Do as You are Told !!

Do As You are Told !! Perhaps you have never heard those words, but as a child my mother often gave me those very words of advice, and if I did not do as I was instructed, there were consequences to pay. 

Doing as you are told is another way of saying; Obey the instructions given - - and carry out the words you have received from those in authority.

Most of us have a bit of rebellion in us when someone is telling us how to do certain things, and how to live and what to avoid; because we enjoy our independence and want to do it ourselves and live like we please ..... How is that working out for you?

I was reminded of the story in the Bible Deuteronomy chapters 7 through 11 of when the Children of Israel were slaves in Egypt serving the Pharaoh . Moses was instructed by God to go from his secure place and demand that Pharaoh let the people go or there would be judgment on all of Egypt. Pharaoh refused because he believed he could not allow his free slaves to leave even if a God was telling him to do so. This resulted in a release of plagues ten in all, and each time the Ruler decided yes, he would allow the people to go, but when the plague was stopped he changed his mind. You might remember these were the plagues

1. Water turned into blood – no water fit to drink for man or beast.
2. Frogs everywhere, in homes, and elsewhere.
3. Lice on man and beast
4. Flies swarming in homes, and everywhere.
5. Diseased livestock – causing many animals to die
6. Boils on bodies of everyone in Egypt.
7. Thunderstorm of hail and fire – Large stones and lightening from the sky
8. Locusts in swarms in homes and in the fields eating produce and grains.
9. Darkness for three days pitch dark so a person could not see their hands in front of their face. And last of all - - -
10. Death of the first born of every human and beast.

However the children of Israel were protected from the results of these plagues, and you may wonder why? First they were instructed to stay in their own area and not enter into the territory of the Egyptians. As long as they stayed in Goshen, they were kept safe from each judgement. It behooves us as believers to avoid certain worldly places and not walk the ways of the world. You know better.

The final judgement was the death of the first born, and for the Hebrews it required more than just staying home. They were to kill an innocent a perfect lamb, and sprinkle the blood on the door post sides and top for each home, roast the lamb and eat as they prepared to be ready to leave at a moments notice.

This thought reminds me to keep ready to leave this earth at an hour that we think not, but to be ready regardless if it is today, tomorrow or 20 years from now.

You will remember that Pharaoh finally told Moses to leave and take the people with him, so they went and God did miracles for them along the way. As they reached Mt Sinai, God told Moses to come up on the mountain, and receive instructions. You must understand that the people had lived in ungodly Egypt for 400 years, and most of them had no remembrance of Jehovah God the Lord. They needed to be taught and reminded of the true God.

Moses was given the Law and the bottom line was the 10 commandments, which it is good for us to know and remind ourselves. First to only worship God, and to keep his name in reverence and not take it in vain. Not to steal, lie, murder, covet the possessions of others, to be true to your husband or wife, and to be kind to one another. The last one was added by Jesus to love one another.

Now we are approaching the blessings and the cursing outlined in Deuteronomy 28: reading from New King James Version: 

1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 

2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

8 “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 

10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 

11 And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 

12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 

13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 

14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Now all those blessings sounded amazing, and yes, yes, pour it on with blessings abounding - - BUT there was something else God said - - - DO as YOU are TOLD or else.

God wasn't finished speaking and then God named each blessing in reverse as a curse if the people would not serve the Lord and keep his commandments and obey His directions.

God concluded by saying:  Deuteronomy 28:59-63

 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,  then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 

Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 

 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. 

 You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. 

 And it shall be, that just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.

Now, that is not something to look forward to by those who refuse to acknowledge The Lord God of heaven and earth, and to serve Him only; by obeying and keeping His Words.

Yes, we have been reflecting for many days, and we have asked God to forgive the wicked sinners as we stood in the gap for the drug lords, prostitutes, murderers, abusers of children and women, criminals, terrorists and those who are simply mean and viscous liars, and manipulators. We have asked God to save and heal our Land and keep us safe. 

We are praying this plague will end soon, but if not what should our stance be? 

We must keep our head and thoughts centered on Jesus and worship and praise him daily in our homes. We should constantly remind ourselves of his words to trust and not be afraid. 

We need to continue to pray for the welfare of our citizens city, state and world wide, because God desires that all come to repentance.  Let us be reminded to put our personal rebellion aside, and to Do as We are Told - - - by the law and especially by our God.