◄ Hosea 6:4 ►
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
Study Bible
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
The name "Ephraim" refers to one of the tribes of Israel, often representing the Northern Kingdom as a whole. In Hebrew, "Ephraim" can mean "fruitful," yet here it is used to address the spiritual barrenness of the people. The rhetorical question "What shall I do with you?" conveys God's frustration and sorrow over Ephraim's persistent unfaithfulness. Historically, Ephraim was a leading tribe in the Northern Kingdom, and its actions often set the tone for the rest of Israel. This phrase highlights God's deep desire for repentance and restoration, yet it also underscores the people's continual rebellion.

What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Judah, representing the Southern Kingdom, is also addressed with the same question, indicating that both kingdoms are guilty of similar transgressions. The Hebrew root for "Judah" means "praise," yet their actions have not lived up to their name. This parallelism between Ephraim and Judah emphasizes that both are equally accountable before God. Historically, Judah had moments of reform and revival, but like Ephraim, they too often fell into idolatry and disobedience. This phrase serves as a call to self-examination and repentance for all of God's people.

Your loyalty is like a morning mist
The word "loyalty" in Hebrew is "chesed," which can also be translated as "steadfast love" or "faithfulness." However, God compares their loyalty to a "morning mist," something transient and insubstantial. The morning mist quickly dissipates with the rising sun, symbolizing the fleeting and unreliable nature of Israel's devotion. This imagery is powerful, illustrating how their commitment to God lacks depth and permanence. In a spiritual context, it challenges believers to examine the sincerity and consistency of their own faithfulness to God.

like the early dew that vanishes
The "early dew" further emphasizes the temporary and ephemeral nature of Israel's faithfulness. Dew appears in the cool of the morning but evaporates as the day warms. This metaphor highlights the superficiality of their repentance and devotion. In the ancient Near Eastern context, dew was crucial for agriculture, especially in arid regions, symbolizing life and sustenance. Yet, when it vanishes, it leaves the ground dry and barren, much like the spiritual state of the people. This phrase serves as a poignant reminder of the need for a deep, enduring commitment to God, rather than a shallow, momentary expression of faith.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ephraim
Represents the northern kingdom of Israel. Ephraim was the largest tribe and often used to refer to the entire northern kingdom. In this context, it symbolizes the unfaithfulness of Israel.

2. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel. Judah, like Ephraim, is being addressed for its lack of steadfastness in loyalty to God.

3. Hosea
A prophet in the 8th century BC, called by God to deliver messages of warning and hope to Israel. His life and marriage were symbolic of God's relationship with Israel.

4. Morning Mist and Early Dew
These natural phenomena are used metaphorically to describe the fleeting and insubstantial nature of Israel's loyalty to God.
Teaching Points
The Nature of True Loyalty
True loyalty to God is steadfast and enduring, not fleeting like the morning mist. Believers are called to cultivate a deep, consistent relationship with God.

Self-Examination
Just as God questioned Ephraim and Judah, we should regularly examine our own faithfulness to God. Are our commitments to Him genuine and lasting?

The Danger of Superficial Faith
Superficial faith, like the early dew, quickly disappears. We must strive for a faith that is deeply rooted and resilient in the face of trials.

God's Desire for Relationship
Despite Israel's unfaithfulness, God's questioning reveals His desire for a genuine relationship with His people. He longs for our hearts, not just our rituals.

Repentance and Renewal
The passage calls us to repentance and renewal of our commitment to God. We should seek His strength to transform our fleeting loyalty into enduring faithfulness.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of the morning mist and early dew in Hosea 6:4 challenge your understanding of loyalty to God?

2. In what ways can you ensure that your faith is not superficial but deeply rooted and enduring?

3. Reflect on a time when your commitment to God was like the morning mist. What steps did you take, or can you take, to strengthen your faith?

4. How does the message in Hosea 6:4 relate to Jesus' teachings in the New Testament about genuine worship and faith?

5. Considering the connections to other scriptures, how can you apply the lessons from Hosea 6:4 to your daily walk with God?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 40:6-8
This passage also uses the imagery of grass and flowers that wither to describe the transient nature of human faithfulness compared to the enduring word of God.

James 4:14
James speaks of life as a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes, emphasizing the brevity and uncertainty of human life and actions.

Matthew 15:8
Jesus quotes Isaiah, highlighting the issue of people honoring God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him, similar to the insincere loyalty described in Hosea.
Sermons
A Divine ExpostulationJ. Grose, A. M.Hosea 6:4
A Threefold ThemeHomilistHosea 6:4
A Threefold ThemeD. Thomas Hosea 6:4
Emotion in the Religious LifeH. Ward Beecher.Hosea 6:4
Evanescence of the Early DewFrancis Jacox, B. A.Hosea 6:4
Fading ImpressionsHosea 6:4
Fickleness in ReligionA. Hampden Lee.Hosea 6:4
Fitful Piety UnsatisfactoryW. L. Watkinson.Hosea 6:4
Fugitive PietyW. L. Watkinson.Hosea 6:4
God's Grief Over Evanescent GoodnessA. Rowland Hosea 6:4
Goodness as KindnessHosea 6:4
Goodness Like a Morning CloudSketches of Four Hundred SermonsHosea 6:4
Goodness that Will not LastE.B. Pusey, D. D.Hosea 6:4
Instability of CharacterT. Kennion, M. A.Hosea 6:4
Instances of Inconstancy in Good MenH. Bonar, D. D.Hosea 6:4
Man's GoodnessJeremiah Burroughs.Hosea 6:4
Occasional ImpressionsJames Parsons.Hosea 6:4
On Transient ImpressionsW. Knight, M. A.Hosea 6:4
Religious ConstancyH. Ward Beecher.Hosea 6:4
Religious DeclensionRobert Eden, M. A.Hosea 6:4
The Condition of Man as a WreckHomilistHosea 6:4
The Day-Dawn and the RainJ. Orr Hosea 6:4
The Impressions of Natural Men are LadingR. M. M'Cheyne.Hosea 6:4
The Instability of Human GoodnessT. Boston, D. D.Hosea 6:4
Transient Convictions and True ConsecrationJ. Cox.Hosea 6:4
Transient DevotionsJames Saurin.Hosea 6:4
Transient ImpressionsW. M. Taylor, D. D.Hosea 6:4
Transitory GoodnessJ.R. Thomson Hosea 6:4
Trifling with ImpressionsHenry Melvill, B. D.Hosea 6:4
Fugitive PietyC. Jerdan Hosea 6:4, 5
Evanishing GoodnessJ. Orr Hosea 6:4-6
People
Adam, Haggai, Hosea
Places
Assyria, Gilead, Shechem
Topics
Cloud, Dew, Disappears, Early, Ephraim, E'phraim, Goes, Goodness, Judah, Love, Loyalty, Mist, Morning, O, Passeth, Rising
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Hosea 6:4

     4805   clouds
     4814   dew
     4840   mist
     4855   weather, God's judgment
     4954   morning
     5973   unreliability
     8304   loyalty

Hosea 6:1-4

     6733   repentance, nature of

Library
Our Miseries, Messengers of Mercy
Three things I must do this morning; first, I must deal a blow, at the old Tempter, who has got the first hand at you; secondly, I will come to reason comfortably with you; and then, thirdly, I must lovingly persuade you, saying--"Come, let us return unto the Lord." I. First then, I must DEAL A BLOW AT THE OLD TEMPTER, WHO HAS GOT BEFORE ME AND HAS BEGUN TO DECEIVE YOU. I cannot tell what is the precise temptation that Satan has been using with you, but I think it is very likely to be one of four. …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861

Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation, …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

The Limitations of Earth's Great Week.
We are well aware that in broaching this point we shall probably evoke the criticism of honored brethren and be charged with "setting a date" for the Return of our Lord. Nevertheless, we feel constrained to set down our honest convictions, only asking our readers to examine in the light of Holy Writ what we now advance tentatively and not dogmatically. In ancient times it was commonly held by Jewish rabbis before our Lord's first advent, and by many of the most eminent of the church fathers afterwards, …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

The Synagogue at Nazareth - Synagogue-Worship and Arrangements.
The stay in Cana, though we have no means of determining its length, was probably of only short duration. Perhaps the Sabbath of the same week already found Jesus in the Synagogue of Nazareth. We will not seek irreverently to lift the veil of sacred silence, which here, as elsewhere, the Gospel-narratives have laid over the Sanctuary of His inner Life. That silence is itself theopneustic, of Divine breathing and inspiration; it is more eloquent than any eloquence, a guarantee of the truthfulness …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

St Gregory the Great (Ad 540-604)
PART I Gregory was born at Rome, of a noble and wealthy family, in the year 540. In his youth he engaged in public business, and he rose to be proctor of Rome, which was one of the chief offices under the government. In this office he was much beloved and respected by the people. But about the age of thirty-five, a great change took place in his life. He resolved to forsake the pursuit of worldly honours, and spent all his wealth in founding seven monasteries. He gave up his family house at Rome …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Letter xv (Circa A. D. 1129) to Alvisus, Abbot of Anchin
To Alvisus, Abbot of Anchin He praises the fatherly gentleness of Alvisus towards Godwin. He excuses himself, and asks pardon for having admitted him. To Alvisus, Abbot of Anchin. [18] 1. May God render to you the same mercy which you have shown towards your holy son Godwin. I know that at the news of his death you showed yourself unmindful of old complaints, and remembering only your friendship for him, behaved with kindness, not resentment, and putting aside the character of judge, showed yourself …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Prayer.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PRAYER. WHAT is prayer? A sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things as God hath promised. The best prayers have often more groans than words. Alas, how few there be in the world whose heart and mouth in prayer shall go together. Dost thou, when thou askest for the Spirit, or faith, or love to God, to holiness, to saints, to the word, and the like, ask for them with love to them, …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

The Coming Revival
"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"--PS. lxxxv. 6. "O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years."--HAB. iii. 2. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. cxxxviii. 7. "I dwell with him that is of a humble and contrite heart, to revive the heart of the contrite ones."--ISA. lvii. 15. "Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us. He will revive us."--HOS. vi. 1, 2. The Coming …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

The Strait Gate. Warned against Herod.
(Peræa.) ^C Luke XIII. 22-35. ^c 22 And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem. [This verse probably refers back to verse 10, and indicates that Jesus resumed his journey after the brief rest on the Sabbath day when he healed the woman with the curvature of the spine.] 23 And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? [It is likely that this question was asked by a Jew, and that the two parables illustrating the smallness of the …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate,
CLEARLY EXPLAINED, AND LARGELY IMPROVED, FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BELIEVERS. 1 John 2:1--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." By JOHN BUNYAN, Author of "The Pilgrim's Progress." London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms, in the Poultry, 1689. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This is one of the most interesting of Bunyan's treatises, to edit which required the Bible at my right hand, and a law dictionary on my left. It was very frequently republished; …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Jesus Defends Disciples who Pluck Grain on the Sabbath.
(Probably While on the Way from Jerusalem to Galilee.) ^A Matt. XII. 1-8; ^B Mark II. 23-28; ^C Luke VI. 1-5. ^b 23 And ^c 1 Now it came to pass ^a 1 At that season ^b that he ^a Jesus went { ^b was going} on the { ^c a} ^b sabbath day through the grainfields; ^a and his disciples were hungry and began ^b as they went, to pluck the ears. ^a and to eat, ^c and his disciples plucked the ears, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. [This lesson fits in chronological order with the last, if the Bethesda …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It

Divine Calls.
"And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel; Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth."--1 Samuel iii. 10. In the narrative of which these words form part, we have a remarkable instance of a Divine call, and the manner in which it is our duty to meet it. Samuel was from a child brought to the house of the Lord; and in due time he was called to a sacred office, and made a prophet. He was called, and he forthwith answered the call. God said, "Samuel, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Of the Nature of Regeneration, and Particularly of the Change it Produces in Men's Apprehensions.
2 COR. v. 17. 2 COR. v. 17. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. THE knowledge of our true state in religion, is at once a matter of so great importance, and so great difficulty that, in order to obtain it, it is necessary we should have line upon line and precept upon precept. The plain discourse, which you before heard, was intended to lead you into it; and I question not but I then said enough to convince many, that they were …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

Job's Faith and Expectation
I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. C hristianity, that is, the religion of which MESSIAH is the author and object, the foundation, life, and glory, though not altogether as old as creation, is nearly so. It is coeval [contemporary] with the first promise and intimation of mercy given to fallen man. When Adam, by transgression, had violated the order and law of …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Hosea
The book of Hosea divides naturally into two parts: i.-iii. and iv.-xiv., the former relatively clear and connected, the latter unusually disjointed and obscure. The difference is so unmistakable that i.-iii. have usually been assigned to the period before the death of Jeroboam II, and iv.-xiv. to the anarchic period which succeeded. Certainly Hosea's prophetic career began before the end of Jeroboam's reign, as he predicts the fall of the reigning dynasty, i. 4, which practically ended with Jeroboam's …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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