Hosea 6:6 - God Desires A Love Relationship With Us And Not Just Formal Rituals.
Hosea 6:6 - God Desires A Love Relationship With Us And Not Just
Formal Rituals.
Hosea 6:6 (NKJV) For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6 (TEV) I want your constant love, not your animal
sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to
me.
Hosea 6:6 (NCV) I want faithful love more than I want animal
sacrifices. I want people to know me more than I want burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6 (NLT) I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I
want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6 (EAV) For I desire and delight in dutiful steadfast
love and goodness not sacrifice, and the knowledge of and
acquaintance with God more than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6 (CWR) You knew that I wanted your love, not more
animal sacrifices. I desired a relationship with you, not more burnt
offerings.
This verse is echoed in the words of our Lord in Matt. 9:13;
12:7. [Believer's SB]
WORD STUDY
Mercy means "loyalty" or "devotion" (4:1). [Nelson SB]
Loyalty. The Hebrew word is used about 250 times in the OT. It
means loyal, steadfast, or faithful love and stresses the idea of a
belonging together of those involved in the love relationship. [Ryrie SB]
God wants the loving obedience of His people more than He wants
their animal sacrifices. [Disciple SB]
This love is not love for God as distinguished from love for
one's fellow-men, but both. [Wycliffe Bible Commentary]
Repeatedly in Scripture the Lord tells us that while He has no
desire for half-hearted religious ritual, He greatly desires hearts on
fire for Him--those who will joyfully love God and love others. [Life
Principles SB By Charles Stanley]
Sacrifice apart from faithfulness to the Lord's will is wholly
unacceptable to him (see 1Sa 15:22-23; Isa 1:11-20; Jer 7:21-22; Am 5:21-24;
Mic 6:6-8; Mt 9:13; 12:7). [NIV SB]
CONTEXT & OVERVIEW
The iniquity in Israel during the last half century before the
Assyrian captivity was like that of the days of Noah, and of every other
age when men have rejected God and have given themselves wholly to
evil-doing. The exaltation of nature above the God of nature, the worship of
the creature instead of the Creator, has always resulted in the
grossest of evils. Thus when the people of Israel, in their worship of
Baal and Ashtoreth, paid supreme homage to the forces of nature, they
severed their connection with all that is uplifting and ennobling, and
fell an easy prey to temptation. With the defenses of the soul broken
down, the misguided worshipers had no barrier against sin and yielded
themselves to the evil passions of the human heart. {PK 281.4} [Remnant
SB]
In chapters 4-6 Hosea demonstrates how the nation has broken
each of the Ten Commandments. Can you find one statement
corresponding to each broken command? [Your Daily Walk SB]
No doubt all the neighbors talked about Gomer's sins and pointed
an accusing finger at her. But now Hosea points a finger at them
and reveals their sins. His message reads like today's newspaper;
read 4:1-2 especially. Swearing, lying, drunkenness, murder,
treachery, adultery, idolatry-these sins and many more were rampant in the
nation. And to make matters worse, the nation tried to cover her sins
with a shallow "religious revival" (6:1-6). Hosea is a master
preacher; see how he pictures the spiritual condition of the people: (1) a
morning cloud (6:4), here one minute, gone the next; (2) a half-baked
cake (7:8), for their religion had not gotten deep into their lives,
but was a surface thing; (3) gray hairs (7:9), losing their strength
but ignorant of the change; (4) a silly dove (7:11), unstable,
flitting from one political ally to another; (5) a deceitful bow (7:16)
that you cannot depend on. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
Like the rain (6:1-3). When we come back to God, He brings
the dawning of a new day with the refreshing showers. The God who
chastens us also heals and revives us. Why do we delay? Because of what
we are like!
Like a morning cloud and the dew (6:4-11). Israel's loyalty
did not last but vanished like a cloud and evaporated like the dew.
They brought sacrifices and engaged in religious services, but those
activities made no difference in the way they lived. Their sacrifices were
substitutes for obedience (1 Sam. 15:21-23; Amos 5:21-24). [Chapter by
Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe]
The prophet sounded a note given also by the other
eighth-century prophets (cf. Isa 1:11-17; Amos 5:21-24; Mic 6:6-8): God desires
true faith rather than empty sacrifice (cf. Matt 9:13; 12:7). This
was not a denial of sacrifice as such but only of improper,
faithless sacrifice. God had commanded the people to sacrifice, but the
ceremony had to be marked by a proper attitude of heart; otherwise it was
meaningless and worthless (cf. 5:6). [Expositors Bible Commentary]
COMMENTARY APPLICATION
God says many times that he doesn't want our gifts and
sacrifices when we give them out of ritual or hypocrisy. God wants us first
to love and obey him
1 Sa 15:22-23; Obedience is far better than sacrifice.
2 Psa 40:6-8; God doesn't want burnt offerings; he wants our
lifelong service.
3 Psa 51:16-19; God isn't interested in penance; he wants a
broken and contrite heart.
4 Jer 7:21-23; It isn't sacrifices God wants; he desires our
obedience and promises that he will be our God and we will be his people.
5 Hos 6:6; God doesn't want sacrifices; he wants our loving
loyalty. He doesn't want offerings; he wants us to acknowledge him.
6 Amo 5:21-24; God hates pretense and hypocrisy; he wants to see
justice roll on like a river.
7 Mic 6:6-8; God is not satisfied with offerings; he wants us to
be fair and just and merciful, and to walk humbly with him.
8 Mat 9:13; God doesn't want sacrifices; he wants us to be
merciful. [Life Application SB]
Religious rituals can help people understand God and nourish
their relationship with him. That is why God instituted circumcision
and the sacrificial system in the Old Testament and baptism and the
Lord's Supper in the New Testament. But a religious ritual is helpful
only if it is carried out with an attitude of love for and obedience
to God. If a person's heart is far from God, ritual will become
empty mockery. God didn't want the Israelites' rituals; he wanted
their hearts. Why do you worship? What is the motive behind your
"offerings" and "sacrifices"? [Life Application SB]
Our heart attitude toward God comes first. Only then can we
properly obey and observe religious regulations and rituals. God wants to
see the power and not just the form of religion in each of us. It
takes quality time with our Maker to have this power otherwise we just
have the form. [Life Application SB re Mat.12:7]
Some people are hopelessly optimistic.
"I know," they say. "I know I did wrong, and God has punished
me for it. But all I have to do is come back to Him. If I just say,
'I'm sorry,' everything will be all right. Won't it?"
That's the kind of blithe optimism portrayed in verses 1-3.
And it makes God shake His head in frustration. These people seem to
think that some superficial turning to religion is what God wants.
They seem to think that if they come to God and say "please," the
LORD will be so delighted that He'll fall all over Himself to do them
good.
But God wasn't interested in superficial religion then. And
He isn't impressed by it today. God's judgments were intended to
bring about a fundamental change in attitude, not a return to church!
And so God said, "Your love is like a morning mist," and "I desire
mercy, not sacrifice."
What do these two phrases tell us? First, that God isn't
interested in fleeting emotions we may feel toward Him. He wants complete
commitment. There's a vast difference between the "I love you's"
breathlessly exchanged in the backseat of a car, and the "I do's" shared at a
wedding!
Second, love for God is to be shown not just in religious
ceremonies but in daily life. Flowers are nice. But real love is better
shown by helping with the dishes, changing dirty diapers, and "being
there" when support and encouragement are needed. God isn't satisfied
with a bouquet tossed His way on Sabbath. He wants us to show our
love for Him daily by doing His will. And so God seems to shake His
head, and in frustration wonder aloud, "What can I do with you,
Ephraim?" Despite the testimony of God's Law and the words of His
prophets, Israel's concept of relationship with the LORD still remained
shallow. And today we also tend to have a shallow concept of God.
God has no use for a "love" that is as fleeting and
insubstantial as a morning mist. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary mod.]
No amount of activity for God will ever take the place of a
heart that is right with Him. Through the ages God's people have been
persuaded that they could please Him through their service and their
offerings, regardless of their heart condition. King Saul offered generous
sacrifices, hoping God would overlook his disobedience (1Sa 15:22-23). David
may have assumed that after all he had done on God's behalf, God
would overlook his sin (2Sa 12:7-15). Ananias and Sapphira thought
that their generous gift to the church would compensate for their
deceitfulness (Ac 5:1-11). Paul was certainly one who had thought his
zealousness would please God. After his conversion, however, he concluded
that even if he had faith to remove mountains, gave all he had to
feed the poor, and offered his body to be burned for the sake of God,
and yet had a heart that was not right, it would all be for nothing
(1Co 13:1-3).
We are susceptible to the same misunderstanding as all of
these people were. We can be deceived into assuming God is more
interested in our activity for Him than He is in the condition of our
heart. God has consistently made it clear that He will not be pacified
by even the most generous offerings and zealous service if our
hearts are not right with Him (Mic. 6:6-8). No matter how much we do in
God's service, regardless of how active we are in our church, no
matter how honorable our reputation in the Christian community, He will
not overlook a sinful heart. His desire is that we devote ourselves
to knowing Him and loving Him with all of our hearts. [Experiencing
God Day by Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby re Hos. 6:6]
The doctor carefully examines his patient but can find no
explanation for the young boy's unusual and persistent abdominal pains.
Suddenly the child blurts out, "I know what the problem is - green
apples!" "But how can you know for sure?" the doctor inquires. The boy
replies, "I have inside information."
Truth is transforming - but only when it is internalized.
God's Word brings conviction - but only when you expose your life to
its convicting truths. God's Word is likened to milk (1 Peter 2:2),
meat (Hebrews 5:12, 14), and honey (Psalm 19:10) - but it is only
nourishing when you feed upon it. An untouched pantry full of food is as
useless physically as an unopened Bible is spiritually.
Israel's spiritual bankruptcy could be traced to her vast
treasure of untouched truth. It wasn't that the people didn't know about
God. In fact, their very existence as a nation was based on that
knowledge. Rather, they had failed to live by that knowledge - to embrace
its implications in their individual and national lives.
How about you? Do you have "inside information" based on a
living relationship with Jesus Christ? If you have never done so
before, invite your loving Savior to come into your life. You'll
discover that to know him is to love him! [Daily Walk Bible]
MISCELLANEOUS OR RELATED THOUGHTS
Love God always, and you will always obey. [The 365-Day
Devotional Commentary]
The word of God will be the death either of the sin or of the
sinner. [Matthew Henry Commentary]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
Grace Notes: http://www.e-gracenotes.org/index.php
A Better Way to Live: http://www.itiswritten.com/betterway/
Excellent Spiritual Resource Site:
http://www.christianlifemediacenter.com/
More Spiritual Resources: http://www.aBible.com
GREAT SITE FOR CHRIST CENTERED BIBLE STUDIES:
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
GREAT SITE FOR BIBLE MEMORIZATION RESOURCES:
The FAST Program: http://www.fast.st/fast/index.php
