God’s call for obedience is seen throughout the entire Bible:
In Eden (Gen 2:16-17)
In calling Abraham (Gen 17:9; 18:19)
Post-exodus (Lev 26:3)
In the wilderness (Num 15:39-40; Deut 11:1; 13:4; 30:16)
In conquering the promised land (Josh 1:7-8)
In the period of judges (Judg 2:22)
During the reign of kings (1 Sam 15:22; 1 Kgs 2:3-4)
In the wisdom books (Prov 3:1; 4:4; Eccl 12:13)
In the prophet books (Isa 1:19; Jer 35:15; Ezek 18:21-22; Mic 6:8)
In the NT (Mt 19:17; Jn 14:15; 1 Jn 2:3-5)
God’s call for obedience is relational.
Adam and Eve (Gen 2:15-17; 3:8-10)
Adam and Eve were placed in God’s garden — they were close to God, could talk to God, and did God’s work of tending and keeping the garden.
God’s original intention was to preserve that intimate relationship, that man might live in the garden with Him forever. However, that close relationship was broken and lost when man disobeyed and sinned.
3. Obedience is a choice.
Even in times of prosperity, obedience is not to be neglected (Deut 8:11-14, 18-20).
Obedience should be a natural response to God’s love.
“And you shall remember…” (Deut 8:2, 4) —> “Therefore, you shall keep…” (Deut 8:6)
By recalling God’s guidance and providence for them in the wilderness (Deut 8:15-16), the Israelites could reflect on how God not only cared for them, but also disciplined them, as a father would for his son (Deut 8:5).
Upon witnessing God’s care and providence, they would be willing to keep God’s commands, trusting that His commands come from love and that His heart is set on doing them good.
Apply the word of God (Jas 1:22-25).
Ex: God commanded us to keep the Sabbath.
How can we apply this teaching practically when we are invited to an event or asked to work on Sabbath? How does this teaching extend to situations where we are physically attending Sabbath, but our heart is not there? What does it really mean to keep the Sabbath?
Ex: God commanded us not to lie.
How can we apply this teaching practically when it comes to our academics (e.g., dishonesty on exams, cheating, etc.), filing our taxes (e.g., giving false information to save money or avoid fees), or lying out of convenience (e.g., to get out of doing something)?
Study the word - be proactive to dig deeper and meditate.
In addition to simply reading a passage, we can dig deeper by: