Proverbs 21:16 NKJV
A man who wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.
It is not enough to get understanding. We must follow it and stick with it. This verse says it all. People do not die prematurely by accident. They wander from the way of understanding and end up in situations that ultimately take their lives prematurely. Hosea 4:6 NKJV says, “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.”
Many have understood that not having knowledge can kill you. That contradicts the saying “What you don’t know won’t kill you.” Sometimes that may be true, but often times not knowing what you need to know can result in your demise. On the other hand, Hosea 4:6 points out that the problem is not always that knowledge was not present, but sometimes it is rejecting the knowledge we have. Sometimes it is wandering away from knowledge we once walked in. We may never know specifically why some good people died prematurely but Proverbs 21:16 lets us know it had something to do with a lack of understanding, or straying away from what was understood. We must pursue understanding, take it and stick with it.