The Rewards for Obedience to God
Our Lord and God requires our obedience. When we obey God, really obey God, there are blessings which follow. As we read in Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he was afterward going to receive for an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he went.” Abraham, or Abram as he was initially called, had faith in God sufficient to trust and obey Him. Later, because Abraham continued in faith to obey God, as Genesis 15:6 says “And he believed in Jehovah. And He counted it to him for righteousness.”
Abraham believed in God and God counted his faith as righteousness; the measure of this faith was obedience.
We are all born as sinners and act that way. Obedience does not come naturally to us, as even from our earliest age we try to impose our will on others, however inappropriate or misguided our will may be. Interestingly Jesus as fully man and fully God also learnt obedience as we read in Hebrews 5:7-8,
“For Jesus, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cryings and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared, though being a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
If Jesus required to learn obedience, how much more then must we need to learn obedience?
In order to help us in our task to be more obedient, the Bible offers simple advice for us and lists out the benefits, the blessings, which will become ours, when we learn to really obey God.
The following examples come mainly from Isaiah 56.
| Salvation. Righteousness. | Isaiah 56:1 | “So says Jehovah, Keep judgement and do justice; for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed.” |
| Happiness. | Isaiah 56:2 | “Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; keeping the Sabbath, from defiling it; and keeping his hand from doing any evil.” |
| Union with god’s people Healing. | Isaiah 56:3 | “And do not let the son of the stranger, who has joined himself to Jehovah, speak, saying, Jehovah has utterly separated me from His people. And do not let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.” |
| Access to God’s house. A sure place in God’s city. A name better than that of having children. An everlasting name. | Isaiah 56:5 | “… even to them will I give within My house and within My walls a hand and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” |
| Access of God’s holy mountain. Joy in God’s house of prayer. Acceptance of sacrifices to God. | Isaiah 56:7 | “… even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples …” |
| An inheritance. | Hebrews 11:8 | “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he was afterward going to receive for an inheritance.” |
Let us all work in faithful obedience to obtain that which the Lord promises us!
Amen.
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