Thy Strong Word — Hosea 6:1-7:2: “Your love is like a mist, like the dew that goes away.” -God

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Hosea pleads with the people to return to God, recognizing His power to heal and restore after their suffering. However, God’s frustration is clear as He condemns their shallow devotion, like a mist that fades with the dawn. Despite outward rituals, Israel and Judah are mired in sin, deceit, and violence, prioritizing sacrifices over genuine love and knowledge of God. The passage contrasts God’s enduring faithfulness with the people’s persistent rebellion.

The Rev. Gem Gabriel, pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Norwalk, CT, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Hosea 6:1-7:2.

Hosea tells the powerful story of a prophet commanded to marry an unfaithful woman, Gomer, as a living symbol of God’s boundless love for Israel despite its repeated betrayals. Through heartbreak and redemption, Hosea’s marriage becomes a vivid portrayal of how deeply God desires His people to return to Him, even when they chase after idols. Packed with raw emotion, prophetic warnings, and a message of divine mercy, this book captures God’s relentless pursuit and offers a stirring reminder that restoration is always possible—through Jesus–no matter how far one has wandered.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: [e-mail].

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

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Hosea 6:1-7:2

Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant

6 “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^[a] 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,
7 when I would heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
and the evil deeds of Samaria,
for they deal falsely;
the thief breaks in,
and the bandits raid outside.
² But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.

Footnotes

1. Hosea 6:6 Septuagint mercy

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org