Thought from today’s Bible reading from Hosea 1-7.
“What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud and like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:4-6).
As the wise man said, “Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?” (Proverbs 20:6). It is one thing to claim to be loyal to the Lord. It is quite another to actually be loyal.
The loyalty that God’s people had for Him was like the dew. It was present for a little while but soon disappeared. There were instructions in the Law for sacrifices to be made for sin, but God desired loyalty – faithful obedience to Him and adherence to His standard – rather than sacrifice.
In other words, God wanted them to do what was right in the first place instead of trying to correct their error.
The same is true for us today. While God has made provisions for us to be forgiven of sins (Ephesians 1:7), He first desires that we obey Him and avoid sin in the first place.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
In order to do this, we have to not only have a desire to be loyal to the Lord, but we must know what He expects us to do. This is why the prophet mentioned “knowledge of God” in connection with loyalty. We must know God’s will if we hope to obey it.
Let us not merely claim allegiance to God. Let us faithfully serve Him and do His will in all things.
Tomorrow’s reading: Hosea 8-14
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
