“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) God is saying if we love Him, we should keep His commandments, not to be hearers of His word only but doers as well, which is what will make Him feel loved by us (see James 1:22-24). Keeping God’s commandments do not only make Him feel loved by us but also comes with blessings. God says we shall eat the good of the land (see Isaiah 1:19, James 1:25). Rebelling against the word of God or neglecting to keep His commandments brings punishment, as Isaiah 1:20 says. Obedience is the key.
“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 1:19-20)
God Magnified His Word Above His Name
“I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Psalms 138:2)
God magnified His word above all His name for us to know how powerful His word is and how much He respect His word because His word defined Who He is.
No one is above the word of God because God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons (see Acts 10:34, Proverbs 24:23, James 2:9,Romans 2:11). God’s word is forever settled in heaven, and Scriptures cannot be broken (see Psalms 119:89, John 10:35). He made a vow that His word shall not return to Him void and He is not a man that He should lie because His is righteous and only declares things that are right (see Isaiah 55:10-11, Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 45:19, Hebrews 6:18).
Obedience: a primary requirement
to work with God and one of His main love languages.
In 1 Kings 12:28-33, King Jeroboam sinned and made Israel’s people sin against the Lord. He made two calves of gold, but one in Dan and the other in Bethel, and built an altar for the gods (see Deuteronomy 6:13-18, Luke 4:8). In the next chapter, 1 Kings 13, God sent His servant to king Jeroboam, literally to warn him and tell him that a child will be born “Josiah,” he will destroy the altar of his human-made gods. King Jeroboam was angry and laid his hand on the man of God, and immediately his hand dried up. He pleaded with the man of God to restore his hand, and the man of God prayed unto God, and God restored the king’s hand (see 1 Kings 13:1-6).
God protected His servant, so the king could not do anything to him. There is protection in obeying the word of God. However, God had told him not to eat, drink and not go back the same way he came to the king. The king invited him to eat, and he refused. An old prophet later lured the man of God in Bethel, and he disobeyed God.
When the old prophet heard what the man of God has done, out of jealousy and wickedness, he lied to the man of God and lured him to disobey the word of God. The man of God went with the old prophet to his house and ate, and God spoke as well through the old prophet to the man of God. His body will not be buried in his ancestors’ tomb as the tradition in Israel. Lion killed the man on his way after leaving the old prophet (see 1 Kings 13:7-24).
Better than sacrifice
The man of God disobeyed God and paid with his life. Obedience is better than sacrifice, and rebellion is the sin of witchcraft (see 1 Samuel 22-23). A fool is not who is mentally deficient but one who is morally bankrupt.
God commanded Joseph, the husband of Mary, our Lord Jesus Christ’s mother, to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt and stay there until further instruction from God because Herold wanted to kill Jesus. Joseph did as God commanded him, and he never leaves Egypt until God gave him instruction to go back to Israel after Herold’s death (see Matthew 2:13-21).
Obedience to the word of God gives life, protection, blessings, and your expected future. Obedience will cost you your flesh desires, but it gives peace, yet it is a choice.
You see the difference between Joseph and that man of God. What is your choice?
