Hosea 6 · The Lantern

Come, let us go back to the Lord; for he has given us wounds and he will make us well; he has given blows and he will give help.

The Holy Spirit set this forth of old, when he said in the Psalms, "O my king and my God. For to you will I pray; O Lord, in the morning you shall hear my voice.

"In their affliction they will rise early to me: come and let us return to the Lord, for he has taken us, and he will heal us; he will wound us and he will cure us; he will bring us to life after two days, and on the third day he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight: we shall know and we shall follow, that we may know the Lord." LXX: "In their affliction they will ri…

In the beginning he seized Adam's human nature; for he at once declared it accursed, ascribing it to death and corruption. Thus the wrath has struck, but grace plugged the wound with lint. For Christ has brought the healing. He invited [us] to know the true divine revelation; he confirmed [us] through the Spirit to observe the commandments.

After two days he will give us life, and on the third day he will make us get up, and we will be living before him.

Hear what the prophet says: "God will revive us after two days, and on the third day we shall arise and live in his sight." The first day is the passion of the Savior for us. The second is the day on which he descended into hell. The third day is the day of resurrection.

Further on, Hosea foretold the resurrection of Christ on the third day, but in the mysterious way that is proper to prophecy. He says, "He shall heal us after two days, and on the third day we shall rise again." This is the idea underlying the words of Paul [when he says], "Therefore if you have risen in Christ, seek the things that are above."

This is Hosea, the first of the twelve prophets who was privileged to speak concerning the Lord Christ in these terms: When they are afflicted, let them rise early to seek me saying, Come and let us return unto the Lord our God, for he hath smitten us and he will heal us; he that hath struck us will bind us up. After two days will he heal us.

And let us have knowledge, let us go after the knowledge of the Lord; his going out is certain as the dawn, his decisions go out like the light; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.

Nor is this the only thing that proves the dignity of the water. But there is also that which is more honorable than all—the fact that Christ, the maker of all, came down as the rain, and was known as a spring, and diffused himself as a river, and was baptized in the Jordan. For you have just heard how Jesus came to John and was baptized by him in the Jordan.

His going forth is prepared as the morning light, and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." LXX: "We shall find him ready as the morning, and he shall come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth." Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

For I suppose that he waters in two ways upon us who received faith and have known rightly his manifestation. On the one hand, he reveals knowledge in the spirit of the old and legal, and in addition to these, prophetic teachings. In my view, this is the early rain.

O Ephraim, what am I to do to you? O Judah, what am I to do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew which goes early away.

So I have had it cut in stones; I gave them teaching by the words of my mouth;

Because my desire is for mercy and not offerings; for the knowledge of God more than for burned offerings.

And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

Great is the principle of mercy to God. Not only his to us, but also that issuing from us to our fellow servants. In the Old Testament and the New, God lays down innumerable laws pertaining to this matter. He orders us to be benevolent continually in all quarters, through words, money and deeds.

A man sees the slaughter of bodies, he grieves greatly. He therefore who sees the slaughter of souls, how can he restrain himself from tears? This grief is greatly pleasing to God. The Lord says concerning this knowledge: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than holocausts." I know the infirmities of others: I ought to suffer with them.

But like a man, they have gone against the agreement; there they were false to me.

Gilead is a town of evil-doers, marked with blood.

And like a band of thieves waiting for a man, so are the priests watching secretly the way of those going quickly to Shechem, for they are working with an evil design.

In Israel I have seen a very evil thing; there false ways are seen in Ephraim, Israel is unclean;

And Judah has put up disgusting images for himself.

Hosea6