Isaiah 30:9-11 (NKJV) 9 That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD; 10 Who say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. 11 Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us.”
Yesterday we spent time in this chapter connecting rebellion and unbelief. Verse 1 begins by declaring woe to the rebellious children. The Lord says that they take counsel but not from him and they make plans that his Spirit has not authorized. This parallels the statements made in Hebrews 3 that say the Israelites could not go into the Promised Land because of their unbelief and that their unbelief was born from their rebellion.
Rebellion is the act of resisting the authorities over you. In the case of a government, if that government is not committed to the good of the governed, this can be a good thing. However, in relation to the Kingdom of God it is never a good thing. God is not like natural rulers who are fallible. God is infallible and always motivated by the highest good of his people. Rebellion against God is always sin and always results in disaster.
We must also remember that the church is a family. It was always God’s desire to have a family more than a nation. Therefore, when we speak of rebellion against God we must liken it to rebellion in a home. When the children rebel against their parents, it is hurtful to both. Sometimes rebellion occurs because of the failings of the parent. There are no such failings in our Father God. To rebel against him is to rebel against the one who loves us unconditionally and has only our good at heart in every word and action.
Rebellion is not the actions a person takes against the one in authority. To guard against rebellion we must understand that it is possible to obey and rebel at the same time. It is also possible to submit and disobey at the same time. We see the later in the actions of the disciples in Acts.
Acts 4:18-20 (NKJV) 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
In this verse, the authorities over the disciples gave them clear orders not to speak in the name of Jesus. Peter tells the Sanhedrin that they must disobey. However, I do not believe his attitude was rebellious. His words speak more of a submissive hear that must obey the higher power. He does not speak against the council. He simply tells them he must obey God first and asks them if they would not do the same.
Rebellion and submission are matters of the heart. Both will lead to actions but the actions are the result not the cause. The cause is the attitude. Submission desires to obey the authority over it. It will obey when obedience does not transgress the higher authority of the Word of God or the deep conviction of personal conscience. If the demands of an authority transgress either of those, the person must not comply. However, in his noncompliance he or she must be respectful.
Rebellion hates authority. Rebellion believes that its way is always the best. Rebellion never believes that authority over it is a positive thing. Rebellion will comply when it must, but it is always looking for ways to go against and disobey authority.
The problem with rebellion is that it is the heart of the Satanic kingdom. Satan was created by rebellion. He was the archangel who led the worship in heaven. He rebelled against God’s authority taking 1/3 of the angels with him.
Isaiah 14:13-14 (NKJV) 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Although some would disagree with this conclusion, it is commonly accepted that this chapter and Ezekiel 28 are speaking of Satan. Isaiah is speaking to the King of Babylon. However, earthly rulers are often empowered by what Paul called, “spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. In verse 12, he uses the name Lucifer to refer to the one who is the point of this prophecy.
Lucifer was an archangel who fell because of his rebellion. I believe he is talking to the power behind the king of Babylon. Satan is that power and we can see that he became Lucifer because he said in his heart, “I will exalt my throne above God’s.”
Rebellion is the heart and soul of his kingdom. The heart and soul of the Kingdom of God is submission to the King of Kings. God created a perfect place for man in the Garden of Eden. His only requirement was that he not eat from one tree. He gave him everything else. He gave him authority over the whole earth. The only think they had to do was submit to the commandment of God.
When Satan came to the woman, what was it that he attacked?
Genesis 3:3-5 (NKJV) 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The devil attacked two key things in his approach to Eve. First, he attacked the integrity of the Word of God. He implied that God did not tell the whole truth. Then he attacked Eve’s submission to God’s authority. “God says you will die if you disobey his command. You won’t die. He just doesn’t want you to be like him. He is holding something good from you.”
God was not holding anything from Eve. He was protecting her from something that would cause disaster in her life. God is not withholding anything from us either. When he asks us to submit to his authority, he is protecting us from evil and revealing to us how to be successful in life and in his Kingdom.
In the Garden, submission resulted in dominion over the things that could really hurt Adam and Eve. What did rebellion produce?
Genesis 3:17-19 (NKJV) 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
Nothing has changed. If we want success and prosperity, we must cultivate submission in our hearts. Sometimes that may not result in obedience to man but it must always produce obedience to God. If we rebel against God, it will bring a curse upon us. This is not a curse that comes from God. It is a curse that is in the earth because of Satan. Rebellion connects us to this curse just as submission connects us to the promise and blessing of God.
In Isaiah 30, the rebellious children did not want to hear what God had to say. They wanted to hear things that agreed with what they wanted. They preferred not to have the God of Israel speak to them if he was not going to say what they wanted to hear. I believe we must be careful that we do not do the same today.
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