A surprising number of people believe God exists. To a degree, maybe it shouldn’t surprise us. It’s difficult to look at the complexity of the universe, morality, or even our origins and not understand the likelihood that someone created it, rather than attributing such incredible things to mere chance.
Many who believe God exists even try living good lives. They feel fairly certain they’ll go to Heaven because they’re good people, they go to church, they were baptized, or any other number of things that seem to trace back to the Bible. Many in the church today go even further than that, believing their eternity will be spent with God because they follow certain biblical rules, have responsibilities in their church, or because they have so much Bible knowledge that they teach (or even pastor) other Christians.
So many people in the world are secure in the fact that they know enough about God that they’re safe. Yet for many of those people, the end of this life will be disappointing when Christ looks at them and says “Depart from me, I never knew you.” That’s because many people know about God, yet so few actually know Him.
When God’s people don’t know Him
Reading about Israel in the Old Testament is either very frustrating or very convicting. At first, it’s easy to look at the things they do and slap our foreheads in exasperation as they, once again, ignore the clear truth of God and start embracing the culture around them. It’s infuriating to watch them turn to idols, time after time, wondering how they could ignore the clear reality of God in their lives.
Of course, that frustration eventually leads to our own embarrassment when we realize that Israel is little different from us. We may not have a golden calf in our living room, but we’re no less innocent when it comes to constantly seeking satisfaction or security in things of the world rather than our God.
And when it comes to the difference between knowing God and knowing about God, Israel once again gives us something to learn.
The books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings show us a long line of failures on Israel’s part. Although God brings Israel back to Him regularly, we often see God’s people falling deeper and deeper into idolatry. Toward the end of 2 Kings, we see a bright spot during the reign of King Josiah.
2 Kings 22:1-7 gives us a brief introduction to this young king. When he was 18 years old, he sent a man named Staphan on an errand to the high priest. This God-ordained errand would have incredible consequences for all of Israel.
Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan who read it. Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. (2 Kings 22:7-10)
There’s something notable about this story that may not immediately stand out. Based on the surprise at discovering the book of the law (Genesis through Deuteronomy), it’s clear that Israel wasn’t seeking truth, nor shaping their worldview, based on the word of God. Yet based on everything we regularly see from Israel, this isn’t terribly surprising.
The notable thing is that the book of the law came as a huge surprise, yet the existence of God was already assumed. There were priests and prophets, as well as places of worship, dedicated to the Lord. It even seems that King Josiah himself was familiar with the idea of God, since the report wasn’t “There’s a being named God” but instead “We’ve found His book.”
When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. (2 Kings 22:11)
King Josiah clearly knew God existed, yet it had never occurred to him that he, and his kingdom, was set against Him. Josiah isn’t necessarily excited or even pleased at what he finds, but instead reacts with repentance, sorrow, and a fear of the Lord.
Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant saying, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” (2 Kings 22:12-13)
Upon hearing the words of Moses, King Josiah realizes just how far Israel had strayed from the will of God. It’s evident that everyone knew about God, yet we can only imagine how few people actually knew Him.
We don’t know exactly what Israel was up to at this point, but based on our sinful natures we can make an easy guess. We can imagine that Israel had fallen out of love with who God was, pushing Him farther back into their minds as the generations went on. Eventually, God became no different from how people today discuss karma or “the universe” working things out – God was something that many people grew up with, and perhaps even talked about, but He was a tradition that had no real impact on their lives.
When God’s people don’t know Him today
This picture of Israel is easy for us to understand because nothing has changed in the thousands of years since King Josiah learned that it wasn’t enough for him and his people to know about God if it didn’t touch their lives. Today, so many easily fall prey to knowing a lot about God, yet having no idea who He is or what He desires. Whatever knowledge or belief people hold they are resting comfortably in the assumption that they aren’t His enemies because they don’t completely reject His existence.
Let Israel be our example of what not to do. These people had temples, and may have even done certain weekly activities because that’s how they were raised. Yet it’s clear that no area of their lives was truly touched by God, even though they thought they were clear of any sin.
Going from a point of knowing about God to truly knowing Him may seem overwhelming. People can spend decades of their lives assuming they’re in the will of God, only to one day realize they’ve done nothing but live in sin while talking about a God they knew nothing about. That can easily be us, and we may not realize it.
Israel, like us, probably felt emotionally at peace. They may have even rationalized their behavior as they mixed the worship of God with the false gods and idols of the culture around them. In time, small compromises from one generation completelyh changed the beliefs and worldview of their children. Whatever was true about God had been lost, and those who were convinced they worshipped Him were completely clueless about their eternal destiny. They were outside of God’s will, even though the people around them were confirming their beliefs and lifestyle.
Knowing God’s will, and whether we’re in it, has been covered on my blog and podcast. But the answer really boils down to something very simple, and it’s modeled for us in how God used King Josiah to bring His people back to Him.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
It was God’s word that shook Israel out of its false beliefs. It’s God’s word that does the same thing today. The Bible isn’t just an important part of our lives, but it’s absolutely necessary if we want to truly know who God is, rather than trusting our opinion of Him and hoping we’re right.
Today, so many Christians talk about someone named God or claim they love a person named Jesus Christ. Yet the God they trust, and the Christ they worship, is so different from what God reveals in His word that, despite the names, this “God” and “Jesus” are no more real than the false gods we see throughout history.
This error goes beyond the understanding that we, as humans, are incapable of fully understanding an infinite God. Instead, Jesus Christ is so grossly misunderstood by some that He cannot possibly save them from their sins. Buddha and Ba’al offer just as much hope of escaping God’s wrath as a Jesus Christ who is changed to be something we want Him to be, rather than what God’s word actually reveals about Him.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us. (2 Kings 22:13)
Like King Josiah, we must realize that the truth of God isn’t a matter of opinion or our personal feelings. Who He is, and what He desires, is found in His timeless word. A Savior who came to give us happiness makes us feel better now, but it does nothing to pay our debt of sin. A God who doesn’t call us to holy living certainly allows a more comfortable and self-serving life, yet we’ll still spend our lives with the wrath of God burning against us.
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:21)
Many people know about God, but so few truly know who He is. Our eternities depend on whether we understand the difference between those two things. The only way to know God, His will, and whether we’re in it, is found in the Bible.
It’s too easy, and too common, to take our opinions and desires and try to make Christ fit into them. Instead, let us dedicate ourselves to regularly reading and studying the Bible, letting the truth of who God is drive us to a true and accurate understanding of Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Let our thoughts, opinions, and emotions be changed to line up with truth, rather than changing truth to fit what makes us most comfortable.
And above all, let us be confident that the Jesus Christ we’re trusting for salvation is the same Jesus Christ shown in the Bible, even if the real version of Him isn’t popular with the world around us.
