Hosea 6:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The language remains metaphorical. It is likened to the lion and other beasts, stating, "He has seized," and "He will heal us." For the Lord Himself declared, "I will be like a panther of Ephraim and like a lion of the house of Judah; I will roar and go, and no one shall rescue” (Hos. 5:14). This figurative expression implies that He who rescues them will also completely restore them. Just as His anger brought them sorrow, so the benefits of His mercy will undoubtedly bring joy to the afflicted. We understand that if God afflicts anyone, no one else can provide relief, as He alone can remedy the condition of the suffering.

If the essence of the prophecy applies to all who inhabit the earth, we should consider that Adam, in the beginning, corrupted humanity's nature, immediately rendering it worthy of condemnation and subjecting it to death and decay. Consequently, wrath fell upon humanity, while grace sought to heal the wounds inflicted: for Christ has restored us, called us to the true knowledge of God, empowered us by the Spirit to uphold the commandments, and blessed us once more by freeing us from corruption and delivering us from our former vices, namely sins and passions.

This restoration will manifest not in the first or second instance but rather in what can be termed the third or final time. There are three stages in which Christ has appeared: the initial, the intermediate, and the final. Hence, it is said, as if through medical experience, that healing will occur within two days, since in prophetic language, a day often symbolizes a period of time. Next, it is stated, "Let us return to the Lord." The call to "reap" translates to making our utmost efforts. Then, it proclaims, “we shall rise again and live before him,” for we have been raised with Christ (Col. 3:1), and even if one dies for all, we shall live His life (2 Cor. 5:15). We are no longer estranged from God due to transgression or cast aside because of sin, but we are welcomed into God's presence and have gained confidence with Him through our justification in Christ.

Through Him, we have also come to know the Father, and the Son, who became like us, embodies the fullness of all goodness. This they affirm, saying, "As the morning we shall receive it," akin to the light of dawn, the sun rising, and the brightness following the departure of darkness. It is described “as early and late rain to us,” as He refreshes those who have embraced the faith and rightly acknowledged His coming. He does this in two ways: firstly, by revealing through the Spirit the knowledge of the ancient, lawful, and prophetic counsels, which I regard as the "early rain," and secondly, by offering a deeper understanding of the Gospel teachings and the desired grace of apostolic preaching. Thus, we have become, as the prophet asserts, a cherished land, and it may indeed be said of us, as the blessed David sings, "You have visited the earth and made it abundant; You have enriched it” (Psalm 64:10). Consequently, it has yielded fruit a hundred, sixty, and thirtyfold, as proclaimed by the Savior (Matthew 13:8).

If the Lord has delivered Ephraim and Judah into captivity, and if no one can rescue them from His hand, He will withdraw to His place until they are consumed and cry out for Him. This is so that they may seek Him, whom they did not recognize in His mercy and closeness, during this time of His displeasure and removal. During their affliction, when the light of repentance dawns upon them, they will look to Him in the morning, just as it is stated in Isaiah: “In the time of my affliction, I remembered You, O Lord” (Isaiah 26), and in the first psalm of the ascent, “I cried out to the Lord from my affliction, and He heard me” (Psalm 119:1).

When they seek the Lord in the morning, what will they proclaim? They will say, “Let us return to the Lord.” They do not find contentment in their own salvation alone; instead, they call each other to turn back to the Lord, whom they have forsaken and altered their ways against because of their sins. He is the one who has taken captive sin itself, and He will restore us. He who previously stated, “I, I will gather the spoils, and I will depart,” will wound us and heal us.

The term “cure” that we use corresponds to what is translated by the term μοτώσει; it suggests a remedy applied to wounds designed to absorb decayed matter and draw out impurities. The expertise of physicians often involves prolonged treatment of grievous wounds, using pain as a means to restore health. Thus, the Lord inflicts wounds and brings healing; for those whom He loves, He disciplines. He chastens every son He receives (Hebrews 12:6). Not only does He heal us, but He also revives us after two days. Rising from the grave on the third day, He brings the entire human race to life.

After He has tended to our wounds, reviving us through His restoration, and raising us up from death, we shall live in His presence, at which absence we were as good as dead. Living before Him, we will truly come to know the Lord, zealously pursuing an ever-greater knowledge of Him by whose resurrection on the third day we also experience new life.

These reflections clarify what we have frequently noted: Israel and Judah, comprising the ten and two tribes, will recognize one Shepherd and King, David, when they start believing in the risen Lord. Therefore, the Jewish hope for a thousand-year reign is in vain because the promise of salvation is fulfilled on the third day—the day the Lord rose from the dead. The Jewish interpretation of the second day relates to the arrival of their Messiah, and the third day signifies the day of judgment when they expect to be saved. However, to align with this, they must first address the question of what the first day means, referring to the initial coming of the Lord. Lacking a clear answer to this, we can conclude that, according to their own reasoning, the first day signifies the Savior’s humble arrival, the second His glorious return, and the third His coming as a Judge. By focusing solely on the second and third days, they reveal a loss of the first, for one cannot discuss the latter two without acknowledging the first.