God provided Israel with qualities they should desire in a king. In short, when the king ceased to be right with God, he ceased to be right for the people.
Elijah was a good man who loved the Lord. He could not bear the thought of the people of God rebelling against the Lord. Although misguided into thinking that he was the only remaining person who cared about the things of God, he certainly did care. Elijah took things personally when the people forsook the Lord’s covenant, threw down His altars, and killed His prophets. Elijah constantly pleaded with them to make things right. The apostle Paul felt the same way, but his feelings even extended to a jealousy over the people of God (2 Corinthians 11:2). Unfortunately, few people today seem to take such a personal interest in the Lord or His people.
Rebels will not and cannot enjoy the breadth of God’s intended blessings. For those harmed by the consequences of sin, God desires to make things right. The Bible says that “he bringeth out those which are bound with chains.” God delivers those taken captive by the wicked. For this reason, the Bible says that He will be “a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows” (Psalm 68:5). Yet, He also withholds blessings from those who rebel against His will. Rebels will instead “dwell in a dry land” bereaved of the blessings of God. Though this was no doubt intended as the literal withholding of rain, it bears a spiritual truth that rebels will miss out on the richness of what God has for them. The Lord wants men to know His joy and His peace; however, rebellion offers nothing but a dearth of God’s blessings.
This life offers only a window of time and opportunity to work for the Lord. Youthfulness and old age both offer their own hindrances to service. In many ways, though not entirely, youth should be spent in learning, middle age in doing, and old age in teaching those who are learning and doing. Many of the greatest servants of the Lord found in scripture began their journey in youth by learning of the Lord and His ways (1 Kings 18:12; Psalm 71:5; 2 Chronicles 34:3; Job 29:4; Ecclesiastes 12:1). As they approached the prime of life, they invested their learning by serving the Lord (Numbers 8:24-25). As they passed their prime, they would pass their knowledge on to the next generation in hopes of the Lord’s work continuing and flourishing (2 Timothy 4:1-8)..
Separation is good and a necessary aspect of the Christian walk. However, when separation becomes based upon personal conviction rather than scriptural principles, it generally leads to a false sense of holiness and hypocrisy. This takes place when Christians fail to consider the multi-faceted nature of scriptural separation. They readily recognize the scriptural command to separate from the things of this world but fail to see the first component of scriptural separation which encompasses the need for separation to be unto the Lord. The vow of the Nazarite plainly encompasses both aspects of separation. In fact, the primary aspect of biblical separation encompasses separation unto the Lord (Numbers 6:2). Once a person separates himself unto the Lord, he will naturally separate from those things of this world (Numbers 6:3).
Psalm 119 is filled with statements promoting the necessity of the word of God. Seven times in this psalm we find a statement declaring the writer’s desire to meditate upon the words of God. Three of these times he states emphatically that he will meditate in God’s statutes or His precepts (Psalm 119:15, 48, 78). Not only was meditating upon God’s words something that the psalmist desired to do in the future, but he had formed this habit long ago (Psalm 119:23, 99). The writer of this psalm, like other successful believers in the past, made it common practice to meditate in the words of God both day and night (Psalm 119:97; Psalm 1:2; Joshua 1:8).
The Bible repeatedly addresses the outcomes of obedience and disobedience. It reveals that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience. This truth was plainly explained to the children of Israel on several occasions. In fact, the Bible lists the curses that follow disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-44). The curses range from personal judgment to national judgment, but the obvious fact was that disobedience withheld blessings. For instance, disobedience drove Adam and Eve from the garden in Eden (Genesis 3:22-24). Saul's disobedience cost him his kingdom (1 Samuel 28:18). Moses' disobedience meant that he could not enter into the land of promise (Numbers 20:12). The consequences of disobedience may differ today, but every act of disobedience has negative consequences.
The children of Israel had an important decision to make: whether to obey the Lord or unwisely refuse to obey Him. The Lord assured His children that their obedience would pay off with fruitful dividends. He promised to bless their obedience and curse their disobedience. The Bible clearly lists the blessings of obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). Though the blessings of obedience can vary from one person to the next, obedience always yields God's blessing. For instance, Abraham was told that all nations would be blessed in his seed because he obeyed the voice of the Lord (Genesis 22:18). Isaiah told the Israelites that, if they would obey, they would eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19). Jeremiah told his audience that their obedience would cause it to be well with their soul and that their souls would live (Jeremiah 38:20). Blessings received from obedience may vary, but the blessings of obedience are well worth any temporary fleshly sacrifice.
The Lord desired a special relationship with the nation of Israel choosing to bless them both spiritually and physically above all other nations. One such blessing involved bringing them safely into the land of Canaan. However, many of these blessings were dependent upon Israel maintaining the right type of relationship with the Lord. He, therefore, issued several commandments for the Israelites to carefully keep (i.e., Deuteronomy chapter 11). The Lord desired for Israel to “hearken diligently” (Deuteronomy 11:13) and “diligently keep” (Deuteronomy 11:22) these commandments. He wanted His people to carefully listen when He spoke, giving God their full attention (listening to every word). He also wanted them to attentively obey what they heard. He always desired for His people to listen to and obey Him. God speaks today through the Bible. He still wants men to diligently hear and obey.
