Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 15 (day four)
It never works to try to bargain with God. It is called ‘foxhole religion’. “Lord, if you will just get me out of this situation, I’ll serve you, forever.” Have you ever done that? Absalom claimed he had vowed to serve the Lord if He would bring him back to Jerusalem. (V. 8) For Absalom, it was a ploy to get out of town without causing a stir. For us, it may be a selfish condition we try to place on God, if He wants our obedience.
Do we really expect God to do our bidding, in order to earn our obedience? We serve God out of love… because He is worthy…because He has already paid for our worship with the blood of His Son. We talked about it last week…if God never did anything else, is it worth it to serve Him? Is it worth our obedience if there is nothing else in it for us? “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
