If you will not obey these words
Wed, 26 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
1 Thus says the LORD: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O King of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. 3 Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. 5 But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
The king of Israel is told that if he leads the nation in obedience to God’ word, he and his people will prosper.
What do we learn from this?
The Lord makes a promise to the people: obey and you will prosper. Disobey and you will be punished. This is not something new; we’ve commented on other passages with the same theme.
Does this mean that the king and the people will be saved if they obey God’s commands? No. Not at all. God isn’t making promises of eternal salvation based upon their obedience. He is simply telling them that as a government and a people, when they hold to obedience to God’s word, their life will be better than if they disobey.
Actually, this isn’t much of a surprise. Think of a nation that lives in disobedience to the Ten Commandments. What a chaotic place that would be. Lying. Stealing. Murder. Sexual immorality and all the problems that come with that. What a mess.
Compare that to a nation that obeys the Ten Commandments. Obviously the obedient nation would be a much more tranquil, peaceful place, and would prosper more than disobedient nation.
Where is Christ in this passage?
God promises that as the king obeys, there will continue to be a king sitting on the throne. We know that the kings of Judah disobeyed, and were eventually sent into exile in Babylon. But there was to come a descendant of David who would perfectly obey, and would take up the throne of David to never step down: Jesus Christ.
