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The sin of Israel was spiritual adultery. The people were
worshipping God, and at the same time, they were looking to
other gods (4:12-13). Idolatry is not merely abandonment of
the worship of the living and true God, but it is also the
worship of the true and living God as one of the many false
gods.
So God’s indictment against Israel was that she was
defiled (5:3); that the people did “frame their doings to
turn unto…God” (5:4).
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Your desires define who you are and what you think of
God. Frame your doings toward God.
Israel’s “repentance”
Because of the people’s sins, God had removed everything
that they held dear. Left with nothing, they say, “Let us
return unto the LORD” (6:1). But their repentance was not
real for two reasons.
A. There is No Reference to Sin
The people acknowledged that they were smitten by God, but
they did not acknowledged the sin which was the cause of
their suffering.
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“Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation… the sorrow of
the world worketh death” (2 Cor 7:10).
A. There is No True Knowledge of God
The children of Israel did not really know God. They saw
their relationship with God in a mechanical way. They
returned to God for the same reason Gomer returned to Hosea
not out of love but of need (2:7b).
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Do not presume upon God’s mercy.
God’s response
The omniscient God knows the intents and thoughts of our
hearts. He knew that the love of Israel for Him was
transient. He also knew that Israel’s knowledge of Him was
mistaken.
A. Israel’s Love for God is Transient
“For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early
dew it goeth away” (6:4). The people’s love for God does not
last. It cannot stand the test of time.
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Always remember God’s mercy and love.
B. Israel’s Knowledge of God is Mistaken
When God pronounced His judgment against the people of
Israel, their defence was that they had worshipped God with
sacrifices and burnt offerings But God says, “I desired
mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than
burnt offerings” (6:6).
This is a statement that made no sense to the
children of Israel. In the Pentateuch, God had commanded the
people to worship Him by an elaborate system of sacrifices
and burnt offerings
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The OT sacrifices are lessons that teach us the vital
principle that our relationship with God is based upon
sacrifice.
God’s real desire
Hosea was not the only prophet who said God did not want the
burnt offerings of the people.
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GOD DOES NOT WANT SACRIFICES AND BURNT OFFERINGS |
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Isaiah 1:11-15 |
Amos 5:21-23 |
Micah 6:6-7 |
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To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices
unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt
offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I
delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs,
or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me,
who hath required this at your hand, to tread my
courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an
abomination unto me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the
calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is
iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons
and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a
trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when
ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes
from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not
hear: your hands are full of blood. |
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not
smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me
burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not
accept them: neither will I regard the peace
offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me
the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the
melody of thy viols.
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Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow
myself before the high God? shall I come before him
with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or
with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my
firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body
for the sin of my soul?
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GOD WANTS MERCY |
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Isaiah 1:16-17 |
Amos 5:24 |
Micah 6:8 |
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Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your
doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the
oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the
widow. |
But let judgment run down as waters, and
righteousness as a mighty stream. |
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what
doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
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In the New Testament, although we do not need to offer
sacrifices anymore, the Word of God does express our praise
and worship as a sacrifice (Hebrews 13:15), our giving as a
sacrifice (2 Cor 8:3-5), and our service for God as a
sacrifice (Rom 12:1).
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Acts of devotion without sincerity are meaningless.
In Hosea 6:6, the words “mercy” and “knowledge of God” are
parallel expressions. The children of Israel did not really
know God, and they did not love God. This knowledge of God
is not a knowledge of facts or skills. Rather, it is the
knowledge of a personal relationship with God. The verb know
is translated as “feel” (Job 20:20) and “acquainted (Isa
53:3). The knowledge manifests itself in our showing mercy
toward God.
The word “mercy” (Heb: hesed) means
to have loyalty to another person in a covenant
relationship. The first person in that covenant relationship
is of course God (2:23). The second person in the covenant
relationship is other believers.
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To the sinner, it is to come humbly before God and
confess our Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
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To the believer, God does not desire the sacrifices of
our worship and service unless they are offered with mercy –
steadfast love. As believers, we must also extend mercy to
other believers (Isa 1:16-17; James 1:27).
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