Tag Archives: disobedience

“The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, ‘I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.  I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’  Yet you have disobeyed me.  Why have you done this?”  (Judges 2:1-2, NIV)

Resonant in this scripture — which recounts the disobedience of the Children of Israel when they did not utterly subdue the inhabitants of the Promised Land, but allowed them to coexist with them in the land, albeit as “servants” or “slaves” — is the peril of allowing anything that is ungodly to inhabit our lives.

The problem with allowing any ungodly thought or deed to persist in one’s life — even in a small, seemingly insignificant way — is that after a while the “slave” becomes the master; and the “servant” becomes the one that is served.

In the case of the ancient Israelites, it wasn’t too very long before they were worshiping at the pagan altars and incorporating forbidden practices into their lives.  I am sure that their chosen course of action seemed enlightened at the time, but the outcome of disobedience to God is always the same: Our own eventual destruction.

Today, choose life.  Choose God.  None of us ever succeeds in riding the “tiger” that is ungodliness.  – Luther

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“But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.  When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”  (Matthew 7:26-27, NLT)

Most of our personal calamities or failures occur for lack of obedience to Jesus’ teaching.  It is not because the calamity is God’s “payback” for our disobedience; rather, it is because we have ignored God’s blueprint that we discover, frequently in tears, that our own designs are inadequate for the stresses of life.  In this instance, we are responsible for our choices.

It is helpful to note that in Jesus’ parable, both houses are beat upon by the rains, and assaulted by the floods.  However, only the house built on a solid rock is able to withstand the events that test our foundation.

When the next storm of life arrives, will your life’s foundation prove adequate?  Jesus says, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” (verse 24)  – Luther

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“The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, ‘I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.  I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’  Yet you have disobeyed me.  Why have you done this?”  (Judges 2:1-2, NIV)

Resonant in this scripture — which recounts the disobedience of the Children of Israel when they did not utterly subdue the inhabitants of the Promised Land, but allowed them to coexist with them in the land, albeit as “servants” or “slaves” — is the peril of allowing anything that is ungodly to inhabit our lives.

The problem with allowing any ungodly thought or deed to persist in one’s life — even in a small, seemingly insignificant way — is that after a while the “slave” becomes the master; and the “servant” becomes the one that is served.

In the case of the ancient Israelites, it wasn’t too very long before they were worshiping at the pagan altars and incorporating forbidden practices into their lives.  I am sure that their chosen course of action seemed enlightened at the time, but the outcome of disobedience to God is always the same: Our own eventual destruction.

Today, choose life.  Choose God.  None of us ever succeeds in riding the “tiger” that is ungodliness.  – Luther

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