One Year Bible for Sunday, December 7, 2014
Hosea 6:1-9:17; 3 John 1:1-14; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 29:12-14
8 “Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned. 9 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. Hosea 7:8-9 (NKJV)
Ever been blindsided? It happened to Israel.
Israel’s Northern Kingdom (Ephraim) had fallen into a bad place. Three things jump out at me as I read this short analysis given by the prophet Hosea.
1. MIXTURE. “Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples.”
Mixture can be good – like peas and carrots (remember Forrest
Gump). But, mixture can be bad, – like watered down catsup. When it comes to faith, watering it down means no faith at all. For Ephraim, mixture meant compromise.
God’s people are His representatives on earth. We are to look like Him, talk like Him, live like Him, and love like Him. That makes us IN the world, but radically DIFFERENT from the world.
Often, we fall into two extremes: on one hand, we can go too far 
in this “different” thing. We can be so DIFFERENT and isolated from the world that we are no longer relevant – we no longer reach people for Jesus but live in a Christian cocoon.
On the other hand, we can become so LIKE the world that we lose our ability to show what God is like. We blend in and are no longer salt and light. The latter was Ephraim’s predicament.
Syncretism was Israel’s perennial problem. They loved God – but they loved everything else, too. A little biblical Christianity mixed in with the wild philosophies of our day can produce a strange brew. Like the social climber seeking to “keep up with the Joneses,” we can lose our passion for God and seek only to fit in.
2. HALF-COOKED. “Ephraim is a cake unturned.”
Half-cooked cornbread can be burnt crust on one side and soft mush on the other. This means we can be major committed in one area while keeping other areas untouched by the Lord. It’s like having half the rooms in your house in total havoc while the rest is prim and proper.
Partial obedience equals total disobedience. Drinking a Diet Coke does not justify eating a Kit Kat candy bar. Folks live like heaven on Sunday, but live like hell the rest of the week. Amazing! Teach a Sunday School class on Sunday, and visit a prostitute on Tuesday. Half-cooked.
3. BLIND SPOTS. “… yet he does not know it.”
Two things sneaked up on Ephraim. First, aliens had robbed them and their strength was gone. Second, the years had passed. They were “over the hill” and they didn’t know it. 
Twice Hosea says, “… yet he does not know it.” Ephraim ended up weak and old while not seeing it coming. Ouch!
Have you ever been blind-sided by the truth?
Denial sets us up for a rude awakening. I have sat in counseling sessions where a man or woman learns the heart of their spouse has long since left, “yet he did not know it.” I have watched as warning signs are ignored, as bad seed grows, as eyes seem blind to the clear symptoms.
Filled with God’s Spirit
God wants to bless us far more than we realize. He is not angrily waiting to rebuke us. He turns the lights on not to hurt but to heal. II Samuel 14:14 says, “He devises ways so that His banished ones may return to Him.” Even as Hosea points out Ephraim’s predicament, God is working His ways of redemption.
That’s why the ministry of the Holy Spirit is so important to us today. He opens our eyes so we can see what’s coming!
Ever been blindsided? It doesn’t have to happen again. Ask God to fill you with His Spirit Who will guide you into truth that transforms.