Hosea 5:15-6:6 (NRSV)
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Verse 15I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor:
Chapter 6"Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. Verse 2After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Verse 3Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth."
Verse 4What 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 away early. Verse 5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. Verse 6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Devotion
where our strength comes from, in times of renewal, we return to God. As imperfect people, there is this sort of ebb and flow to our faithfulness.
In Hosea 6:1-3, God longs for the people of Israel to return, imagining them saying words like this: “Come, let us return to the Lord.” God calls them out for their fleeting love that vanishes so quickly like the clouds and the dew. God desires a steadfast kind of love and devotion that goes deep.
The prophet Hosea invites us to notice how, even in moments when our faith seems to slip away, God does not turn away from us. God waits patiently, not for perfection, but for presence. We are being invited to not just return but remain faithful with God.
Prayer
Merciful God, help us to remain continually present and faithful to you. Let our love for you not be as fleeting as the morning dew but as deep and steadfast as the living water that never runs dry. Amen.
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