Faith and Obedience

5 min read

2 He went up to the temple of the LORD with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD—to follow the LORD and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
— 2 Kings 23:2-3

Sometimes, all it takes is the reading and the hearing of the word of God. Reading the word of God is an act of faith. Without faith, reading the word of God is meaningless. It won’t make any sense.

Hearing the word of God is an act of surrender. The ancient Hebrew word for hearing included a sense of obedience. That is why the great “shema” prayer of Judaism goes, “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is One.” The word “shema” means “hear” (as in a command). The entry point of our relationship with God is hearing the word of God with a heart of obedience.

Every act of obedience is an act of faith, and every act of faith is an act of obedience.

But the Israelites can testify, and all the people of God throughout history can testify, that hearing with obedience is easier said than done.

The significance of the history books of the OT, from 1 Samuel to Esther, is to show (1) Israel’s need for a righteous prophet-priest-king, (2) that such a righteous prophet-priest-king would never be found among even the very best of Israel’s royal lineage, and (3) that in the end salvation and redemption must always come from God.

Our spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak. And so even as we stumble daily in our sin, we must cling to one Hope: Jesus Christ. He is the righteous Prophet-Priest-King who was sent to lead us in His kingdom.

Our faith and obedience is not to dead words on a cold page, but to our Lord. Dead words on a cold page cannot rescue us from our constant stumbling. Our Lord Jesus rescues us every day because we belong to Him.

Father, Thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for sending Your Son to be my righteous Prophet-Priest-King who rescues me daily. It is in Him I place my hope and trust. In Jesus’s name. Amen.