WILLING AND OBEDIENT
By Elder Mark Green
“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Isa. 1.19-20).
Few verses in the Bible have such a clear and direct statement of both the benefits of obedience and the consequences of rebellion. First, of course, we must ascertain to whom the prophet is speaking: “And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city” (v. 18). He is speaking to Judah, to Jerusalem, to Zion. He is not speaking to the Amalekites or the Edomites telling them how to become Israelites, nor is he telling the Israelites how they might cease to be Israelites. He is speaking to Jews, who were Jews before they obeyed and who would remain Jews even if they did not obey. The changing of their nationality was not in question.
This verse very clearly sets forth a conditional situation. IF Judah obeyed God they would prosper; IF they rebelled against God they would be devoured. A child could understand that. They would receive either a manifestation of God’s favor and an abundance of blessings, or they would receive chastisement. God does not chastise His people for doing right, neither does He commend them for doing wrong. It cannot be both ways with regard to the same act. If words mean anything, it is clear that this was a conditional statement made to Judah.
That there is a spiritual parallel to this verse with regard to God’s regenerate people is evident. We do not become children of God by obedience. We do not get to heaven by our obedience. Our being born again is God’s act, not ours. It is not by works of righteousness that we are regenerated. However, there are great blessings in obedience that we will not receive in disobedience. Solomon said that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous, and “in keeping of them there is great reward.” He says there is great reward when we keep God’s commandments, but this is not true when we fail to keep them.
The fact that a child of God disobeys God does not break the covenant or vital relation that exists between them, but it does affect his situation in this life. When I disobeyed my father, it did not sever the relationship between us, but it greatly affected my comfort. Our text is speaking of a phenomenon that exists only in this life (for there is no chastisement in heaven) and only with those that are already the people of God. It pertains to time only, not to eternity. It is conditional, it pertains to time and it tells us how we may be spared or delivered or saved from the chastisement of God. Now tell me why the term Conditional Time Salvation cannot rightly be applied to what this verse is teaching.