Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023

What does obedience have to do with God's blessing? Look to Genesis. In both Abraham and Jacob's lives, God acted providentially to protect them, despite many twists and turns in which they each relied more upon their own guile than having faith in God's promise of protection. But subsequent to Abraham showing his obedience to the Lord in Genesis 22 in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac at the Lord's Word, he was blessed with a full declaration of his covenant with the God. Jacob sees the same, as in Genesis 35, when he has finally acted in obedience to the Lord, forgoing his own inclinations to scheme but instead act in faithful obedience to God's Word, he is blessed for the first time with God confirming the Abrahamic Covenant with him. What does this mean? We see a relationship with God is predicated upon belief in His Word; but blessing from God is dependent upon obedience. For the Old Testament saints like Abraham and Jacob, who did not know Jesus because Jesus had not yet been revealed, their relationship with God was predicated upon belief in what God told them in their day. But, for us, we have the benefit of a closed canon of Scripture and the once-and-for-all atoning death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection to place our belief in. Belief in God's Word remains the key to a relationship with God. But blessing in this life is dependent upon our obedience to God's Word after. Look at 1 Samuel 15:22, "Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams." Today, consider how you have shown obedience to the Lord in life, and seek His Word on how you can grow to greater obedience.

"Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."-- 1 Samuel 15:22