Blessings of Radical Obedience

            May Nelson lived in Australia. One morning, she was walking with her three small children on a dusty road when suddenly she commanded, “Children, stand still!”

            Fortunately, the children stood absolutely motionless, even though they did not know why. A few seconds later, they observed a 6 foot long, deadly snake slithering only a few inches away from the shoes of the oldest child.

            Since the children stood completely still, the poisonous snake slithered past and disappeared. Had the children asked “why?” instead of instantly obeying their mother’s command, the result could have been catastrophic.

            One of those children was Allison Nelson. She would grow up to become a world-famous concert pianist.

            God desires instant, radical obedience like this. In Genesis 22, Abraham offers God this kind of radical obedience when he took his son, Isaac, to the altar. To this day three world religions honor him for it—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. More importantly, God does too (see also Heb. 11:17-19.)

Source: THE NIV APPLICATION COMMENTARY—LEVITICUS/NUMBERS by Roy Gane