Obedience
“It shall come about, if you listen obediently to My commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul” (Deuteronomy 11:13, NASB).
The narrative continues to explain the blessing and cursing of obedience or the lack of. Moses conveys the importance of what God is saying about obedience with repeating himself, (in the Hebrew) “shama, shama” (listen obediently). In the Hebrew culture, hearing and obeying are synonymous. I appreciate the wording of one study resource, “It behooved them to be careful to attend to His commandments and to obey them.” We need a whole lot more “behooving”* in our current culture.
What comes to mind is the foreign concept (hear and obey) to the average pre-teenager when instructed to clean their room. (Anyone?) Soon emotional declarations are made that they HAVE heard, yet the room sits seemingly neglected with items thrown to the four corners. However, I guess often, I too do the same thing in my obedience (with just a bit less hormonal energy).
How well are we (I) hearing God? Are we actually doing what we’ve heard? What we’ve read in scripture? Is it a thorough obedience? How often is our obedience to God contingent to convenience. Conditional to our perspective. Determined by the emotion of the day (or the moment). Or our obedience happens when favored only with our preference.
Recently I sat down with a lovely God-loving couple. They, being married fifty years, shared their differences, likes and successes. From their depth of maturity and love for God and His word—challenged me! They spoke of trusting God. Trusting God on a level I am faced with is only found in boatloads of surrender. Surrender. Surrendering that HE cares so much more! Trusting HE is working!
I believe Moses’ words above, speaking of obedience, leans heavily with the principle of surrender. To love God with ALL our heart and ALL our soul comes only when we choose to sidestep self and focus fully on God—obeying Him. Jesus addresses this, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). We say we love, but … Lips and life must always match! (OUCH! Painfully, OUCH!)
Challenge indeed.
When we think of our heart, we usually think of the cutsie red shaped object sent on Valentines Cards. Yet cutsie, in reality, it is not. God was serious when designing the human heart. When the scriptures speak of the heart, it refers to the entire disposition of the inner person. Our seat of emotion and the center of our understanding, describing the place where the rational thinking process occurs. The soul is not only the mind, will and emotions as well, but conveys the person as a whole. Our love for our God is to permeate to everything—from everything within us.
With the challenge to surrender, trust and obey, I personally am reaching back and borrowing from Solomon’s answer when God said, “Ask Me for anything.” Solomon’s response, “Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern Your people well and know the difference between right and wrong for who by himself is able to govern this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9, NLT). I may not have a people to govern, but I DO have myself to govern and govern well—according to God’s word, enabled by His Spirit. (Not prioritizing my convenience, perspective, emotion or preference). While understanding is a gift of God, it does not come automatically. The possession of it requires persistent diligence.
How about you? Does your obedience track record look like a pre-teen’s room? There may be somewhat evidence of an attempt but in all honesty, your hearing and obeying only lends to stuffing things under and in and tossing to corners.
May we all keep surrendering, pursuing understanding, and trusting Him—from everything within us.
Obedience.
In Him, DeDe (“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love & good deeds” – Hebrews 10:24).
Resources: The Complete Word Study Dictionary–Old Testament, Bible Knowledge Commentary, Theological Word Book of the OT, ESV Commentary Notes, NET Bible Commentary Notes, Matthew Henry Commentary, Precept Commentary, KJV Pulpit Commentary, Websters Dictionary 1828 and any other biblical geeky place I looked at and forgot to jot down.
*Behoove: To make it advisable or necessary and proper to do so, for their own good or that of others.
Inspired Fountain 