My People Perish

We read in God’s Word that His people perished from lack of knowledge.  

 Read what it says in Hosea 4:1-6:

“Hear the word of the Lord,

You children of Israel,

For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy

Or knowledge of God in the land.

By swearing and lying,

Killing and stealing and committing adultery,

They break all restraint,

With bloodshed upon bloodshed.

Therefore the land will mourn;

And everyone who dwells there will waste away

With the beasts of the field

And the birds of the air;

Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;

For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

Therefore you shall stumble in the day;

The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;

And I will destroy your mother.

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 was speaking for God to the Jews at this time.  The priests were leading the people away from God but they were blaming others instead of themselves.  We often have the tendency to blame others and not take responsibility for our own sins.  I read that the priests liked it when the people sinned because when they brought their sacrifices the priests benefitted and the more the people sinned the more sacrifices they brought and when there were too many sacrifices they could sell them and benefit even more.

Now let’s go to Isaiah 5:11-16:

“Woe to those who rise early in the morning,

That they may follow intoxicating drink;

Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!

The harp and the strings,

The tambourine and flute,

And wine are in their feasts;

But they do not regard the work of the Lord,

Nor consider the operation of His hands.

Therefore my people have gone into captivity,

Because they have no knowledge;

Their honorable men are famished,

And their multitude dried up with thirst.

Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself

And opened its mouth beyond measure;

Their glory and their multitude and their pomp,

And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.

People shall be brought down,

Each man shall be humbled,

And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.

But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment,

And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.”

Here we find another instance where the people lacked knowledge.  This took place when Israel was exiled to Assyria and Judea was exiled to Babylon.  These people brought judgment on themselves by turning away from God.  The same thing will happen to us if we turn away from God and follow our own desires.

Think about what is going on today, the commercialization of religion!  There are preachers teaching things that have no real substance.  Some never mention sin; they would rather call it mistakes, maybe so it won’t offend people.  They don’t mention Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection or the cross of Calvary, or the precious blood of Jesus that was shed for our sins, and the pain and anguish He suffered, but without these things there is no salvation, all they are doing is lulling people to sleep.  What about repentance and confession?  What is 1 John 1-9 in our Bible for?  Why did John the Baptist preach repentance and baptize people after they had repented of their sins and why did Jesus start His ministry with preaching repentance if it wasn’t important.

Think about King Josiah who became king when he was 8 years old and reigned 31 years in Jerusalem and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord.  In his day when he became king, the Book of the Law was lost.  While he ruled, he had the temple restored and in the process, Hilkiah the Priest found the Book of the Law.  When the king was about 26 years old, he started to make some really needed changes because now he had the Book of the Law.  Because King Josiah heard the Book of the Law he tore his clothes in an act of grief and then changed the course of the whole nation.

Today we also have the book of the law, called the Bible, the number one selling book in the world, although for many they are just collecting dust on shelves or somewhere in the house.  For many years, the Bible has been neglected far too often and many that have read it have misinterpreted it to fit their own desires and what they want it to say.  If it was important in the days of Josiah and was instrumental in changing the course of their whole nation, it is just as important for us today.  How many people are perishing today because of the lack of knowledge?  

Something to think about!  May you have a super day and may God bless you and yours!!  And if you haven’t today, try thanking and praising the Lord for He is worthy and He loves sincere praise.