Musick-al note # 122
It seems as though man has always thought that he could decide that doing something different from the words that God had given and it would be okay. The Bible relates many instances of man making changes in life which were different from God’s word. All too often this change occurred because man was deceived by a lie, by fear or by just wanting his own way. Has man ever considered what God’s reaction to any change would be before beginning any change? Of course not! Even today, men continue to make changes without thinking of the consequences as if God doesn’t care. One of the slogans of the Restoration Movement was: “call Bible things by Bible names and do Bible things in Bible ways” which speaks of giving heed to the written word (Hebrews 1:1-3 and 2:1-3). Aren’t we being foolish to say, “It makes no difference what the Bible says”? There are many incidents recorded in the Bible that show that doing what we want to do brings drastic consequences.
Consider these instances and the results: (1). Adam and Eve ate forbidden fruit and lost fellowship with God and the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). (2) Men built a tower to keep from being dispersed and lost common language (Genesis 11). (3) Pharaoh refused to obey God and suffered the plagues and lost the firstborn throughout Egypt (Exodus 7-12). (4) Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire on the altar and lost their lives (Leviticus 10). (5) The people refused to enter the land and suffered 40 years of wandering and death (Numbers 13). (6) Moses disobeyed God at Meribah by striking the rock instead of speaking to it and lost his entrance into Canaan. (7) Achan coveted and took devoted things from Jericho and he and all his family were stoned, burned and buried. (8) Solomon turned from the Lord in his old age and the kingdom was divided when his son began to reign. (1 King 11-12). (9) A young prophet was sent to cry out against Jereboam with God’s order to not eat or drink in the land. While returning an old prophet lied to him, saying he could eat and drink at his house so he did resulting in his death (1 Kings 13), (10) Ananias and Sapphira lied about their gift to the church and died at the feet of the Apostles (Acts 5). We must be diligent to obey the words given by the Lord Jesus (Matthew 7:21-27) because just saying that what we do is pleasing to the Lord does not make it so.
Gordon Musick
Musick-al Notes 