Lack of True Knowledge, Part 2: It Leads to Destruction
David W Palmer
God warns quite strongly of the dreadful consequences that a lack of knowledge can bring. So far, we have seen that it leads to unanswered prayer, captivity, hunger, and thirst. Today, we look at some more:
4. Lack of Knowledge Leads to Destruction
God says in the following Scripture that “lack of knowledge” will literally destroy his people—especially if it comes from wilfully rejecting knowledge:
(Hosea 4:6 NKJV) “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.”
Destruction comes to those who have “rejected knowledge,” because a lack of it has devastating consequences. This Scripture warns of two: God will “reject” the person who rejects knowledge, and he will “forget” their children. This is not God being proactive against them; he is simply showing how human refusal to learn what he reveals ties his hands:
(Psalm 78:41 KJV) “They turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.”
Jesus said that he came that we might have life; this is what he aims for when he is proactive, not destruction—the thieving destroyer is responsible for that:
(John 10:10 NKJV) “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
(Revelation 9:11 NLT) “Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer.”
Bearing in mind that Jesus—who is “life”—can give us “rest” if we “learn of him,” we can see that these two passages imply that when we reject his knowledge and learning, we are rejecting him (See: Mat. 11:29, John 14:6). Consequently, we are stepping outside God’s covering, and putting ourselves in harm’s way. This permits the destroyer to have sway over us, and to complete his objective for us: utter destruction:
(1 John 5:19 NKJV) We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
Jesus’s objective for us, on the other hand, is “life … more abundantly.” Thankfully, he has already done his part in achieving this for us through his death, burial, and resurrection. He has provided us with his righteousness, his armor and weapons, his innocent blood, and his word, etc. Now he wants us to “learn of him.” In other words, he wants us to study his word to learn about what he has made available to us, and to discover how to use his weaponry and receive his benefits. Then through what he has provided, we can successfully resist the destroying devil, and have him flee from us.
(Note: according to 2 Cor. 10:5 and Prov. 1:7, it takes humility to learn and to receive God’s correction.)
(James 4:7 NLT) “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
(2 Corinthians 10:5 RSV) “We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
As well as using the knowledge we find in Jesus to make the destroyer flee, we can also use it to renew our minds to the amazing privileges we have in Christ. What’s more, we can learn how to access them here and now.
Today, I believe the Holy Spirit is underlining our need to feed on his word day and night. God wants us blessed and walking in the abundant life he has made available. Plus, he wants us to use his armor, anointing, and blessing to drive the enemy out, destroy his strongholds, halt his advances, and bind up his destructive activities. Let’s firmly establish our hearts in God’s word—keeping it in front of our eyes, coming into our ears, and overflowing from our hearts in words and actions.
Of course, to have freedom from the destroyer, we must humbly submit to God—including his right to ask us for the tithe:
(Malachi 3:10–12 NKJV)
