What are the consequences as believers
when we lack knowledge or when we do not
act in wisdom? Just imagine what happens
when we are incapacitated, or worse
still, devoured by diseases!
The following verse is so true:
“My people are
destroyed
for lack of knowledge...(
lack of knowledge
of God, and I should say, of His ways, His
wisdom, His providence, all that He is or
has ever promised or said to us, including
3 John 2 KJV, etc... Italics mine,).
...
“Because you reject knowledge, I will
reject you from being priest to Me..." --Hosea 4:6
And as a result of the destruction
stemming from ignorance (and for some,
disobedience), they are rejected by
God, and this includes rejection from
being priests to Him!
Now who are these priests who were
rejected by the LORD? And why were
they rejected?
Priests in the Old Testament used to
represent people before God. They bring
God to man. They acted as intermediaries
between God and man. They were rejected
as priests because they failed to function
as priests, as they should.
But you say, we are living in New
Testament times. What has that got to
do with us in this day and age?
In the New Testament, 1 Peter 2:9
tells us that those who belong to
God’s kingdom (born again of the Holy
Spirit) are
royal priests (priests of
the King). They are “a PEOPLE FOR
God's OWN POSSESSION” (NASB), a
people chosen by God Almighty to be
His own, yes, God’s very own). They were
selected to declare the praises of Him
who brings people out of darkness into
His marvelous light, to co-work with
Him in this very important task. These
priests are therefore very SPECIAL to Him.
Now if God rejected the priests of old,
would He not reject the priests of today?
Didn’t He say, "I, the LORD, do not
change" (Mal 3:6, James 1:17)? This
does not mean that they lose their
salvation.
Defunct, and perhaps bitter
1, priests who
are supposed to bring people to the Savior
and closer to God cannot effectively carry out
the tasks any more...Perpetually “wounded”
soldiers who can no longer fight the “good
fight” are now useless to the Commander-in-
Chief! Seriously, can we still be effective for
God when we are stricken with de-activating
illnesses and body-degenerating diseases?
Surely, the answers to these questions
are obvious. When that happens, can we
still be priests for the Lord? No wonder
God said what He said..."I will reject
you from being priest to Me." Those who are
retarded by a far less-than-efficient body, or
who simply fail to obey by NOT fulfilling their
duties as priests may be rejected by God.
Just like Eli the priest was rejected. There
may be other reasons why Eli died, but
one of my personal speculations about him,
if I may make it here, is that he was far too
fat, and that may have triggered his
negligence and death.
2 …Results: In life,
Eli may have faltered in his service to God
and hence may not be a great priest or of
much good to Him, but after death, it was
ZERO service to Him! When Eli passed
away, that meant a premature end of
his priesthood.
There’s no question about it; many of
God’s servants are disqualified from
service every year because of ill health
and shortened lifespan! I have seen
this happen so often among the people
of God, even among God’s elite. (And it
really saddens me terribly!) Is this God's
will for them that they fall seriously
ill or go to an early grave? Well, you can
find out yourself by reading Psalm 91:16
and 3 John 2, KJV. Was God lying when
He said those words? If not, why are so many
servants of the Lord kicking the bucket so young
and thus lose their privileged service as
priests of the Most High God well before they
even reach the average lifespan of the people
in the country in which they live? I may have
dealt with this topic elsewhere. So I’ll leave
you to answer this question yourself here.
May we not be victims of “lack of knowledge.”
Please pass this on to someone you
care about.
Let me know your thoughts, or
email me with questions.Warmest Regards for the Health of
All Involved,
Ray Chee
1 They may be questioning God why He
“allows” them to get this or that terminal
sickness.
2 Over 3 million people die globally
every year because of obesity! About 300,000 of
these are from U.S.A.
