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Obedience Brings God’s Approval
July 12, 2019
“O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:” (Isaiah 48:18)
Peace and righteousness are certainly gifts to be desired. We see that the other element in this verse is commandments. Keeping the commandments of the Lord is essential for the gifts of peace and righteousness to follow.
Samson was victorious in burning the enemies’ crop of corn. He used an improbable weapon, a jawbone, to slay a thousand of the Lord’s enemies. Samson’s prayer was for his physical thirst to be quenched, and God gave him water out of the jawbone. The Lord mightily used Samson to provide an escape from his captors by strengthening him to pick up the massive city gates and even to carry them a distance away and also up a hill. Samson was cheered as a hero during the time of his judgment of Israel. We would observe that this man who was doing these miracles was right with the Heavenly Father. However, we find that just before performing this feat, he was engaged in disobedience to God. We may conclude here that doing a miracle did not mean God’s approval.
People likely esteemed Samson as a righteous man. Was Samson keeping God’s commandments? Did he choose to marry the kind of girl that the Lord wanted him to marry? We can see that the answer is “no.” Did he live the life of the Nazarite that the Lord had given him to keep? We can see that he did not keep the Lord’s commandments. Samson followed his own choice by going to the vineyards of the enemy. He seemed to want to live on the edge of compromise. Samson tried to play with God’s anointing by expecting him to always be there for him but refusing to obey Him fully. Did it matter to God if Samson obeyed in the small areas of life? Samson felt as though he could override the promptings from the Lord to follow in what he considered the small areas.
God had given Samson this anointing and given him the choice of what to do with this precious gift. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Romans 11:29) Samson got used to God’s anointing, but he was careless in obeying God’s commandments. God has told us in His Word that His Spirit will not always strive with man. He should have stayed away from the woman that was not God’s choice for him. Instead, this man that was so strong and heroic for Christ continued in his own way until he confided in the enemy. He did not realize that the Lord had departed from him until he needed God’s help and was devastated to find that God was not there. If only he had kept the commandments of the Lord which any of us must follow to have God’s righteousness and peace. We know the story of Samson that he repented and was again used by the Lord in his death to kill three thousand of the Lord’s enemies.
In Ezekial chapter 20, we read that the elders of Israel met together for a prayer meeting. Sounds great, doesn’t it? However, the Lord responded by saying he would not listen to their prayers. It did not matter how much they prayed because they continued to worship their idols instead of casting them away as God had asked of them. At the time the Lord had delivered them from their slavery in Egypt He had asked the children of Israel to get rid of their idols. These idols meant so much to the Israelites they just could not part with them, so they continued in their rebellion. They taught their children to worship false gods, and as a result, this idolatry had been passed down from generation to generation. God talked with each generation and pled with them to return to Him, but they went so far as to despise His commands.
Even though they continually hardened their heart to God’s command, God still exalted them to their enemies, the Egyptians. Even though they rebelled daily, God again delivered them from the chains of their slave masters and brought them forth out of Egypt. Even though they hated God’s statutes, God still parted the Red Sea and destroyed their enemies. Even though they turned back from God in their hearts, God did not let their shoes wear out for forty years. Even though they refused God’s judgments, God still graciously allowed the older Israelites to have the strength and energy of the young as they journeyed through the wilderness. We see that many of them partially obeyed the Lord. For instance, every Israelite family obeyed by putting the blood on the door, and they were all spared from their firstborn sons being slain. They ate the lamb and were all healed from diseases. They praised God after the Red Sea crossing. They felt as though God was with them even though they were rejecting His commands. Partial obedience is not enough for them, and it is not enough for us.
We find that God did all of this for them not because He was rewarding their rebellion but for His own Name’s sake. God worked those mighty miracles for the children of Israel, just like he did for Samson because He was glorified. He did not approve of their sin. The pillar of fire led the children of Israel by night, and the cloud led them by day because God was going to be glorified among the surrounding nations. It was not because the Israelites deserved this blessing. God gave them great victories against their enemies because God was going to show the heathen He was the True God. God was not putting his stamp of approval on their sin.
The enemy is still using this trick today. He wants to get people to think that because the Lord is answering their prayers, their sins make no difference to the Lord. God’s blessing does not mean God condones the sin. Miracles are not God’s approval.
We must remember that Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Obedience is the way to know we have God’s approval.
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