+ Hosea 3:1 + False Gods + Priorities

Hosea 3:1 The Lord said to me again, "Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."

That's one of my all-time favorite verses.

I howled with laughter the first time I read it.

How in the world is "1 lov[ing] raisin cakes" somehow comparable to "1 turn[ing] to other gods"?

It seemed so odd that for many years I intentionally tried to NOT find out what raisin cakes meant!

What it does mean, however, makes a rather important point: Grapes -- and thus raisins -- were a symbol of the fertility of the earth. The "1 other gods" that Israel chased like an "1 adulterous" were pagan fertility gods. "1 Lov[ing] raisin cakes" was essentially the pagan version of desiring holy communion.

Raisin cakes represent a false and dangerous priority.

What is your raisin cake? What priorities do you desire in life that take you even one degree away from God?

Lord, help me not be a spiritual adulterer ... and steer my diet away from raisins and cake.

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