Strict Obedience

In 1 Kings 13, there is an account that makes me scratch my head in wonder. It takes place soon after Solomon dies, and his kingdom is split between his son Rehoboam and the rebel, Jeroboam. A man of God (who is not named) is sent to Jeroboam in the northern tribes to prophecy that the idolatrous altars Jeroboam has built will be shattered. When the man of God left Rehoboam’s kingdom, he was instructed by God not to eat or drink anything until he returned home.

After the catastrophic prophecy was spoken, Jeroboam apparently felt guilty, so he offered to take the man of God to his home for a meal. The man of God rightly refused, quoting God’s direct orders. However, on his way home, another prophet (also unnamed) who lived in Israel got a word from God (so the text says). He was told to invite the man of God to his house for a meal. When the invitation was first given, it was rightly refused. Then the messenger said that an angel had told his master, the prophet, to invite him. He went.

When the food hit the man of God’s lips, the prophet told him that he was going to die because he disobeyed God’s direct command. The only way I can make sense of this is to assume that God worked through the prophet to test the man of God. At first this seems unfair or even capricious of God. It is not. God regularly tested His people to see if they would remain faithful. Remember when He asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Think about the twelve spies sent into Canaan after the Exodus. Also, after the land had been mostly conquered, God told Joshua that He purposely left some unconquered people to test the Israelites’ obedience. Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked for him so that he could test him. Testing is part of any good education program – obviously it’s part God’s program too.

I have been tested on a number of occasions. When I was running my own business, it was very tempting to try to hide revenue from the IRS. I admit, fear of the auditor was as great a motivator as fear of God, but I did my best to follow the law. When I bought a car from a private party in Michigan, I was required to report the price to the Secretary of State so it could be taxed. I asked one counter person if she would believe I paid $5.00 for the car. She said she would write down whatever I told her. Tempting? I told her the true price. However, on two occasions, I fudged on the purchase price because other items were included in the total that were not strictly part of the vehicle. Curiously, though I loved both those vehicles, I ended up taking a huge loss when I sold them, and the vehicle that replaced them was a lemon. Punishment for disobedience?

I watched something happen in a church years ago that also makes me wonder. They were entering a building program, and the pastor pledged before God and the congregation that they would not borrow a single dollar to complete the project. When the architectural proposal came in with a magnificent edifice costing millions, the leadership reneged on the pledge and took out a significant mortgage. A few short years later, attendance dwindled, and finances collapsed; the church had to sell the building and move. Was it judgment for disobedience? Only God knows.

I sometimes wonder if American Christians are being tested with prosperity. My Social Security benefit puts me below the federal poverty level, yet I make five times the median annual income of the rest of the world’s people. The truth is that the poorest people in America are richer than most of the world’s population. For most Americans, there is little motivation to trust God when all their physical needs are met with such abundance. Our superior medical system takes care of our health needs. Ironically, our religious freedom has allowed churches to evolve into social clubs that seldom mention our need for God’s saving grace. Sadly, it is the persecuted church outside of America that demonstrates the true meaning of faith most often.

Americans were once a people who lived by the principles of the Judeo-Christian tradition as instituted by the Founding Fathers. That is no longer the case. I don’t need to mention all the ways that American society has slid from those founding principles. One religious conservative spokesman dared to suggest that the attacks on 9/11 might have been God’s judgment on an apostate America. America had failed the test. I won’t pretend to know if that was God’s intent when He allowed the attacks. I will say it is a sad irony that the Islamic perpetrators considered their actions to be a holy war against “The Great Satan” aka America.

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that the events in the Old Testament were meant to be lessons for the church. When God gives a lesson, He always tests His students; this is the clear message of all Scripture. God also gave us intelligence and reason to learn His lessons and hopefully to pass the test. Some years ago, John Stott wrote, “The true function of the mind is not to stand in judgment on God’s Word, but to sit in humility under it, eager to hear it, grasp it, apply it and obey it in the practicalities of daily living.”^[1] (Italics mine)

My purpose in writing this is not political. I don’t think America will get back to her roots by changing leadership or writing new laws. Strictly speaking, it is not America that needs to be saved. God’s people are no longer an ethnic or national group. The only way we can hope to stop America’s slide into paganism is for individual Christians to be strict in their obedience to God’s Word and outspoken in their proclamation of its requirements. Another name for that kind of activity is revival. A nationwide revival of the church would cure most of what is wrong in this country. That kind of revival is sorely needed in the American church. That kind of revival usually begins with one person. UR1.

Related posts: Merely Christian; What’s Your Ministry; Christianity: Religion or Philosophy; Necessary Obedience

^[1] John R. W. Stott, God’s Word for Today’s World (Cumbria, UK: Langham Preaching Resources, 2015), 11.