It was another tough day at the table. Collecting taxes for the Romans was not easy. You had to have tough skin to do the job. Because it certainly didn’t make you a popular person in town, especially if you were Jewish.
On this particular day, Jesus walked by a tax collector’s table and saw a man named Matthew. “ ‘Follow me and be my disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9).
Later that day Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his place for dinner. He also invited others of his tax collector colleagues and other “disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with such scum?’ ” (Matthew 9:10–11).
The Pharisees’ response is understandable. Tax collectors were agents of the hated Roman government. So most Jews naturally resented paying the Romans, but they resented even more those Jews who did the Romans’ bidding. So why would Jesus associate with those who worked for the oppressive Roman government? This was the very type of oppression from which the Messiah was supposed to deliver his people.
His disciples could have answered this way. “Well, Jesus is different. He welcomes all people and doesn’t put anyone down for what they believe or what they do. We all need to be tolerant in today’s world—you know, accept different views and get along with everyone. Don’t you agree?”
Of course his disciples didn’t respond that way to the Pharisees. It was Jesus himself that responded.
When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:12–13).
Here Jesus tells the “learned” scholars of the day—the “experts” on the Hebrew text to “go and learn the meaning of this Scripture.” Jesus had quoted from Hosea 6:6, a book the Pharisees were very familiar with. This obviously made them look foolish in front of everyone—which is a bit humorous. It probably felt a little rewarding for the disciples and the bystanders to watch Jesus confronting the Pharisees, who thought they knew it all. And in this situation he seemed to really put them in their place.
But what is the meaning of Hosea 6:6, which Jesus quoted? At first blush we might think that Jesus meant that we should care about people rather than worry about the law. But is that what this passage really means?
Jesus’ very challenge “to go and learn the meaning” displays his insight. “Learn” in this passage is the Greek word manthano. This denotes learning by inquiry or observation. He was telling the Pharisees in effect that if they would dig deeper into Hosea 6:6, ask the right questions, and accurately observe what was going on there, they would understand why he was eating with sinners. Interestingly, Hosea was written to give the big-picture perspective on God’s master plan for Israel and all of us. And of course Jesus was a very critical part of that plan. But the Pharisees couldn’t see it. They didn’t understand the meaning of Hosea.
This often overlooked and perhaps obscure book in the Old Testament does in fact provide a clear perspective of what God was up to with Israel and even with us today. And through observation—knowing what to look for by asking the right questions—we can learn the meaning of this passage. So as an exercise we would ask that you take time to read the entire book of Hosea and ask the “who, what, where, when, why, how” questions. We will provide a background of the book here, pose various questions that can serve as your template, and give you space to note what you discover. In the next chapter we will provide in-depth observations on the book of Hosea. You can then compare them with what you have experienced from your own discovery.
The following has been gleaned from a Bible study and Bible handbook. We first ask: When was Hosea written and where? Who are the main characters? Why was the book written? Answering these questions gives us a context of the book.
Hosea was a prophet in ancient Israel. He wrote his book during the mid-700s BC. At the beginning of his time as a prophet, under the reign of King Jeroboam II, Israel expanded its borders, and some Israelites prospered greatly. After Jeroboam’s death everything changed. In fact, three decades later, the Northern Kingdom—Israel—was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire.
The Northern Kingdom had been worshipping pagan gods, and during this tumultuous time the Israelites turned even more desperately to their pagan worship. They hoped their gods would save them from destruction. Hosea was the messenger of the true God. He warned of the coming destruction and offered Israel hope if they would only return to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they would not.
God, of course, had made a covenant—a solemn promise—with Abraham over a thousand years before this. He said, “I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants” (Genesis 17:2). He promised Abraham’s descendants that they would be blessed and that he would be their loving covenant God of compassion and mercy. Moses told the children of Israel at Mount Sinai that God “did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the LORD loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors” (Deuteronomy 7:7–8).
“Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.’ ”
God wanted to powerfully illustrate the meaning of his commitment to Israel through Hosea. The main characters were Hosea and his wife, Gomer, and God and his children, the people of Israel. He chose marriage as the stage to unfold this profound living story of God and his wayward people—which is also applicable to us and the entire human race.
God made very specific promises to the children of Israel that will be literally fulfilled. And if you are not of the bloodline of Judah or any other Jewish tribe then certain promises He made to Israel don’t apply to you. But if you have been made a child of God through Christ, then the apostle Paul makes it clear that you are clearly part of God’s plan and his people. “And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles. Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.’ And, ‘Then, at the place where they were told, “You are not my people,” there they will be called “children of the living God’ ” (Romans 9:24–26). So while some of us may not be part of God’s chosen people, Israel, we are still a part of God’s called people, his church. With that as a background, take time now to read the 14 chapters of Hosea. When you are finished come back to this page and begin answering the questions. At the conclusion of this chapter we will ask you to interpret the passage Jesus quoted: Hosea 6:6.
Compare Matthew 9:13 and Hosea 6:6.
Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6. Fill in the word from Hosea 6:6: “I want you to show ______________________.” What is the Hebrew word used here, and what does it mean?
Review Hosea 1.
What did Hosea and Gomer name their children, what did their names mean, and why was that significant?
What kind of marriage was this, and why was it so dysfunctional?
What is God’s eventual plan regarding all this dysfunction?
How does this family dysfunction (Hosea-Gomer and God-Israel) relate to you? Are there times in your life that you can’t quite feel God’s love either? Write out a prayer to God that addresses any of your own dysfunctional relationships with God and others. Express your heart’s desire to him.
Review Hosea 2, 6, and 7.
Why is the wife unfaithful? What does she want—what is she looking for (chapter 2)?
Did Hosea provide her everything she needed (chapter 2)?
God is a faithful provider, yet Israel was unfaithful to God—why? (See chapters 6–7.)
What lures you away from a committed love relationship with God, and why?
In what way are you prompted to trust God more? Write out your prayer response to God.
Review Hosea 11.
What does Israel’s unfaithfulness cause God to feel?
How could God justifiably feel toward Israel, and what could he have done?
What could God justifiably do to you for your unfaithfulness, yet what has he done?
How does that make you feel—that God has shown you mercy rather than judgment? Write out your response to God here.
Review Hosea 2:4–5,9.
What does Hosea do (chapter 2) in response to Gomer’s adultery, and why?
What does God do (chapter 9) in response to Israel’s adultery, and why (chapter 5)?
Review Hosea 2 and 3.
What does it cost Hosea to get Gomer back (chapter 3)?
What did it cost God to get you back?
What kind of relationship do Gomer and Israel get when they return home (chapter 2)?
The God of hesed desires a deep, intimate husband-wife-type relationship with you. What does that prompt in you? Write out your response to God here.
Read Hosea 2:19–20. These verses were written to Israel but they are for you too, as well as for your family and friends. Summarize God’s overarching desire for a lost and doomed human race.
Read Matthew 9:12–13 and Hosea 6:1–6. What is the meaning of Hosea 6:6 within the context of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees? What was he saying to them about himself, about every fallen human who is not in relationship with him, and about those who do know God?
Now place yourself within the story of Hosea. What is God saying about you? What is your response to him?
In the next chapter we will walk through Hosea with you and provide an answer to each of the questions. The questions are actually answered by a Christian husband and father of two who sought the “meaning of the Scripture.” His life and relationships were changed. Read on.