“If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers.”
Deuteronomy 7:12
Sheep are prone to follow the leader, whoever it is, to wherever that leader goes. In many cases this following can end in disaster, therefore showing the extent of their need. A shepherd comes to the sheep at a young age to train the sheep to his voice. As we examine this in accordance to John 10:27, we see that we too are sheep in need of direction to prevent us from making mistakes and getting into problems. We too need to heed the voice of the shepherd, the good Shepherd. It is His voice that we are to listen for and obey. However, it is His voice that we so many times ignore until it is too late. My goal today is to show you two specific examples of this ignorance and how they hurt the lives of those who did not listen, not as a method to scare you into submission, but rather as a way to point out the importance of listening to the Shepherd.
We start with Solomon. The Bible records that Solomon became the smartest person, both ever to have lived and ever to live (I Kings 3:12). Solomon’s wisdom was a result of Adonai questioning what it was Solomon wanted now that he was king. Rather than asking for riches or vengeance, Solomon asked for wisdom. “So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? (I Kings 3:9)” Adonai granted this request because Solomon asked with a pure heart. However, the granting came with a requirement. In I Kings 3:14, Adonai’s response was, “And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” In essence, Solomon’s life was pending upon the fact that he obeyed Adonai. In the beginning of his life he did this; serving Adonai even by building Him a temple. Yet as Solomon’s reign continued, he began to slip out of obedience. It is recorded that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and as not all of them were followers after the one true God, he then began to follow the gods of the women. By not obeying solely the ways of Adonai as he was warned, Solomon’s kingdom was divided following his death (I Kings 11:9-13).
Let us next travel back further in time, though, and look at the life of Israel’s first king. It was Saul who stood out a head and shoulders above the rest and was granted the throne (I Sam 10:23-24). It was Saul who Adonai used to save the city of Jabesh (I Sam 11). And it was Saul who led the army of Israel against the Amalekites. With this battle came the order from Adonai to totally destroy everything of the Amalekites, including men, women, children, infants, cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys. Nothing was to have been left living (I Kings 15:3). Saul heard this order, but did not fully complete it. Leaving the king and animals alive, Saul boasted in a job well done. However, partial obedience is still disobedience, and for this Saul paid the price. When the prophet Samuel came to the battlefield and saw the living things, he spoke the words of Adonai to Saul which left Saul rejected as king.
Again, I share these stories not as a way of scaring you into submission, but rather as an urge to heeding Adonai’s voice. If we truly are the His sheep, are we listening and obeying? I am pretty sure that both Solomon and Saul heard the instructions, just as we do also. So then maybe the true question is in our obedience. Are we obeying the Shepherd? I would hate to die only to find out that I lived my life as an ignorant sheep who refused to listen to the shepherd. So it is with this thought that I want to make a change in my own life. In reading the Bible this week, my eyes landed on Deuteronomy 7:12, which reads, “If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers.” I want this to be said of me. I want to know that because I, Daniel, paid attention to Adonai’s laws and was careful to follow them, He kept His covenant of love with me as He promised. I no longer want to be a dumb sheep; I want to be one who hears and obeys my Shepherd.
Deuteronomy 7:12 – 8:10
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