A Call to Repentance
1Come, let us return to the LORD. m
For he has torn us, n
and he will heal us; o
he has wounded us,
and he will bind up our wounds. p
2 He will revive us after two days, q
and on the third day he will raise us up
so we can live in his presence. r
3 Let us strive to know the LORD. s
His appearance is as sure as the dawn. t
He will come to us like the rain, u
like the spring showers that water the land.
The LORD’S First Lament
4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? v
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist w
and like the early dew that vanishes.
5 This is why I have used the prophets
to cut them down; ,x
I have killed them with the words from my mouth.
My judgment strikes like lightning.
6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God y rather than burnt offerings. z
7 But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant; a
there they have betrayed me. b
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, c
tracked with bloody footprints. d
9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone, e
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem. f
They commit atrocities. g
10 I have seen something horrible h in the house of Israel:
Ephraim’s promiscuity is there; i Israel is defiled.
11 A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah. j
When I return my people from captivity, k
6:4–6. Immediately after this offer of hope is God’s sad, lamenting response, indicating that relatively few people actually pray the prayer of repentance in 6:1–3. What can God do if the people do not respond to his offer of restoration? God has warned them and punished them, but nothing seems to work, for their covenant loyalty lasts about as long as the dew on the ground (6:4). They do not take God’s severe judgment seriously, suggesting that they just do not understand that acknowledging God as their Lord is far more important than the ritual of offering sacrifices (6:6).
6:7–10. First, the priests, who are supposed to live holy lives, have been unfaithful in demonstrating their love for God; they break God’s covenant by murdering people in ambushes and promoting shameful acts of prostitution that defile the nation.
6:11–7:2. Second, although God wants to show his love by bringing restoration and healing to his people, this is impossible because their sinful deeds, such as deceit and robbery, have made them callously indifferent to God’s love as well as his plan to judge their sins. Thus God must bring judgment instead of restoration.