THE CONSEQUENCES OF WILLFUL DISOBEDIENCE - Part 2

TOPIC: THE CONSEQUENCES OF WILLFUL DISOBEDIENCE – Part 2:

O THAT MY PEOPLE HAD HEARKENED!

MEMORIZE: "Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!"  Psalm 81:13.

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 81:8-12

“8 Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! 9 There shall be no foreign god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god. 10 I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11 "But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. 12 So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels. 13 "Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! 14 I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand against their adversaries. 15 The haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever. 16 He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you."

EXPOSITION:

He testifies his good-will to them in wishing they had done well for themselves. He saw how sad their case was, and how sure their ruin, when they were delivered up to their own lusts; that is worse than being given up to Satan, which may be in order to reformation (1 Timothy 1:20) and to salvation (1 Corinthians 5:5); but to be delivered up to their own hearts' lusts is to be sealed under condemnation. It was similar to when God says “He that is filthy, let him be filthy still.” What fatal end this will lead a man to! Now here God looks upon them with pity, and shows that it was with reluctance that he thus abandoned them to their folly and fate. “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?” Hosea 11:8-9. 

Observe these facts, The great mercy God had in store for his people, and which he would have wrought for them if they had been obedient includes. 

(1.) He would have given them victory over their enemies and would soon have completed the reduction of them. They should not only have kept their ground, but have gained their point, against the remaining Canaanites, and their encroaching vexatious neighbours (Psalm 81:14): I should have subdued their enemies; and it is God only that is to be depended on for the subduing of our enemies. Not would had have put them to the expense and fatigue of a tedious war: he would soon have done it; for he would have turned his hand against their adversaries, and then they would not have been able to stand before them. It intimates how easily he would have done it and without any difficulty. With the turn of a hand, nay, with the breath of his mouth, shall he slay the wicked, Isaiah 11:4.  If he but turn his hand, the haters of the Lord will submit themselves to him (Psalm 81:15); and, though they are not brought to love him, yet they shall be made to fear him and to confess that he is too hard for them and that it is in vain to contend with him. God is honoured, and so is his Israel, by the submission of those that have been in rebellion against them, though it be but a forced and feigned submission. 

 

(2.) He would have confirmed and perpetuated their posterity, and established it upon sure and lasting foundations. 

(3.) In spite of all the attempts of their enemies against them, their time should have endured forever, and they should never have been disturbed in the possession of the good land God had given them, much less evicted and turned out of possession. 

 

(4.) He would have given them great plenty of all good things (Psalm 81:16): He should have fed them with the finest of the wheat, with the best grain and the best of the kind. Wheat was the staple commodity of Canaan, and they exported a great deal of it, Ezekiel 27:17. 

(5.) He would not only have provided for them the best sort of bread, but with honey out of the rock would he have satisfied them. Besides the precious products of the fruitful soil, that there might not be a barren spot in all their land, even the clefts of the rock should serve for bee-hives and in them they should find honey in abundance. 

"He made him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock; Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs; And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the choicest wheat; And you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.” Deuteronomy 32:13-14. In short, God designed to make them every way easy and happy. 

 

PRAYER POINT:  Lord, help me to return to you wholeheartedly that I may recover all I have lost to disobedience in Jesus name.

DAILY BIBLE READING IN A YEAR –  Psalms 69-72.

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ANCHOR OF LIFE is the daily devotional guide written by PASTOR DR. SAMUEL AYORINDE. It is an extraction of God’s word designed to draw the sincere seekers closer to God on a daily basis through an insightful exposition and analysis of God’s Word. Read, Meditate, Pray and Share this message to others. For prayers, Counseling and further enquiries, call or whatsapp +2347032993319; +2348056130469. Or Email: anchoroflifeministry@gmail.com