PART ONE OF THE TOPIC "LEARN"
"LEARN"
LEARN TO OBEY: "BECAUSE ABRAHAM OBEYED MY VOICE AND KEPT MY CHARGE , MY COMMANDMENTS, MY STATUTES AND MY LAWS" (GEN 26:5).
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"And Samuel said: Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1st Samuel 15:22).
Abraham was one of the patriarchs who learnt to obey. When the Good Lord of their fathers asked him (Abraham) to go to the unknown land, he obeyed without arguing with the Lord. "Now the Lord had said unto Abraham (then Abram), Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, And I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shall be a blessing; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran" (Gen 12:1-4).
Consider the following; By obedience, the promised land was shown, Gen 13:14-15. By obedience, great nations have come out of him, example is America and Britain etc. By obedience, he is called the father of nations. All these happened and will continue to happen due to Abraham's obedience to the Lord. Paul said: "By faith Abraham, when called to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Heb 11:38).
How many of today's Christians can heed to the call of God as Abraham did, without questioning? Number 85 of Strong's defines "Obey" as "To hear Intelligently (often with imply of attention, obedience, etc).
Looking at examples of obedience and it's results are more in the Good Book, but only few examples would be given. We saw Rebekah commanding her son Jacob to obey her- Gen 27:8,13,43. Three times Jacob had to obey his mother after receiving his elder brother's blessings. Obedience can open a way for a lot of blessing to be showered upon each and the family of God's church as well.
Taking a close look at what happened between Isaac and Jacob, it's all about one simple word "OBEDIENCE." It was at work on behalf of Jacob, hence Abraham's blessings were given to him for his obedience, Isaac his father said so.Gen 28:1-5. At the end of Jacobs life, he left a legacy that can never be forgotten. That was how the name Israel came into existence- Gen 32:24-28. What has the Lord promised us by by obeying Him? "Now therefore if ye will obey My voice indeed and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is mine" (Exodus 19:5).
WHAT IS A PECULIAR TREASURE?
The Hebrew word for a peculiar is 'seg-ool-law, and it means; To shut up wealth(as closely shut up) thus jewel, treasure, special. See strong's No.5459. So we see how special or extra-ordinal Gods people would be if we obey Him in all His sayings. Deuteronomy 14:2 reads;
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
In the Old Testament, God used Israel nation to represent His peculiar treasure, but in the New Testament, Paul says; Jesus gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people zealous of good works- Titus 2:14. Again God promised to send His Angel to go before the Israelites if only they would obey His voice, He would be enemy to their enemies and adversary.
"O Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for My name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries."Ex 23:20-22.
Let us also take notice of how a blessing and a curse are acquired in Deuteronomy 11: 25 - 28.
"There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you. Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known"(Deut28:1-15). There is a sharp contrast in verse 27-28, after words of blessing in the first fifteen versus of Deuteronomy, 28th chapter.
Also, eternal life is what we will benefit or gain from obeying or hearing the Lord. "Jesus said: My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:27-28).
If eternal life is what we would be obtaining, then it is advisable to cleave unto the Lord, as the last part of Deuteronomy 13:4 reads: "Ye shall serve Him and cleave unto Him. There was even death punishments for those who would not obey their parents in the Old Testament" (Deut 21:18-21).
What will God intend doing after scattering the Israelites due to disobedient? Deut 30:1-3. "And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee."
Why can't we allow the dos and don'ts work perfectly within us, because the Lord will only rejoice over us again if He sees obedience attitude in us-Deut 30:8-9. In verse 20, God promised Israel would dwell in the land which the Lord promised unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to them. And this land is going to serve as capital of the whole world and dwelling place of Jesus. We can only be partakers of this land and rule with the King ok Kings, if we remain obedient.
Peter the apostle said; "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance" (1Peter 1:14). Elihu, one of Job's friend proceeded and said; "If we obey and serve God, we shall spend our days in prosperity, and our years in pleasures" (Job 36:11-12).
If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
Brethren, let us learn to obey in all aspects. After all, "The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32).
James Collins Agyare
Ghana
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