1 Hear the word of the LORD,
O children of Israel,
for the LORD has a case
against the people of the land:

“There is no truth, no loving devotion,
and no knowledge of God in the land!2 Cursing and lying,
murder and stealing,
and adultery are rampant;
one act of bloodshed follows another.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
and all who dwell in it will waste away
with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air;
even the fish of the sea disappear.

4 But let no man contend;
let no man offer reproof;
for your people are like those
who contend with a priest.
5 You will stumble by day,
and the prophet will stumble with you by night;
so I will destroy your mother—
6 My people are destroyed
for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I will also reject you as My priests.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I will also forget your children.

7 The more they multiplied,
the more they sinned against Me;
they exchanged their Glory
for a thing of disgrace.
8 They feed on the sins of My people
and set their hearts on iniquity.
9 And it shall be
like people, like priest.
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat but not be satisfied;
they will be promiscuous but not multiply.
For they have stopped obeying the LORD.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Vincent Chan

We can know about someone without truly knowing them personally. That’s the problem we see in today’s passage. The priests and the people of Israel knew about God’s laws—but it was the kind of knowledge that led to hypocrisy, not holiness. It didn’t shape them to know and trust God; instead, it produced a double life. Instead of hearing the law and sitting humbly under the Ten Commandments, it led to cursing, lying, and murder (v. 2). Instead of the priests teaching the people to obey God, they fed on the people’s sins and delighted in their wickedness (v. 8).

What is the heart of the problem? In many ways, it is a problem of the heart. The issue isn’t that sinful Israel needed more head knowledge to help them obey; they needed a change of heart that would enable them to obey. They needed a knowledge not merely of information but of relationship—a living relationship with the Living God.

I think it’s fair to say that modern-day Christians have many opportunities to learn from God’s Word. Whether it’s Growth Groups, Sunday sermons, or even this daily devotion we’re doing now, we have countless opportunities to hear from God’s Word. But let’s pray that our knowledge would be both of the head and the heart. Let’s pray that we would be people who not only hear God’s Word but sit under it—knowing Him personally and walking in His ways.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vinno is one of our Assistant Ministers.