A theme ran through the devotions this morning, that leaves me contemplating. How necessary for us to understand the Word of God and keep it. The first devotion was from Watchman Nee, in which he shares this story: He felt led as a young man to go to an island where pirates were and share Christ. He apparently had gone and preached and there was a receiving of the message of Christ. As he sought to rent a home there and establish himself, his parents spoke and told him not to go there. He was now faced with the 5th commandment, 'Thou shalt obey thy father and mother.' Yet his soul was desiring ot serve Christ there. He obeyed his parent, and later on he was permitted and allowed to go to the island. In all this I see two things of unknowing. First, the will of the Lord was there for God's own purpose and He used Nee's parents to enforce His will. The timing of the Lord is everything. We do not understand the timing of God. 'As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts, and My ways higher than your ways.' His will and timing are the unknown things to us. We simply must accept them, 'Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Most certainly He will. Does your faith allow for you to believe this and accept it?
Secondly, AB Simpson's devotion shared the account of Uzzah who stretched forth his hand to steady the ark of the covenant. But the Word of the Lord was given, 'touch not the ark'. They were to use the staffs to carry and control the ark, not the hand of unholy men. And because he touched it, even though, for good reason and purpose, he disobeyed the Word of the Lord. His punishment was instant death as God struck him right there and then.
In both of these accounts, God has spoken, His Word is declard and given. We are left with one option, obey and live. For if we disobey, we shall not see Him. That which the Word of God has spoken and declared to us, we are to obey. Our disobedience is what has costs us so much. Have we not seen it from the very beginning? God spoke to ADam and Eve, touch not the tree. Yet, when she reached out and touched the tree and ate, and gave to her husband, Adam, sin entered in.
He speaks, for the reason of His Presence being glorified. Our disobedience removes His glory. Uzzah disobeyed and died; Adam and Eve brought sin into the world and death; 'The wages of sin is death'. The disobedience of parents, as related to the story of Watchman Nee, is the warning at the end of that commandment, 'that your days may be long upon the earth.' In all these things we see the price to be paid for not keeping the Word of God. How merciful He is to us. How precious are His ways to preserve us and help us. The Spirit is given, the Bible laid out before us in order that we might keep His Word.
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