Contemplative Bible Reading

Hosea 6:6 (New International Version)

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

This is one of those passages that sticks with me; it has for years. I believe God is telling us that he cherishes what is in the heart more than what we do with our hands and our things.

Let’s look at the two words I put in the title of this post.

mercy : [< Medieval Latin merces (reward, compassionate action) < merx (merchandise); influenced by Latin miserere < miserêrî (to have pity)] compassionate action or treatment; relief from distress; a tendency from personal character to act compassionately; to be ruthful, to show forbearance or kindness. In Scripture and in the Christian faith, mercy means the giving of grace to people who don’t deserve it, or showing compassion to someone you have power or authority over. (from spirithome.com)

and from dictionary.com

ac?knowl?edge
–verb (used with object), -edged, -edg?ing.

1.to admit to be real or true; recognize the existence, truth, or fact of: to acknowledge one’s mistakes.

2.to show or express recognition or realization of: to acknowledge an acquaintance by nodding.

3.to recognize the authority, validity, or claims of