Articles
A Cake Not Turned
A Cake Not Turned
Perry Hurst
Ephraim was the name of the youngest son of Joseph and Asenath. Joseph named him Ephraim for he said “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” (Gen.41:50-52). Ephraim was given priority over Joseph’s other son, Manasseh (Gen.48:17-20). Ephraim was one of the tribes that settled in the Land of Canaan and the name came to be synonymous with Israel (the Northern Kingdom). God, through His prophet Hosea, reminds Israel their sins and thus of their need of repentance. They were intermarrying with other nations and joining with them in their idolatry sacrificing to the Baals, etc.
Hos 5:3-9 - “I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot, Israel has defiled itself. Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, And they do not know the Lord. Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him, And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also has stumbled with them. They will go with their flocks and herds To seek the Lord , but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them. They have dealt treacherously against the Lord , For they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their land. Blow the horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah. Sound an alarm at Beth-aven: "Behind you, Benjamin!" Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I declare what is sure.”
Hos 11:1-4 - When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.
There’s an interesting expression used in Hosea 7:8-9 - “Ephraim mixes himself with the nations; Ephraim has become a cake not turned. Strangers devour his strength, Yet he does not know it; Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him, Yet he does not know it.”
A Cake Unturned…
Imagine baking a cake on a stone surface used for cooking. You would need to cook one side of it, then flip it over to cook the other side. Israel was like a cake that had been cooked without turning it over, burned on one side and undone on the other, unfit to eat, good for nothing. They had mixed with other nations and as a result, had lost their strength yet didn’t seem to realize it (like a person who begins to get a few grey hairs but doesn’t know it). They became so involved in the idolatry of the land that they sacrificed their sons and daughters to the idols of Canaan (Ps.106:35-42).
They were cooked by the influence of other nations yet undone in their relationship with God. They were trying to serve two masters, God and the Baals. It is as if they were trying to be a Jew on one hand and a Gentile on the other. They were no longer God’s peculiar people, no longer a holy nation (Deut.14:2 - “for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” (KJV) The NASV reads, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
Application to us…
We are also to be a peculiar people, a people for God’s own possession, a holy people set apart and living differently from the world (1 Pet.2:9 - “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” KJV)
Like Israel of old, there is a danger for Christians today of being influenced by the sinfulness that surrounds us. We can be influenced to talk like the world and use filthy language, take God’s name in vain, etc. We can be influenced to remove our clothing as the world does and expose our bodies, dressing immodestly. We can be influenced to join in the various sinful practices and activities of the world (ungodly movies, premarital sex, etc.) rather than taking a stand and saying “no.” We can be influenced to, in all reality, take little thought of God and live as WE desire rather than as God desires for us to live. You see, we also have various “idolatrous practices” within our own society that we must battle against. Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking we can have them both. Israel could not have them both and neither can we. No one can serve two masters (Mt.6:24). If we try to be a friend of the world, we become a “spiritual adlulteress” and make ourselves an enemy of God (Js.4:4).
We must not strive for holiness on the one hand and then join in the impurities of the world on the other. We would then be a cake unturned, cooked by the influence of the world around us yet undone in our relationship with God. Yes, let us strive for holiness PERIOD! “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior” (1Per.1:14-15)
