Tag Archives: disobedience

Amaziah, the drama of a half-hearted king

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

The Bible makes many promises to anyone who trusts, serves, and loves God with a whole heart. None of these promises apply to anyone who trusts with only half a heart. Let’s consider the case of King Amaziah.

It’s too bad today’s Christians know so little of Old Testament history, because the stories there have as  much drama as anything on TV or in the movies. Plus, they illustrate basic spiritual principles. We know quite a bit about David, whom the Bible calls “a man after God’s own heart.”

In contrast, 2 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 25 tell how Amaziah “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly” (2 Chronicles 25:2).… Read the rest

Jonah the disobedient prophet

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

What I find utterly fascinating about the book of Jonah is that everyone and everything else in the story obeys God except his prophet. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, which is east of Israel. So Jonah decided to go to Tarshish, which is roughly modern Gibraltar, or as far west as anyone at the time could think to go. If he’d been able to find a boat going to New York and change to one bound for Buffalo, he would have bought a ticket there.

And so a storm came up. The weather obeyed God. The sailors, figuring some god was up to something, cast lots to find out whom to blame.… Read the rest