And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. Gen 17:24, 26
Obedience is painful by nature. Why do we talk about painful obedience? It is to highlight that particular characteristic of obedience. If you could think of any servant of God in the Bible, you would agree that this same attribute was found in their lives and service to God. But our study Bible character is Abraham.
Noah was the first in Scripture to obey God. We must admit that what God required of him was difficult in his context. The world was wicked and ungodly yet in the midst of that God asked a man to build an ark that would save his life, his family and some designated creatures. The instruction to build that ark was based on the impending judgment on the world according to the Word of God. That in itself was incredible. The ark would take not one year to build but almost a hundred years! What a ridiculous thing the LORD was asking of this man? What a joke? But Noah obeyed because he believed God. It was painful to be mocked. It was painful that what he said God would do did not happen immediately and it didn’t appear to be in sight. It is painful to be doubted, mistrusted and suspected as a false Prophet . Obedience can be painful.
We return to Abraham, unlike Noah who had to build an ark, that may seem less physically painful compared to what God required of this man. He must be circumcised as a sign of the covenant of God with him. The process is not only physically painful, it is humbling, even humiliating for a man the age of Abraham. It was not the same for Ishmael and some of the other young boys. But for Abraham and all the older ones in his household, it was a thing of shame to expose one’s nakedness to be cut in the foreskin. Why did he have to go through it? It was simply in obedience to God. The interesting part was that Abraham did not take much time to think about the cost of his obedience. He acted promptly. It was done the same day God spoke to him about it. Is that not also characteristic of Abraham? Beginning with his departure to the land God promised him, he seemed to have acted promptly. Late when he was told to offer his son Isaac, he did not seem to have consulted with Sarah about it. Or even if he did, he did not wait for Sarah to make up her mind- it was not Sarah’s mind that was going to obey- it was his. When he was told about how Lot and his family had been captured by King Chedorlaomer, he promptly mobilized to rescue his nephew, who some might consider a greedy fellow. It was the same when he heard of the impending destruction of Sodom where Lot dwelt. Abaham was swift to make intercession for that land where evil and wicked people dwelt- including Lot. Such intercession, in my opinion is not easy normally, considering that it was not for righteous men that it was made for. But Abraham responded to God and fulfilled the desire of God to have one stand in the gap for the people of Sodom before judgment fell upon them.
How painful it is when in obedience we have to do something contrary to ourselves. When we offer service that is in agreement with our own desires, it may be easier. But when we offer what is deeply against our own desires because God required it, that is something else. That is the worship for which the ancients who served God were praised. You may want to reflect on the obedience of David, who when he had the opportunity to kill Saul, refrained his hands from hurting that wayward king and thereby delayed his ascent to the throne until God removed Saul himself. What about the obedience of Jeremiah who spoke the words of God even though it brought much afflictions to him. He would have refrained from speaking but the fire of God was in his bones and he could not hold himself from speaking for God to warn the children of Israel who had turned their hearts from him. What shall we say about the obedience of Jesus Christ himself? How despite the agony of the cross that was set before him, he prayed, Not my will but yours be done. This is the heart of obedience: not my will, but Yours, O Lord!
May you be blessed with a heart of obedience. May grace be given you now and always to obey God as He may require of you. AMEN!