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Hosea is one of the most amazing books in the entire Bible. The people of Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord. They had gone after idols, made compromises with nations, and were not living up to the covenant that the Lord called them to on Mt. Sinai. But what is more shocking is the Lord’s response to their unfaithfulness. The Lord rightly judges the people, but he doesn’t throw them away. Instead, he woos them back with his love and mercy in one of the most vivid pictures in the entire Bible.

He asks Hosea the prophet to marry a prostitute, and, as expected, she runs away from Hosea back into a life of unfaithfulness. Instead of leaving her to be exploited and trafficked, the Lord commands Hosea to go and buy her back! Hosea 3:1, “Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.”

This is one of the most vivid pictures of the love of God in the entire Bible. When Israel ran away from the Lord, the Lord pursued them. And while he did not gloss over their sin, he still loved them unconditionally and was constantly seeking to restore them!

God had given his all to the people of Israel, but it seemed in Hosea 6:6 that the people did not give their all to the Lord. They made an outward show of sacrifices to the Lord, but they forgot the most important matter, which is the heart. In fact, the covenant faithfulness of God was to be a model for how the Israelites should love him, which is with all their heart.

Hosea 6, “O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, And as the early dew it goeth away. 5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: And thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. 6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

While they offered outward expressions of righteousness to the Lord, they did not offer the most important thing: the devotion of their heart. Mercy, in this passage, has the idea of devotion and love, and knowledge implies a deep relationship with the Lord.

Because the Lord has shown unconditional devotion and love to his people, he expects the same in return. But all they could give him was empty sacrifice and burnt offerings. This showed that their repentance was completely worthless, and their “devotion” was nothing more than a show. All they really cared about were their rules and regulations and not knowing God.

What is so fascinating is that Jesus picks up this verse to respond to the same attitude of the Pharisees in Matthew 12, where the Pharisees condemn the disciples for picking corn on the Sabbath. But Christ exposes them. Deep in their hearts there is no love or devotion for the Lord. And Jesus uses Hosea 6:6 to prove this in Matthew 12:7-8, “7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”

Outward displays of affection are completely worthless in the kingdom of God. All that matters is the condition of our hearts. What Jesus calls us to is not a list of legalistic rules and regulations, but a deep-hearted devotion and friendship with him. This matters for the lost, for so often unbelievers follow moral codes or rules, but deep down there is no relationship with Christ. Even people assume they are a Christian because they said a prayer in a service once and attend church every once in a while. But there is no relationship and no actual devotion to Christ and his church.

This applies to believers too, as it’s easy to falter in our devotion to Christ and settle for outward piety. Sadly, we all know too many stories of “great Christians” that were exposed because they really lived in awful sin. This reminds us of the truth of God’s word: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” This indicates their satisfaction with a purely external Christianity. It shows that there was no personal, vibrant relationship with Jesus. Ignoring the sin of the heart, they focused solely on checking all the good Christian boxes.

Now, it is important to state that Jesus’ commands will lead to external behaviors. Some people, when they hear this, take it to the unhealthy conclusion of “I don’t need to obey rules like going to church or serving the body of Christ; all that matters is a relationship.” But Jesus clearly teaches against this in the upper room in John 13, “34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Also in John 14:15, “15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.” If we truly love him, we will serve others in his church, and if we love him, we will keep his commandments.

External obedience is driven by an internal heart of devotion and friendship with Jesus. John 15:9-10, “9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” The root of our obedience is abiding in the love of the Father.

Dwelling in the love of God is not a mystical experience, but is simply spending time with God in the Word of God. It is spending time in prayer with our heavenly Father. It is as we live in obedience to his commandments that we dwell in the presence and love of Jesus. This love from the Father in the Son is perfect and unconditional because Jesus literally says that he loves us in the same way the Father loves him. This love calls us to devotion, drives our obedience, and calls us to a deep, vibrant friendship with God.

This is what matters most to the Lord; it is our first priority in the Christian life. Our entire walk with Jesus must flow from a heart of devotion and closeness to the Lord. And what is really sad is that we can fool everyone in our lives by focusing on sacrifice and burnt offerings while ignoring the condition of our heart. We can show all outward devotion to Christ and be completely devoid of a personal relationship with him. Spending time with Christ in the Bible and prayer is a daily necessity. Every single day we must evaluate our hearts, confess sin, forsake it, and follow God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Every single day we must surrender every part of our being to the Lord.

Does God have your heart? If not, the wonderful news is that you can surrender it to him today. The Father wants to give you his love in the person of Christ. Why wouldn’t you want that?

Serving Together, 

Pastor Josh