Introduction
This is going to be a tough one to write, and I would like you to try and stay with me… This is not done in judgement, and I really do not want it to come over in that way… Here is what I would like you to see in this, not judgement but encouragement… Some of the things are going to be harsh, it is frightening even to me, but I believe that I have to say it… I did my previous post on Psalm 23… This is the good that God promises us in HIS WORD… and I saw so many of HIS blessings that will follow us… but I also felt like there is something that has to be said about this…
Who are we?
I would like to start by stating WHO WE ARE… According to 1 Peter 2:9 you are:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ” (1 Peter 2:9)
What does this mean? I will be looking at the priest aspects of this… To the end you will understand why… Later I will do a more in depth study on our identity in Christ, who we really are…
What are priests?
What does it mean to be a priest? Here is what I have found in https://bible.org/seriespage/priests:
“Those who could not trace their lines back were Levites. Their duties were outside the court of the priests: they were involved with Temple music, performed various physical and religious services for the Temple, and served as Temple guards. It was such a group of Levites who came to arrest Jesus (Mt. 26:47) and later the apostles (Acts 4:1-3).
…The rest of the year they ministered throughout the land in the areas in which they lived. (will state the rest now)
Their duties included making the sacrifices and performing the ritual of the sanctuary, burning the incense along with their intercession in the Holy Place, and teaching the people the laws and the ritual (Deut. 33:9,10; Mal. 2:7).“
According to this, priests are important because they prepare the Holy Place for those around. These are the guys that would prepare for the work that GOD WILL DO… They also taught the laws, nowadays it would be to teach Love…. God did say: Love the Lord your God with everything and Love your neighbor as yourself… These are basically the only commands we have… The rest will flow from this…
Priests did not work in the temple every day of their lives… They would be rotated to work in the temple, and also at special occasions… But many a time they would be going to the world teaching people and searching for more OF WHO GOD IS, so they can teach the truth to others…
Now that we know who we are…. I can continue….
Knowledge, where does is come in?
In Hosea 4:6 it says:
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. (NKJV)
My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. (NLT)
In the beginning of this scripture it starts with “My people“… Who is these people? And does it still apply today?
Firstly, this was originally written for Israel, who was a holy nation and priesthood (Exodus 19:6). But if we look at John 3:16, God sent his Son to die for all… christian and non-christian alike….. So He died for EVERYONE… God at that stage made a radical statement…. It is now available for EVERYONE TO BECOME HIS PEOPLE… Thus going back to 1 Peter 2:9, everyone has that identity stored in them… Thus in the present my people could refer to everyone… However it would only refer to those who believe and has accepted Christ, although it is available to everyone…
Now for the second part… I believe that it is still valid… according to 2 Timothy 3:16… The Bible, the Word of God is God-breathed… Thus I do believe it does still apply today….
This is pretty tough to hear, but DO UNDERSTAND…. this is not even the end yet… I will be digging much more in this scripture, to understand why… What is this knowledge that is being referred to in this scripture?
Knowledge… What is it?
First I am going to explain what knowledge is, and how it has power…. SO… What is knowledge?
Knowledge is defined by the Oxford Dictionary (lexico.com) is:
1. Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject…
2. Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation…
In both these cases knowledge is acquired by experience…. THIS IS IMPORTANT… KNOWLEDGE COMES FROM EXPERIENCE… BUT ALSO YOU CAN HAVE THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING, WHICH OPENS UP THE DOORS TO THE PRACTICAL…
Knowledge that formed today
Lets look at our daily life, today we have cars, lights, electricity, phones, computers etc… Where does this come from?
Thomas Edison
Lets look at Thomas Edison… He failed 10 000 times, if he gave up we would most likely not have all the lights we have today…
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
He broke through to a next level of knowledge, HE NEVER QUIT BECAUSE HE KNEW HE WAS CLOSE TO SUCCEEDING….
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell… He created the first phone…. If he didn’t break through the next level of knowledge, we might not even have phones today… He most likely failed a lot before succeeding… Today we can contact people from across the whole world….
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The Sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus”
The Wright Brothers
The Wright Brothers….. It is pretty impressive to think they wanted to fly so badly that they learned how to, by breaking through one of the toughest barriers known to man…. Gravity…. It always pulls you back down, yet these brothers acquired the knowledge to fly…. They BROKE INTO THE NEXT STAGE OF KNOWLEDGE…
“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance.”
Why is there strength in knowledge?
I just showed you three people who didn’t care what there “knowledge paradigm” said… They knew what they wanted to accomplish and set their hearts and minds to it, and made it work… YES, they made it work… They tried by changing small stuff until it worked… never giving up on the thing they wanted to accomplish….
What is the knowledge which is referred to in Hosea 4:6?
This knowledge is not book knowledge, which you can study… This refers to heart or revelation knowledge… This can only be acquired by experience, revelation and relationship with GOD…
How does all of this fit in with the knowledge of Hosea 4:6?
What works for me?
When looking at some things in the Bible, it seems like it is in Greek or Hebrew, even though you do understand the words… What I realized is that I never failed to understand the Bible, I just found many ways that never worked for me, while reading it… Here is something you need to know… The words do not always tell you everything you need to know, you need to pray and actually have conversation with God… God wants to talk to you, but remember not everyone hears God audibly… I tend to see pictures or dream, sometimes even by music… (Based on quote by Thomas Edison)
No distractions
Now if we do not set time aside, we cannot do what all these above mentioned inventors did… We have to focus on spending time with God…. No husband would go for years without spending time without his wife, why are we thinking that we can go for years without spending time with God? Now, if we concentrate all our thoughts on Christ, and I would actually suggest even turning the phone off or have it on silent(not close to you, because technology can have a very distracting effect on us, especially when we are busy with something important), then we will see the fruits of our labor… I am not saying get rid of your phone… God speaks to me when I have my phone, but the life changing stuff happens when I am not distracted… (Based on quote by Alexander Graham Bell)
The Past
What if we did NOT look at the past where we felt like even God rejects us, YEAH I KNOW THAT FEELING. Yet looked at the present and try everything and change some things to advance. That is how the light bulb, the telephone and the plane was created. What if Edison accepted the fact that there would never be light even after it became dark? What if Bell accepted that we would never be able to talk to those far away? And if the Wright brothers gave up on flying, just because they knew it was impossible? Or why do we not follow these great guys and say, WHAT IF WE BECOME MORE DEDICATED TO WHAT GOD HAS PLANNED AND START LISTENING TO HIM MUCH MORE? (Based on quote by the Wright brothers)
The BIG “What if?”
What if….? Why do we never look at the consequences of our choices? If we did, we would know that every choice, has a consequence… and my post “The Lord IS my Shepherd” gives you the consequence if you follow God…. Hosea 4 is the consequence if we do not, and I DO STRUGGLE WITH THIS… I REALLY DO… I am only human… However I do try my best to become more like my LORD AND SAVIOR, THE KING OF MY LIFE.
We all know the statement made: “Knowledge is power”, I would like to make this statement… Yes, Knowledge is power, but having a empty life with power does not mean a thing, God CAN AND WILL fill your life… And the power there is in Him is much more than that of knowledge… There is only one prerequisite for this… LOVE AND KNOW GOD, this is it… God doesn’t care if you are a multi-billionaire or poor, not even if you can write 5 million books or if you can’t even write… He is a God of relationship, and He wants a relationship with us… YES, IT INCLUDES YOU TOO. So if you want Him, ask Him to fill you, and be prepare to be changed FOREVER.
In the beginning I said this is not in judgement, AND I MEAN IT… I just know someone out there is hoping for a way of getting closer to God and I believe they will get it… Just go all out… God is faithful…
God bless. You are amazing, and remember “The Sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus”
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