On Obedience

Most of us have some inner fear of "obedience."  We are afraid that obedience means we will no longer be self-determined, deciding for ourselves what is right or wrong.  We want to go our own way, based on what seems good to us.  This is the "original sin:"  self-determination, refusal to listen, refusal to accept the wisdom of the Creator of heaven and earth.  Ye shall be as gods, the serpent promises.  And mankind answers, "Yes!  I can decide for myself!  I have the power!  I know what is right for me!" 

And not seeing anything but the shiny surface of a delicious-appearing apple, we bite, chew, swallow, only to have it turn sour in our stomachs.  Every generation follows the path of self-determination; from the age of two, we cry, "I do it myself!"

In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses, knowing he is about to die and leave his beloved people, cautions them to listen to God:

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.  For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deut. 30: 19-20).

Yesterday, I wrote about Philip going to find his brother Nathanael and saying, "We have found the one Moses wrote about."  Now every Jew knew exactly what that meant.  This is what Moses had written:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers.  You must listen to him....I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.  If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account (Deut. 18: 15-19).

At the baptism of Jesus, a voice spoke from heaven:  This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.  Those who heard the voice that day had to recall the words of Moses about the prophet to come after him. 

The entire Bible revolves around the themes of obedience/blessing/life versus that of disobedience/ curse (destruction)/ death.  If we refuse to listen, deciding to follow instead the path of our own thoughts, there is nothing ahead but destruction and terror.  The Lord is Life.  From the moment He breathed His own Spirit into Adam, Adam became a "living soul."  When we cease to breathe in the Spirit of God, we begin to die.  When we are no longer in communion with God, our life begins to ebb away. 

Isaiah warned the Israelite nation, whose "hearts were far from me (God)" that only destruction would follow:

"Woe to the obstinate children," declares the Lord, "to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharoah's protection, to Egypt's shade for refuge....these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction.....

The entire chapter of Isaiah 30 is worth reading, although it is too long to include here.  Here we find graphic images of the results of not listening---terror, pursuit, destruction---versus the blessings of communion with God:

In repentance and rest is your salvation;

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength...

How gracious will He be when you cry for help! 

As soon as he hears, he will answer you....

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it"....

He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful...streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill...and you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people go up with flutes to the mountain of the Lord.

In America, because of our independent spirit, the thought of "obedience" carries negative overtones.  But it simply means quietly listening to the voice and plans of God for our lives.  If we can only recall Psalm 23--The Lord is my Shepherd; He leads me beside still waters and refreshes my soul,----we may want to listen to His guidance. 

Obedience simply means such a close connection with the Spirit of God that we are able to hear His voice saying to us, "This is the way; walk in it.  This is the path to life and abundance; take it.  That is the road to terror and destruction; avoid it."  If we can hear His voice in quietness and rest, we are already approaching still waters and verdent pastures, for He cannot lead us anywhere else.