Daily Devotions

Hos 7:6 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.
Hos 7:8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned .
Hos 7:16 They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.I was reading in Hosea 7 and found three things that Israel, or Ephraim is compared to. A baker who does not tend his oven, a cake not turned, and a deceitful bow. Consider these three illustrations the next three days.

The baker who sleeps in the night after lighting his over in verse 6 above.
We all know that bread needs to rise before it is baked. This baker lights the oven, makes ready the bread and then lies down while it is rising. What he does not realize is that while he must allow the bread to rise, because the oven is lit there is still much to do. He must add the fuel to keep the oven from getting too cold to bake the bread, or he must limit the fuel to keep the oven from getting too hot to bake the bread. He had finished the job of lighting the oven but he still had to tend to it to make sure all would be ready when the bread was to be placed in the oven.
So many today think that with salvation in Christ the battle is ended. There is still much to do. We need to grow in the Lord, we need to gain spiritual knowledge and discernment, we need to serve the Lord. There is much to do. I fear that many will find they did not tend the oven as they should have. When it is time to do something for the Lord they are not ready. Not ready to serve, not ready for temptation, not ready for trials, they are not ready. The oven is too hot or too cold. How is your oven today? Are you tending it?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 11:50 am and is filed under Daily Devotions. You can skip to the end and leave a response.