.”

• J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi

Hosea 6:10-11 ‘a warning to Judah’: “This is a warning to Judah that their day of judgment is also coming. ‘When I returned the captivity of my people’—there is a future day when God will bring the people back to the land, but at that time He had to judge them for their sin.”

• J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi

My Thoughts

Hosea exhorts Israel to repent and come back to the Lord.  The Lord will punish them, but on the third day, he will restore them.  This is another hint of Jesus rising from the dead on the third day.  The restoration of Samaria (Israel) is taking much longer, but they do not seem to be repenting either.  But we can take these three days as a reminder that Jesus will accomplish the payment of sin on the cross and exhibit the power over death in three days.  But the promise to Israel is figurative.  Their three days will be in the future.

What will God do with Ephraim.  Their love for God is pathetic.  It is like the morning mist or dew.  It is gone soon after the light from the morning sun hits the mist.

The rest of this paragraph reminds me of a farmer, or gardener.  They go out early in the morning and cut the crop.  They lay the crop in the sunlight for it to dry.  By the end of the day, the parts that are dried are separated.  The dried fiber is used in one thing, and the seed pods are used elsewhere.  This practice has been used for centuries.  Why change it in that the sun does the hard work – that is if it is sunny all day?

And in a way, God is performing a harvest.  Not all people of Israel have bent a knee to Baal.  God is saying that He will harvest them – cut them down, dry them in the sun, and reap those who repent, separating them from the parts God will feed the cattle.

But Ephraim has broken the covenant.  Gilead has become murderous – Gilead being on the east bank of the Jordan.

And then, Hosea calls the priests murderers too.

In the Rev. Magee commentary, I have had the same feeling.  If there is one person with whom God wanted me to share the Gospel and I failed in doing so, would their death, and possible second death, be on my head?  Theologically, I reject that idea.  I believe that if I fail, God will call someone else.  If that person is among the elect, they will not be lost.  But my culpability is there in either case.

And pastors in the pulpit should be held to a higher standard.  If you change the message to a secular-friendly message, then you would be going against Scripture and leading people toward assurance of salvation with no substance.  They are on the road to destruction, but they are told that the others are on that road, and your heretical road is the right one.  Those pastors are indeed guilty of murder.

And Hosea slips in a warning to Judah.  Judah is the copycat.  They see Israel having a good time on their high places, and they do not want to be left out.  The Mosaic Law forbids what Ephraim is doing, but it looks like fun.  And Ephraim seems to be getting away with it.

The eventual destruction of Ephraim and Samaria should have been a wake-up call, but once you are already doing it, it’s hard to stop.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Hosea 6 1. Have you ever tried to hide from God behind an easy act of repentance? What sacrifices or ‘burnt offerings’ could you try to please God with: (a) Church attendance? (b) Giving a larger tithe? (c) Praying more? (d) Fasting? (e) Potluck meals? (f) Other: ?
“2. Have you ever become frustrated or indignant when these actions didn’t seem to work? What did you do then? What does make the Lord return like the ‘winter and spring rains’?
“3. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=morning mist, 5=rock of Gibraltar), how would you rate the staying power of your love for the Lord?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Hosea 6 has one set of questions.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.