My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6)

They Were Destroyed

Knowledge has always been the defining factor in whether a man is justified before God. God has never left the world without knowing His will. From the words in the Garden of Eden, when God warned Adam and Eve about taking the forbidden fruit, to the final day of earth’s existence, the Lord God reveals His word to creation, so that it may know and understand what it must do to be saved. Eve rejected the word of the Lord for her own wisdom. Israel sought after other gods instead of trusting in the word of God. Jesus came as the Word to reveal the full gospel of salvation to the world. The early church preached the word to the world, showing how the grace of God was made available to all men. Everything was based upon the knowledge of God’s word.

The lifeline between man and God has always been the relationship of knowledge. When the heart of man accepted and followed the will of the Lord, God blessed him with many blessings. It was when man turned away from the knowledge of God that the judgment and wrath of the Lord were given. During the final days of Israel, the prophets pleaded with the people to return to the Lord. They had found themselves attracted to the idols of the world and the wisdom of the carnal spirit rather than the word of God. The more Israel filled itself with the knowledge of the world, the farther it turned away from the Lord. As ignorance increased, so did judgment. The captivity came because there was no more knowledge of the Lord in the land.

Hosea does not suggest Israel was hampered when they turned away from God. The prophet does not excuse Israel’s actions as a result of cultural exchanges between good and evil. What Hosea explains is the depravity and depredation of the nation of God’s people when they turned away from the word of God, resulting in total destruction. The people of God were destroyed because of their lack of knowledge. It was not a small matter to refuse knowledge. There was a clear and definitive causation for the people turning away from the will of the Father. Hosea said the people were destroyed. No matter which version of scripture records the Lord’s warning, all agree that the result is the destruction of the people.

Only the word of God can give life. Without the word of God, man has no life, hope, promise, or reward. As the world seeks to find joy and happiness in the lust of the flesh, pride of life, and lust of the eyes, the result is always destruction. Rejecting the word of God brings about destruction, annihilation, ruin, extinction, and obliteration. That is a law established when God created the world. His word is truth, and His word is life. When men seek to live apart from the word of God, they destroy themselves. History bears the scars of every nation that rejects God in the scattered whitened bones of despair from those who did not heed the word of God.

Knowledge is power, but lacking knowledge is destruction. God has given the world everything it needs to know Him, respect Him, honor Him, and worship Him. Rejecting the word of God is rejecting the only hope man can have. Israel was destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. Forgetting or ignoring the law of God will only bring the wrath of God. There is one truth, and that truth is found in Jesus Christ. Rejecting Jesus as Lord is destruction. There is only one way, truth, and life, and no one will be saved who does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Belief demands obedience. Only those who do the will of the Father will be saved. Rejecting the knowledge of God is rejecting God. Forget Him, and He will forget you.