disobedience

Angry at God

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God called Jonah to travel to Nineveh, and Job decided he had other plans. He didn’t want to go to Nineveh and warn the people that their city would be destroyed if they did not repent and turn from their evil ways. So, instead, he went as far as he could the other way. He boarded a ship headed for Tarshish, which is approximately 2,500 miles in the opposite direction of Nineveh. If it hadn’t been obvious to God before he boarded the ship, Jonah’s attempt to get as far away from Nineveh said it all. He refused to go.

After Jonah was swallowed by a whale and laid in its belly for three days, he had a change of heart. He repented of his foolishness and told God he would do what God asked of him. So Jonah went throughout the city warning the people of God’s coming judgment on them. And lo and behold. The people repented, and the king sent out a decree that everyone must mourn and turn from their evil ways.

Jonah was angry that they had actually listened to what he told them. He wanted them to suffer. He wanted them to pay for their sins. He was mad. And he went outside the city and sat under a shelter to see if God would really destroy them. But God taught Jonah a lesson. He caused a great plant to grow up quickly to shade Jonah from the heat, and Jonah was relieved. But God also sent a worm to destroy the plant, and the next morning the plant withered. This angered Jonah even further. But God told him that just as Jonah felt sorry about losing the plant, God also felt sorry for the people of Nineveh.

You can read this story in more detail in the book of Jonah.

What if God had treated Jonah the way Jonah wanted him to treat the people of Nineveh? Was living in the belly of a whale for three days something to laugh about? God punished Jonah, but he also saved his life when Jonah repented and promised to go to Nineveh. God gave Jonah a second chance to preach God’s message to a nation that hated Israel, so why wouldn’t God also give Nineveh a chance to repent? Jonah begged for mercy and forgiveness, so why didn’t he want the Ninevites to do the same? He wanted them to suffer and pay for their sins. He wanted retaliation for being an enemy of the nation of Israel.

And just perhaps Jonah was afraid for his reputation. If he warned Nineveh to repent or be destroyed and they survived, what kind of prophet was he? He wasn’t considering that God’s mercy for the Ninevites was greater than his prophecy not being fulfilled. After all. There was a condition to the prophecy. If they repented, they would be saved. If they didn’t repent, they would be destroyed. He wanted them destroyed. And he wanted to gloat about it.

Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. James 1:20

It’s easy for someone to speculate on the reason Jonah didn’t want to do what God wanted.  But it sure is a great reminder to point the finger back at ourselves and ask why we don’t want to do the things God asks of us. Why do we fight God? Does the task he’s asking of us seem too hard? Will there not be enough fanfare and applause for us after the fact?

The question is. Do we have a legitimate reason to be angry with God when we only know a small part of his plan? What do we expect of God, anyway?

Why would Jonah not want the Ninevites to experience repentance and forgiveness? Why would he want them to suffer? It seems he didn’t love his neighbors as himself. After all, Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, and history tells us that Assyria was an enemy of Israel and Judah.

Jonah knew that if the Ninevites repented of their sins, the spotlight would then turn to the wickedness of his people. The Israelites had turned from God and were worshipping false idols. If God showed mercy to Israel and Judah’s enemies, would he be merciful to them, as well? Perhaps they wouldn’t even repent as Nineveh did.

What Jonah didn’t know was that God was storing up punishment for the Ninevites. Sure. They repented of their sins that day, but God would later punish them for their revenge on God’s chosen people. The Ninevites were an evil and extremely cruel nation. They would later be destroyed, but Jonah didn’t know that part of their future. God kept his full plans hidden from Jonah. We can’t expect to know all of God’s plans for ourselves or for anyone else. What we must remember is that nothing goes unnoticed by God. He will repay everyone for the good and bad they do.

The story of God’s punishment of Nineveh can be found in Isaiah 10 and the book of Nahum.

Perhaps we need to consider the difference in retribution and retaliation. Retribution is motivated by justice, while retaliation is driven by a desire for revenge. Jonah’s anger reflects a deep seated desire for revenge, and God acted in retribution when he later wiped out the Assyrians.

The story of Jonah and the Ninevites is an example of God’s justice and mercy. We should pay for our sins, but the death of Jesus Christ on the cross paid the ultimate price for our sins. We still have to live with the consequences of our sins, but our sinful slate is wiped clean with the forgiveness that only comes from God our Father. Let’s let God decide who to punish and how to dole it out. Let’s not take matters into our own hands, but trust that God can and will do his job very thoroughly in his own time.

Be Careful About What Offends You

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The Bible is the Word of God. It’s God’s message of love, hope, salvation and justice to everyone. God speaks truth in his word. God’s plan is perfect, so when Adam and Eve hit a bump in the road and disobeyed him, he had a solution for their sin. When they ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, God provided a plan of forgiveness. And it wasn’t just a plan to save Adam and Eve; it was a plan for the salvation for all mankind. But ever since then, mankind has been on a collision course with eternity. And each of us needs to fully surrender to God’s free gift of forgiveness and salvation for our sin.

We can read in God’s word about his plan of salvation. We can hear it preached in church. We can see how salvation has changed people’s lives. We have the choice to accept or refuse this gift God is offering to each of us. God doesn’t make us choose to live according to his will. He gives us a choice. We make the decision.

The thing is. God’s word is the same for everyone who reads or hears it. Some people are convicted by hearing about their sinfulness and repent. They choose to become a follower of Christ. Others are highly offended and turn against God. They live in opposition to his commands. But his commands don’t change. God is always constant, and he doesn’t show favoritism.

On a recent podcast, the speaker shared that the same fire that melts wax hardens clay. The same wind that sways the oak tree will uproot the weak. And it’s the same with God’s word, which doesn’t change. The difference is in the hearer.

This podcaster encouraged his listeners not to harden their hearts, but to turn from their sinful ways and follow God. The only one we must fear is God. And that fear isn’t the same as being frightened in the dark. It’s the fact that we respect God’s authority and obey him. The fear of God causes us to bow to his commandments and leading. Our fear of God means we don’t act beyond what he allows. We must have a reverence for God and stand in awe of his power and wrath.

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone. He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise. Deuteronomy 10:17, 20-21

In his death on the cross, Jesus represents submission to God, not submission to the authority of man. He represents absolute truth, so when we read the word of God we see our own sinfulness. And we have the choice to be convicted or offended. Sure. The truth hurts. But it also heals if we accept the forgiveness of our Lord and Savior.

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that people no longer fear God. We live for ourselves alone and assume we are our own authority. But the fear of God needs to be seriously considered and practiced. Living in the fear of God doesn’t mean we’re quaking in our boots at the mention of his name. But it does mean that we respect and acknowledge our limits, and we don’t cross the boundaries of Scripture. We must realize that God is God and we are not him. His authority is supreme over anything and everything else.

We see the fear of God lived out in the Bible. When the Hebrew midwives disobeyed Pharaoh’s orders to kill all the newborn baby boys, they refused. They had more fear of God than they did of the king. They knew that if they murdered all those babies, they would stand in judgment before God. They knew they couldn’t cross that line. They stood firmly in their faith in God, and God gave them families of their own in honor of their obedience.

You can read the story of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1.

In another Bible story, Daniel’s three friends refused to bow in worship to the king. When the king gave them a second chance, they again refused. They said that if God wanted to save them, he would. If he didn’t want to save their lives, then he wouldn’t. And as a result of their refusal to worship the king, they were thrown in to a fiery furnace. And God chose to honor their obedience and saved their lives.

You can read the story of Daniel’s friends in Daniel 3.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6

Crabgrass Invasion

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The Israelites were at it again. They were disobeying God. Oh. Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, but he left a remnant of Jews in the land. God had sent him to destroy the city of his favored people, because they had ignored his commands and disobeyed him for generations. They worshipped false gods. They lived in wickedness and even sacrificed their own children to these false gods.

Then when their lives were devastated by the destruction of their city and country, they ran to the prophet Jeremiah asking him to pray for them. They wanted a message from God. They wanted God to tell them what to do and where to go. And they told Jeremiah that they would do whatever God told them to do. Even if they disagreed with God’s command, they would still do it. Scouts honor.

Ten days later, Jeremiah came back to them with a message from God. And the one thing they didn’t want to hear was what they heard. Oh. They had already made up their minds that they were going to run to Egypt and escape the hardship of living in their desolate homeland of Judah. They wanted an easy life, and they thought they would find it in Egypt. But God said no. Stay in Judah. Do not go to Egypt. So they got mad and accused Jeremiah of lying. They were furious. How could they be expected to stay in a land they wanted to leave?

The remnant of people left Judah and went to Egypt, in full knowledge that they were disobeying God’s direct command. They had heard the warning that if they went to Egypt they would never leave there alive. They heard how they would die from war, famine or disease. Their stubborn hearts would not consider surrendering to God’s invitation to rebuild their lives in their homeland. Their hardened hearts would not allow them to believe God when he told them they no longer had to fear the king of Babylon. They didn’t listen when he told them that he would be merciful to them by making the Babylonian king kind to them. So they left knowing full well that God’s anger and fury would follow them to Egypt. They heard God’s warning that they would never see their homeland again. And they went anyway.

God knew the Judeans would disobey him when they said earlier that they would obey him even if they didn’t want to. He knew they had their hearts set on going to Egypt. He knew they would disobey him. And he allowed them to disobey. He allowed them to go and destroy their lives even further.

You can read this part of Judah’s story in Jeremiah 42-44.

So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? Luke 6:46

I did some weeding in my flowerbed one morning while it wasn’t too warm outside. I had been noticing that crabgrass had begun forming a border along the driveway and sidewalk. It wasn’t a look that spoke to my heart, so I set out to remove the unwanted weed. As I pulled on the weeds, they came up easily. But I noticed in a couple of places where I pulled up the crabgrass that the concrete was damaged. I’m no expert of weeds, so I don’t know if crabgrass would damage a sidewalk. Or, does crabgrass thrive in concrete areas that are already weak or cracked? I don’t know.

All I knew was that I needed to get control of the crabgrass before it fully invaded my yard. I couldn’t let even a little bit stick around or it would soon destroy any remaining grass. Weeds left untended will take over an entire space. The ugly, unsightful weeds will cause harm where least expected. Not only crabgrass but any other weed left to its own devices will take control.

The problem was that I didn’t remove all the crabgrass that day. The sun was shining, and it became warm. I was uncomfortable, so I didn’t finish the job. And I didn’t walk far enough down the sidewalk to see how far the crabgrass had spread. I went indoors to my cool air-conditioned house knowing full well that I had left some crabgrass to grow freely. I didn’t seem to bother me, or I would have stayed outside and removed it.

God won’t force obedience on anyone. He won’t force us to do anything we don’t want to do. But if he requires something of us, then not doing so is an act of disobedience. God knows what is best for us, even if we don’t like his plans. He won’t lead us down some dark and dusty path and leave us all alone. And if we allow the weeds of disobedience and sin to grow in the corners of our hearts and minds, then we leave ourselves open to moral and ethical rot and decay. Sin separates us from God.

God never condones sin. He never approves of words or actions that he has already said go against his will. But he will punish disobedience. And that disobedience if left untouched will lead us to death and destruction for eternity, if we don’t remove it from our lives.

But the good news is this. He will forgive our sins when we confess them.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13

Don’t Be A Copycat

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When I was in the seventh grade, a boy asked if anyone in our group was religious. Someone said I was. I quickly responded. No. Not because I knew the difference between being religious and being a Christian. But because I didn’t want to be seen as different. I wanted to fit in with the others. I didn’t want my group of friends to abandon me or mock me. They never had before. But would they now that my “religious” status had been spoken out loud? I didn’t want to find out. I just wanted to be like everyone else.

The same happens today. We call ourselves Christian yet we blend in with unbelievers so well that no one knows the difference. We don’t stand out as having different values or beliefs. We live as close to the line as we can get and try to call ourselves holy. But. Christians can’t move back and forth across the line when it’s convenient or comfortable. We must live on the side of holiness regardless of what it costs us. It won’t be easy. It won’t be popular. But it is biblical. 

Perhaps we only call ourselves Christians in private, because we don’t want others to think less of us. We don’t want them to start watching to see anything unusual in our behavior or speech. We don’t want to seem odd. We just want to fit in and be like everyone else. We want to be accepted. All the while wearing our blurred out Christian label. Oh. We’re wearing the label, but we don’t want others to see it.

We can’t disguise ourselves as Christians and expect God to call our behavior good. God knows us as we truly are. He knows our intentions and he knows our thoughts. Even if only our thoughts are wicked, God knows. But what we don’t realize is that even if our actions are good, our intentions may not be. We try to be the type of person we think others expect of us, all the while seething with hatred and resentment on the inside.

Let me just say this. Satan is not your friend. When we clothe ourselves in the approval of others. When we share on social media our shiny, almost perfect looking lives that match the world’s, we’re only fooling ourselves. The God who created us sees us for who we really are. We can’t pretty up sin.

God will transform us into a new person if we open ourselves up to his guiding hand. He won’t steer us down the wrong path. That’s what Satan does. And we can’t mix up the two. And we can’t intertwine them. They will lead us down totally separate paths. One is destructive. The other, although hard, is good and pleasing and perfect.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2

As believers, we are set apart to God. If we’re copying the behavior of those who aren’t believers, what sets us apart? What makes us different? Do we assume that our lives will look the same as everyone else’s after we become Christians? Shouldn’t we be different from those who don’t call themselves Christians? What is it about a believer that is different from a nonbeliever?

God calls us to be holy, because he is holy. So what does that mean for us? What does that look like?

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

Are we up for the task of living a holy life?

If we don’t read the Bible, we don’t know the Bible. And if we don’t know the Bible, we don’t know God. So it’s no wonder that we copycat the behaviors of those who are unbelievers. It’s no wonder we look and act and think like them. Because we’re not looking and acting and thinking like God. We run away from Him when we run toward the behavior and customs of the world. We don’t refuse to bow to the idols of today’s culture. We give in to the ideas of today’s society. So we can fit in. How can we fit into today’s culture and still fit into heaven when God calls us into eternity?

We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you. 2 Corinthians 1:12

Satan will try to outsmart us if we aren’t familiar with his evil schemes. He will manipulate us into believing bad is good and good is bad. All we have to do is scroll through social media and it stares us in the face. Watch the news and see all the evil swirling in our midst. And some people applaud it. Do we recognize the difference between Satan’s temptations and God’s direction?  

so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes. 2 Corinthians 2:11

When we deliberately choose to follow Satan’s lead, our hearts will harden to the will of God. It won’t be an overnight hardening. It will be gradual. And it may not be noticeable. Until one day, the veil over our eyes and heart is so heavy, we’ve walked far away from God. Oh. The veil can be lifted if we call on our Lord and Savior to forgive us. We can walk in his path of forgiveness. But it’s an intentional daily decision to follow God’s ways. And it will look nothing like Satan’s lies.

But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:14-18

Satan is the god of the world.  That doesn’t mean he controls it.  He is under God’s authority and God has him on a leash.  The evil he does is allowed by God in order to fulfill God’s will.  That may sound strange or wrong, but God is always in control.  When he gave us freedom to choose right or wrong, he knew that Satan would try to maneuver his way into our lives any way possible.  So we have to choose God in order to live a holy life.  We can’t be a copycat of Satan. Because if we aren’t living in line with God’s will, we’re living in line with Satan.  

We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. 2 Corinthians 4:2

All or Nothing

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It was his first year on the job as king of Israel, and it was unremarkable. Oh. It wasn’t a job he asked for. It was one his fellow countrymen had been asking for. They wanted a king. So God gave them a king. And when Samuel warned them that their desire for a king was sinful, they said they didn’t care. They wanted to be like every other nation around them.

This king, Saul, was chosen by God. And Saul failed early on in his reign. He failed because he was not a man after God’s own heart. He was after his own selfish ways. Never mind God. Saul would do what Saul wanted. And pay the consequences later, if need be.

And during his second year in power, he received a horrible performance review. Samuel told him that because of his disobedience to God, he would lose the kingdom. Saul’s early sin of offering a sacrifice that only the priest should make cost him his kingship. Oh. He remained in power, but none of his sons would inherit the throne. It would go to another.

And so the downhill decline started. So early in his reign, Saul saw his kingdom and legacy faltering. He was not a man of God. It didn’t have to be this way. But Saul made poor decisions early on in his reign that began a downward slide of continued disobedience to God’s commands. Saul led the nation of Israel poorly, and it showed. His monarchy would come to a screeching halt after his lifetime. It would not be carried down to the next generation. And he knew it.

I wonder how often Saul relived that day Samuel anointed him in private to be king of Israel. Didn’t he walk away a new man? God had given him a new heart. Once afraid, he was filled with boldness and bravery. He was now a statesman appointed to lead a nation. Oh. Saul did some good things. He won some battles. He rescued people from their enemies. He even prophesied. He was humble as he began his reign. But oh. How the tide turned.

Over the course of his reign, Saul’s sins were many. He was impatient, foolish and jealous. He attempted murder. He was vengeful. He consulted with a witch and disobediently offered sacrifices. When Samuel helped him guide the nation, things went well. Once Samuel stepped aside to let Saul lead the country on his own, Saul appeared to be awkward and weak. When left to his own devices, he made poor decisions.

Saul had a bent for disobeying the God who had chosen him as the first king of Israel. God rejected Saul, because he saw that Saul’s heart was set against him. Saul was self-centered and proud. He told himself he was being self sufficient when he took matters into his own hands, instead of waiting for Samuel to arrive and perform his priestly duties. Saul acted as his own priest. Because. Why not? He was king. He could do everything the priest could do. But that act of rebellion didn’t go down well with Samuel or with God. Saul thought he didn’t need God to instruct him. If only he obeyed God, his reign would have been a powerful statement of God’s grace. Instead, it was a powerful statement of how powerful men can be broken by sin and disobedience.

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9

I wonder if King Saul ever stopped to examine his life and his decisions. Did he ever feel guilty about turning his back on God? Was he ever regretful for the many attempts to kill David? Did he realize he didn’t have to lose the kingdom to David? If only he had obeyed God, his family would have remained in power. But Saul was bent on having his way in his own way.

We never know how our lives will be impacted by responding wrongly to God’s will in our lives. Do we stop to think about how one decision can turn our lives in a totally different path with our disobedience? Or do we just go merrily about our business without a care? Disobedience doesn’t come out of nowhere. It starts in the heart. A turning of desires from pleasing God to pleasing self. It may start small. With just a glance. Or a thought. And it builds from there. Until one day, the desire to please God is a far distant thought.

Disobedience becomes easier the more often it happens. The conscience eases. The guilty twinges subside. Until disobedience becomes a lifestyle of comfort and selfishness. Our self sufficient attitude becomes an act of defiance to an all-sovereign God of the universe. And not a thought is given to pleasing God. Disobedience grieves the heart of God. Nothing about it pleases him.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We know that. Hearts can change. Hearts can be turned back toward God. Hearts can still be convicted if they are open to hearing God’s truth. Repentance can happen. Forgiveness is open to everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. Those who seek forgiveness will be saved. God is working in hearts and lives today. But we must seek him while he may still be found.

According to 1 Samuel 12:14-15, blessings await those who obey the commands of the Lord, while troubles are in store for those who disobey. Choose you this day whom you will serve.

Pride Comes Before A Fall

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King Saul was a hot mess. He had strict orders from God himself about the battle he was to fight. He and his army of 210,000 men were to kill every man, woman and child, along with all the animals of Amalek. Kill. Every. Living. Being. Leave. No. Survivors.

 It was a harsh command. But God had a reason. 400 years earlier, the Amalekites had attacked the Israelites out of greed. With God’s help, Israel won that battle. But God didn’t forget how his chosen people were attacked. He vowed to pay back the Amalekites. And he took his sweet time in doing it.

 Now that Saul was king, God wanted to test Saul’s obedience. And wow. Saul failed miserably. He partially obeyed God. He killed all of the Amalekites, except for their king. And he killed all the weak and useless animals. But he kept the best animals as plunder. Saul was proud of his accomplishment.

And after he did that, he rewarded himself by setting up a monument in his own honor.

When the prophet Samuel confronted him about it, he proudly announced that he had carried out the Lord’s commands. Then why do I smell and hear animals? Samuel asked. 

Have you ever disobeyed God and then have someone else point it out to you? Has another believer confronted you about the smelly plunder that you have brought into your life? And you deny the sin?

Saul was dumbfounded to learn that Samuel was accusing him of disobeying God. He had killed people and animals. He had won the battle. What had he done wrong? He couldn’t believe that Samuel thought he had tried to play God.

Here’s the thing. A partial lie is a full lie. A partial disobedience is a full disobedience. A partial sin is a full sin. It doesn’t matter if you’re King Saul or John Doe. 

Saul was more willing to offer a sacrifice to God than to obey Him. Sure, it’s easy to perform a legalistic ritual than it is to obey God’s command. But what does it get you? It’s still disobedience. It’s still sin.

Do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

But Saul. His heart had grown cold. He lived as though he was his own god and only needed to follow his own decisions and plans. He cast God aside and replaced Him with Saul as god. This battle was not his to win. This was a battle that God had planned and prepared for. It was retaliation on a country who were sworn enemies of God and Israel. There were to be no survivors of any kind.

Did Saul forget that he had disobeyed God’s command? Did he not hear the words spoken to him to spare no life? Human or animal? Pride comes before a fall. That’s what they say. And oh. When the mighty fall, they fall hard. Because of Saul’s lack of obedience and respect for God’s command, Samuel told him that he would lose his kingdom. His family line would not inherit the throne. No son of his would ever be king of Israel. Oh. How the mighty have fallen.

Once we start living with lies, we become immune to right living. We get to the point that we have lived in lies for so long that we no longer recognize the truth. We dishonor God by continually denying his existence. We reject his invitation to join in his family of believers. Saul was blind to his sin. He acted as if he was obeying God. But he either failed to realize, or ignored the fact, that partial disobedience equals full disobedience.

God says he wants our full obedience. He says if we aren’t hot in love with him or cold disobeying him, then we are lukewarm. We aren’t God’s children if we are lukewarm. We can’t be half in a relationship with him. It’s all or nothing. God wants our full heart. Our full allegiance.

Sure. It will be a sacrifice on our part. It will be an intentional act of walking away from behaviors and activities that seem pleasant, but are out of line with God’s commandments. It will mean that we say no when we’ve said yes in the past. Or perhaps, we say yes when we’ve always answered no before.

Has your heart grown cold toward God? Or do you recognize that you’re in a lukewarm state? God wants your whole heart. Obedience at all costs. Let’s do what is right. Let’s love mercy. Let’s walk humbly and obediently with our God. We won’t regret it.