God's Desire

Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

The first few verses of this chapter is a call to repentance. This is something that all of us need to do continually, because we all fail in our walk with God. At least I know I do. The verse we are meditating on today is interesting. It states God's desire for us, when we have repented, and are walking right with the Lord once again. Israel and Judah were on the brink of judgment, but that was not God's desire for them. Today, God does not desire that any should perish, but that all would be saved. Sadly, many will not believe and will reject God's free gift of eternal life. For us, who are saved, God's desire is that we would not suffer the consequences of sinful decisions, and that we would not become friends of the world. He describes Israel's and Judah's faithfulness as something that quickly fades, in verse 4. His desire for us is no different. He desires that our faithfulness to Him would be steadfast, in Christ. He first addresses the attitude we should have toward one another. Just as He is merciful to both the just and the unjust, so He desires that His children would be merciful towards others. He holds it in higher esteem than the practice of outward religion. He is not interested in our sacrifices, as if He can be bought by anything we can offer. It all belongs to Him anyway, and there is nothing we have that He needs. As a matter of fact, He tells us that if we are not right with our brother, we are to leave our gift at the altar, go get right, then come back and offer it. Interestingly, He addresses what is most important secondly. He tells us that knowing Him, truly knowing Him, is far more important than our religious rituals that make us look godly outwardly, but hide the wickedness that is harbored in our hearts. God's desire is that we would know Him in such a way that it would cause reverent fear in our hearts. His desire is that in our true knowledge of Him would drive us to worship Him in spirit and truth, and be the motivating factor in how we live for Him, serve Him, and treat others. In essence, and in relation to what He tells us about what His desire is, we cannot have one without the other. Our true knowledge of God will be the foundation of how we live our life for Him. God's desire is that we break down our façades, and worship Him with true hearts. Our love and reverence for God should drive who we are in Christ Jesus, and constrain us to be doers of His Word.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 7:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).