15“Then I will go back to my place
until they admit their guilt.
And they will seek my face;
in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”
6:1“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.
2After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
3Let 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.
5Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth;
my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.
6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Original Meaning
THIS SECTION CONTAINS an invitation for the people to seek and acknowledge God (5:15–6:3), plus a divine response (6:4–6). Since several words repeat concepts found in chapters 4–5, this short section apparently serves as the conclusion to the first part of the prophet’s covenant lawsuit (4:1–6:6). Like chapters 1–3, Hosea moves from accusations of sin (4:1–19), to God’s punishment for their sin (5:1–14), to a concluding message of hope (5:15–6:6). God’s response (6:4–6) suggests he is frustrated with the people’s unwillingness to acknowledge his lordship.
Seek to Know God (5:15–6:3)
AS J. L. Mays suggests, 5:15 is an “indispensable transition”1 verse that connects what precedes with what follows. Although some include it with 5:1–14 because they see it continuing the lion imagery of 5:14,2 there is no indication that God (the lion) will drag Israel (his prey) back to his lair in 5:15. Rather, the verse focuses on God’s abandonment of his sinful people to their punishment (as emphasized in 5:6).3 He will no longer come to his people’s aid to rescue them. Instead, the divine chastening of destruction and captivity will cause them to accept responsibility for their sins (5:15) and to realize that their only hope is to seek God.
In the past God’s people ignored his revelation and confused him with Baal, but in the future they will earnestly “seek my face.” The duration of this period without God is limited only by their unwillingness to seek God. When they finally do come to recognize that their sins have driven God away, it will be possible for them to seek a personal and wholeheartedly devoted relationship with him.
The confession of 6:1–3, which expresses a desire to return to God, is the prophet’s intercessory confession. He hopes his audience will accept this confession as their own decision to seek God.4 Unfortunately, we do not know how many, if any, actually prayed these words. The prophet invites others to join in the process of returning to God, a typical Hebrew way of speaking of repentance (see 2:7b; 3:5; 5:4; 7:10, 16; 12:6). Such a commitment involves turning from past sinful ways and turning toward God. The people will have to reject Baalism and their dependence on military power and alliances and to trust in God alone.
One of the reasons for turning to God is the realization that he is sovereignly in control of life. Hosea confesses that the God who “has torn us to pieces” (Hos. 6:1; cf. the lion metaphor in 5:14) is able to heal the people. God can also bind up the festering wounds full of pus (6:1b; see 5:12). These acts affirm Hosea’s belief in God’s power and dependability to respond to their repentance. This hope is based on his earlier promises to restore those who turn from their evil ways and repent (2:16–23; 3:4–5; cf. Deut. 4:25–31; 32:39).
Hosea is confident God will respond quickly to the people’s turning to God—in two to three days (Hos. 6:2).5 Some see this as a national resurrection from the dead similar to Ezekiel 37, but the context of Hos. 6:1 suggests this is comparable to the reviving of a severely injured soldier.6 Hosea also hopes to persuade the people to repent before they die from God’s judgment. His desire is not just to see the nation revived (or resurrected) from its stricken state in the distant future, but to see the people “live in his presence” now.
It will take a mighty miracle of human confession and divine grace before God will revive this people and “restore” them, but it is possible. The people will have to “acknowledge the LORD” (6:3), a reversal of the present state of having no acknowledgment of God in the land (4:1, 6; 5:4). They will have to commit themselves to knowing their God in a personal covenant relationship. If they do this, God will respond to them.
Hosea motivates any doubters with the promise of the reliability of God (6:3). His appearance is not only 100 percent sure—like the positive experience of sunlight (a contrast to darkness) and rain (a contrast to drought). These comparisons are probably chosen because everyone knows that the sun and rain can be counted on and because these physical elements bring new life to dying plants. This hope also contrasts God’s withdrawal from the nation (5:6, 15) with his gracious coming (6:3).
God’s Frustration with Israel’s Seeking of God (6:4–6)
GOD’S RESPONSE TO Hosea’s invitation begins with a lament of disappointment. It is not that he does not know what to do; it is that he does not really want to do what he has to do. Somewhat like frustrated parents who are at their wits end on how to raise a deviant son, God wonders what he can do to bring about a real change in his people’s hearts. The internal struggle suggests that he loves Israel and Judah dearly and does not want to punish them. But when they do not respond appropriately, what can he do? He has warned them, chastened them to wake them up, and promised hope if they repent. What more can he do?
God’s dissatisfaction with the devotion of his people is based on the fleeting nature of their covenant love for him (6:4b). Like dew, it disappears as quickly as a vapor. Commitments mean nothing; their consistency never lasts; they are positive one day and negative the next. They say they will seek God and worship him, but soon they are inquiring of Baal and depending on military power instead of on God. They do not seem to know what loyalty means. Because God’s people do not consistently maintain their covenant relationship with him, he has sent prophets like Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and others to declare in no uncertain terms what punishments God will send (6:5). These prophets declared God’s intention to slay them for their sins if they did not love God with all their hearts.
These people know what they should do because God’s “justice went forth as a light” (not NIV, “my judgments flashed like lightning upon you”).7 D. Stuart suggests that God’s justice “functions like (sun)light, appearing daily and exposing what had been hidden,”8 so that the darkness of their ways are known to him. In spite of this, all they can do is to mechanically bring their sacrificial gifts at their syncretistic temples to appease God (Hos. 6:6). What God wants is their “consistent covenant devotion” (not “mercy,” as in NIV). They need to know God by having a living relationship with him. Their worship at their temples does not satisfy the Lord because he wants them to love him, fear him, worship only him, serve him, and obey him (Deut. 10:12). Going through the religious motions will not cut it with God.
Bridging Contexts
GOD’S PLAN FOR REVIVAL. Hosea describes what God has done and will do to revive the spiritual vitality of his people. In order to bring them back to a personal relationship with himself, he has repeatedly revealed his will so that people may know what is expected. God’s will has been made known in the Torah and through various prophets (Hos. 6:5). This information is a light to their path because it explains in practical terms how God’s justice works (6:5b). Without the power and wisdom of the words of God, revival is impossible. These instructions will help people understand what they are to believe and do (6:6).
Just completing the prescribed ritual is not enough, however—not in Hosea’s day or in Jesus’ day. Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6 to show the Pharisees that God is more interested in the deeper principles like mercy, not just the keeping of the minor rules of Sabbath and sacrifice (Matt. 9:13; 12:7).
The basic principle established here is that rebelliousness often comes from rejecting the revelation of the Torah and the prophets. When this happens, it may be necessary for God to take more severe action to bring people back to himself. These initiatives may include severe warnings of judgment, possibly even the experience of a military defeat (Hos. 5:8–14). If people continually fail to respond to these divine chastenings, God may choose to withdraw his grace and protection and to abandon his people (5:15).
Yet because of God’s deep and abiding love, which does not desire that any should perish (Ezek. 18:23; 2 Peter 3:9), he does not give up in frustration on those he loves (Hos. 6:4a). He may withdraw for a while until people see the folly of their ways, but that withdrawal does not prevent people from seeking a new relationship with him. He will call his rebellious people to reject their sinful ways and return to him and will be quick to revive and heal those who respond. He will bind up their wounds, restore them, and let them live in his favored presence (6:1–2).
God’s plan for revival is sure because he is the active power carrying out his plan. That plan is as sure as the cycles of nature, for he controls both. When he comes to those who respond to him, he will bring blessings with him (6:3). Although Hosea may not mention the work of the Spirit in revival (see Ezek. 11:17–21; 18:30–32; 36:26–27) and various other aspects of revival that appear in Acts, this picture in Hosea makes it clear that God is in charge and that he has a deep desire to renew his fellowship with his people.
People choose revival. God’s persistence in calling his people back to himself is evident from the messages of all the prophets (Hos. 6:5). But revival cannot happen unless people are willing to change their theology and behavior. Hosea makes it clear that his audience needs to respond to God’s initiatives and transform their lives. Before revival can germinate and take root, people must “admit their guilt” and “earnestly seek me” (Hos. 5:15). As the text indicates, this often happens when the misery of punishment and disappointment pushes people to look to God for some hope, after all human hope is gone.
Revival involves people choosing to return to God and believing he is able to heal them (6:1). This is a response to God, his character, and his promises. Although Hosea does not use the term faith, the confident statements that God “will revive us . . . he will restore us” (6:2) represent a reliance and confidence that demonstrate trust in God. Such statements proclaim that deliverance is only through the gracious act of God and is not based on human abilities or worth. The choice of revival is not pictured as a single decision but as a pressing on to know God through an intimate covenant relationship (6:3).
True revival is not a transitory event with no lasting effect on a person’s life. God will not accept a temporary change that disappears the next day (6:4). He wants people whose hearts are deeply devoted to loving him and who willingly acknowledge his lordship over their lives (6:6).
Participation in a few religious services will not satisfy God (cf. Jesus’ reiteration of this principle in Matt. 9:13; 12:1–8), for only the evidence of a changed life verifies the presence of a revived spirit. Jesus and Hosea agree that merely participating in ritual or knowing the law does not make one a truly repentant believer. God wants the heart and soul, not just the lips and exterior facade. Life-transforming revival is the conscious choice to live in God’s presence for the purpose of glorifying his name and reflecting his character in daily life.
Contemporary Significance
THE PRINCIPLES OF revival are seen in churches throughout the world when God’s Spirit moves to renew his work in people’s lives. Before teaching this passage one should read several books on the revivals of the great preachers of the past to learn about God’s marvelous work to revive the church.9 Comparison of those experiences with Hosea’s will be obvious.
All leaders of revival recognize that the change in people’s lives is solely due to the powerful transformational moving of God. T. Phillips’s account of the Welsh revival in 1859 states that the “best feature of all in the aspect of the present times . . . is the fact, now acknowledged even by the world, that there is a power at work in the hearts and conscience of people that is not to be accounted for by any human hypothesis. . . . These are ‘times of refreshing from the PRESENCE OF THE LORD.’ ”10 Later in the 1904 Welsh revival God used Evan Roberts initially to transform seventeen people; before God’s work was done, over 37,000 people came forward to confess their sins.11 H. Blackaby’s study of experiencing God also emphasizes that “God always takes the initiative. He does not wait to see what we want to do for Him. After he has taken the initiative to come to us, He does wait until we respond to Him by adjusting ourselves to Him and making ourselves available to Him.”12
Just as God sent prophets in the Old Testament to deliver God’s word (Hos. 6:5), God’s modern means of revival is usually through fervent prayer and a renewed hunger for the teachings of the Bible. I. Murray puts it this way: “God works in accordance with his Word. Without Scripture there is no ‘work of the Spirit.’ The test whether experience is of the Spirit of God or of ‘another spirit’ is whether or not it brings greater understanding of the Bible and a closer obedience to it.”13
As one reads the Scriptures and books on revival, the theology of Hosea jumps forth again and again. God is about the business of calling people to “admit their guilt” and “earnestly seek” him. Moses instructed the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:29–31 to seek God in their day of distress and search for him with all their hearts. When they return to God, he will have compassion on them and will not fail to accomplish his will through them. In Solomon’s great prayer at the dedication of God’s holy temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:31–39), he requests God to bring revival when the people confess their sins, pray, and turn to God.14 Isaiah 55:6–7 encourages people to “seek the LORD while he may be found. . . . Let the wicked forsake his way, and the evil man his thought. Let him turn to the LORD.” In all cases revival is a human response to God’s call for fellowship.
Although some revivals may last a relatively short time, true revival in the heart thoroughly changes the individual forever. True transformation is not a transient affair. In the revivals led by David Morgan in Wales, the “effects were not transient. They left a deep impression on our minds, and have influenced our conduct for good. We feel more serious, more ready to speak about our religious life, more anxious as regards the salvation of the world, and more desirous that the Lord would dwell among us.”15
Revival enables a person to know and experience God as a real, living, powerful person. Those who dutifully mouth hymns about God, daydream through sermons, and drop in their obligatory offering are like the spiritually dead Israelites who followed the rules and regulations but did not truly know God (Hos. 6:6). They are the modern Pharisees whom Jesus would condemn if he were here (Matt. 12:7). They are more interested in legalities and human traditions and are not as concerned about righteousness, mercy, and love for God. They are the people in the church who are spiritually dead and in need of revival.
Revival is not an optional course of action for a church. It needs to be a vital part of every church calendar and a prayer concern of every believer. Revival is about living for God and glorifying his name. It encourages people to be restored from a cold, deadened condition to a living state of joy and peace. Spiritual leaders in the church need to encourage people to return to God, to look to him for restoration, and to desire to live in his marvelous presence. If a spiritual leader rejects the path of revival, the church will die.