Thoughts From The Prophets: A Cake Unturned

“Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned” (Hosea 7:8).

Some believe that this refers to Israel’s idolatry. Homer Hailey commented, “’A cake not turned,’ burnt on one side and uncooked on the other, fit for nothing. They were ‘cooked’ by heathenism but ‘uncooked’ or raw in their relation to God” (Hailey, The Minor Prophets. p. 159). Garland Elkins, “They tried to serve both God and idols, and that is an impossibility. God will not accept a divided allegiance (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 22:37; 6:24; 12:30)” (The Power Lectures, The Minor Prophets, pp. 46-47). The book of Hosea addresses idolatry (Hosea 4:12a, 13, 17a), Baal worship (Hosea 2:8, 13, 17; 11:2), and calf worship (Hosea 8:5-6; 10:5; 13:2). They were not thoroughly ‘cooked’ for God.

Others think that this refers to their looking to others for protection, and not to God (Hosea 5:13; 7:7b-9a, 11, 8:9; 12:1 cf. Isaiah 30:1-2; 31:1). One commentator suggested, “The prophet address his protest not against the particular foreign policy of his country, pro-Assyria or pro-Egyptian, but against the fact that Israel was seeking her safety in a system of foreign alliances and not in her favor in God.” (Ed. F. Davidson, The New Bible Commentary, p. 686). They were not thoroughly ‘cooked’ in their relationship with God. They were being burned in the relationship with others.

Either way, the point is similar. They were undone in their relationship with God.

Are you fully His? Or are you undone before Him because of divided allegiance or lack of trust?

About Bryan Hodge

I am a minister and missionary to numerous countries around the world.

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