In Jeremiah 25, God says three times the problem with Judah was they didn’t listen to His leading, teachers, and Scriptures about following after other gods. It is their not listening to Him that they found God’s anger turned against them. The Bible is full of people That didn’t listen and obey God. Let’s look at a few.
ADAM & EVE
Just three chapters into the Bible the humans that God created. Placed in the perfect environment. Had face to face fellowship with God. Yet, chose to listen to the serpent and eat of the one tree God told them not to eat from. This one action on their part changed the course of humanity. No longer did the have the daily fellowship with God. They were kicked out of the perfect place to live. Their relationship with each other was no longer perfect, they had to hide, cover up what happened and blamed others for their action. They had to work for their food. Their firstborn son was a murderer.
ABRAHAM & SARAH
First Abraham didn’t take God at His Word the He would protect them when they entered into Egypt and told the half-truth that Sarah was his sister and omitting the part she was also his wife. Until God warned Pharoah of who she really was and He would punish Egypt if he laid a hand on her.
Then Sarah couldn’t believe that a woman of her advanced age could give birth to a child. She took things into her own hands and had Abraham sleep with her Egyptian handmaiden who became pregnant and bore a son. Then when Sarah did become pregnant in God’s time and had a son there was a problem between the women to the point she had Abraham remove the handmaiden from living among them The Middle East has been dealing with this strife ever since.
MOSES
The Prince of Egypt who took things into his own hands when he found out the truth of who he was. Who became a murderer, a shepherd, to the deliverer of the Children of Israel. God spoke directly to him through a burning bush, on the side of the mountain, at the Tabernacle of Meeting … Moses was able to talk to God and God talked to him. However, when God told Moses to speak to the rock for the water to flow, he took his anger out with the whining of the people and hit the rock. God did let the water flow but because he misrepresented God Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land and died on the other side of the Jordan.
JONAH
One of God’s most powerful prophets in his time. Didn’t like where God told him to go next. The people of Nineveh were evil and mean. Jonah was all for God just wiping them off the face of the Earth but not to save them. Guessing that Jonah had heard about the first-ever Greek Olympic Games, he came up with a couple games himself. THE PROPHET RUN IN THE WRONG WAY – He failed at didn’t make it to where he was going. HIGH DIVE INTO A STORMY SEA – Don’t know about the score for his form but he did make a splash. WHALE SPIT – Like the Shot Put, Jonah actually won this event. Another event he won but lost at the same time CROSSING THE FINISH LINE. Because of his hatred for Nineveh Jonah was unable to join in the joy and celebration of the town’s conversion to God.
We can learn from those in the Bible what not to do but also what to do. We can see that when we don’t listen to God things don’t work out so good. When we read God’s Word we need to be listening to hear from Him as we read it and act on what He says.
Bonnie Sue Writes 