Answer: It’s not so much that we defy God’s Word—it’s because we defy God.Those who defy God will eventually regret it. God is the source of life (Genesis 2:7), so defying Him can be deadly. Remember Uzzah’s story in 2 Samuel 6:7? Usually, though, God doesn’t strike sinners dead, since He isn’t “wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Even before Moses started writing God’s Word, an Egyptian Pharaoh oppressed God’s people. And eventually God sent Moses to deliver them. But Pharaoh defied God (see Exodus 5-10).
And after Pharaoh defied God, God sent a plague. Pharaoh asked for a reprieve, and God gave it, followed by a request to release the Israelites. This cycle repeated itself 10 times. Not until Pharaoh’s son was killed did he finally let the Israelites go. But then he chased them and ended up dying (Exodus 14).
God’s Word is full of stories about people and how they related to God. For something new, read Amos 3 and 4 to hear God’s warning to the people of Israel who consistently defied Him. This defiance continued in the time of Jesus (John 8) and culminated at His death, which He predicted (Matthew 21:33-46).
It sounds simple—sit on the stove and you get burned; defy God and wicked things happen. But it’s not always that simple. Remember, the devil’s wreaking havoc on this earth, making God look like the bad guy, until you finally figure it out.
Revelation 12:9 reminds us, “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
No wonder a guy like Job, who hadn’t done anything wrong at all, suffered things that made it seem as if he’d been bad (getting burned for sitting on the stove). In fact, all the bad things happened to Job because God was so sure Job would trust Him no matter what wickedness came to him (see Job 1).
People will continue to defy God until the end of this world. And Satan is the one who deserves the credit for all defiance and wickedness on this planet, which will continue and even appear to be winning until it ends in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15).
Then God’s Word promises, “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” Revelation 21:3, 4.
I am so looking forward to that time. Aren’t you?
