Hosea 5:15-6:6 (NRSV)
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Verse 15I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor:
Chapter 6"Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. Verse 2After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Verse 3Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth."
Verse 4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. Verse 5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. Verse 6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Devotion
I have known several military veterans up close. Some are members of The Greatest Generation, as named by Tom Brokaw. These veterans never miss a reunion with their unit, whether they were from the renowned China-Burma- India forces, the Green Berets, or buddies from the same platoon under fire. They are loyal and supportive of one another, a band of brothers and sisters, a bond hammered solidly into their lives on the anvil of D-Day, the Bulge, Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, or Iraq. Their bond is not like a morning cloud or like dew that quickly evaporates; it lasts. They struggled together, and the struggle led to their strength together.
We also have a bond of brotherhood, held together by the love of Christ. “Come, let us return to the Lord.” The Lord patiently loves us even when our devotion and witness is as the evaporating dew. The Lord does revive us and raise us up that we may live lives of praise.
Prayer
For service men and women: Lord and Protector, watch over and shield all your children in places of harm. Keep them strong for your sake. Amen.