What Does It Actually Mean To Obey God?
Whatever God has commanded you to do, just do it. Don't act like you don't know what he wants you to do. If God has told you, you know. It will stick in the back of your mind and will not leave. If you watched and listened, you know God confirmed it. You might even have found that other avenues seem to have closed their doors to you. You know that you know that whatever God has told you to do you need to do.
That is your spirit calling you to obey God’s voice.
But God won't force you into obedience. You can choose not to do whatever he has told you to do. But just know that you will pay the price for your disobedience. God's sowing and reaping principle applies here just as it does in all other areas. God has sown into your life and he expects you to obey. He has a purpose and a plan at work that you might know nothing about. Besides that, God wants you to be blessed. When you don't obey, you cut off your own blessing.
GOD’S WORD AS OUR EXAMPLE
Let's look at 1 Kings, chapter 13 for a closer look at how God feels about our obedience.
King Jeroboam build and worshipped at pagan shrines. Eventually, our ever-patient God had enough. He drew a line in the sand so to speak. He sent one of his prophets (we'll call him the young prophet) to Bethel with a message for the king. The young prophet did as God asked. In the process, the young prophet was able to show God's glory and power.
God gave the young prophet very specific instructions. An old man who claimed to be a prophet of God approached God's young prophet, gained his trust, and convinced him to disobey God. When God's young prophet disobeyed him, the young man died.
For Additional Reading: How to know it is God speaking to you.
Let's break it down even further and see what else God is showing us both in this piece of history as well as take a look at God’s biblical nuggets of truth...
CHAPTER 13, PART 1: OBEDIENCE AND THE MAN OF GOD
VERSES 1-3 (SIN EXPOSED)
The young prophet of God didn't confront king Jeroboam Bethel until God commanded it. Because the young prophet was in obedience to God's specific direction, we see that God's timing is ALWAYS perfect. If the young prophet decided to do things his own way and not as God commanded, he would have been too late to confront the king as he (the king) offered up incense and prepared to offer up a sacrifice.
But this man of God didn't arrive just to disrupt the offering. God sent him to publicly declare and condemn the evil that was happening in Israel because of the commands of King Jeroboam.
The young prophet told the king what the future held. The young prophet also told of a very specific way that God would confirm that the words spoken were from Him. It was not a subtle sign but very obvious for all to see.
GOD’S TRUTHS THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THERE VERSES
1. Move and speak when and how God commands. Don't add to or take away from His message. (Deuteronomy 12:32)
2. God's timing is never off.
3. You don’t have to be famous to be used by God.
4. God is a jealous God and will not tolerate the worship of another for very long. (Luke 4:8, Exodus 20:3)
5. God is always specific and always confirms what He says.
6. Our Gifts Are From God, For His Purposes.
7. King Rehoboam was the son of King Solomon. Our children have to find their own path and they don’t always follow ours. Regardless, they are watching, listening, and learning from you. Would God be pleased with what you are teaching them?
VERSES 4-6 (REBELLION)
As is typical, the king reacted with anger when he was told to stop sinning. Instead of responding to the message given, king Jeroboam responded by demanding the man of God be arrested. God didn't mess around. His correction was swift and personal.
The altar was torn down and ashes poured out just as God said. The king, if he truly believed what he was promoting, should have turned to his false gods for the healing of his withered hand. Instead, he asked the young prophet to intercede to God on his behalf.
GOD’S TRUTHS WE CAN LEARN FROM THESE VERSES
1. Exposing sin brings about strong emotion in the sinner.
2. God always fulfills what he says he will do.
3. We do everything in our power to make it stop when our sin has been exposed.
4. When God commands his child to do or say something he protects them. He won't hesitate to fight for you.
5. God knows exactly how to get your attention.
6. Even sinners will turn to a person of God and ask for prayer when things get tough. if it will bring God glory and if it is His will, he will heal and restore just as God healed the king.
7. Disobedience to God is not taken lightly.
VERSES 7-10 (SEEK GOD, NOT MAN)
King Jeroboam invites the young prophet home to the palace and offers him a reward, attempting to entice the young prophet with a gift. Back then, it wasn’t unusual for the kings to have “court prophets” that were kept simply to tickle the king’s ear. With wisdom, the young prophet of God proclaimed that he couldn't be bought or enticed.
We don't know if God gave his young prophet specific commands because He had something else for the prophet to do back in Judah. Regardless, God absolutely did not want the young prophet to linger in Bethel. God specifically told his young prophet to continue his fast (no food or drink) and to go a different way home.
It would be nice if the king repented and turned from his wicked ways. But it doesn’t appear that he did based on the rest of king Jeroboam’s story.
GOD’S TRUTHS WE CAN LEARN FROM THESE VERSES
1. When sinners see God's miracles, they desire to be a part of it any way they can as long as it is without repentance or commitment. Maybe they think God's blessings will rub off on them. The problem is, it is God they should seek, not a mere human.
2. Sinners don't mind giving a little something to Christians to get what they really want (God's power and glory). However, they want it on their terms, not God’s. God doesn’t work that way; He can't be bought or bribed.
3. Stay strong in what God has specifically told you to do regardless of what anyone else says God told them to tell you. God knows the future and the path you are to take.
4. God’s reasons don’t really matter; complete obedience matters.
CHAPTER 13, PART 2: DISOBEDIENCE AND THE MEN OF GOD
VERSES 11-17 (THE ENEMY DISTORTS, GOD STRAIGHTENS)
While this was happening, we learn of an old prophet was already in position in Bethel. His sons told him what had happened. The old prophet took off to find the young prophet.
Maybe because he was worn out from fasting and the spiritual battle he had just undertaken, the young prophet didn't get far before resting under an oak tree. The old prophet was able to track the young prophet down and tried to convince the young prophet to come home with him and eat. The young prophet stuck to his guns and declined the old prophet’s hospitality.
(We are told right up front that the young prophet from Judah was a man of God. The old prophet of God was already in position in Bethel. Why didn’t God use him to confront the king? Was the old man now a “court prophet” doing the kings bidding instead of God’s?)
GOD’S TRUTH WE CAN LEARN FROM THESE VERSES
1. Just because someone calls themselves a man of God (a Christian) doesn't mean they are obeying God.
2. Satan will immediately send someone (or something) to distract and confuse you.
3. As a child of God, our gifts come from him, to be used when, where, and how He directs.
4. Children of God are often pursued for their gifts and what others can get from them.
5. Just because God shares with you want he wants you to do, doesn't mean you have to tell everyone else. (Galatians 1:16-17) Not everyone, even Christians, will have your best interest at heart.
VERSES 18-19 (NOT EVERYTHING IS OF GOD)
The old prophet disregards what the young man said and tells him that they share the same gifts and purpose. The old man says that he had a supernatural experience with an angel appearing to him with a word of direction. “But he lied unto him” (v18). Believing what the old prophet tells him, the young prophet went home with the old man and broke his time of fasting before the Lord.
For Additional Reading: Learning to use biblical discernment.
(My husband and I have a difference of opinion here. I don't believe the old man really was a man of God any longer. The old prophet wasn’t being used by God that we can see. He lied to the young prophet throughout the whole chapter. Although we don't know why he lied, we see from his manipulation of the situation that the old prophet isn't seeking God or what is best for a man of God.
Mike disagrees. He believes the old man was still a prophet. He also pointed out that although what I said is true, God still uses his children even when we screw up. Mike also pointed out that he cannot find any example of God speaking through an unsaved person (a donkey, yes but not a sinner).
Because we can see both sides of this, I encourage you to read and study this out for yourself. Pray about what you believe the Holy Spirit is showing you about this old prophet.)
GOD’S TRUTHS WE CAN LEARN FROM THESE VERSES
1. Not everything that is claimed to be of God is of God. That is why we are told to test all things. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
2. God doesn't change. (1 Samuel 15:29) He won’t tell you one thing then tell someone else something completely contradictory.
3. We all want to identify with and be just like God's anointed.
4. If God has something for you to do (or not do) he will say it to you before he says it to anyone else.
5. The Devil will ever so slightly distort what God has told you to do. It will be oh so close, but not right on.
6. Just because God places a calling on someone's life doesn't mean they are sin-free and perfect. We still have to be on guard and test all things.
VERSES 20-22 (SOWING AND REAPING, ACTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES)
God gives the old prophet a message for the young prophet. It is a rebuke for his disobedience and a foretelling of what the young prophets’ consequences would be.
(Notice returning to Judah a different way has not been addressed by God because the young prophet had not gotten that far yet. Did God stop speaking to his young prophet because of his disobedience or did the prophet stop listening?)
GOD’S TRUTHS WE CAN LEARN FROM THESE VERSES
1. When God wants your attention and you aren't listening, he will get your attention.
2. God brings back to our remembrance exactly what we have done wrong.
3. When God commands you to do something, you'd best do exactly what He has said.
4. There are always consequences for disobedience to God (reaping and sowing).
VERSES 23-26 (GOD’S WORD HOLDS TRUE - ALWAYS)
Knowing the old prophet lied and tricked him, the young prophet still accepted a gift (a mule) to ride back to his home in Judah. Again, the young prophet didn’t get far from Bethel because a lion attacked and killed him. Both the donkey and lion stood over the man attracting attention. Even though nobody stopped to help the young prophet, they did continue on their way to Bethel to report it.
From the description, the old prophet recognized who it was. He feels free to expose the sins of the young prophet without admitting (or repenting) that he (the old prophet) lied and manipulated to lead the young prophet astray.
Again, the old prophet twists the truth. He said, “the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn and killed him according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” But that isn’t true. The Lord said, Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord…your body shall not come to your ancestral tomb.” God didn’t say the man would be torn apart by a lion.
(It's interesting that a lion (1 Peter 5:8) killed the young prophet but didn't do as its nature dictates and eat the man and donkey.)
GOD’S TRUTHS WE CAN LEARN FROM THESE VERSES
1. We have to be careful who we align ourselves with.
2. What God says will happen will happen.
3. If God gives you 3 things to do and you mess up 2 of them, you still have the chance to repent and get the third thing right. However, it won't take away your consequences for the 2 wrongs.
4. A sinner will always expose someone else's sins without taking responsibility for their own.
VERSES 27-34 (IN THE END, IT’S STILL A OUR CHOICE)
The old prophet went out and found the body of the dead prophet. Fortunately for him, the lion didn’t attack the old prophet when he came upon the scene. The old man identified with the prophet and calling him brother, he showed grief that the young prophet had died.
The old prophet claimed the body of the young prophet as if he were family. (Why didn't he inform the young prophet’s actual family of the incident? Just because he couldn’t be buried in his ancestral tomb doesn't mean the family wouldn’t want to know what happened to their loved one. Back then, it was a sign of honor to be buried with your family. The young prophet had this privilege taken away due to his disobedience (sowing and reaping).
The old prophet shared with his sons about the young prophet. (Just like Eve in the garden, the old prophet distorted what God had told the young prophet. the old prophet said that God told the young prophet to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and Samaria. But God didn't. He only told the prophet to speak against the King’s ungodly alters in Bethel then return to Judah. So the old prophet is still proclaiming falsehood.)
After everything that happened, after everything that the King personally witnessed, he still refused to turn from his wicked ways. He made any man who wanted to be a priest for the pagan shrine was allowed. This type of wickedness resulted in the destruction of his kingdom and his family.
God's Truths We Can Learn From These Verses
1. God takes the appointing of his anointed (priests, elders, etc...) very seriously and notices when you don't. It is his people according to his will.
2. Just because you have a word for someone doesn't mean they will accept and repent. It is still a personal choice between them and God.
3. When God asks something of you, it is usually not what you would expect. But there is always a reason that goes beyond you.
4. The enemy is restrained. He can only do as much as God will allow in your life.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Today, we wonder if God still speaks to his children. When we look at Scripture, we know that He does because God doesn't change. Hearing from God is the first step towards obedience. Just like our children learning to obey us, it is not always easy to set aside what they want and obey instead.
In Luke 9:23, we are told to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. We can't follow someone we refuse to obey. We have to consciously set aside what we want to do for what God says to do. Jesus willingly gave all of himself in exchange for all of you. It’s an act of love. And this, my friend, is why complete obedience to God is not optional.
MY PRAYER
Father God, you alone are worthy to be praised. I fall short many times but you never do and I'm so grateful for that. You tell us to search ourselves so that we might not be deceived. Lord, I need your help even in this. I ask that you show me my weaknesses, reveal to me any areas that I am not in complete obedience to you.
Lord, when I desire to feel important or special and catch myself saying, “God said” when I know you didn’t say, put a seal on my lips so that I might not sin against you.
My desire is to be in your will, Father. I want to please you and obey you but more often than not my flesh is weak. Help me to overcome the stronghold of fear in my life that is keeping me from doing as you have asked. Help me to follow through exactly as you have spoken and not deviate to the right or to the left.
I believe, Lord God, but please help my unbelief. You alone are my living hope and everything I need can be found only in you. Father, thank you for your many blessings and endless love. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen!