Blessing Hidden in a Warning

The Blessing Hidden in a Warning My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4 v 6 The legal meaning of the expression “ want of knowledge” is denseness, ignorance, illiteracy,incomprehension, inexperience,lack of education,unfamiliarity.. Ignorance of God and His law is no bliss but it makes us miss the mark. There is a legal principle that operates in the world: ignorance of the law is no excuse. People are destroyed for want of personal knowledge of God, our Maker and our Redeemer. The converse is also true- that people are blessed to live forever due to a personal knowledge of God. Our personal knowledge of God wins us His favour or His grace. Our personal knowledge of God causes us to acknowledge Him at every turn of our life, every day of our life. The Word of God increases our personal knowledge of God as well as our faith. It should be studied like a law, breathed in like oxygen, drunk and eaten like water and food, enjoyed like choice dishes, mined like a gold-mine, collected like a treasure, valued like diamonds and precious stones. When we are doing all this, we are paying full attention and not ignoring God or His Word. Whole nations as well as families and generations of individuals and institutions like marriage today are in decline due to ignoring God and His Word. Formerly, they were greatly blessed for their personal knowledge of God. What does personal knowledge mean? It means we should know the person of God, we should know His name, His character or nature, His words that have been communicated to us. It is not a one way street. He too should know our name and acknowledge us. He should know our character or nature. He should hear us and talk with us. It also means we greatly value each other. Personal knowledge of God is what gives a leader the edge. It makes us a royal priesthood of God. He anoints us as priests and kings. As priests, we can approach the throne of God and stand in the gap for people to intervene on their behalf. As kings, in the right hand we hold the Word of God and in the left, the sword of execution or obedience to the will of God in all matters, great and small. The hidden promise of this uni-verse is that our children would be greatly blessed. The uni-verse is also a caveat or warning to people. When we ignore God, He too will ignore us. Scripture says that even the ox knows its master and the donkey, its crib, but we do not recognize the voice of the Master or understand His will for our lives. We will be foolish and follow our own bodily passions. We will perish like the beasts of the earth. He will reject us as priests. Since we have forgotten His Word, He too will forget our children. He will blow a wind so that at the time of harvest or at the time of maturity, the corn head will be empty or shorn of fruit or blessings. We will be like the oxen that bear its own yoke. We will not rule but be ruled. When we reject God, we reject life itself. Prateep V Philip