Read Hosea 6:1-3. Things are looking up, right? Could it be that they are starting to get it? They are recognizing that God is the one who can restore them. They are recognizing they need to get to know Him.
Read the remainder of Hosea 6:4-11. Here we go again!
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In verse 4,
what is the Israelites love compared to?
A fleeting
love. A “love” to get what they
want. To avoid punishment. But we all know this isn’t what God has in
mind. Suffering can turn people to God, but not really change them. We talked last week about trials in our lives
that brought us to our knees. We need to
make sure it results in change, not just temporarily seeking relief and then
forgetting God again once things turn around.
God desires for us to come to Him, but more than anything He desires
love and lasting relationship.
I want to
share verse 6 in a few different translations because I think this really gets
to the point and is something we can reflect on:
NIV:
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
New Living Translation: I want you to show love, not offer
sacrifices. I want you to know me more
than I want burnt offerings.
Message:
I’m after love that lasts, not
more religion. I want you to know God,
not go to more prayer meetings.
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What is your
reaction to this verse? How specifically
does it speak to you?
In our
study of Hosea chapter 2, we reflected on obedience and love when Hosea 2:16
said, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.” God wants us.
All of us. He wants us to turn
everything over to him. Yes, God wants
us to be obedient. But obedience without
love is often fake. We do something
because we think we are supposed to and it feels unnatural, uncomfortable and
like we are being a fake version of our true self. Obedience is still good and better than doing
nothing, but it is not the same as love.
I try very hard to “be good” and to “do the right things”, but when I
pray for help really loving God, really loving my neighbors and seeing the
world and people as God does, loving people as God does, my obedience is
easier. I am a long way from where I
should be here, but I am clinging to those prayers and the hope that God will
continue to transform my heart to a constant obedience out of love, not just
duty.
Jennie Allen writes:
And then I saw
God – the real God – and I saw the moment I would meet him. He was on his throne with eyes fixed on me,
questioning why I had sought my comfort more than him. Why had I loved people more than him? Why had I sat on every gift he had given me
to make him known? Because I cared more
about being judged by everyone else but him. 5
Matthew 6:33
says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well.”
Seek the Kingdom, not the provision, and the provision will be the
result.
This is big and feels like the essence of the book of Hosea to me. God wants knowledge, love, relationship…not just going through the motions. Not just doing “religious” stuff, even if it is good stuff. It isn’t the same and doesn’t substitute for true relationship and love. The “religious” things are often easy and we feel like we are doing our part…being good Christians. But that is not what it is about. Really reflect on this. Let’s really examine how we spend our time and where our heart is.
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Spend time
asking God to show you where you may be going through the motions instead of
engaging in true relationship. Ask God
to change your heart and give you a desire for relationship.
God, we know what is best for us and that is you. Help us become obedient out of love. We do studies like this because we desire to get there. Help us really know and love you. Please let it stick. Please let it be more than morning dew that quickly dries up.
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