Obedience vs. Rebellion: Learning from Abraham and Saul – Bible Reflection

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The Bible teaches us that we are to be faithful and obedient. Most of us think we are faithful and obedient because we follow the Word of God in the most general of ways. However, God is not looking for general adherence to the Word. He looks at how we listen and interpret His commands.

When God told Abraham (Genesis 22) to sacrifice his son, Issac, he did not deliberate, he did not weigh the loss of a son, he, in faith, knew God had a reason he wanted him to sacrifice his son Isaac. He believed God’s commands had purpose and the outcome depended upon his response and love for the Lord. In this case, because of his obedience the angel, in verse 12, told him not to lay a hand on the boy.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” ~Genesis 22:12 NIV, Biblegateway.com

Sometimes God tests our faith and sometimes He instructs us in which way to go. The angel of the Lord called out to Abraham a second time to convey God’s declaration to him.

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you… ~Genesis 22:15-16 NIV, BibleGateway.com

All scripture, that means every word in the Bible is God-breathed. He uses the Word to teach, rebuke, correct and train us in righteousness.

 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV, Biblegateway.com

The NLT version says that it teaches us what is true to help us realize what is wrong in our lives. The Word teaches us to do what is right.

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT, Biblegateway.com

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 ESV, openbible.info

Abraham clearly chose to listen and follow God’s command. He was 100% in. He did as instructed. How often do we follow God’s instructions for our lives?

There was a time when God instructed me to stop spending. I thought, I was not overspending and interpreted His message as being more of a request and not a command. God knows the path to our destiny. He is the great architect. I had prayed for Him to reveal the next stage in my life to do His good work. Little did I realize that overspending was a lesson I needed to follow to get to the next stage. I did not follow His command like Abraham. I scaled back, like Saul who interpreted the commandment to meet his own needs.

To borrow a quote from Radical.net, God help us. Help us to give to you in worship what you have asked, the obedience of our hearts. God help us to hear your Word, and to obey your Word; hear your voice, and obey your voice. We pray that you would be glorified in our obeying your voice. ~Obedience of Sacrifice,1 Samuel 15:22 ESV.

God knows us. He created us and He knows how we will respond. The money was not the issue. My heart was the issue. Jesus said to Peter, if you love me obey my commands (John 14:15 KJV, Biblegateway.com), meaning follow my Word. He commands each of us to do the same thing, “obey/follow my commands.”

We pray that you would be glorified in our obeying your voice. God, we pray you would keep all of us, from at any point, getting caught up in practicing religion, and going to church, and taking part in this or that activity, while disobeying you and your word in our lives. ~Obedience of Sacrifice,1 Samuel 15:22 ESV, Radical.net.

In looking back, I now see where I strayed. I did not immediately follow His commands. I did not curtail my spending. I, like Saul, who told Samuel, that he did kill all the Amalekites as commanded, added I brought back Agag their King. I thought I followed God’s command to stop spending, however, like Saul, I left one thing out.  I slowed my spending down. As a sidebar, I felt guilty each time I did, but that did not stop me. How often do we fail to listen to the quiet voice telling us we are in the wrong yet forge ahead anyway? My decision to follow God’s command my way was a form of rebellion.

Samuel told Saul: 3 When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!”14 “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.15 “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night! “What did he tell you?” Saul asked.17 And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? 19 Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? 20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. 22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?

Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols!” ~1 Samuel 15 NIV, Web.mit.edu

Like Saul, I heard what I wanted to hear. I interpreted what I was commanded to do in a way that satisfied me. I did not obey the Lord as Abraham did. As followers of Christ, we must train ourselves to be obedient in all things, not just some things. God listens to our voice and watches our actions that demonstrate either our obedience or our act of rebellion.

We reap the consequences of self-love/rebellion, following our own interpretation of what God commands. In my case, our finances spiraled downward. If I had listened to His command, I would not have been in the position to have to rebuild financial solvency, and Saul would have been the King of Israel.

26But Samuel said to him, “…You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as the king of Israel!” ~1 Samuel 15 NIV, Web.mit.edu

All scripture is God-breathed. The Word is not open to interpretation that satisfies our pride. It requires complete obedience. Obedience is defined as an act or practice of obeying, dutiful or submissive compliance. ~ Online Dictionary.

Our actions are judged through the lens of obedience or rebellion. As Christians, we are being observed by many. Our actions speak louder than words. If we tell others to submit to the Word and be disciplined, we must first practice what we preach. As doers of the Word, we must learn to be obedient. God, through the Holy Spirit, reinforces His Word and His Will for our lives.  We are rebuked as needed, trained, and corrected in righteousness. God continually prunes the dead and withering branches in our lives to strengthen our dedication and submission to Him.

This article is purposeless if we do not examine our motives and submission to the Word of God. Ask yourself:

  • Am I an Abraham or a Saul?
  • What have you learned about yourself from this study?
  • Do you obey God’s commands like Abraham, operating in the spiritual realm being obedient and specifically following God’s commands and instruction for your life?

or

  • Do you operate in the carnal realm of rebellion like Saul?
  • What are your plans to fully submit?

Our life is a journey. We will stray from the straight and narrow path more than once during our lifetime. Our mission is to learn from each mistake, apply it to our lives, submit to God, work to eliminate rebellion and serve our God by sharing the Good News with all within our scope of influence.

We must always work to be faithful and obedient understanding that God’s way is not our way and stop interpreting His Will for us using our finite scope of understanding to forge our own path.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ~ Isaiah 55:8-9 NIv, biblegateway.com

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all of your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. ~Proverbs 4:26-27 NIV, biblestudytools.com

Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ~Isaiah 30:21NIV, biblehub.com

Photos: Google.com, free images

The Sound of God’s Love is Quiet

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One definition of ‘sound’ is the vibration transmitted through the air or other medium. (Dictionary.com) The sound is noisy, loud, and resounding. But in the Bible, John tells of a vastly different sound, one that reverberates through the body and throughout the world. I call this sound the sound of God’s love and this sound reverberates in the form of inner peace.

God loved us so much that He sent His Son to earth to take away our pain of living in eternal sin in exchange for His Son’s death. He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us.

During His three years in ministry, He taught His disciples to love as the Father loves Him and He loves us. This type of love, agape love, is free of condemnation. He teaches us to listen beyond the words of those who betray us, hate us, and have disdain for who we are in Christ. He taught us to love regardless of personal interactions.

In the Old Testament David slayed Goliath hurling a stone that killed him to save his people. This young boy relied on his faith in God to slay a giant. It was not the noise of the stone jettisoning towards the giant’s head that he heard, it was the love of his Lord that spoke to his heart and gave him the confidence to take on an unimaginable task. Most of the stories in the Old Testament reflect quiet sounds when God communicated with His people, during other times it was verbal and often loud, as the Holy Spirit had not yet entered our hearts. All of the stories demonstrated the love of God for His people that reverberates in us and around the world today.

In the New Testament, we no longer audibly hear God’s voice, instead, He speaks through the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, and instructs us in the quiet still sound of His voice. His voice is the voice of God., God’s love emanates His Glory. His Glory reverberates in the hearts of believers and gives new life. God’s love is quiet yet reverberates throughout the world, calling all to join His family. God’s love is the love of a Father calling out to His children. the sound of God’s love is quiet, intense, profound, and peaceful, all in the same moment.

Associated Scriptures

John 10:27 ESV, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Hebrews 4:12 ESV, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of would and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

John 10:16 ESV, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock.”

Hebrews 3:7 ESV, “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,”

Psalm 85:8 ESV, “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people…”

1 John 5:14 ESV, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him (faith), that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

John 3:16 ESV, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

“God loves each of us as tho there is only one of us.” St. Augustine

Scriptures – biblegateway.com, ESV; Itakeoffthemask.com

Images – The God of Love – NIV; Michael Dudlash, Pinterest; spreadinghopeeverywheretalks.com

What Proves Salvation?

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THOUGHT – Something that stood out to me in the BSF Study of the Book of John, Lesson 19. “Jesus taught that love for God motivates obedience, not that obedience is the method of salvation. A believer’s obedience does not contribute to his or her salvation but proves it.” Question – Why does obedience prove one’s salvation? (p.p. 269)

If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved (salvation). Acts 16:30-31

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (salvation). John 3:16

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (salvation). Romans 10:9-10

If you do not have the Spirit of Christ, He cannot live in you, and you do not belong to Him (no salvation). If you receive Christ is your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in you. If the Spirit lives in you, He is your advocate, comforter, counselor, and teacher (salvation).

When we receive Christ, He enters our being in the form of the Holy Spirit who begins to change our lives. We move away from carnal desires and habits and exchange them for Jesus’ commands. Our new life reflects Christ’s command to Love God and obey His commands (salvation). (Romans 8)

For by grace, you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works (salvation). Ephesians 2:8

When we receive Christ, we are motivated, not by works, but through faith to obey the Word of God. Our behavior changes as we demonstrate the love of God. This demonstration drives our desire to obey the Lord’s commands and live them out in our daily lives.

God motivates our obedience. Our obedience proves our salvation.

Image: LAB Photos

Scriptures: Biblegateway.com


God Stretches Us

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Recently my granddaughter underwent scoliosis surgery. As I was going through videos of the surgery, which is amazing in itself, I learned that adolescent scoliosis surgery is even more amazing. In teen and adult surgeries, two titanium rods are placed along the perimeters of the spine to align the spine. However, adolescent surgery covers a much more amazing process. The rods have hydraulic lifts. As the child grows, the surgeons place a machine that looks much like a remote-controlled car transformer on the patient’s back to activate the hydraulic extension expanding the titanium rods to continue to brace the spine. They no longer need to have additional surgeries to account for growth and replacing the original titanium rods.

You may ask why I am sharing this technology with you. I am currently studying the Book of John. Jesus is nearing the end of life on earth and will soon return to His spiritual realm, heaven. John shares how Jesus prepared the disciples for His departure. He taught and loved His disciples who would continue His work on earth. Throughout the three- and one-half years Jesus spent with the disciples they received training and their faith shifted from focusing on the visible to the invisible, from thinking in practical terms to a spiritual understanding.

God stretched the disciples as He does us today. As we deepen our understanding of God’s word and application, He too uses a form of hydraulics. Jesus is the transformer forever ensuring that we grow and are erect. With each lesson, each study, each evaluative look at our past, He grows us. Our growth produces a deepened state of understanding. Our minds and souls mature and our relationship with God becomes increasingly fruitful.

Jesus referred to the disciples as my children, or in Greek, little children. When Jesus departed, He invested the responsibility of being disciples to each of us, His children.

The last command Jesus gave the eleven disciples finalized their preparation to carry on His work after He ascended to heaven. “A new command, I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 14:34-35.

To further explain this scripture, The Charles Stanley, Principals Bible lesson reads: “The method Jesus gave us to preach His message to the world is through love. The world knows we are his disciples, not through correct doctrine, or big buildings, but through our love for one another.” (John 13:35, pp. 1557, Life Lesson)

We must choose to become disciples. We must allow God to stretch our belief and understanding of how His work applies to our lives. This may feel uncomfortable, as I am certain a titanium rod corrects one’s spine during growth, but it is necessary if we genuinely want to disciple others and point them to Christ. It is through the agape love for others, Christ-like love, which draws others to say, there is something different about you, what is it? This is the opening to discipleship, to share how accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior changed your life.

Scripture: Biblegateway.com

Images: google.com; testifygod.com

‘If Only’ Pondering

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What does ‘if only‘ pondering mean? When we pray, we often pray for an outcome. If only I had a house, if only I had a raise if only, I was married, well, wealthy… The prayers are doubtful asks. We are not praying to God because He is God. We are praying to God asking Him to prove He is the God of the way, the truth, and the life.

Our relationship with God is not founded on what He can do for us. It is founded on the fact that He sent His only begotten son to die for our sin. It is through faith that our relationship is real and solid. I believe that we do not often focus on the phrase, ‘only begotten son’ as demonstrating the depth and breath of His love for us. My question is, what if God had not sacrificed His Son for us, would we be crying ‘only if’? A statement that decries a state of darkness.

Like many in the Bible, we learn that once they ceased crying for things that they felt would improve their lives and coexist on the planet, the very same moment their circumstances changed. Their belief in our Almighty, Sovereign God took away the sting of their circumstances. As the sting dissipated, their vision cleared, and avenues illuminated alternatives that previously were not viewed. It is difficult to see in the dark, and in the blackness of night, you are blind. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Through Him, there is light that leads the way. Our ‘only ifs’ seemingly rear their faces as selfless requests.

God is the I AM, not a God who must jump through hoops to prove Himself to us. ‘Only if’ we could understand the vastness of His love for us and enter prayer with the intention to deepen our relationship with Him and not to offer up a Christmas list at every turn.

Helpful Scriptures

Jesus is the Light

John 8:12. Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me, will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.“

Psalm 27:1. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Ephesians 5:8. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light.

1 John 1:5. This is the message which we have heard from him, and declared to you, that God is light, and him there is no darkness at all.

Faith and Doubt.

Proverbs 3:4,6. Trust in the Lord, with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Mark 9: 22-23. But if you can do anything, take pity on us, and help us. “If you can?“ Said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Matthew 28:16,17. “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain, where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”

Hebrews 11:6. “And without faith, it is impossible to please, God, because anyone who comes to Him, must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

James 1:2-7. “Considerate, pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

Where doubt reigns, faith cannot abide. (Billy Graham) When we utter the ‘if only’s’ we are in essence doubting our maker, and faith cannot abide. When we doubt the ‘if only’s’ weaken our faith, in fact it renders it void. Our faith resides in the truth that Jesus is our Savior, who cares for us, directs us, and provides for us. Praise, and Thanksgiving should replace our ‘if only’s’.

Images: Hebrews 11:6, Highland Park Baptist Church; John 8:12, wiirocku.tumbler.com; Ephesians 5:8,9 Pinterest, Laura Huntington; @studentdevos

Scriptures: Jesus is the Light. Bible Verses About Jesus Christ, Light of the World. ccg.org; 10 Bible. Erases About Faith and Doubt. Jesus film.org; Biblegateway.org


When God Calls

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And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” 

1 Samuel 3:10 NLT

God calls us in many ways. It is not often a vocal communication but more like an unction. The unction is the Holy Spirit who dwells within us guiding, directing us, and preparing us for our journey to walk with God. “The Holy Spirit helps us realize God’s purposefulness to orchestrate our lives and prepare us for heaven.” Bible Study Fellowship, Study of the Book of John, Doctrine of Sanctification, pp 243)

We communicate with, or should I say, God communicates with us in diverse ways. Just as we communicate with others in diverse ways, no one way is correct. Samuel originally mistook God’s call, he did not recognize His voice.  Do you hear a voice but do not recognize it is the Lord? Does He have to call more than once to get your attention like Samuel? When you recognize it is God, how often do you respond in the same way as Samuel, saying, “Speak, your servant is listening.” 

And when you do respond how often do you act on what is being conveyed? Do you listen and choose not to act? Is there quandary prior to acting? Or do you respond, “Yes Lord, and immediately follow His instruction?

Our walk carries a great degree of responsibility. We are all God’s disciples and we each have a path to follow and purpose to do God’s work on earth. Do you point others to God?

“God equips us all with gifts and graces, interests and talents to be used to bless one another.”(workingpreacher.org. God Calls Samuel. Oct 17, 2021)

When God Calls, do you listen? Do you act?

Images: IMDb 2018; CentreNDL