A Word About Life and Things


           

 

Obedience

       When Jonah was asked, by God, to go to Nineveh and give them a message, he got on a ship and went in the other direction. It was very clear that he did not want to go to Nineveh. After Jonah spent three days in the fish he did go to Nineveh and gave the message from God. The people of Nineveh repented and Jonah was mad that God had spared them. Jonah did finally obey God, but he was not happy about it.

      When King Saul was preparing for battle he was waiting for Samuel to come with an offering, and to bless the people before the battle. King Saul was impatient and was not willing to wait for the man of God. He went ahead with the offering. King Saul lost the kingdom because of his disobedience.

      Obedience is better than sacrifice. God is not too impressed with our sacrifices if we are not obedient to Him and His word. We obey the ten commandants and the laws of the land; because we know what will happen if we don’t. Sometimes we don’t obey God’s leading because it is not what we want to do. God knows a lot more about us and our future than we do. If we obey Him, He will lead us in the way that we need to go. Our obedience to the Lord will take us on a journey that will lead us to greater things than we ourselves can do.


      New King James Version
Jonah 1:1 ¶ Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me."
 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

      New King James Version
Jonah 3:1 ¶ Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,
 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you."
 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.

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      New King James Version
1 Samuel 13:8 ¶ Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
 9 So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering.
 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.
 11 And Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash,
 12 "then I said, `The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering."
 13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
 14 "But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."