Hosea 5:6

The Futility of Sacrificial Ritual without Moral Obedience

5:6 Although they bring their flocks and herds ¹ 

to seek ²  the favor of the Lord, ³ 

They will not find him –

he has withdrawn himself from them!

Exodus 25:21-22

25:21 You are to put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and in the ark you are to put the testimony I am giving you. 25:22 I will meet with you there, ⁴  and ⁵  from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.

Exodus 25:1

The Materials for the Sanctuary

25:1 ⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses:

Exodus 8:10-13

8:10 He said, “Tomorrow.” And Moses said, ⁷  “It will be ⁸  as you say, ⁹  so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 8:11 The frogs will depart from you, your houses, your servants, and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”

8:12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried ¹⁰  to the Lord because of ¹¹  the frogs that he had brought on ¹²  Pharaoh. 8:13 The Lord did as Moses asked ¹³  – the ¹⁴  frogs died out of the houses, the villages, and the fields.

Psalms 132:14

132:14 He said, ¹⁵  “This will be my resting place forever;

I will live here, for I have chosen it. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 26:21

26:21 For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives, ¹⁷ 

to punish the sin of those who live on the earth.

The earth will display the blood shed on it;

it will no longer cover up its slain. ¹⁸ 

Ezekiel 8:6

8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people ¹⁹  of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”

Ezekiel 10:4

10:4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory.

Ezekiel 11:23

11:23 The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stopped ²⁰  over the mountain east of it.

Micah 1:3

1:3 Look, ²¹  the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place!

He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! ²² 

[5:6]  ¹ sn The terms flocks and herds are used figuratively for animal sacrifices (metonymy of association). Hosea describes the futility of seeking God’s favor with mere ritual sacrifice without the prerequisite moral obedience (e.g., 1 Sam 15:24; Ps 50:6-8; 51:17-18; Isa 1:12; Mic 6:6-8).

[5:6]  ² tn Heb “they go out to seek the Lord”; NCV “to worship the Lord”; NLT “to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

[5:6]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord”; the phrase “the favor of” does not appear in Hebrew here, but is supplied for the sake of clarity. It is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) reference to the Lord, the source of favor and forgiveness.

[25:22]  ⁴ sn Here then is the main point of the ark of the covenant, and the main point of all worship – meeting with God through atonement. The text makes it clear that here God would meet with Moses (“you” is singular) and then he would speak to the people – he is the mediator of the covenant. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 272) makes the point that the verb here is not the word that means “to meet by chance” (as in Exod 3:18), but “to meet” by appointment for a purpose (וְנוֹעַדְתִּי, vÿno’adti). The parallel in the NT is Jesus Christ and his work. The theology is that the Law condemns people as guilty of sin, but the sacrifice of Christ makes atonement. So he is the “place of propitiation (Rom 3:25) who gains communion with the Father for sinners. A major point that could be made from this section is this: At the center of worship must be the atoning work of Christ – a perpetual reminder of God’s righteous standard (the testimony in the ark) and God’s gracious provision (the atonement lid).

[25:22]  ⁵ tn The verb is placed here in the text: “and I will speak”; it has been moved in this translation to be closer to the direct object clause.

[25:1]  ⁶ sn Now begin the detailed instructions for constructing the tabernacle of Yahweh, with all its furnishings. The first paragraph introduces the issue of the heavenly pattern for the construction, calls for the people to make willing offerings (vv. 2-7), and explains the purpose for these offerings (vv. 8-9). The message here is that God calls his people to offer of their substance willingly so that his sanctuary may be made.

[8:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “And he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ⁸ tn “It will be” has been supplied.

[8:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “according to your word” (so NASB).

[8:12]  ¹⁰ tn The verb צָעַק (tsa’aq) is used for prayers in which people cry out of trouble or from danger. U. Cassuto observes that Moses would have been in real danger if God had not answered this prayer (Exodus, 103).

[8:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[8:12]  ¹² tn The verb is an unusual choice if it were just to mean “brought on.” It is the verb שִׂים (sim, “place, put”). S. R. Driver thinks the thought is “appointed for Pharaoh” as a sign (Exodus, 64). The idea of the sign might be too much, but certainly the frogs were positioned for the instruction of the stubborn king.

[8:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to the word of Moses” (so KJV, NASB). Just as Moses had told Pharaoh “according to your word” (v. 10), now the Lord does “according to the word” of Moses.

[8:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the frogs died.”

[132:14]  ¹⁵ tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for I desired it.”

[26:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “out of his place” (so KJV, ASV).

[26:21]  ¹⁸ sn This implies that rampant bloodshed is one of the reasons for divine judgment. See the note at 24:5.

[8:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[11:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “stood.”

[1:3]  ²¹ tn Or “For look.” The expression כִּי־הִנֵּה (ki-hinneh) may function as an explanatory introduction (“For look!”; Isa 26:21; 60:2; 65:17, 18: 66:15; Jer 1:15; 25:29; 30:10; 45:5; 46:27; 50:9; Ezek 30:9; 36:9; Zech 2:10; 3:8), or as an emphatic introduction (“Look!”; Jdgs 3:15; Isa 3:1; Jer 8:17; 30:3; 49:15; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:1 [HT 4:1]; Amos 4:2, 13; 6:11, 14; 9:9; Hab 1:6; Zech 2:9 [HT 2:13]; Zech 3:9; 11:16).

[1:3]  ²² tn Or “high places” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).