Battle Of Disobedience

Disobedience is one of the things that seem to hold us down. And when I think about it I wonder what God says about obedience.

1 Samuel 15:22 reads: ‘But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to take heed is better than the fat of the rams.’

Hebrews 13:17 reads: ‘Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden for that would be of any advantage to you.’

Psalms 143:10 reads: ‘Teach me to do your will for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level ground.’

But if he tells us to obey then why do we disobey?

*WHAT CAUSES DISOBEDIENCE

1. Fear

When I think of the word fear, Jonah comes to mind.

Jonah 1:1-3 reads: ‘The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for a port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.’

And in the story it seems like God wanted him to do an impossible task. Look at how evil Nineveh was.

Nahum 3:1-4 reads: ‘Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims! The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses and jolting chariots! Charging Calvary, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many casualties, piles of dead, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses- all because of the wanton lust of harlot, alluring the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.’

2. Deception

Genesis 3:1-7 reads: ‘Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God has made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat the fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.’

Temptation is one of the easiest things that causes us to disobey. It makes us see a picture that seems better on the outide but is much worse on the inside.

3. Impatience

1 Samuel 13:8-15 reads: ‘He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burn offering and the fellowship offerings. And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived and Saul went out to greet him. “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought; ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” “You acted foolishly,” Samuel said, “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people because you have not kept the Lord’s command.’

4. Lack of Trust

Numbers 20:2-13 reads: ‘They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!” Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink. So Moses took the staff form the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out and the community and their livestock drank.’ But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’