Don’t Compromise Your Obedience to God

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 35

What will cost for you to compromise your faith in Christ and your obedience to God? Our Bible reading today is about the Rechabites and their refusal to compromise their obedience despite prophet Jeremiah’s deliberate attempt. It is important to provide context and comparison to the present times. God instructed prophet Jeremiah (a national prophet as it were) to bring the Rechabites (a small tribe of desert nomads) into the house of the Lord (the temple), into one of the chambers (a place of privilege only accessible by priests and princes) and give them wine to drink. Imagine a well-known pastor or prophet of God (someone who hears from God, known by God and well-respected), known for righteousness and holiness, invites you to their personal office (their inner chamber where they pray and hears directly from God) and give you wine to drink. What will be your reaction? Will you accept or refuse? Perhaps out of respect and reverence, knowing fully-well that such a pastor is a believer, full of the Holy Spirit, tongue speaker, and miracle worker, you will drink the wine. It was something close to this scenario that the Rechabites encountered. Instead of yielding to the person (Jeremiah, the national prophet), or the loftiness of the environment (chamber in the temple) or the seductive nature of the wine itself, the Rechabites stood their ground. Here’s their response: “But they said, we will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers” (Jeremiah 35:6-7). In other words, they were not moved by the name of the prophet, prophet’s resume, or the appearance of the environment. The Rechabites were not people pleasers. Nothing could make them compromise or go against the instruction of their father. They were obedient under any and every circumstance.

Dear friends, our obedience to God should be unconditional. Although the instruction not to drink wine came from an earthly father, the Rechabites still obeyed. How much of God? The world is changing with everything in it. Many people do not take God’s word for what it is again but we have to obey God’s word and stand by it. At the end, God made a covenant with the Rechabites due to their action because God rewards obedience.

Daily Confession: My Heavenly Father I choose to obey You and follow Your instruction with the whole of my heart in Jesus name.

Intercessory prayer: Pray for a fresh move of God in our churches, spiritual sensitivity for the end time, and grace for supplication for God’s people.

Hymn: Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.