The Bible is full of examples of disobedience. In fact, there are hundreds of them, and in this post today; we will look at the 5 major examples of disobedience in the bible.
We will also look at the consequences that ensued. Some of these consequences were very serious and had a long-term impact on the lives of others and the lives of the disobeyers.
Others were trivial or silly, but they still teach us important lessons about obeying God’s Word and why we must not disobey it in our Christian life.
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are full of many bible characters like King Saul who disobeyed God and suffered because of their disobedience, which was a lesson to others, who were contemplating doing the same.
There are so many examples of disobedience in the bible that it would be impossible to list them all here in this article. Instead, we’ll look at the 7 main different examples of people who disobeyed God in the bible and what followed afterward.
10 Bible Verses About Disobedience.
Take your time to read the 10 bible verses about disobedience below talking about people who disobeyed God and the consequences that followed thereafter.
1. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. 1 Samuel 15:23a.
2. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Romans 5:19.
3. For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. Colossians 3:6.
4. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23.
5. They profess to know God, but by their deeds, they deny Him, being detestable, disobedient, and worthless for any good deed. Titus 1:16.
6. But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 12:17.
7. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 5:6.
8. If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 1 Samuel 12:15.
9. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone. 2 Kings 17:18.
10. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution. Hebrews 2:2.
5 Examples Of People Disobeying God.
Below are the 5 primary examples of disobedience in the bible that will remind you that God always punished disobedient people who disobey Him.
- Adam And Eve.
- King Nebuchadnezzar.
- Cain.
- Lot’s Wife.
- New Testament Believers.
1. Adam And Eve.
This post on biblical figures who disobeyed God will be incomplete without mentioning Adam and Eve who were the first to disobey God in the Garden of Eden by eating the forbidden fruit as we see in Genesis 3:1-24.
Adam and Eve were the first created humans who disobeyed God and that’s where original sin comes from when they listened to the voice of Satan in form of a serpent that lied to them that they won’t die if they ate the forbidden fruit.
As a result of their disobedience, we also inherited the same Adamic sinful and rebellious nature that we all have that naturally makes us rebellious and disobedient to God ( Psalms 51:5).
We disobey God because our first parents did so in the Garden of Eden. As a result, we inherited the same disobedient nature that comes with original sin because we are all born of them and we are all sons and daughters of Adam and Eve.
Therefore, we carry the DNA of disobedience that was in our first parents. Due to their disobedience, God had to drive them away from Eden as they were now defiled by the sin of disobedience.
Related: 7 Major Root Causes Of Sin (That Causes People To Sin.)
2. King Nebuchadnezzar.
King Nebuchadnezzar is also another interesting bible character in the Old Testament who disobeyed God, which resulted in God punishing him by causing him to start eating grass as we see in Daniel 4:25-34.
The bible tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar was a king of ancient Babylon who was known for exalting himself above the Most High God and wanted nothing to do with the God of Daniel due to his pride.
Nebuchadnezzar disobeyed God by not wanting to repent of the wickedness and idolatries he practiced and made others practices by erecting a golden image that people were to worship. Consequently, God punished him for his prideful disobedience.
God had to teach King Nebuchadnezzar a good lesson that He’s the Most High who’s in charge of everything and that no one can challenge Him nor restrain what He’s purposed to do which is why He made him feed dew as we earlier saw in Daniel 4:30-35.
After this, King Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by that punishment which made him realize and say in Daniel 4:37 that indeed God’s ways are true and just and that he humbles all those who try to exalt themselves above Him or His word.
3. Cain.
Cain is also another bible character who disobeyed God by not offering the sacrifice God wanted him to offer for his sacrifice to be accepted. He also disobeyed God by killing his brother Abel due to jealousy.
The story of Cain and Abel and how Cain ended up killing his brother due to jealousy is found in Genesis 4:1-15 which begins when these two people went to offer and present their sacrifices to God.
From that story, we see that God ended up accepting Abel’s sacrifices, which consisted of a slain lamb, and ended up rejecting Cain’s sacrifice as it wasn’t acceptable and wrong as it consisted of vegetables and earth.
This incident of God rejecting his sacrifice due to the problem of sin in his life and giving the wrong type of sacrifice on the altar made Cain jealous that his sacrifice wasn’t accepted like Abel’s.
As a result, Cain ended up killing Abel in Genesis 4:8 and ended up becoming the first murderer on earth. Due to this murder of his brother, Abel, God ended up punishing Cain as we see in Genesis 4:10-13 where he was to be a fugitive and wanderer of the earth.
4. Lot’s Wife.
Lot’s wife as we see in Genesis 19:26 is another person or woman who disobeyed God and as a result, she ended up turning into a pillar of salt when she looked back.
The case of Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt after not heeding the simple instructions God gave her of not looking back is an example to us all of how God will always punish the disobedient.
If Lot’s wife hadn’t disobeyed God’s simple instructions of not looking back, she wouldn’t have turned into a pillar of salt but sadly, that wasn’t the case.
Genesis chapter 18 onwards, tells us that the Lord had decided He would destroy the twin wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because their wickedness had become too much which is why He sent His angels to deliver Lot’s family from Sodom before He destroyed them.
The angels of God specially instructed Lot’s family to flee from Sodom and not to look back as the Lord destroyed them. sadly, Lot’s wife didn’t heed these instructions and looked back causing her to turn into a pillar of salt and that’s how she perished.
Related: 5 Major Characteristics Of Lot’s Wife [That Doomed Her].
5. New Testament Believers.
Last but not least, the other example we can see of people disobeying God or the prophets and authorities God has set is in the new testament in the early church in the times of Paul.
This disobedience can be seen by the believers and Christians of Corinth who were notoriously known for civil disobedience, sexual immorality, and partaking in the tables of idols.
No wonder, the apostle Paul had to tell these Corinth believers in 1 Corinthians 10:21 that they can’t partake from the cup of our Lord Jesus Christ and at the same time partake of the table of devils.
He further says in Galatians 6:7 that God will never be mocked by what we do or our disobedience because in the end, we will read what we have sown in due time and some of them ended up being punished in the end.
Likewise, if you are a disobedient believer who doesn’t want to submit to God’s word, you will eventually reap the fruits of your disobedience in due time if you don’t repent.
Conclusion.
I hope the above examples of disobedience in the bible will serve as e lesson and a deterrent in your life for you to not disobey God lest you get punished like the people above who disobeyed God. Stay blessed and always remember that obedience to the Lord and His word always attracts blessings in your life.
Other Interesting Posts.
- 5 Consequences Of Disobedience In The Bible [+Sermon].
- 5 Characteristics Of Judas Iscariot [That Doomed Him].
- How Is Lot’s Wife A Warning Example For Us Today?
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