Hosea 6:3

Hosea 6:3

A Call to Repentance

1 Come,^a and let us return to the Lord;
For ^bHe has torn, but ^cHe will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will¹ bind us up.

2 ^aAfter two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.

3 ^aLet us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established ^bas the morning;
^cHe will come to us ^dlike the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Impenitence of Israel and Judah

4 “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.

5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by ^athe words of My mouth;
And¹ your judgments are like light that goes forth.

6 For I desire ^amercy and ^bnot sacrifice,
And the ^cknowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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know, if we follow on to know the Lord—The result of His recovered favor (Hosea 6:2) will be onward growth in saving knowledge of God, as the result of perseverance in following after Him (Psalms 63:8; Isaiah 54:13). "Then" implies the consequence of the revival in Hosea 6:2. The "if" is not so much conditional, as expressive of the means which God's grace will sanctify to the full enlightenment of Israel in the knowledge of Him. As want of "knowledge of God" has been the source of all evils (Hosea 4:1; Hosea 5:4), so the knowledge of Him will bring with it all blessings; yea, it is "life" (John 17:3). This knowledge is practice, not mere theory (Jeremiah 22:15-16). Theology is life, not science; realities, not words. This onward progress is illustrated by the light of "morning" increasing more and more "unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18).

prepared—"is sure," literally, "fixed," ordered in His everlasting purposes of love to His covenant-people. Compare "prepared of God" (Genesis 41:32, Margin; Revelation 12:6). Jehovah shall surely come to the relief of His people after their dark night of calamity.

as the morning— (II Samuel 23:4).

as the rain . . . latter . . . former— (Job 29:23; Joel 2:23). First, "the rain" generally is mentioned; then the two rains (Deuteronomy 11:14) which caused the fertility of Palestine, and the absence of which was accounted the greatest calamity: "the latter rain" which falls in the latter half of February, and during March and April, just before the harvest whence it takes its name, from a root meaning " to gather"; and "the former rain," literally, "the darting rain," from the middle of October to the middle of December. As the rain fertilizes the otherwise barren land, so God's favor will restore Israel long nationally lifeless.

**Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Hosea 6:3:**

Song of Solomon 3:4
Hosea 6:1
Hosea 6:1
Hosea 6:4
Hosea 6:6
Hosea 14:5
Joel 2:23
Amos 4:7
Zechariah 14:17
Philippians 3:16

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Hosea 6:4 >>

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