Devotions

Continuing on with the devotion series of hesed in Hosea, Hosea 6:4 exposes Israel’s dew-like ḥesed. showing how their words of return mask a heart unwilling to submit to the covenant Lord. True repentance is not a moment of emotion but a life shaped by God’s renewing work, as His enduring ḥesed alone can establish the steadfast love He requires of His people.

Hosea 4 marks the turning point of the book. The story of ḥesed that began in a marriage now becomes a trial. The love pledged in Hosea 2:19, “I will betroth you to Me forever, in righteousness and in justice, in ḥesed and in compassion,” now meets a tragic denial. What Hosea once lived in his home is now repeated in God’s courtroom.

This is the first of a planned 5 studies on the use of hesed in Hosea. However, before turning to Hosea, it will help if we have an understanding of what the Bible means by ḥesed. The word appears more than two hundred times across the Old Testament. Most often it is used in covenant contexts where God’s loyalty sustains a people who cannot sustain themselves.

God’s “rest” is not the easing of fatigue but the expression of divine completeness. To “bless” and “sanctify” the seventh day means that He consecrated time itself as a meeting place between Creator and creature. Before any temple stood, time became the first sanctuary. God wrote communion into the calendar.