Wait...What?

Scripture Reading: Hosea 6:1-3

If someone accuses me of seeing Christ in the Old Testament too often, I will readily admit my guilt. I tend to be always asking the question, “Is this meant to point to Jesus?” Maybe I go too far. If that is a problem, it is one I am not too worried about.

Because I have this problem, when I read a text like Hosea 6:2, I think, “Wait…What?”

After two days he will revive us; on the third day, he will raise us up, that we may live before him.

I have read several commentaries about this text. Some of them flat-out reject any suggestion that this might have a Messianic prophecy component to it. Well, I get their arguments against that way of looking at it, but they also don’t give any satisfying interpretations as to what is meant by being raised up on the third day either.

As E. B. Pusey noted: In shadow, the prophecy was never fulfilled to Israel at all. The Ten Tribes were never restored. Unto the Two Tribes what a mere shadow was the restoration from Babylon, that it should be spoken of as the gift of life, or of resurrection! The strictest explanation is the truest. The "two days" and the "third day" have nothing in history to correspond with them, except that in which they were fulfilled, when Christ, "rising on the third day from the grave, raised with Him the whole human race."

If this is a prophecy about Christ’s resurrection, why does it say, “He will raise us up?”

As Dr. Pusey remarked, “When Christ, rising on the third day from the grave, raise with Him the whole human race.” I don’t believe he was arguing for universal salvation, but rather that all believers throughout history, across all languages, and peoples, and nations are raised with Christ in His resurrection.

So, Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD…” (Hosea 6:3)

For in Him, we have life.