Proverbs 16:1-9
An Obedient Life

The plans of the heart belong to man,
      but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;
      but Yahweh weighs the motives.
Commit your deeds to Yahweh,
      and your plans shall succeed.
Yahweh has made everything for its own end--
      yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to Yahweh:
      they shall certainly not be unpunished.
By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for.
      By the fear of Yahweh men depart from evil.
When a man's ways please Yahweh,
      he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Better is a little with righteousness,
      than great revenues with injustice.
A man's heart plans his course,
      but Yahweh directs his steps.

World English Bible

Obedience is one of the key themes in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. Moses delivered the Ten Commandments from God to the Hebrew people, with clear direction from God that these commandments were to be obeyed. Even so, the history of the Hebrew people in the wilderness featured frequent acts of disobedience of God's commands--as did the period under Joshua's leadership, the era of the judges, and the duration of the Kingdoms of both Israel and Judah from the first king until the Exile to Babylon. It is no wonder that Isaiah begins his prophesy with words of despair:
     Ah sinful nation,
          a people loaded with iniquity,
     a seed of evildoers,
          children who deal corruptly!

While none of us would condone the rebellious actions of the Hebrew people, we also have been confused and dismayed as we have read the pages and pages of rules in the Old Testament that the Hebrew people were supposed to follow. You may be like me, and I have a hard enough time with a few of the ten commandments (especially since my neighbor has a beautiful new car!) As I read Leviticus and Deuteronomy, I am frustrated by the rules for remaining clean, baffled by the rules for sacrifices, and lost about the rules covering management of crops and livestock. How are we supposed to obey rules that we do not understand?

We can better comprehend the answer to that question when we consider that God's command to obey first came to us long before Moses climbed Mount Sinai. As far back as the Garden of Eden, the relationship between God and Adam and Eve was based on obedience. We can also hear the answer to that question from Jesus in Matthew 5:17: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." We are called to obey more than the wisdom carved on ancient stone tablets--we are called to a relationship of obedience to our Creator.

The Proverbs demonstrate to us that, even during Old Testament times, wise leaders instructed the people to live in a relationship of humility with God. We might think we know what is best and what is good, but only God truly knows. Even if we have mastered all the intricacies of the law, all our knowledge is folly if we are following our minds instead of following God.

Only God is our dependable guide in life, and God's ways are always best. God leads us away from what would damage our spiritual selves and into what will strengthen us and develop us. God works around us, and wise King Solomon even wrote that God works in our "enemies" to work out good for us.

Look closely at verse nine, the final verse in this selection. We want to plan our "way", with that Hebrew word also translated as "highway" or "journey". We want to see where the road takes us, to choose where we go, or at least to know where we are going. Instead, God directs our "steps", with that Hebrew word meaning no more than a single stride. The life of obedience means that we are willing to take each step with confidence even though we cannot see where our foot will land. Obedience means trusting completely that our Guide will not let us stumble, that our Guide knows what path we should take, and that our Guide is leading us home.