Scripture Text: Hosea 6:4-11
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:4-11
For centuries, people in regions of India believed that tobacco could whiten teeth. A 1992 law prohibited this dangerous ingredient in any dental care product, but a 2004 study by the World Health Organization revealed the practice was still common, especially in toothpaste used by adolescents. Despite medical evidence about the harmfulness of tobacco, people continued to believe that it was good for their teeth.
Belief without knowledge can be harmful. In my previous devotion on the book of Hosea, Israel praised God for being as consistent as the light of dawn. They failed to realize that God’s consistent light would strike them like lightning (v. 5), because their heart for God was as fleeting as a cloud of morning fog (v. 4). The Hebrew phrase translated as “lightning” in the New International Version (NIV) is rendered in other translations such as the English Standard Version (ESV) as “goes forth as the light” or “flash of lightning,” a play of words just like in verse 3.
Israel expected forgiveness, when in fact, judgment was coming.
Another translation difficulty shows up in verse 11. If you’re reading in ESV or NIV, you may have wondered why the chapter ends in the middle of a sentence. If you’re studying the New American Standard Bible (NASB) or the King James Version (KJV), you may have found it confusing that God’s promise of judgment seems to apply to Israel while hope is offered to Judah. Bible scholars have puzzled over those same questions, causing some translators (like the editors of the ESV or NIV) to conclude that the final phrase in verse 11 actually belongs with the opening verse of chapter 7. That conclusion seems to fit better with the context of the passage. Like the northern kingdom, Judah would reap a harvest of judgment in the immediate future. While Judah (and all of Israel) could look forward to future restoration, their stubborn sinfulness prevented them from receiving God’s appointed blessing.
Israel’s attempt at repentance was futile; they continued to offer sacrifices, but they never abandoned their sin. The sacrificial system was not a magic trick to make Israel’s sins disappear. It was supposed to be an expression of loyalty to God and acknowledgment of His supremacy. Without a genuine change of heart, Israel’s outward acts of worship were meaningless (v. 6).
Reflect
1. Have we really repented of our sins?
2. Do we see changes in us?
3. Do we really realize and recognize who truly God is and what He desires from us?
4. Do we see ourselves just like how Israel believed in treating repentance of our sins?
Remember
True repentance that is acceptable and pleasing to God is one that is not heard only but mostly seen. It starts with a genuine change of mind and heart that admit sins and asks God’s mercy for them. It is evident by a changed life that is brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God in one’s life. It is saying and confessing in one’s life, “Jesus is Lord.”
Read
1 Samuel 15:22; 1 John 2:3; 1 John 3:6
Pray
Dear heavenly Father, I thank You for Your grace. Thank You for reminding me that my repentance should be genuine and this is not due to my own consciousness of my sins but by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the revealing truth in Your Word and making me acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of my life; that what You are desiring from me is not my own made up ways and beliefs to please You, be acceptable to You, and merit Your forgiveness to my sins, but a changed mind and heart that is transformed, decided to hate sin and follow You. I know You are with me on this journey, so help me to trust and obey You always. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Comments