Hear the word of the Lord,

You children of Israel,

For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy

Or knowledge of God in the land.

By swearing and lying,

Killing and stealing and committing adultery,

They break all restraint,

With bloodshed upon bloodshed.…

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.”

—Hosea 4:1–2, 6

In our modern world, we have access to more information than ever before. The internet has become so vast that you could spend several lifetimes exploring it and never reach the end. Anything and everything you want to know about, no matter how obscure, is at your fingertips—just grab your ever-present smartphone and look it up.

But has this increased access to information led to increased knowledge, especially knowledge of the Lord?

All you need to do is look at the moral and spiritual landscape of the United States to answer that question. When you read today’s passage from Hosea, what he speaks still applies today and undoubtedly resonates with us.

The Lord’s Courtroom

The passage begins with a declaration: “Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land” (Hosea 4:1). In the context of this legal language, God is the plaintiff and Israel is the defendant. The Lord is about to present His case against His people, detailing their offenses.

God laid out the initial charge: “There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1). This statement speaks to the source of the problem: a lack of knowledge of God, from which flows truth and mercy.

The Failure of Moral Relativism

In many ways, we find ourselves in a similar situation. Consider the prevalence of moral relativism in our nation. When God’s eternal, objective truths are replaced with subjective opinions or feelings, we see a disintegration of previously accepted societal norms. As we “break all restraint,” the fabric of society begins to tear, leaving us vulnerable to the destructive behaviors that Hosea warns about: “swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery … with bloodshed upon bloodshed” (Hosea 4:2).

The Lord said of the Israelites, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,” and the reasons for both the lack of knowledge and the destruction were plentiful (Hosea 4:6).

Failed Leadership in the Church

Those who were commanded to teach the people about God had failed in their duties. Malachi 2:7 speaks to the responsibilities of priests: “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the mes­senger of the Lord of hosts.” Yet they forsook this obligation: “Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them” (Ezekiel 22:26). Therefore, God declared of them: “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me” (Hosea 4:6).

Failed Leadership in the Home

Parents were to instruct their children to love the Lord and His law, as detailed in Psalm 78:5–7: “For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His command­ments.” Yet they, too, had forsaken this duty, as evidenced by their sentence: “Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).

That pronouncement is a sobering reminder that our decisions, actions, and inaction can have a detrimental effect on future generations. In the same way that allowing our children to eat ice cream for every meal would deprive their physical bodies of essential nutrients, allowing them to consume the world’s values and beliefs deprives their minds and spirits of God’s essential truths. We adults must not falter in teaching our children to fear and love the Lord. We must lead them on paths of righteousness, daily reminding them of their baptismal identity in Christ.

Destruction from Within

The Israelites caused their own demise, reflecting what David wrote in one of his psalms: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:1–3). The people were destroyed not only from without, when they were attacked by foreign nations and taken captive, but most thoroughly from within, when they lost their reverence for and obedience to God and His law.

It’s impossible not to see the parallels between the charges and punishments the Lord brought against the Israelites and the condition of our nation today. When you reflect on the way our society once acknowledged biblical teachings, and see how we’ve become increasingly estranged from them, it can be easy to become discouraged.

We Can Help Turn the Tide

However, each one of us can play a vital role in countering this tide of godlessness, beginning with ourselves. In humility and repentance, we can do as Solomon implored in Proverbs: “Incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding … if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:2, 134:4–6). We can immerse ourselves in Scripture, allowing His Word to renew our hearts and minds, so we “may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

We can impart God’s wisdom to the next generation, ensuring that we “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

And we can exemplify God’s love, mercy, and truth, most importantly by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the light of the world—the beacon of hope in a dark world.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we’re often grieved by the state of our world. We confess that at times we’ve been complacent in a culture that denies Your truth. Please forgive us for the times we’ve forsaken Your knowledge. Help us be zealous in pursuing You, allowing us to be wise stewards of Your truth and raising up a generation that walks in righteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ, who reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

For Further Reflection

• Why do you think our nation has experienced a lack of the knowledge of God?
• Has there ever been a time when you allowed God’s truth to be disparaged? How might you handle a similar situation in the future?

Excerpt taken from One Nation Under God: 40 Devotions for Patriotic Women by Amanda C. Bauch (forthcoming November 11, 2025, from Post Hill Press)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version^®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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