Just Think About It

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge Hosea 4:6

Knowledge – How often have you heard this verse quoted in a plea for renewed diligence toward the things of God?  The quotation is usually followed by an enumeration of our lack of Bible study, church attendance, daily devotion or some other missing element in the quest to understand God’s ways.  But what if the verse doesn’t really say anything about our scarcity of divine information?  What if it’s about something that has nothing to do with mental cognition?  Would that change our actions?

This Hebrew word (da’at) comes from the word ‘yada.  Of course, ‘yada is not just about factual information.  It covers the range from knowing that 2+2=4 to Adam knowing Eve.  In its application to God, it’s not about information.  It’s about relationship in action.  Why are God’s people destroyed (actually, the word means “cut off”)?  It’s because they lack an intimate, working relationship with Him.  They have plenty of information, but they lack desire to apply it.  We would have seen this immediately if we had just continued to read the rest of the verse.  “Because you have rejected the knowledge, I also rejected you from being priest to Me.  Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will forget your sons.”  What does it mean to lack knowledge?  It means to forget God’s instructions.  Knowledge of God is practical application of His Torah.  The people God rejects, the ones He forgets, are the ones who no longer practice His commandments.  They don’t lack systematic theologies, liturgies or rituals.  They lack compassion, mercy and forgiveness.  Doesn’t that sound like something Jesus said about the weightier matters?

Quoting Hosea is important, especially today.  But we must never think that Hosea’s verse is about Bible study, sermons or Sunday school.  We must never imagine that Hosea was telling us to get back to school, study more or earn another theological degree.  God speaks through Hosea calling His people to action.  DO WHAT I SAY! That’s what it means to have knowledge.

Now we can easily see how much we know.  Just look at our actions.  Are we in conformity with God’s directions?  Do we share His concerns?  Do we follow His instructions?  As the song goes, “Make a list and check it twice.”  What do you eat?  When do you celebrate His holidays?  What do you give to His kingdom?  How do you interact with the people of His concern?  How do you treat your enemies?

By the way, just in case you haven’t carefully read the rest of this verse, did you notice the result of lack of knowledge?  The people are no longer suitable as priests.  You can’t fulfill God’s mission in the world if you aren’t living according to His direction.  You can, of course, do a lot of noble, wonderful, illuminated, altruistic work, but it won’t be useful to God.  You might win the Peace Prize or the accolades of the church, but God will have to forget you.  You see, there is only one way to be useful to God and that’s to do it His way.  That’s why knowledge is practical application.  It shows up in the way we live, move and have our being.  It’s not what’s in my head.  It’s what’s in my hands.

Topical Index:  Knowledge