I KNOW STUFF

 

I know stuff!

I confess, I am a geek. I love to learn and I really enjoy knowing things that most people don't know. My daughters would say, I know "useless stuff." Since retirement I have spent a great amount of time searching scripture, reading books, and gaining knowledge of God. 

Example:

Did you know the King James Version of the Bible has nine verses identifying "UNICORNS?" Here is one:

Numbers 23:22 (emphasis added) - "God brought them out of Egypt, he hath as it were the strength of a UNICORN."

But, this unicorn is NOT the fairytale animal little kids love. Most modern translations use OX or wild beast in place of unicorn. The definition of a unicorn in dictionaries as late as 1828 defines a UNICORN as, "an animal with one horn, the monoceros. This name is often applied to the rhinoceros."

That same dictionary defines a rhinoceros as:

"A genus of quadrupeds of two species, one of which, the UNICORN, has a single horn growing almost erect from the nose. This animal when full grown is said to be 12 feet in length. There is another species with two horns, the bicornis. They are natives of Asia and Africa. [1]

So, the unicorn of the Bible was a rhinoceros-type animal, not the mythical creature we now identify as a unicorn. 

Ha! I bet you didn't know that!!!!!!!!!!

In Jeremiah chapters 7-9, the writer often chastises the nation of Judah as acting like they know God, but they really do not know him. 

"Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not KNOW the Lord's laws." (Jer. 8:7, emphasis added)

"How can you say, 'We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,' when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies." (Jer. 8:8)

And one of my favorite verses:

"This is what the Lord says: 'Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone:

            that they truly KNOW me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I the Lord have spoken." (Jer. 9:23-24)

In the latter part of my life, I have pursued the knowledge of my Lord. I have often said, "If I can know EVERYTHING about God, what kind of God is he?" I love the pursuit of knowledge, but even more than knowing stuff, I want to grow in my knowledge of God. I know this pursuit of KNOWING GOD, is endless. I am not talking about book knowledge. I am talking about knowing the heart of God. I want to know his heart, his love, his mercy, and his grace. AND it is not just knowing Him, the more I learn about the character of God, the more I am drawn to him and the more I want to obey him and serve him. 

Why don't you join me in this wonderful pursuit of KNOWING GOD?

[1] Nathan Hoffman, “Why Does the Bible Mention Unicorns?: Creation Today,” Creation Today - Impacting Our World with the Creation Message, August 24, 2023, https://creationtoday.org/why-does-the-bible-mention-unicorns/.