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Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned. Aliens have devoured his strength, but he does not know it; yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, yet he does not know it. And the pride of Israel testifies to his face, but they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek Him for all this. (Hosea 7:8-10)

God likes to talk in pictures. All through the Bible, God uses word-pictures to tell us how He sees things. Hosea chapter 7 is filled with word pictures describing the sinful character of ancient Israel in the days of the Prophet Hosea. In this chapter, God says Israel was like:

– A thief, a band of robbers
– An adulterous wife
– A hot oven
– A silly dove

But my favorite word-picture from Hosea 7 is found in verse 8 through 10, where God called Israel a cake unturned. The idea is of a “half-baked” cake. In that day, bread was often prepared as a cake that was cooked on both sides, something like a pancake. In thinking they could serve both the Lord and idols, Israel was like an unturned pancake – burned on one side and uncooked on the other.

This vividly describes the spiritual and moral condition of many people. They are overexposed to some things – perhaps the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Yet they are underexposed to other things – the things of God and His Spirit. Therefore, they are like a cake unturned. If you have ever made pancakes, you know what can be done with cakes that are burned on one side and uncooked on the other – nothing. You can’t fix it by flipping it over, because the one side is still burned. In the same way, when someone is overexposed to the world and underexposed to God, God can’t do much with that person.

To describe the self-deception of Israel, Hosea used another word-picture: “Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, yet he does not know it.” In Hosea’s day, Israel was as foolish as an old man who thought and acted like he was still young. If you have ever seen the type, you know what Hosea meant. We think it is a joke when an old, gray-headed man dresses in the most modern fashions and uses the slang of young people. We wonder, “Who does this old guy think he is fooling?” God thinks the same thing about us when we deceive ourselves about our spiritual condition.

Considering how easily we deceive our self, and how our sin can be apparent to everyone but us, Israel’s condition wasn’t unusual. It was said of Samson after Delilah cut his hair: “But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him” (Judges 16:20). This is where the people of Israel were and where some followers of God are today. They are far from God and already suffering the effects, but they can’t see it. Ask God to open your eyes today – not only to see Him, but also to see your true spiritual condition. Seeing both clearly make the path to true spiritual health.

Click here for David’s commentary on Hosea 7

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“In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” (1 Kings 15:1-3)

The line of kings over Israel began with Saul, but he disqualified himself, so the dynasty of Saul ended with Saul – he was a one-king-dynasty. Then came David, who was perhaps Israel’s greatest ancient king. Next was Solomon, the son of David and the one who built the glorious temple.

Yet after Solomon came a disaster in the name of Rehoboam. He sunk the kingdom into carnality and civil war, and because of the division soon there were two kingdoms from the twelve tribes of Israel. The king described in 1 Kings 15:1-3 was the son of Rehoboam and he sat on the throne of the southern kingdom, called Judah. That is why we read “Abijam became king over Judah.” This son of Rehoboam only reigned three years, showing that God did not bless his reign.

From the comparing this account with 2 Chronicles 13 we learn that Abijam knew something of the Lord, and he knew how to preach – but he did not uproot the idolatry and sexual immorality that was introduced by Rehoboam. The successor of Abijam (Asa) removed the centers of the sexually-charged idolatry that were so common in the land (1 Kings 15:12-13).

“His heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” This was the real problem with Abijam’s reign – his lack of a real life or relationship with God. King David sinned during his reign, but his heart stayed “loyal to the Lord his God.” The same could not be said of Abijam.

2 Chronicles 13 fills in more interesting details about the reign of Abijam (called Abijah in 2 Chronicles). It tells us how there was war between Jeroboam of Israel and Abijam of Judah, and how Abijam challenged Jeroboam on the basis of righteousness and faithfulness to God. Jeroboam responded with a surprise attack, and victory seemed certain for Israel over Judah – but Abjiam cried out to the Lord, and God won a victory for Judah that day. 2 Chronicles 13:18 says of that war, “Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.” God blessed Abijam’s reign even when it seemed that he didn’t deserve it.

Yet Chronicles also tells us his standing at the end of his brief reign: “But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters” (2 Chronicles 13:21). In the midst of his victory and good leadership for Judah, he never had the relationship with the Lord he should have had.

We could say that Abijam is a classic example of something more and more common today: the successful failure. He both succeeded and failed at the same time. You might say that he climbed the ladder of success and got to the top – only to find that that ladder leaned against the wrong building. Abijam thought that the most important thing in life was being a good king; he missed what really mattered most: his personal life with God. Don’t make the same mistake in your own life.

Click here for David’s commentary on 1 Kings 15

With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. (Hosea 5:6)

In the days of Hosea, ancient Israel knew they were expected to bring animal sacrifice to Yahweh, both for atonement of sin and for fellowship with God. Yet it was possible to perform the action of sacrifice without a heart or life sacrificed to God – to make sacrifice an empty ritual. When Hosea spoke to Israel, their worship was mainly empty rituals.

We see this in the words, They shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him.

A few verses before this, God described their superficial repentance: they do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God (Hosea 5:4). When they made such superficial gestures of repentance, they will not find Him.

There is a big difference between superficial religious gestures and a genuine turning of the heart towards God. In a moment of crisis someone may turn to God for relief – but have no real intention of surrendering their life to Him.

In many ways today, people think they are seeking God when they really only make a superficial investigation. For example, a man might say, “I grew up in the Baptist church and couldn’t find God there. So, I went to the Methodist church and couldn’t find God there. Then I went to the Pentecostal church, but couldn’t find God there. Now I’m at the Presbyterian church and can’t find God.”

This man may imagine that he searched hard after God, but that could well be an illusion. The truth could be that he is running away from God. When God started to get close at the Baptist church, he left it and became a Methodist. When God started to get close at the Methodist church, he became a Pentecostal. This man followed the same pattern in each place – a superficial search for God that backed away when he really began to get close to God. Our sinful, fleshly nature doesn’t mind religion and religious ritual – but it does whatever it can to keep us from really drawing close to God.

God does not reward this kind of superficial seeking. It might fool everyone else, but it doesn’t fool God. Therefore, Hosea announced the sad verdict: He has withdrawn Himself from them. It can happen. We can be so set in our sin and rebellion that God just leaves us to ourselves. Usually we don’t even notice at first, but when we call upon the Lord and do not find Him, then we start to see the result of pushing God away.

Apart from a real relationship with God based on faith, religious traditions and works can’t make us right with God. You may be frustrated because you seem to do so much for God, yet it seems that you not find Him. Stop relying on empty rituals and come in faith. Let the promise of Jeremiah 29:14 be true for you: I will be found by you, says the LORD.

Click here for David’s commentary on Hosea 5

This week’s devotional is taken from a free e-book titled Christmas Thoughts. Click here to download your free copy.

Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.” (Isaiah 7:13-16)

Isaiah cried out against the rulers of Judah. They treated other people poorly, but they treated the Lord even more poorly. To rebuke their lack of trust, Isaiah promised a sign. This promise became one of the most famous prophecies in the Bible: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you as sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Beyond being famous, this word from Isaiah 7 also illustrates a principle of prophecy, that prophecy may have both a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment.

The near fulfillment of this prophecy centered on Ahaz, Jerusalem, and the attack from Israel and Syria. For Ahaz, the sign concerned a time span – before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. Simply put, God promised Ahaz a sign promising that within a few years, both Israel and Syria would be crushed. This was a sign of deliverance to Ahaz.

The far or ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy goes far beyond Ahaz, to announce the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus Christ.

We know this passage speaks of Jesus because the Holy Spirit says so through Matthew: Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

We know this passage speaks of Jesus because the prophecy is addressed not only to Ahaz, but also to David’s entire house (O house of David!).

We know this passage speaks of Jesus because it says the virgin shall conceive, and that conception would be a sign to David’s entire house. Those who deny the virgin birth of Jesus like to point out that the Hebrew word translated virgin (almah) can also be translated as “young woman.” The idea of these critics is that Isaiah simply said that a “young woman” would give birth, not a virgin. While the near fulfillment may have reference to a young woman giving birth, the far or ultimate fulfillment clearly points to a woman miraculously conceiving and giving birth. This is especially clear because the Old Testament never uses this word in a context other than virgin and because the Septuagint translates it categorically virgin (parthenos).

We know this passage speaks of Jesus because it says He will be known as Immanuel, meaning “God with Us.” This was true of Jesus in fact, not only as a title. Immanuel speaks both of the deity of Jesus (God with us) and His identification and nearness to man (God with us).

Jesus is truly Immanuel, God with us. This is the great message of Christmas – that God the Son added humanity to His deity and walked with us. He shared the human experience to the fullest, because He was fully human. Though as far as we know He was never called by the name “Immanuel,” He certainly fulfilled the meaning of the name.

The question is, “Is Jesus God with you?” Remember the promise of James 4:8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Click here for David’s commentary on Isaiah 7

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Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! (Isaiah 31:1)

The threat was real and was approaching Jerusalem fast. It was the mighty Assyrian army, infamous for its cruelty and destruction. Because of this threat the leaders of Judah felt they had to do something, but sadly they did the wrong thing. More precisely, they were wrong in what they did and wrong in what they did not do. The Prophet Isaiah confronted both wrongs in this single verse.

The first wrong was the sin of trusting in Egypt and their military might. The second wrong was the sin of not looking to the Holy One of Israel. Therefore he said, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots.” God had called the tribes of Israel to a very special relationship with Him, and He promised to protect them in the Promised Land as they trusted in Him. Yet in this circumstance, the leaders of the Kingdom of Judah found it easier and better to go down to Egypt for help instead of trusting the God who was already with them.

To be fair, Judah felt they had a reason to trust in chariots. They looked at the chariot count of Egypt saw that they are many. So, surely many chariots could save Judah from Assyria and be their deliverance!

They also felt they had a reason to trust in horsemen. They inspected the horsemen of the Egyptian army and saw that they are very strong. Surely the strong horsemen of Egypt would deliver them!

While they could find these two reasons, yet they couldn’t seem to find a reason to trust in the Lord. It is important to see that in a sense they did not abandon faith. We might say that everybody lives by faith. Here, the leaders of Judah had plenty of faith, but they put that faith into the chariots and horsemen of Egypt.

In this sense faith is simply part of the human condition. Financial wizards trust market forces. Military leaders trust bombs and weapons. Scientists trust the natural order. According to the same pattern, Jerusalem’s leaders trusted in Egypt.

It makes us think carefully about ourselves. Sometimes we tell ourselves that we need more faith when really we have plenty of faith; we just put our faith in the wrong things. In our own way, we trust in the chariots and horsemen of Egypt instead of trusting in the God who made a covenant promise to be our God, if we would be His people.

How much better to have the heart of the Psalmist in Psalm 20:7: Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Still further, our trust should only be in the Lord. I like what the old Puritan writer John Trapp said: “He that stands with one foot on a rock, and another foot upon a quicksand, will sink and perish as certainly as he that stands with both feet on a quicksand.”

Make sure that you have both feet on the rock of real trust in God.

Click here for David’s commentary on Isaiah 31