Blessing Through Obedience
How often have you actually heard people say that blessings come through obedience? Or how many times were you told during Church services that blessings follow obedience? What does the Bible teach about this matter? Does God really require His people to obey Him in order for them to receive His blessings?
Today, I would like us to have a Bible study on obedience. We are going to look at what the Bible, the written Word of God, has to say about obeying God.
When the Israelites, under the leadership of Moses were on their way out of Egypt where they were enslaved for 430 years, God promised to bless them for as long as they were obedient to Him and lawfully followed all His commands. God then went on to mention all those blessings that are in store for them.
Deuteronomy 28:1-14 Blessings on Obedience
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you being the country. 4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.
12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
What wonderful promises God has given to His people if only they would obey Him, keep His laws and commandments. But did the Israelites do as God told them to? No! In fact, they deliberately disobeyed God and repeatedly rebelled against Him. It became a cycle that lasted for many years.
How disappointing that despite everything God has done for them, despite the miracles God performed for them right before their very eyes, including parting the Red Sea so they could get away from Pharaoh and his armies and providing them manna and quail from heaven and water from the rock, they remained stiff-necked. Nevertheless, God remained faithful to them and kept His covenant with them.
Why then does God require obedience? Why do we have to heed God’s commandments when the Bible repeatedly affirms God’s faithfulness despite our disobedience and unfaithfulness?
Let us now look into some occasions or instances wherein God requires obedience, biblical characters who exemplified the true meaning of the word by their actions, and how God honored them as a result of their obedience to Him.
A. God may ask you to do something that does not make sense from a human perspective.
Joshua
God promised that He would bring His people out of Egypt into a land that is flowing with milk and honey. However, the land was occupied by the Canaanites and in order for the Israelites to take possession of the land, they would have to conquer it. Their first obstacle was the city of Jericho whose walls were securely shut up, no one went out and no one came in. So how are they going to get in and take possession of the land? God gives instructions to Joshua in Joshua 6:1-27.
Joshua was told to march around Jericho with his army once a day for 6 days and 7 times on the seventh day. Included in the march were 7 priests carrying 7 trumpets and the ark of the Lord. Joshua, the chief commander of the army obeyed God instead of relying on the military tactics he knew. From a human perspective, what God asked Joshua to do did not make sense at all but Joshua obeyed God, no questions asked. The end result: the walls of Jericho collapsed and they took the city.
Naaman
We read in 2 Kings 5:1-14 about Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Syria. He is described as a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master because of the victory that was given to Syria by the Lord through him. But he had leprosy and lepers were considered unclean.
So Naaman was told by prophet Elisha through his messenger to wash 7 times in the Jordan in order for him to be healed. But Naaman got angry and refused to do obey. After some convincing from his servants, he then went down and dipped himself 7 times in Jordan as the man of God told him and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy (v.14).
Noah
As recorded in Genesis 6:9-22, God asked Noah to build a massive boat and it definitely made him the laughingstock of his community. Building an ark did not really make sense at that time considering that it hasn’t been raining for years and years. You can just imagine the mockery that Noah received from the people. But Noah obeyed and took God at His word (Genesis 9:22)
And what was the end result of Noah’s obedience? He and his household were ready when the flood came. The Bible tells us that only Noah and his family were saved: his wife, his three sons, and their wives. And the pairs of clean and unclean animals that Noah loaded in the ark.
*** Maybe you’ve been asking God for a pay raise in your current job. Or perhaps you’re praying for a part-time job to increase your cash flow because you want to give your family a more comfortable life. And you wish you could also help your Church ministry financially because you see that the finances are scarce.
But instead of giving you what you’re asking for, God seems to be prompting you to quit your job and go full time in your Church ministry. And you say, “What? Is that really you Lord?” So you start doubting if it’s really God speaking to you. You think it might be the devil playing with your head. Why would God ask you to give up the channel He’s using to bless you? How are you going to support your family? How are you supposed to send your kids to school?
This may not be making sense to you right now because you’re thinking of your family’s welfare. Your wife may not be supportive of your decision, she may even get really upset or disappointed. But know that God will always have your best interest at heart. You may not understand it now but in the end, you will realize that this is how God wanted things to work out for you, He just needs to know that you trust Him enough to obey Him.
*** Or maybe you’re in a situation wherein you are being abused by your employers. You wanted a higher paying job so you left home to work overseas so that you’d be able to support your family and give them a better future. But God puts you into a household of not-so-kind and considerate people.
Your salary is always delayed, you’re not having enough food supply, you are forced to work almost non-stop 24/7 and you’re only allowed to take 1 day off every month. So you cried out to God to rescue you. You keep asking your brothers and sisters in the Lord to pray for you; for God to take you out from your situation and to give you kind, generous and considerate employers.
However, God is not listening to your pleas, or so it seems to you. Your brethren also advised you to just stay put and be patient because maybe God has other plans for letting you into your employers’ lives. But why would God let you suffer despite your faithfulness and obedience to Him? It doesn’t make sense at all, isn’t it?
Remember, God is sovereign and He knows what’s best for you. He has a plan and purpose in your life for getting you into the situation you are in right now. Learn to listen to God, obey Him and you’ll soon find out that He was going to use you as a blessing to your employers and as a result, you will be greatly blessed for your obedience because blessings always follow obedience.
B. God may lead you to give up something or someone that’s very valuable to you.
Abraham
Abraham offering up his son Isaac is a classic example of giving up something you treasure dearly. We read in Genesis 22:1-18 how God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. We know by reading the account of Abraham and his wife Sara how they had waited for God to fulfill His promise to give them a son. How could God ask Abraham to offer to him the son He has promised?
But Abraham chose to obey God because he trusted God for His word. Abraham trusted God’s promise that his descendants will become as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17) and all nations on the earth will be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). And God fulfilled His promise as a result of Abraham’s obedience.
*** Are you in a relationship with someone that God does not approve of because he/she is not a believer in Jesus? Perhaps you’re thinking that God will use you to bring your partner to faith in Jesus. You are so convinced that your partner will eventually become a Christian once you’re married. If your partner does not approve of your faith in Christ now that you’re still dating, don’t expect him/her to become a Christian just because you’re married.
If nothing seems to change after years of praying for your partner, then maybe that’s a sign of God’s disapproval. Maybe God is telling you to let go because he/she is not the one for you. It’s going to hurt of course, but God has the best in store for you. You just have to trust God, obey Him and focus on serving Him.
*Related Article: When God tests your faith
C. God may want you to do something out of your comfort zone and face your fears.
Moses
Moses is described by the Bible as a Stutterer and yet God chose him to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. Moses reasoned with God that he couldn’t do what God was asking him to do because he is not eloquent and is slow of speech and tongue (Exodus 4:10). Yet he chose to obey God and as to God’s instructions, Moses appeared before Pharaoh, the leader of a powerful civilization, many times to demand freedom for the Israelites.
Although the Egyptians had to experience God’s wrath through the 10 plagues that He had poured upon them for refusing to let the Israelites go to the desert to worship and to sacrifice to God, Pharaoh ultimately allowed them to go.
Peter and the apostles/disciples
The early Christian Church suffered a great deal of persecution under the Roman-ruled Jerusalem during New Testament times. The early followers of Christ led by His disciples were threatened with flogging and imprisonment for preaching about the risen Christ. And most of them died as martyrs for their faith but as a result of their boldness, the Church continued to grow and Christianity has spread throughout the Roman Empire and into Asia Minor, Greece, Europe, etc.
*** Is God telling you to share your faith with your non-Christian friends and colleagues but you fear that once you start talking about God, that they would start avoiding you? Perhaps you’ve worked really hard to fit in and get accepted by the group and you don’t want to throw all that away by sharing your faith with them.
Maybe you are aware that they don’t want to talk about “religious stuff” so you’d rather keep mum about the good news of salvation. You think that talking about the love of God and the sacrifice Jesus has done for us may put you in a really bad spot; that they might start ridiculing you or worst they might label you as a bigot and judgmental.
Conclusion
Why does God require obedience? One thing we need to understand is that although God’s love is unconditional, all His promises aren’t. So yes, God requires obedience from us if we want to receive the rewards He has promised because every act of obedience comes with a blessing. But is that all? We only obey because we want blessings? No! We obey God to show Him that we love Him. Obedience is proof that we truly love God. Jesus said that if we love Him then we will keep His commandments (John 14:15).
So if you love God, you will keep His commandments. To say that we love God but refuse to obey Him is not really loving God at all. Because it’s easy to say, “I love you Lord” but our actions prove just quite the opposite.
Obedience to God’s commands is the true sign of our love for God.