#1224 Hosea 6 Former and Latter Rains

 

“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.

2 After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will raise us up,

that we may live before him.

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.”

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.

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.

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;

there they dealt faithlessly with me.

8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with blood.

9 As robbers lie in wait for a man,

so the priests band together;

they murder on the way to Shechem;

they commit villainy.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

Ephraim's whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.

11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I restore the fortunes of my people, Hosea 6 ESV

Hosea 6

1-3 He has torn, that He may heal us - We are told in Scripture that a wise man takes correction. What kind of God would He be to say that these things to which we have fallen away, that He has called sin, are damnable crimes, but then not take up the responsibility for that which He has made? He that declares himself just without seeking that justice, which is within his power, is a liar. God has loved us while we were yet sinners, but He is just, so Christ died for us. 

11My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke; 12for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.… Proverbs 3: 11-12

On the third day He will raise us up - So quick is He to restore to favor those that seek His forgiveness. Remember, a broken and contrite spirit He will not turn away. 

After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up: Hosea prayed this full of confidence in God’s love and power to restore. In the prayer, there is a shadowy prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection on the third day. The context supports this wonderfully; on the cross Jesus was torn and stricken for our sake, yet He was also gloriously raised up on the third day. - Enduring Word

As the spring rains that water the earth - "As the former and latter rain", the first rain of the fall and the rain for the spring crops. Farmers in that area were dependent upon rain and God often judged by withholding rain. During the time of the prophet Elijah God stopped the rain for more than three years, and will do this again during the Great Tribulation. There is a silly, yet dangerous movement called the "Latter Rain Movement", started by William Branham in the late 1940s, that was a Pentecostal movement, seeking signs and wonders, claiming healings and putting forth as evidence of the Holy Spirit, foolish behavior. Even charismatics from that time denounced the movement, yet it gained foot in many areas, popular for it's healing claims and prosperity gospel. From them has come other false prophets such as Oral Roberts, the Toronto blessing, Kansas City prophets and Dominion movement. What were they missing, what was the drought that Hosea spoke of? Just above he says, "let us know, let us press on to know the Lord", and in the preceding passage he says, "my people die for lack of knowledge."

God's coming like refreshing "rain" in the time of revival of Israel which is in marked contrast to His dealing with the sinful, unrepentant nation (north and south kingdoms) as a moth and rottenness in (Hos 5:12+). - Precept Austin

4-6 Your love is like a morning cloud - It evaporates quickly with the rising of the sun.

Sometimes Israel and Judah seemed disposed to repent under their sufferings, but their goodness vanished like the empty morning cloud, and the early dew, and they were as vile as ever. Therefore the Lord sent awful messages by the prophets. The word of God will be the death either of the sin or of the sinner. God desired mercy rather than sacrifice, and that knowledge of him which produces holy fear and love. This exposes the folly of those who trust in outward observances, to make up for their want of love to God and man. As Adam broke the covenant of God in paradise, so Israel had broken his national covenant, notwithstanding all the favours they received. Judah also was ripe for Divine judgments. May the Lord put his fear into our hearts, and set up his kingdom within us, and never leave us to ourselves, nor suffer us to be overcome by temptation. - Matthew Henry

I have hewn them by the prophets - This will be true for both the northern kingdom and Judah. Hewn means to chop or cut something. God was wounding them, cutting out what didn't belong, confronting what cannot be associated with those that are associated with His name. They bring God's word which is sharper than any two edged sword, and sometimes, in the case of Samuel in the days of the Old Covenant, he literally cut and chopped. God's true prophets always confronted sin, no matter what the cost. False prophets tended to make Israel feel comfortable in their sin, and promise God's blessing though He had not sent them. God also brought in the nations against them, the same to which they went whoring.

15Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place. 16But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy. 17So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who put their young men to the sword in the sanctuary, sparing neither young men nor young women, neither elderly nor infirm. God gave them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,…  2 Chronicles 36: 15-17

10 Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11 “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night. 12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.” 13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”

14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

15 And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

And he said to him, “Speak on.”

17 So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? 18 Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are [b]consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the [c]spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”

20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

22 So Samuel said:

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

As in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

And to heed than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of [d]witchcraft,

And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He also has rejected you from being king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”

30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” So Agag came to him cautiously.

And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel. 1 Samuel 15: 10-35

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings - The sacrifices proved nothing, they were totally superficial. Jesus refers to this passage twice.

…11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”… Matthew 9: 11-13

…5Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.… Matthew 12: 5-7

7-11 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant - Don't eat of the fruit of this one tree, do this and you shall live, and all the people agreed, but only verbally. Do not lie, and here is the temptation, now what shall we do? Our part of the covenant is to walk in the knowledge of the Lord. He says, "thou shalt not commit adultery, and even that he who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart", so shall we continue in sin? He tells us to visit the fatherless and the widow in the time of their affliction, to show mercy if we would have mercy shown to us. If you think you are in a negotiation then you are apostate. He has revealed to you where this comes from, that we are all fallen in Adam, and that this evil originates in our depraved hearts. 

Boice on like Adam - The point is that the rebellion of Israel is something that lies deep in human nature, having been inherited from Adam, and therefore does not surprise God. This does not excuse Israel; for it is "they" who have broken the covenant... like Adam. It is merely that they have inherited their unfaithful nature from Adam and may therefore also be said to have broken the covenant "there." (Ibid) - Precept Austin

…21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.… 1 Corinthians 15: 21-23

So the priests band together - They tow a line that was not handed to them by God, preach a gospel that does not save, for the love of money and human accolades they fall away. The people are dying for lack of knowledge, but why do you withhold from them? You are like the papal dynasty, killing men for printing God's word in the common language, blocking the way with your gross interpretations, you add what is not there, and take away the things you don't like or your audience does not want to hear. 

…25The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her. 26Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.… Ezekiel 22: 25-27

J Vernon McGee has an interesting comment - In other words, the priests in refusing to give the people the Water of Life and the Bread of Life were actually committing murder. To be honest with you, I think that a minister who stands in the pulpit and does not give out the Word of God is guilty just as it is stated right here. I did not think that up—it is the Word of God which says that. - Precept Austin