Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - OBEDIENCE

 

OBEDIENCE

Throughout the Bible, we are told how important it is to follow God’s direction. In Deuteronomy, this is made quite clear when God talks about the blessings and curses that follow obedience or disobedience to His word. Deuteronomy states that:

 

…all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, 

because you obey the voice of the Lord your God

(Deuteronomy 28:2)

Later on in the same chapter, the alternative to obedience is spelled out.

But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, 

to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes…

that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…

Deuteronomy 28:15

In both cases, the blessings that follow the first statement and the curses that follow the second statement are listed in detail. So, in view of this, let us look at two people.

Abraham (Abram) was a non Jewish man living in a place called Ur when God called him to:

“Get out of your country, from your family…

to a land that I will show you…”

(Genesis 12:1)

Thus:

…Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him… 

(Genesis 12:4)

Now we don’t know how long it took Abram to depart from Ur, but he did go as directed. His obedience was further tested later when he prepared to sacrifice Issac to God before his hand was stayed by angelic forces. But all in all, he was obedient to the Lord and it is stated that:

 

…he believed in the Lord, 

and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

(Genesis 15:6)

And God promised to make Abram:

 

…a great nation; 

I will bless you

And make your name great; 

And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, 

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

(Genesis 12:2-3)

On the other hand, there was a prophet named Jonah who was also told by God to:

…go to Nineveh…and cry out against it… 

(Jonah 1:2)

Now instead of doing as God requested, Jonah went in the other direction to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. As a result, there was a…

 

…mighty tempest on the sea, 

so that the ship was about to be broken up. 

(Jonah 1:4)

The disobedience of Jonah resulted in an almost instant reaction and set in motion a number of events that apparently would have been avoided had he followed God’s direction in the first place. Unlike Abraham, who went on to found a nation and a people, Jonah, the prophet, except for some references in the future to his past life, is never heard from again in the Bible. It indicates how quickly the curses referred to in Deuteronomy may come to pass. Remember, Christ said He came to “Fulfil the Law not destroy it.”

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.

I did not come to destroy but to fulfil. 

(Matthew 5:17)

So the laws mentioned in Deuteronomy are still in effect even though the penalty can now be avoided. But the blessings and curses may still remain. As a result, obedience to God is still something we should all think about.