Verses 1-3
The LDS scholars that created the institute manual for the Old Testament referenced one of the popular beliefs that one of the Lords days is a thousand of ours. This would cause this verse to be translated as "after two thousand years will he revive us (restore); in the third thousand years he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight. This would then most likely refer to the gathering of Israel and the Millennium. Verse 3 is another interesting point. Here is the explanation of the latter and former rains. To the farmer in Israel, there are two rains that are very important to raising a good crop. The former rain softened the earth enough to plow it for planting. The latter rain gave the crops nourishment so they could grow. We are essentially told that the Lord will be to us a duel blessing also. He will help prepare us for hearing the Gospel and he will also nourish us and help us grow in the Gospel.
Verse 4
In this verse Israel's goodness is compared to the "early dew" that "goeth away". Just as dew doesn't last long after the sun comes up to evaporate it, Israel's goodness did not last long (not much of a compliment).
Verse 6
Hosea probably was not condemning sacrifices and burnt offerings, but more likely indicating that the point of the offerings was being missed...mercy and knowledge. The Israelites had come to a point where they were only doing the outward motions of the rituals and sacrifices and were not benefiting spiritually from them.
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