Hosea 6:1-6. God says He will return to His place until His people acknowledge their guilt and seek His face. In their distress, they will say "Come, let us return to the Lord." They will see that He has torn so that he may heal; he has stricken so that he may bind up. "After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up." Until then, though, God laments His people. Their love is like the morning dew or a passing cloud. Therefore He has "hewn them by the prophets" and "slayed them by the words of [His] mouth." His judgment goes forth as the light, for He desires steadfast love not sacrifice; knowledge of Him rather than burn offerings.

God wants us to know Him, not just perform rote sacrifices. When we truly know Him, we come to love Him, and then we want to offer Him sacrifice, not because we have to, or because we think that will placate Him, but because we love Him.

The description of God's words through the prophets as hewing the people, and slaying them, is so effective. Words can hurt more than anything, especially true words spoken to people who don't want to hear the truth. The words of the prophets are often like weapons against a people that has turned astray, and that is why the people often punish the prophets. Sometimes people just do not want to hear the truth, and will go to any means to silence the people speaking it (sound familiar?).

I also love the reference to God raising us up after two days and reviving us on the third day. Obviously He did that in the most spectacular of ways, but I wonder if we all, to a lesser extent, have to be "dead" for two days - in the dark, away from God, having had Him withdraw from us for a period of time (and remember, we don't know what two days is to God, especially while we're suffering through it!) before we are revived on the "third" day. Only after being in the grave for two days, it seems, will our stubborn, prideful selves truly appreciate God's love.