Musing – Do we know the consequences of obedience and disobedience?

Hebraic Musing – Do we know the consequences of obedience and disobedience?

Only God understands the full consequences of our disobedience. And of our obedience!

In 1 Samuel 15 we hear the Lord clearly telling King Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites.  He wins the battle and destroys almost all but he disobeys and spares some choice animals and spares Agag, their king.  As a result of this disobedience, the Lord rejected Saul as king.  That would seem to be the consequence of Saul’s sin.  End of story?  No…

Let us jump ahead many generations to events that occurred while the Jews were in Babylonian captivity.  In the book of Esther we hear of two key characters, Haman (BOO!!!) and Mordecai (YEAH!!!).  Haman (BOO!) had a plan to wipe out the Jews; while Mordecai (YEAH!!!) was the hero who thwarted the plan.  When celebrating the feast of Purim and reading the book of Esther, the Jews of today will excitedly “BOO!” and “YEAH!” as the names of Haman and Mordecai are read.  Why?

Let’s explore the ancestry of Haman (BOO!!!).  King Saul was told by the Lord to totally eradicate the entire nation of Amalek.  But Saul disobeys and instead he honors the “good old boy” rule and spares the life of Agag, a fellow king.   And so the Lord rejected Saul as king.  Meanwhile the Lord could see ahead.   Although Agag is ultimately put to death, he succeeds during his captivity to father a child; so the Amalek dynasty continues.  Ultimately, Haman (BOO!!!) descends from this child.  Who would have known!  An act of disobedience had major consequences many generations later! 

A number of years later David, Saul's successor as King, has a long-standing dispute with Shimi ben Gerah.  David would have been well within his rights based on the law and customs of the time to have Shimi put to death; challenging the monarchy is a capital offense.  But David, in sympathy and mercy, spares Shimi.  And who is descended from Shimi generations later?  The hero of the Purim story – Mordechai (YEAH!!!)!

Here are two stories with dramatically differing results.  David's noble act of mercy produced Mordechai (YEAH!!!), whereas Saul's benevolent sympathy resulted in the wicked Haman (BOO!!!).  Saul's fault was in not adhering to the Lord's command.  He disobeyed God.  From that one individual sprouted all those Hamans and Hitlers who have tormented and killed Jews for so many generations.  David, on-the-other-hand, showed mercy; he obeyed the Torah precept of not taking revenge.  According to the letter of the law David could have had Shimi put to death, but instead of taking revenge, David obeyed Torah.

These two stories contain a powerful message.  Only God sees the distant future.  Only God can know of the future sufferings and blessings that result from disobedience and obedience.  

Points to ponder

How many times does the Lord cry, or cheer, because of our disobedience, or obedience
as He sees into the future and knows the consequences of our decisions?

How many of today’s problems are the result of the disobedience of our ancestors?

Likewise, what future impact might there be in our acts of obedience to God today?

Shalom

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   August 2, 2016