Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

Introductory Thoughts

Given the choice, a nation should always choose to find themselves without food and water than to endure a famine of truth. Job understood this when he declared, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). Unfortunately, most men are not wise like Job and have chosen rather to reject the truth. When men choose to reject the truth, God often chooses to withhold the truth from them. At such times, the Bible confirms that truth faileth (Isaiah 59:15) and is perished (Jeremiah 7:28). No longer are men “valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil” (Jeremiah 9:3). Instead, they “turn away their ears from the truth” in favour of fables (2 Timothy 4:4).

Devotional Thoughts

• (For children): When people refuse to care about the Lord and the way He wants them to live (Jeremiah 5:30-31), at times, He will give them what they want and make His word scarce (1 Samuel 3:1; Lamentations 2:9; Ezekiel 7:26; Amos 8:11-12).
• (For everyone): Where would you be without the truth? Why is knowledge of the truth so crucial? How can a lack of knowledge concerning the truth be more harmful than a famine of food?
• Do you live among people who have rejected the truth? Is truth becoming more and more scarce in your community? What can you do to change that?

Prayer Thoughts

• Ask God to work in the hearts of those in your community.
• Ask the Lord to send you to spread the truth to others.

SONG: I AM RESOLVED