Midvash

Hosea 6

Your love is like the morning mist

Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.a 2In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence.b 3Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”c 4“O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight.

5I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces— to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. 6I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.d 7But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust.

8“Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood. 9Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin. 10Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel: My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!

11“O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you, though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.

Commentary

Hosea 6 captures a moment of spiritual crisis and divine longing. The chapter opens with Israel's superficial call to repentance, a shallow return that God immediately exposes as fleeting as a morning cloud. In response, God delivers one of Scripture's most piercing declarations:

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Bible Dictionary· Hosea 6(5)

GileadHarvestIsraelLightRoad

Bible Characters· Hosea 6(2)

AdamShechem

References· Hosea 6

a
v.1 — Job 5:18, Deuteronomy 32:39, 1 Samuel 2:6, Lamentations 3:40-41, Hosea 14:4, Job 34:29, Isaiah 55:7, Isaiah 2:3, Jeremiah 30:17, Hosea 14:1
b
v.2 — 2 Kings 20:5, 1 Corinthians 15:4, Isaiah 26:19, Ezekiel 37:11-13, Hosea 13:14, John 14:19, Psalms 30:4-5, Genesis 17:18, Psalms 61:7, Romans 14:8
c
v.3 — Jeremiah 24:7, Hosea 14:5, Psalms 72:6, Proverbs 2:1-5, Philippians 3:13-15, Matthew 13:11, Revelation 22:16, Zechariah 10:1, Malachi 4:2, Micah 4:2
d
v.6 — I desire mercy, not sacrifice: Matthew 9:13, Matthew 12:7; Matthew 9:13, Matthew 12:7, Proverbs 21:3, 1 Samuel 15:22, Amos 5:21, Ecclesiastes 5:1, Isaiah 1:11, Matthew 5:7, Jeremiah 22:16, Daniel 4:27

New Living Translation (NLT) © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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