The Long Road of Obedience
Philosophy View of Obedience
Compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.
Biblical View of Obedience
Obedience is to hear, trust, submit and surrender to God and his Word.
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. Hebrews 13:17 KJV
Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord to the people of Israel. My people have done two evil things:
1.They have forsaken me the fountain of living water.
2.They have dug for them themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13 KJV
Those who know about Palestinian cisterns tells us that they were highly likely to crack, even if they are in solid rock. The water collected in cracked cisterns is often foul-tasting and full of worms. This reflects the people’s disobedience and idolatrous behavior instead of loving and worshipping their God their fountain of living water, they turned to worthless idols, in effect dragging their leaky cisterns.
God’s Spirit like a flowing river of living water, is unfailing and endlessly refreshing, but the people chose disobedience. Later Jeremiah wrote, “Does the snow ever melt high up in the mountains of Lebanon? Does the cold following streams from the crags of mountain Hermon ever run dry? These can be counted on, but not my people! worthless idols. They have stumbled off the ancient highways of good, and they walk the muddy paths of sin.
Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up. Jeremiah 18:14-15KJV
How do we know if we like the people of Israel are guilty of preferring the cracked cistern over the fountain? it all begins when we deliberately ignore the word of God to do what we want to. When what we want to become is more important to us than what God wants us to do, we will end up with a foul taste in our mouth. D.L Moody said about the bible, this book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.
To forsake and forget the Lord and his word is an “evil, bitter thing” as bitter as the foul waters of so-called satisfaction from the cisterns we have dragged ourselves.
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. Jeremiah 2:19 KJV
Are we disobeying God, drinking out of the cracked cistern? Turn back to God and his fountain of living water, you will find it on the long road of obedience.
Start by responding to God’s invitation to heal your wayward heart and admit that disobedience is a sin, not just a shortcoming.
Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Jeremiah 3:22 KJV
It is a long road, but God gives refreshment along the way. It is worth the journey.
We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God. Jeremiah 3:25KJV
Obedience! It is worth the journey.