Don’t Plead Ignorance
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6 csb
What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom? It’s often said that wisdom is the application of knowledge. For example, I might learn a new trade in a classroom, gaining knowledge, but when I take that knowledge into the field and apply it, I begin to walk in wisdom. This is a simple way to understand the difference between the two. In the book of Hosea, God warned His people that they would be destroyed for a lack of knowledge. That’s a sobering statement. But it raises the question: what knowledge were they lacking?
Fast forward to when Jesus walked the earth 2,000 years ago. He declared that He always did the will of His Father, saying, “The things I do, I see My Father do.” Jesus intimately knew the Father and remained perfectly connected to Him. To know (verb) something is to have knowledge (noun) of it. So, what exactly did Christ know? He knew the will of His Father. And what was the Father's will? Jesus Himself explained it in John 12:46: “I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me would not remain in darkness.”
Jesus came as a light to the world, sent because of God’s immense love for humanity. His mission was to bring clarity, hope, and direction to those in spiritual darkness. The Greek word for "darkness" in John 12:46 is skotia, which metaphorically refers to ignorance of divine things—a state often linked with wickedness. So when God declared through Hosea that His people would be destroyed for a lack of knowledge, He was pointing to their deliberate ignorance of His divine law and nature. Despite having been given the Torah, they chose to reject it. In the New Testament, God sent His Son to illuminate what the Law truly meant and to fulfill it perfectly. But Jesus didn’t stop there—He also became the ultimate sin offering for humanity. The Gospel message has since gone out into the world. Yet, many who hear it still choose ignorance, rejecting Christ and His teachings. Scripture makes it clear that such a choice leads to destruction.
However, for those who believe, the story is different. Jesus, the expressed image of the invisible God, declared that faith in Him frees us from darkness and ignorance. When we apply His teachings in our lives, we move from knowledge to wisdom. As Proverbs says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Choosing Christ today means stepping into His light, walking in the wisdom of God, and living in His truth. This is the essence of wisdom: not just knowing about God, but living in His will and reflecting His light in the world.
Agape, Frank
