Retaining knowledge

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Scripture
 
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
(Hosea 4:6 NASB)
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
(Hebrews 2:1 NASB)

Observation
 
There seem to be cycles in history, periods of time which appear to repeat themselves. There are times when knowledge and education are highly valued, and then there seem to be times when that knowledge comes under attack and we retreat into the more experiential. However, if we linger too long in the experiential, we become like the children of Israel. There was no longer any knowledge of God to pass on to the next generation. They had rejected their religious education and therefore knowledge of God and His word. No longer were there those who could serve as priests because they had forgotten God's law. By no longer studying God's word the people drifted away from their faith, and each subsequent generation found themselves further and further away from God's ideal.

Application
 
We live in a day where there is a great deal of information available to all. Education is available to most all who would desire to study. But -- the looming question for the believer is whether we are educating ourselves in the things of God? If we do not take time to know the Lord, to know the word, then we, too, will drift away. There will always be tension between knowledge/education and the experiential. This is why we really need both. Sadly, there seems to be a fear of education because of where it may ultimately lead us -- a fear that it may take us away from God in a sort of rationalistic approach to the world. However, the more that we learn, the more we realize we don't know and instead, it can take us to a place of awe and wonder about the One who created and designed an amazing master plan for all of that we behold.

Let us not fear knowledge, but rather, place our knowledge in humble subjection to the One who has provided all for us. May we devour all that he has for us, and especially when it comes to the things of God. May we be prepared as a people of God to express and pass on God's law to the generations that follow. And may there never be a day when God can find no one to be his priest!

Prayer

Lord, lead us into a deeper walk and understanding with You today. May we not fear that which we do not know, but may You lead us into all truth. Amen.


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