Today I want to address some things we often take for granted because we have built a complex life in a complex society. So let’s simplify. I know you will agree that we are all God’s children. However, do we really seek a loving and intimate relationship with God—one which would normally be associated with a parent and child? Have you ever noticed that certain air a child exudes when he or she walks down the sidewalk next to their parent, or plays in the park while mom or dad sits nearby? You can sense their feeling of security that says, “I don’t have a care in the world. I can play and not worry about what is going on around me, because they are watching over and protecting me.” These children are confident rather than fearful. They know that, even if they get into trouble, their parent will be there to rescue them so they can continue to enjoy the life that God has given them.
On the other hand, when a child deliberately does something wrong, he or she avoids his or her parents, the same way Adam and Eve avoided God after they ate from the forbidden tree in Eden. (Genesis 3:8 – 10) Avoidance creates gaps and throws up walls in any relationship as communication begins to falter. It is like being in between cell phone towers on your cell phone. You can hear, but not every piece of the conversation comes through. As communication falters, the security and confidence of any relationship erodes. The Spirit is now grieved because you no longer have a desire for His intimacy and friendship.
In a very real sense, we are all children, and that’s how we are viewed by Divinity. Consider the Biblical example of Hosea. The clear majority of the Israelites ignored this prophet, who was trying to share the divine wisdom specifically designed for God’s chosen children. Hosea’s wisdom was acquired then and in the same way you may acquire it now—by grace and through suffering. His wisdom came from his intimate walk with God, even though the remainder of God’s chosen people did not support him. So, God gave his children this message through Hosea in Chapter 4 verse 6:
. . . [M]y people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests [one who stands up, undertakes or labors in a cause]; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
How do you obtain this knowledge and wisdom? It is not accomplished by avoiding positions of learning. God is saying that those who are destroyed are those who avoid challenges which can provide a relationship which offers knowledge and wisdom beyond their own. You gain more than you possess by walking with the Trinity individually and collectively who possess ultimate knowledge and wisdom.
God inspired Hosea to illustrate this concept by using a specific Hebrew word in Hosea 4:6. The root word, from which the word “knowledge” is derived, means “to know, to learn to know, to perceive and see, find out, discern, discriminate, and distinguish by experience.” It further implies that one’s knowledge is produced through a skilled ability to recognize and seek the help of a person or group of knowledgeable, wise people. This is, analogous to our current day concept of mentoring and the Hebrew word halak. Imagine that! Knowledge comes from intimately walking through life with Deity!
Love Dad