Just Listen

The path of life provides many opportunities for someone to turn aside or simply stop moving forward. Psalm 81 offers a powerful commentary on this concept, as it recalls God's dealings with Israel as time moved forward and as His people made choices.

When the people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, God heard their cry, and He delivered them. "I relieved his shoulder of the burden, his hands were freed from the basket. You called in trouble and I rescued you" (vs. 6-7).

God intended to give the same type of deliverance and blessing over and over again. Early in Israel's pilgrimage, God tested the people to see how they would respond. At Meribah they had no water to drink. Their response was to grumble against Moses and complain that they were going to die (Exodus 17:1-7). Psalm 95:9 tells the same story: "When your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work." Instead of remembering God's past work and responding in faith, they provoked God. Nevertheless, God recounted, "I answered you in the hiding place of thunder; I proved you at the waters of Meribah" (Psalm 81:7). He provided water for them.

God wanted His people to trust and follow Him. Through what God had done for them, they ought to have learned that they could listen to Him and follow His guidance. In fact, listening is exactly what Psalm 81 focuses on. "Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me!" (v. 8). "But My people did not listen to My voice" (v. 11). "Oh that My people would listen to Me" (v. 13).

Listening to and obeying a God who had faithfully shown His powerful provision and care should have been automatic and unquestioning. Sadly, Israel did not listen. "But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me" (v. 11). Israel did have times of revival, but over and over again they ignored God's commands and rejected His warnings. They chose to walk their own path. Because of their obstinacy and rebellion, God allowed them to proceed down the path they had chosen. "So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices" (v. 12).

Unfortunately, choosing their own path meant that they also received the consequences connected to that path. Man doesn't choose very well on his own. "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 16:25). Following the path of fleshly lusts and selfish choices never ends well. "Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death" (James 1:15).

Israel suffered much because they refused to listen to God and because they walked in the way they chose instead of the way God chose. Their refusal to listen led to their destruction. Perhaps the saddest part of this story is the realization of what could have been. The contrast between man's path and God's path isn't merely a difference between okay and good or between adequate and pleasant. The contrast instead is complete disaster versus abundant blessing.

God wanted to do so much for Israel if they would listen to Him and walk the path of His choosing. God would have subdued their enemies and opposed their adversaries (v. 14). Instead, those enemies regularly enjoyed victory over Israel, taking tribute from them, taking their people as slaves, and eventually taking the entire nation into captivity. What a contrast with the peace and victory God wanted to give.

God wanted to give abundant blessing. "Open your mouth wide and I will fill it" (v. 10). "But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you" (v. 16). If they had listened to God and walked His path, they could have had more blessings than they could have taken in. They could have been satisfied with the very best. Instead, Israel faced famines and deprivation. At times they resorted to eating animal dung and even their own children - when they could have had honey and the finest wheat!

The consequences of not listening to God and of walking one's own path are significant indeed. God knew the consequences that would result, and He pled with His people. "O Israel, if you would listen!" "Oh that My people would listen!" God gave them opportunity after opportunity to come back, but they continually rejected Him.

God's desires, pleadings, and intentions for His people are the same today. He still longs for people to listen to Him and walk in His paths. He still knows the contrast that exists in terms of the consequences of man's choices. He still pleads with people to follow Him.

What did God ask of Israel? "Let there be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt" (vs. 9-10). God wanted Israel to follow Him alone and not any false gods. That simple expectation is the same today. God wants people to follow Him alone. Not caught up with the lusts of the eyes, the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life - not pursuing a lifestyle designed to bring pleasure - but devoted to God and faithful to Him.

God's expectation is not unreasonable. After all, He is the powerful and loving God who provided the means of salvation. He is the One who rescued believers. Not only that, the consequences of walking one's own path are so dire, and the results of walking God's path are so wonderful. How sad it is when God allows someone to walk the path he has chosen for himself, thereby reaping all the accompanying consequences. What blessing is available for simply listening to Him!