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Examples of prophets who disobeyed God
Prophets are messengers of God. God raises them often during difficult times to guide and lead His people on the path of righteousness. Some prophets were only religious leaders and some became both religious and political leaders. However, throughout history, there have been instances where certain prophets disobeyed the direct instruction or the commandments of God, bringing various punishments upon themselves. This article explores some of these notable cases of disobedience and sheds light on the repercussions of their disobedience.
1. Prophet Moses
During the Exodus from Egypt, after crossing the Red Sea, the people of Israel came into the wilderness of Zin and set up camp in Kadesh. There, they ran out of water and there was no stream or river nearby to drink from. Frustrated, the people came at Moses and Aaron and quarreled with them. When Moses and Aaron asked God what they should do about the lack of water, God instructed Moses to take his staff and assemble the people.
Then in the presence of the people, he should speak to the rock to yield water. Moses took the staff and assembled the people, but instead of speaking to the rock as instructed, he used the staff to strike the rock twice and water came out abundantly and the Israelites and their livestock drunk. God was displeased with Moses’ disobedience and charged him with unbelieve and dishonor. For this reason, Moses and Aaron were prohibited from entering the Promised Land. Reference Nu 20:2-9; Nu 20:10-13
2. Prophet Jonah
The story of Jonah is well-known among kids and adults. We know him as the prophet who was swallowed by a big fish. However, had Jonah obeyed God’s word, he would not have encountered such a peril. His story began when God told him to go to Nineveh to preach his word to the Assyrians there so that they would repent of their wicked ways lest they would suffer divine judgment. Certainly, Jonah knew a lot about the Assyrians, their wickedness and pride, and how they invaded, destroyed, and plundered other nations.
Jonah reasoned that the Assyrians deserve God’s judgment so he would not go and preach to them. He attempted to run away from God by boarding a ship bound for Tarshish. Somewhere on the high seas, a perilous storm struck the ship and was about to sink it. When the sailors knew that the storm had come because of Jonah’s disobedience and by Jonah’s consent, they threw him overboard and a big fish swallowed him and he was in the stomach of the fish for three days, praying to the Lord. In the end, God saved him and he went on the Lord’s errand. Reference Jonah 1:1-6; Jonah 1:7-16
3. Prophet David
King David, though well-known as a great warrior king, was also a prophet whose prophecies about the Messiah came to pass exactly (Acts 2:29; Acts 2:30). Despite being a pious man whom God admired, King David committed a deed that was obedience to the commandment of God – the Ten Commandments. One evening David was walking around on the roof of his palace. From there, he saw the beautiful woman Bathsheba bathing. David sent for her and had an affair with her and the woman became pregnant. In an attempt to cover up his sin, he arranged for Uriah to die on the battlefield.
After Uriah’s death, David took in Bathsheba as his wife. These deeds were obvious violations of the 5th and the 6th commandments of the Ten Commandments of God. God was woefully displeased with David. These sins of David triggered a series of unfortunate events, including the death of his first child with Bathsheba and, later, the rebellion of his son Absolom. Although David sought forgiveness and redemption, the consequences of his disobedience had a lasting impact. Reference 2 Samuel 11
4. The prophet from Judah
A man of God from the kingdom of Judah was sent to the Kingdom of Israel to prophesy against the altar of idols built by King Jeroboam in Bethel. As part of his mission, the Lord told him not to eat or drink in the town, he was to leave immediately after doing his job. The young prophet went and did just that. He even refused when King Jeroboam invited him to his palace to refresh himself. He left the town for home.
Now there was a certain old prophet in Bethel, whose sons came to tell him about the young prophet. They also added that God had forbidden the young prophet from eating or drinking in the town. The old prophet took his donkey, rode after the young prophet, found him sitting under an oak tree, and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “I am,” he replied.
So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.” Then the young prophet refused, saying that God had forbidden him to eat or drink in the town. The old prophet then lied that an angel had appeared to him and had told him to bring back the young prophet into his house to eat and drink. The young prophet believed him, returned with him, and ate and drank in his house.
While they were eating, the word of God came to the old prophet that because the young prophet defied God’s command, by eating and drinking in Bethel, he would die there. Later, while on his way back to Judah, he was killed by a lion and buried in Bethel by the same old prophet who deceived him. Reference 1 Kings 13
5. Prophet Elijah
After the showdown on Mt. Camel, Elijah had the prophets of Baal killed and King Ahab informed Jezebel about it. Then Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah. Out of fear, Elijah ran for his life, walking forty days and nights to Mt. Sinai, the mountain of God, and hid in a cave. There he had an encounter with God. God told him to go to the city of Damascus and anoint Hazael to make him king over Aram, then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to make him king over Israel, and then anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to make him a prophet who would take over Elijah’s mantle.
Elijah certainly anointed Elisha to become his successor as the Lord had commanded. However, he never carried out the first two missions of anointing Hazael and Jehu as king of Aram and king of Northern Israel respectively. Though it appears Elijah did not suffer any consequences for not executing this God-given mission and though this neglect of duty is largely overlooked, we can see that it is disobedience of a direct command from God. Later, Elisha carried out these two missions in the stead of Elijah. Reference 1 Kings 19:11-18
Conclusion
God did not spare even his holy prophets when they sinned against Him. He does not do favoritism hence the Bible refers to God as one who is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) but treats individuals equally. These stories should teach Christians of today to do better. Disobedience to God – either God’s direct instruction or his written word – comes at a great cost. However, we can avoid all that and receive His blessing by doing what He tells us to do.