How to Grow in Godliness - Monday Devo
Hosea 6:6 (ESV)
6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Last week we looked at the Biblical imperative to love our enemies, and this week the next topic from the Sermon on the Mount was giving to the needy. Both of these sections bring to mind passages like Hosea 6:6 and others similar to it in the OT, which are frequently quoted in the NT. The previous article I wrote last week concerning righteous love as a follow up for our study through Matthew, focused on the idea from 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.” This look at Hosea 6:6 is a continuation of that thought on what God truly wants to change in our lives because of our relationship with Him and what He’s done for us.
Looking at the two sections of Hosea 6:6 we see the first referring to our relationship with others, and the second to our relationship with God. First we see God saying “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice” which can also be translated to be understood as mercy towards others which carries with it a sense of piety and charity. We know that God instituted the sacrificial system as a temporary means of holiness for the Israelits, so He isn’t saying to not do the sacrifices. This shows us that from the beginning God valued moral obedience and godly character over mere external ritual obedience.
What follows is the command for “knowledge of God” which seeing the two main themes of what God desires should clue us in to the Ten Commandments. The first refers to the second half of the Ten Commandments, love of neighbor, and the second points to the first half, love of God. The second is not second in importance, but first because it connects to the more important first half of the Ten Commandments revealing our duty to God and right spiritual worship. The reason the second half is referred to first is because our failures to show love to our neighbors is a clear symptom of our spiritual depravity, making any ritual obedience hollow and offensive to God (1 John 4:20, Amos 5:21-24).
Think back to the previous section we covered on anger in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus makes this understanding clear, saying “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
God’s desire is for us to know Him and His character, by mercifully loving others the way He does.
We could go on and on with passages from all over the Bible reiterating this concept, but what I want to make evident to us is God’s desire for us to know Him and His character, by mercifully loving others the way He does. He who loves us enough to die for sinners. He who intentionally created humanity and continued to love us and work out His plan to reconcile us after we fell into sin, choosing to redeem us by His grace and not our own doing.
So look again at Hosea 6:6, and you’ll see the Greatest Commandment to love God and love neighbor, and remember again your calling to strive for this Christ-like God-honoring balance, never neglecting one in favor of the other.