A Choice to Obey - Day 165 Month 6-13 Week 24-4
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
Judges 2:1-3:8, Psalm 131, Jeremiah 43, Acts 5:17-42
A Choice to Obey
In yesterday’s reading in Judges, we read how the people of Israel took much more of the land they were promised, but they did not drive out the current inhabitants. We also read toward the end of the book of Joshua that they were warned not to serve foreign gods. The people responded that they would follow the LORD and serve Him alone. Yet here we are in Judges 2:11: “Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals (other gods with household icons usually made of stone, wood or a metal).” In Jeremiah, we read how Jeremiah brought a word from the LORD instructing the people to stay in the land. God said, “If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you.” Yet in Jeremiah 43, we find that they went to Egypt anyway, and once again Jeremiah prophesied what would happen there.
After reading Judges and Jeremiah, it is refreshing to hear Peter and the other apostles standing up to the religious leaders saying, “We must obey God rather than men.” The apostles listened to God and followed His direction. It landed them in prison, but God had a different plan. He released them during the night and sent them right back to the place where they had been arrested.
Whether Gamaliel, one of the respected religious leaders, was a follower of Jesus or not, he was both wise and prophetic. He advised the leaders to “stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” Even so, the leaders had the apostles beaten and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Yet the apostles were so full of the Holy Spirit that they left “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”
It seems clear that it makes more sense to do what God says. In both Judges and Jeremiah, the people were rebellious toward God and chose to do what seemed right to them. In Judges, the angel of the LORD declared that because they had not followed God's direction, “I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.” In Jeremiah's prophecy concerning Egypt, we read, “He (the king of Babylon) will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity.”
Gamaliel understood that opposing God would not end well. His reasoning was simple: if the apostles were acting on their own, their movement would fail. But if God was behind it, no one would be able to stop it. As we continue reading, we discover that the church was not overthrown. Instead, it grew like a wildfire and could not be contained.
There is a message for us in that as well. Even when God's direction goes against our preferences, we are wise to “obey God rather than men.” If we are going to obey God, then we must love God and love our neighbour. We can leave the consequences and the results in His hands.
Have a great day!
Steve
You can subscribe to this blog and receive an email each day or week. Just visit the following link. https://follow.it/my-faith-view-from-here-daily-readings-and-thoughts?leanpub
Comments
Post a Comment