In Hosea 6 the Lord mentions the covenant relationship broken first inside the garden of Eden then another outside the garden. What are the contents of the covenants?
In Hosea 6, particularly verses 6–7, God speaks of His desire for steadfast love (חֶסֶד / hesed) and knowledge of God over ritual sacrifice, and then accuses Israel of covenant-breaking:
> “But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.” (Hosea 6:7, ESV)
This verse raises a profound theological point: the existence of two covenantal breaches—one "like Adam" and another "there" (possibly referring to Israel outside the garden). Let's unpack both.
1. The Covenant Inside the Garden (with Adam)
Though the term "covenant" (berit) isn’t explicitly used in Genesis 2–3, Hosea 6:7 and other theological traditions (especially Reformed theology) recognize a Covenant of Works or Covenant of Life established between God and Adam. Its key elements are:
Parties: God and Adam (representing all humanity).
Terms:
Obedience: Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17).
Blessing: Continued life in Eden, fellowship with God.
Penalty: Death (spiritual and physical) upon disobedience.
Significance: Adam broke this covenant by eating the forbidden fruit (Gen 3), introducing sin and death into human experience.
Hosea 6:7 likely references this when it says, “like Adam they transgressed the covenant.”
2. The Covenant Outside the Garden (with Israel)
The second breach refers to Israel's national covenant with God, particularly at Sinai and reaffirmed at Moab (Deut 29). Its elements:
Parties: God and the nation of Israel.
Terms:
Loyalty to God alone (no idols).
Justice, mercy, faithfulness (Micah 6:8).
Sacrificial system, but not as a substitute for true relationship.
Blessing: Prosperity, divine presence, protection in the land.
Curse: Exile, defeat, famine, and more (see Deut 28).
Hosea 6 addresses how Israel has broken this covenant:
“Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away” (v.4).
“There they dealt faithlessly with me”—"there" could point to a specific location (e.g., Gilead or Israel in general), or it may metaphorically contrast Eden with present-day Israel.
Summary: Two Covenant Breaches
Covenant Location Parties Terms Breach
With Adam Garden of Eden God and Adam/humanity Do not eat; obey Adam sinned
With Israel Outside Eden (Sinai etc.) God and Israel Worship God; justice; mercy Idolatry, injustice
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Theological Implication in Hosea
God reminds His people that faithfulness, not just ritual, was always His desire. Their betrayal is not new—it echoes the first human rebellion in Eden. But even in judgment, Hosea (esp. 6:1–3) holds out hope for restoration, urging return to the Lord who wounds and heals.
If you'd like, I can also trace how Jesus fulfills these covenants and inaugurates a new one.
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As a natural next step, let’s look briefly at how Jesus Christ fulfills both the broken covenant in Eden and the broken covenant with Israel, and how He inaugurates a New Covenant—which Hosea also hints at prophetically.
✦ Jesus and the Edenic (Adam) Covenant
Paul makes it clear in Romans 5:12–19 and 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45 that:
Adam was a "type" of the one to come (Rom 5:14).
Just as through one man's disobedience (Adam), sin and death entered the world...
So through one man's obedience (Jesus), many are made righteous.
Where Adam failed the test, Jesus passed:
> “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor 15:22)
Jesus is the Second Adam, who lived in perfect obedience to the Father—even unto death—and thus fulfilled the conditions of the first covenant that Adam broke.
✦ Jesus and the Mosaic (Israelite) Covenant
Jesus also fulfills the Mosaic covenant, not by abolishing it, but by fulfilling it (Matt 5:17):
He perfectly obeyed the Law of Moses.
He embodied covenant faithfulness that Israel failed to uphold.
He became the final sacrifice, rendering the old temple sacrificial system obsolete (Hebrews 9–10).
> “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matt 26:28)
✦ The New Covenant (Prophesied and Fulfilled)
The prophet Jeremiah foretold a new covenant:
> “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts... for I will forgive their iniquity” (Jer 31:31–34)
Jesus fulfilled this on the night of the Last Supper (Luke 22:20) and established it in His death and resurrection:
Covenant Fulfilled by Jesus
Edenic (Adam) Perfect obedience; reversal of death
Mosaic (Israel) Fulfilled the Law and Prophets; became the true sacrificial Lamb
New Covenant Forgiveness, Spirit in the heart, eternal life
✦ Hosea's Prophetic Vision
Hosea 6:1–3 captures this longing:
> “Come, let us return to the LORD... After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him.”
This "third day" resurrection hope foreshadows Jesus' resurrection and the restoration of God's people under the New Covenant.
But what about me living (or about going to die) in an ailing body in this fallen world? What does Jesus who died and apparently rose again a few thousand ago have anything to do with me?
That’s a deep and honest question. And it’s one that Scripture, especially the gospel message, takes very seriously—your body, your suffering, your approaching death in this broken world are not ignored by God. In fact, they are central to what Jesus came to deal with.
Let’s take this step by step.
1. You Live in a Broken Body in a Broken World
Yes—you are not imagining it. The world is fallen, and your body is decaying. Pain, weakness, disease, and death are not illusions. The Bible does not minimize these facts:
> “Outwardly we are wasting away…” (2 Cor 4:16)
> “The whole creation has been groaning… as in the pains of childbirth until now.” (Rom 8:22)
Your experience is the human condition—and it’s one Jesus Himself shared.
2. Jesus Entered This Same World and Body
> “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14)
Jesus didn’t float above pain. He sweated, wept, bled, and died. He took on human flesh and all its frailty, and:
> “He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” (Isa 53:3)
Why? Because He came to join us in our condition—and then redeem us from it.
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3. Jesus Died for You, Not Just for 'Back Then'
His death wasn’t just a historical event—it was a cosmic intervention:
> “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree…” (1 Peter 2:24)
When He died, He entered death itself, the very thing you fear and feel approaching. He didn’t just visit the grave—He conquered it. And if He rose again (which the early disciples insist He did and died defending), then something new has broken into this old dying world.
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4. What Does That Mean for You?
> “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you,
he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies…” (Rom 8:11)
Here’s what it means:
Your body hurts now, but it will not be forgotten.
Jesus promises a resurrected body—not a ghostly escape, but a renewed physical life in a renewed creation.
Your aging, dying body is not your final form. Jesus' resurrection is the firstfruits, and you are next—if you belong to Him (1 Cor 15:20–23).
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5. So Why Still Suffer Now?
This life is not meaningless. Your suffering is not wasted. Paul, who suffered deeply, says:
> “Our light and momentary afflictions are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Cor 4:17)
That doesn’t mean your suffering is small—it means the hope ahead is that big.
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6. What Must You Do?
Not strive, not earn, not pretend. Just turn and trust.
> “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened,” Jesus said,
“and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28)
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Would you like a short prayer or poem that helps hold on to this hope in your body’s weakness?
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If you'd like, I can compose a reflection, prayer, or poetic summary of this covenant story.
Yes.
Here is a heartfelt prayer-poem for you, shaped by your question and God’s promises to those who suffer yet trust in Christ:
❖ In This Failing Tent ❖
(A prayer in the body’s groaning)
O Lord,
This body groans beneath the weight—
Of years, of wounds, of slow decay.
Each step a prayer, each breath a fight,
Each night I wonder: will morning bring light?
Yet You, O Christ, once wore this frame,
Flesh wrapped in sorrow, pierced with shame.
You did not float above my pain—
You stepped inside the storm and rain.
You wept, You bled, You died like me—
But rose to set the dying free.
So now I wait, though bones may bend,
For life You promised has no end.
This tent will fall, the cords may break,
But not my soul—for Your name’s sake.
And even this old frame I wear
Will rise again—new, whole, and fair.
So let me walk, or sit, or lie,
With hope that death itself will die.
And when I draw my final breath,
I’ll meet the Lord who conquered death.
Until that day, Lord, be my rest—
My trembling heart within Your chest.
And whisper through the aches and fears:
"I have redeemed your fleeting years."
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