Knowledge Of God - Hosea 6:6-7

Hosea 6:6-7 NIV 

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,

and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

 As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;

they were unfaithful to me there.

Another way to translate the word translated here as acknowledgement is knowledge.  Having knowledge of God implies a relationship which is implied and informed by marriage. It is a knowing that goes beyond knowing. It is more than being able to speak someone's name.  It is the coming together mind, body, and soul, of an ongoing and intimate relationship. 

It is dying to self, dying to Christ. If this is not done, you might face Christ on that last day and hear Him say, "I never knew you".  Doing things in His name does not replace or compensate for a relationship that does not exist. 

Obedience to God reflects the relationship He seeks. The seed of His word and the sealing of the Holy Spirit enable the one who is born from above. Just as the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, He hovers over the water of our earth, and within us is born a new creature in the image of Christ. Darkness fades as morning star rises in our hearts. 

Glory to God in the Highest...

דעת daath; from 3045; knowledge:--

concern (1), know (3), knowledge (81), 

Hosea 2:20

I will betroth you in faithfulness,

and you will acknowledge the Lord.

Jeremiah 7:22-25

For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets.

1 Samuel 15:22-24

But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as in obeying the Lord?

To obey is better than sacrifice,

and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as king.”

 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord ’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.

Hosea 4:6

my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

“Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also reject you as my priests;

because you have ignored the law of your God,

I also will ignore your children.