Pursue Knowing God - Hosea 6:3

"Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” 

-Hosea 6:3

About a month ago, i was reading through the book of Hosea and verse 6:3 caught my eye. Over the course of a few weeks, God kept bringing me back to this passage. Eventually, i went online to a handy little site called biblos.com  (worth checking out for when You want to dig into a Bible passage) and did some research. There were two words that changed how i viewed this verse; radaph and yada.

Where it says "Let us press on to know Him", the word used for press on is the Hebrew word radaph. The definition of radaph is "to pursue, chase, persecute". There's nothing half hearted or laid back about it. It's an aggressive, almost violent word.

The word used for know in both places is the word yada. Yada has a longer list of definitions than radaph and is slightly harder piece into this puzzle but is fascinating when You find it's place. While some of it's definitions include "to acknowledge, to be acquainted with, to be aware of" it was "to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing)" that really stuck out to me. To know by seeing. Think about it.

Reread Hosea 6:3 with those words in mind. The writer says "Let us be very intentional about pursuing knowing God, through both heart and head knowledge but also by seeing Him move with our very own eyes." It's not just enough to know in Your head that God is provider; see in Your life that He is. You might say that, yes, God is a healer, but have You seen it with Your eyes? Hosea invites You to pursue that kind of knowing God.

God wants to be pursued -indeed, He's the one who gives us strength to pursue Him if we ask Him- and He will respond to Your efforts. If You feel as if You've been pouring into Your God-relationship but You're not seeing anything for it, be encouraged! God responds to every bit of effort You put forth. It might not be what You expect or when You expected it but Hosea 6:3 promises if You run after Him, He will reward Your efforts.

Think about it.