Deuteronomy 21:18 – 23 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother, or listen to them when disciplined, his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown, and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.
God hates rebellion! Satan and one third of the angels fell because of rebellion. In 1 Samuel 15:22 God tells us that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Why? Rebellion and control are the two sides of the witchcraft coin. Witchcraft is aimed at controlling people, events, the future, etc. Those practicing witchcraft are rebelling against God, refusing to accept God’s will for their lives and for those around them. Not only is rebellion a horrible sin against God but rebellion is more catching than any virus.
APPLICATION: Once rebellion gets going, there is no end to the damage that may result! Several years ago, there was a worker at one hospital who delighted in rebelling, undermining hospital authorities and in encouraging others to do so as well. As a result of this man’s machinations, workers chose to go on strike at a time when a visiting work team was present. Teams had been coming for several years and had contributed large amounts of medical consumables to the institution. That single act of rebellion cost the hospital the relationship with the medical school involved and stopped the flow of supplies that had been so beneficial.
Looking at these verses, you might conclude that God is only interested in punishment; however, nothing could be farther from the truth. Amelia Mitchell (The Book of Deuteronomy “Looking to Thee From Day to Day”)has made the following points about these verses:
God seeks repentance far more than capital punishment.
The demands of the law are severe and unforgiving.
The desires of grace are full of the yearnings of love.
In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus told a story about a son who demanded his inheritance while his father was still alive and then ran off and wasted it in drinking and orgies. The very fact that the young man made this demand was an act of outright rebellion and disdain for his father. This act indicated that the young man considered his father as good as dead and wanted nothing more to do with him. The predictable happened; when the money ran out, the fellow wound up in trouble. Finally, the rebellious son found himself herding pigs, something no pious Jew would do, and he was so hungry that he even had to eat some of the corn and husks along with the pigs. It was at this point that the young man realized that his father’s servants were far better off than he was, and he returned home. In contrast to the young man’s earlier arrogance, he now planned to beg his father simply to allow him to work as a hired servant, forfeiting his status as a son. But the father had never stopped looking for the young man, and when he saw his son trudging down the road, he RAN to meet him! Not only did the father take his son back into the family, but he even threw a party for the son. Jesus told this story to illustrate how much God the Father wants us to repent and to turn to Him.
Before Jesus Christ came and shed his blood as a sacrifice for the sins of all who would believe in him, all humanity was under the Law. But Jesus changed everything. Romans 8:1- 4 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
BOTTOM LINE: God in his yearnings of love sent Jesus as the perfect blood sacrifice for sin. We can choose to accept that sacrifice or to reject it; however, we must recognize that fundamentally, all of us are rebellious. All of us at one time or another have tried to be our own saviors and have failed miserably. God does not want anyone to miss out on heaven! Anyone who winds up in hell does so by their own choice.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us! Lord, help us to reject rebellion and to turn to You for our salvation. We confess that we are sinners in need of a Savior. Lord, thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins. Thank You that if we believe in what Jesus has done, we will receive eternal life. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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