Hosea 6
Recently, there was a viral video going around that had a catchy tune and it spawned lots of copy cats and parodies…
The video I am talking about is “What does the Fox say?”.
Very quickly, lots of people all around the world were wondering, imitating, creating, yapping what the fox would say…
I admit… I was one of those… irritating my family to no end with my
Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!
Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!
It is strange that in the world today… nonsensical things like this is appreciated and spread like wildfire… but the Word that truly matters is not.
Let’s hear the Word of the Lord today and may it ring in our ears instead of what the fox says…
Bible Passage: Hosea 6
For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.~ Hosea 6:6
It is good as we come to the end of another year to reflect how our year went?
Go to church regularly? Check!
Pray and sing hymns? Check!
Do some church work? Check!
Spread the Gospel? Check!
We all supposed that we have done our duty and part in God’s plan. But have we, because of the repetitive nature of what we do, go through the motions rather than actually doing all this with our heart and mind?
That was what Hosea was asking today. In chapter 6, he complained that the people of God had forgotten what was true worship. They thought they were doing alright… they made their sacrifices but their hearts were not with God. Instead, they were more focused on themselves and even had a desire for other gods.
Verse 6 is what God is saying today as well… Let’s break it down…
“I desire”
Our whole faith is to do the will of God. It is to do what God desires.
Many a times we forget that and want God to do what we desire instead.
“Mercy”
This word “Mercy” has been translated to also mean kindness, loving kindness, loyalty and holiness.
It tells us of a tender affection that should be directed to God.
When Jesus was eating with the tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees could not wait to criticize Him. Jesus used these very words from Hosea to remind them…
The Pharisees were offering sacrifices. In fact, they were doing all the right things in their worship and service of God… on the surface. The problem was they did not love God. They had no tender compassion and loving kindness towards their fellow men. They did things according to the letter of the law and not in the spirit of love and mercy.
“Not sacrifice”
Jesus did not mean that we should not sacrifice.
We all know that since Genesis, we have read of God’s people making sacrifices to Him and that it pleased Him.
What Jesus meant here was to emphasize that though He desired sacrifice, He desired even more for us to have mercy – loving kindness, compassion etc.
“The knowledge of God”
Hosea was not talking about accumulating book knowledge or facts.
In the Bible, when we talk about the knowledge of God, it refers to having an intimate personal relationship with Him.
We should know a lot about God.
Everyone knows about God – even the atheists. But many do not have the personal relationship that comes from having the Word of God in their hearts.
They feel nothing for God. They just know Him as a man or some historical character.
For us, it must be different.
So let us consider our ways as we start this week and hear what God says.