Hosea 6:1–3, “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (ESV).
These verses capture the beautiful tension that lies at the heart of true repentance, and indeed at the heart of the Gospel: Hope amidst mourning, healing amidst brokenness, and love amidst judgement.
The passage begins in a place of brokenness. God has torn Israel and struck them down. This follows closely from the preceding passage, where God said, “For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue” (Hosea 5:14). As the chapter begins, Israel now sits amidst the ashes of their sin, having borne the severity of God’s punishment. Based on the historical accounts of 1 and 2 Kings, which recount the wickedness of the northern kingdom in great detail, we know they had more than earned God’s judgement.
This passage should have marked God’s rejection of them. Indeed, by the resurrection metaphors of v. 2, Israel currently lay dead. There could have been no doubt in their minds how severely they had grieved God. After such a demonstration of His wrath, surely their relationship had broken beyond repair. How could they ever stand before God again in the shame and disgrace of their sins? How could they dare face the One they had hurt so deeply?
How counterintuitive, then, are the words that open this passage? “Come, let us return to the LORD.” Such a call should make no sense. How could the very God they had wounded now call them back? Why would He plead with them to return? How could He be so ready to forgive them? And yet, this is precisely what Hosea writes. “For he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.” God had not punished them to reject them, but rather, to call them back. Even now, after all they had done, His love for them had not failed. A passage that should have ended in a place of hopelessness is instead pierced by God’s light. In the midst of their brokenness, God offered healing. In the midst of His judgement, He offered forgiveness.
The wrath of God against sin is a serious matter, and this passage does not treat it lightly. But, as severely as God punishes sin, He loves and forgives exceedingly more abundantly. Israel had committed great evils, and God rightly hated their sin. And yet, underneath the mud that now stained them, He still saw His beloved children—so lost, so broken, and so in need of salvation. They had hurt Him, but they also needed Him. And so He begged them to return.
Verse 2, “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.” Two and three days are not meant literally; Hosea uses poetic language to show that God will not delay in showing mercy. After only a short time, they would see restoration from their devastation. God was slow to anger, but He would be quick to forgive. And for what purpose would He revive them? “That we may live before him.” God did not wish to keep them at arm’s length after they sinned; He wished for them to dwell in His presence. It should scarcely be possible that a holy God would welcome back into His arms children so stained with sin. Yet He does. He welcomes them into His arms, He washes away their dirt and mud, and He never lets them go.
Verse 3, “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” When His children desire to return to Him, however far they have wandered, God will find them. If they press on to know the LORD, He will come to them as the dawn, with radiant light and warmth, and as the spring rains, bringing revitalization and life.
These opening verses are a deeply heartfelt and moving plea. The tragedy, however, is that they fell on deaf ears. As we know, the northern kingdom never returned to God. He desired so deeply to forgive them, but they refused, and that broke His heart. Verse 4, “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.”
You can hear the pain in God’s words. “What shall I do with you?” As long as they refused to return, His hands were tied. He couldn’t force them to accept His forgiveness. He says their love is like a morning cloud and like the dew that goes early away. They would pass brief seasons giving lip service to Him, but even that love would quickly dissipate. God so deeply desired the love of His people, yet all He got were a few halfhearted sacrifices and the occasional empty ritual. It was all external.
So, He tried everything He could to reach them. Verse 5, “Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.” God sent prophet after prophet to rebuke them, proclaiming harsh judgements. He hewed them in pieces with His words; He tore them and struck them down. He wanted nothing more than to shower His children with blessings, but they were so bent on sinning that He had no choice but to wound them in the hope that it might jolt them awake so they could return to Him.
Finally, v. 6, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” God did not want empty external practices; He wanted their hearts. Rather than burnt offerings, He wanted them to know Him. Rather than sacrifices, He wanted their steadfast love. It was all about the heart. It was the one thing God desired, and it was the one thing He never received from His people.
The passage is at once touching and heartbreaking. Israel never did return to God, but our story does not need to end in the same way. “Come, let us return to the LORD.” God extends this same call to us in the midst of our sins. Among the ashes of our failures and messes, He beckons us to return home. He has torn us, but He will heal us. He punishes severely, but He forgives abundantly.
So often, our own love for God is like dew that quickly evaporates. It is easy to fall into a religion of merely externals, while inside, our love grows cold. The very God who has given us all things falls to the bottom of our list of priorities. But God desires our heart, not our empty rituals. He is seeking love, worship, and obedience. He desires it so deeply that, as in v. 5, He will often stop short of nothing to shake us out of our spiritual apathy. At times, His rebuke may cut us deeply in order to pierce our hardened hearts. That will hurt.
But, even after He has torn us, He pleads with us to return. No matter how deeply you have grieved God, or however fleeting your love has been, He has not forsaken you. He is waiting to revive you so that you may live in His presence once more. Therefore, renew your love for Him and seek Him. When you run back to your Father—broken and messy, stained by sins and weaknesses—He will never recoil. Rather, He will run out to meet you, and hold you there in His arms. “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
Milton ON