Obedience to God’s Word (1 Kings 13:21–22)
And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’”
—1 Kings 13:21–22
So a lot is going on in this story in 1 Kings 13 that we don’t have time to go into, but basically the person who’s described here as the “man of God” is a prophet who had spoken God’s word boldly and obeyed God’s word temporarily—so, to a certain point—but then he was deceived, and he ended up disobeying God.
And as a result, he died. And in this story, we are reminded of the danger of temporary obedience to God or partial obedience to God: doing some of what God has called us to do, speaking some of God’s Word, but not speaking or obeying all that God has called us to speak and do.
There’s always a temptation in us to stop short of full, total obedience to God, to think, “Well, I did most of what God called me to do, so certainly that’s enough. Of course, I didn’t do it all, but I mean, some is better than none.” And, yes, in a sense, some is important, but God never calls us to obey him partially.
Because I think about my children: if I tell them to do something for their good, and they do part of that, but they don’t do the full thing I’ve told them to do, they don’t experience all the good I know for them in doing that. They’re not obeying; they’re disobeying. And this is the picture we see in this man of God and the consequences that flow from that.
So, God, we pray in each of our lives: please help us to obey your Word completely. Help us to do all that you’re calling us to do. God, help us to see—even right now as we pray—help us to examine our hearts and see areas of our lives where we’re stopping short in obedience to you.
God, we know you’ve called us to holiness, to purity of mind and thought and desire and word and action. God, where—how—have we grown apathetic, complacent? Where are we living in partial obedience to you, thinking, “Oh, this is no big deal; I’ve done most here or there”? God, we pray that you would help us not to stop short in any way from all you’re calling us to: the way we think, what we desire, what we say, how we act. Oh, Jesus, we praise you for your full obedience. We praise you for doing everything the Father called you to do. We praise you that on the cross, you cried out, “It is finished.”
And that statement meant so much. It was finished! All the work you’d been given to do, you did on our behalf so that we could be forgiven of all the ways we fall short. Thank you, Jesus. We praise you for your sinlessness and your sacrifice on a cross for us, for rising from the grave, and for sending your Spirit to live in us so that now we can live in the same power of the same Spirit who dwelled in you, living in us now. Oh, God, help us to do all you’ve called us to do.
A Prayer for the Tai He People
And as we pray, God, for unreached people in light of your command to make disciples of all the nations and thousands of people groups like the Tai He people of Laos, who don’t know you, God, we pray: help us to do all that you’ve called us to do. Help us to make disciples of all the nations, we pray. We intercede right now for the spread of the gospel to the Tai He people of Laos.
Please, oh God, may they hear the good news of your grace, and please use our resources—the resources of us as your church—however you call us to do. Help us to do all you call each of us to do for the spread of your love and your grace and your glory to all the nations. Forgive us, God, for stopping short of reaching all the nations with the resources you’ve given to us. Help us to be obedient to your Great Commission. Oh, God, we pray all this in light of your Word in 1 Kings 13. Help us to obey you fully. In Jesus’ name, amen.
