“Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.” (Hosea 7:8)
Hosea was a prophet God used to illustrate His love for Israel in spite of their unfaithfulness, by commanding Hosea to marry the prostitute, Gomer. In this Scripture, Hosea prophesies about Ephraim. Ephraim was the second son of Joseph who was born to him before Abraham came to Egypt. Ephraim’s mother was the Egyptian daughter of Potiphar. When Hosea speaks to Ephraim, he is talking to Israel. The first king of Israel was Jeroboam of the house of Ephraim. Hosea’s ministry was to Israel, the northern kingdom.
In our Scripture of study, Hosea speaks of Ephraim as a “cake not turned,” so let’s study what happens when a cake is not turned. I am assuming the cake is not what we think of as a cake today. It may be more like a thick pancake. If we don’t turn the cake over, it will burn on the bottom side and will be raw on the top side. It’s not fit to eat. The bottom part has been overcooked and may be even charred. The top part is undone and doughy. Hosea used this illustration to show that in public, Israel appeared to have been proved in the fire of the Lord, holy and developed, actually over developed in the discipline of the Lord. But privately, Israel was untouched spiritually.
They had totally been disloyal to the Lord by marrying foreign women and having strange children. (Hosea 5:7) God curses Ephraim. “They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.” (Hosea 9:3) And so Ephraim and his sons die in Egypt. They never see the promised land. But his descendants of the last son born after his older brothers were killed and his daughter, settle in the area of Bethel. This is interesting and illustrates how God sees the end from the beginning all at once. The sons of Ephraim brought them the curse of never seeing the Promised Land. Hosea in his prophecy is speaking the history of Ephraim (Israel).
Their unfaithfulness continues. Beginning in chapter 8-12, Hosea begins to prophesy the demise of Israel. “Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.” (Hosea 12:1)
Let’s look at our lives. Are we like a pancake unturned? Do we have a public life and a private life? Does our public life look like it’s been charred in the fire of God’s discipline? But is our private life totally untouched by the Spirit of God? These self-examinations are good. They should be done in prayer with a sincere heart to obey the Lord and to please the Lord. It should be done humbly, asking the Lord to reveal those things that are not pleasing to Him and keeping us from true fellowship with Him. It should be done with the intention of repenting and surrendering to the Lord.
Let’s look at some things. And please understand that I am going through this process also. I am not writing from a superior position. You could say, I am writing to myself. Let’s examine what we fix our eyes on. Do we sincerely try to avoid looking at things that may place a perverted picture in our minds? Once something is imprinted in our minds, the enemy will bring it up at the most inappropriate time or at a time when we’re trying to be in God’s Presence. How about the things that we hear? In today’s world it’s impossible not to hear cursing or vulgar language. It’s everywhere. But we need a strategy to combat it from clinging to us. We can call on the Holy Spirit to stop up our ears. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. How about our words? Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6:45) If evil words are coming out of our mouths, it’s displaying what’s in our hearts. So, we need to examine what’s in our hearts. What are we putting into our hearts? Is it God’s Word, God’s blessings, God’s hope and God’s promises? Or is it demonic cursing, defeat and negativity? This is a beginning. If we are willing to sincerely ask the Lord to examine us, we need to be willing also to repent and to surrender our eyes, ears and heart to the Lord. Let’s take the image of the unturned pancake and the curse of Ephraim to help us and motivate us to self-examine ourselves so that our private life, disciplined in the fire of God’s discipline, flows out into our public life.
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