1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” (Hosea 3:1 NIV)

Who says there is no humor in the Bible?

But, let’s set the stage for you on today’s scripture before we get into the sacred raisin cakes.

Hosea was a prophet who took a promiscuous wife Gomer and the Lord used their relationship to mirror that of His with Israel. Thus, Hosea was speaking and writing to the Israelites about turning from God and seeking other gods and how they were like a adulterous wife.

However, how do raisin cakes come into the picture?

Well, actually, they are mentioned multiple times in the Bible. Who knew! They were used to revive people who were faint, and for other reasons. They were, by all accounts, seen as a luxury of sorts. So, in our scripture their reference may have been used to denote opulence or as loving something that was not a necessary staple in one’s diet. They were probably the chocolate of the day.

However, I think God also uses odd references like this, of which there are many, to pull us out of a dry reading of the Bible. They are meant to make us sit up and take notice and question, why? I know I went directly to a number of commentaries to get a better read on these sacred raisin cakes.

So you just never know what may crop up in your reading of the Bible. Do not just read past them, but dig deeper and find out exactly what God was saying.

May your day be blessed with many sacred raisin cakes.