Posted by
peripheral on Monday, June 30, 2008 8:45:09 AM
From My Perspective - - -
All
of us have had moments where we personally demonstrated or experienced
“rebellion”! A basic and workable definition of rebellion is: “…resistance to
or defiance of any authority, control, or tradition…” We see this in a variety
of places from the spiritual conflict in the unseen world; the family tensions
in a home; to the political upheaval in the nations of men.
An
amplification of spiritual rebellion can be seen in Isaiah 14:12-16 [NLT], “How
you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been
thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you
said to yourself, 'I will ascend
to heaven; I WILL set my throne above God's stars. I WILL preside on the
mountain of the gods far away in the north. I WILL climb to the highest
heavens. I WILL be like the Most High.' But instead, you will be brought down
to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. Everyone there will stare
at you and ask, 'Can this be the one who shook the earth and the kingdoms of
the world?”
The
defining words are “I WILL” – it will be "MY WAY", etc. King Saul is
a perfect example of the SELF-WILL and doing things his way. In I Samuel 15,
King Saul is given a precise directive from the Lord to destroy all the
Amalekites and all of their possessions. King Saul felt he had leeway for
modification and he almost obeyed the directive. But then, he is confronted by
the prophet Samuel who utters these words in verses 22-23, “Has the Lord as
great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the
Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of
rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination (witchcraft), and presumption is
as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He
has also rejected you from being king.”
There
is a connection made by the Lord between Rebellion and Witchcraft, and we need
to see that connection as well. One of the trends that is occurring today,
especially among young people, is their searching for something more meaningful
and personal than traditional religion and its rituals. It’s not unusual to
find some teenagers exploring Wicca, “A polytheistic Neo-Pagan nature religion
inspired by various pre-Christian western European beliefs, whose central deity
is a mother goddess and which includes the use of herbal magic and benign
witchcraft.” Rather than “treasuring God’s Word in their hearts” and allowing
that Word to be “a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their path”, they turn
to Tarot: “A set of usually 78 playing cards including 22 cards depicting
vices, virtues, and elemental forces, used in fortunetelling…” for their
guidance and direction.
Fortunately,
not too many have turned to witchcraft for their alternative – but – one is too
many! We have ample illustrations and warnings to avoid such rebellion. One
passage is Hebrews 3:15-19 [ESV], “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden
your hearts as in the rebellion. For who were those who heard and yet rebelled?
Was it not all those who left Egypt
led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with
those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear
that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we
see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.”
There
are teens who have made some poor choices for their lives and who will no
longer listen to parental or religious authority. As hopeless as their
situation appears, one needs to persevere in faith, and pray: “Lord, my child
is losing his/her way…I place him/her into Your hands. You are The Shepherd of
and for all souls. Please find my child; guide him/her back onto the right
path; turn him/her to Yourself. Keep me from worrying, or wavering in my faith.
I give my child to You. Keep my child’s heart tender and sensitive to Your
voice. Do what is right and best for my child. I thank You, in Jesus’ name…
Think
about this with me - - -