“Know thyself,” said the ancient inscription on the pagan temple
at Delphi. This seemed to be the highest aim, the most noble
sentiment, of the ancient world. Unfortunately, self-knowledge
seems to be the primary aim of our age as well. To both worlds--
ancient and modern--the urgent command from the Bible rings out:
“Know the Lord!” One Greek word for know is ginosko (gih NOS ko)
Before we see how it is used in the New Testament, let’s check
the background of the word in the Old Testament. A survey of
over 700 uses of the word there shows that the people were to
“know that I am the LORD” (79 times), and to know what God has
done (over 100 times). Rarely, however, do they directly know
God himself. “Know the Lord” is a command (3 times), a prayer
(once), and a promise (4 times), but it is a direct statement of
fact only when people do not know the Lord (17 times). Notice
that to know God is a far greater thing than just to know that
he is God! Before we leave the Old Testament we should note one
more use of kn