Through the Word in 2020 - 6/9 #49 / Wanting to know too much?

There’s a curious phenomenon which occurs among those who seriously desire to know God and His will. It is seeking out secret knowledge about what to do in life. The impulse to know and do what is right and pleasing in God’s sight, can only be right. And yet, in our zeal, we can actually find ourselves robbed of the very thing we seek. More on that today as we continue Through the Word in 2020.

Mark 14:53-65; Galatians 4:21-31 and 1 Kings 22:13-2 Kings 1:18 round out our reading for today. And I would point your attention to something repeated twice in 2 Kings 1 - in vss. 3 & 16: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?” A rhetorical question put to Ahaziah, King of Israel by the prophet Elijah.

Now the King was an idol worshiper. He was not following the God of Israel at all. And yet, even though he had abandoned it, serving the True God and not the false gods of the pagans was his heritage. A heritage he had set aside. He WAS religious mind you. He was no atheist. And finding himself seriously ill, he wanted some kind of supernatural guidance for what to do next. But instead of seeking God - The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of his forefathers - he sought out the false god of a pagan nation - Baal-zebub: Literally, the Lord of the Flies.

Here’s the point: When we either neglect or reject the revelation God has already made in His Word, we will find ourselves running to additional sources, to any source, to try and get the answers we seek. Which is in fact a two-fold problem: 1st It neglects or rejects God. It finds us failing to really do the hard work to understand what God HAS revealed already. 2nd, it fails to take into account that God in His perfect wisdom, has answered the questions which REALLY need answered, and not necessarily the ones we want answered. It calls us to examine whether or not we’re asking the right questions.

So we might pose this passage to ourselves another way: Is it because there is no God that we seek the counsel of Psychics, Astrologers, Spiritualists, political prognosticators, motivational speakers, Prophets, and gurus both religious and secular?

Is it possible that we are so preoccupied with what God hasn’t revealed, that we are actually ignoring what He already has? As Deuteronomy 29:29 says:

Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Even sincere Christians can overlook the fact that as you read the Bible narrative, the more God revealed and had codified in in its pages, the less He revealed supernaturally to individuals. It is not a sign of spirituality that one seeks “a word from the Lord” - but a sign that we’ve stepped aside from what He has revealed, to try and dig into what He hasn’t. And that ought to indicate to us that we’re a bit off course. Perhaps placing importance on things that aren’t nearly as important as what He has considered important by putting it in His Word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

If living the life of Christ’s righteousness is my goal - He’s given me what I need in His Word. If my goal is something else that Scripture doesn’t address, either directly or in principle - maybe I need a different goal.

I’m Reid Ferguson - and God willing, we’ll be back again tomorrow.