I told my mother, when I was a kid, that I never wanted to get married, because I was afraid I would have to say, “Yes, sir!” all the time. Not sure where I got that. The wedding vows did have a clause about “love, honor, and obey,” so maybe I had heard about the requirement and questioned it. I doubt that my mother had modeled it that well.
Actually, lots of women these days take issue with that part of the marriage vow and intentionally change the wording so they don’t have to be obedient if they don’t want to. In fact, I would guess that very few still use the classic wording. Most women don’t mind obeying … as long as the order was something they wanted to do in the first place. (I am so guilty!)
And, back in my day, even the Girl Scouts had a law that said:
“A Girl Scout obeys orders.”
But that law was dumped while I was in high school. I mean, who wants people ordering them around? Obedience was replaced with some kind of generic “respect” for others in 1972, when the promise and laws were re-vamped. Respect -- how does that measure up to the original standard? Have you ever heard someone say “With all due respect … “ as a prelude to explaining why they totally disagree with you, and probably won’t do what you ask of them?
Honestly, obedience is just not the most popular concept in our modern world. Speed limit signs are just suggestions, and “STOP! FREEZE!” commanded by a police officer means run away as fast as you can, maybe even stopping briefly to shoot at the pesky peacekeeper.
Then about three days after my 18th birthday, I joined the U.S. Air Force, where I swore an oath to obey all lawful commands. Sometimes, when our flight was in formation, as part of a squadron of tech school trainees, an individual would shout out “Flight! At my command! …” and then he or she would skillfully and seamlessly take over the direction of the unit from the previous airman or sergeant in command. And of course, hearing the new orders, we would obey.
Military life is based on having meticulously trained men and women who are willing and readily available to obey orders by their commanding officers. It would be a disaster if a unit of marching servicemen, duly ordered to execute a specific maneuver, would all suddenly sit down in disgust with arms crossed, unwilling to obey. Those foolish and rebellious soldiers would be drummed out of the service very quickly, and their supervisor would also be called into question.
Even the order to get the Covid jab, regardless of what the civilian population does, has been interpreted as a lawful order, and those who have failed to comply, whatever their reasoning, have been involuntarily separated from the armed services. My military descendants have understood the risk to their career and expressed that their bodies are not their own while they are in the service. It matters not that the jab is not stopping Covid outbreaks in their workplaces, as they are keenly aware. It’s all about obeying the commands of their superiors.
During my time in service, I worked at Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) Headquarters at Andrews AFB in Maryland, and Pacific Air Command (PACAF) Headquarters at Hickam AFB in Hawaii, on command-level computers. Here’s the Air Force Systems Command insignia.
Alas, this MAJCOM is now defunct.
There are presently nine MAJCOMs (major commands) in the Air Force, each of which is tasked with a major portion of the mission of the Air Force. For instance, Air Force Materiel Command is in charge of research and development of weapons systems. Most of the MAJCOMs I was familiar with growing up, like Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command, and even Air Force Systems Command, became defunct in 1992 when the command structure was re-vamped during the Clinton years. PACAF still remains.
There is also a Chain of Command. This means you should always take an issue first to the person directly in charge of you -- your supervisor -- and you must never ever skip to the next one up the chain without starting with that supervisor. That is the way it is done.
There are 839 references to Command in the King James Bible. Most of the commanding is done by kings, pharaohs, and of course, old Moses. The other one mentioned quite often is God. Remember the Ten Commandments?
There are also masters commanding servants, fathers commanding their children, and teachers commanding their students. There’s a difference between commanding and demanding. Commanding implies an inherent agreement between the two parties that the commander has authority to give the orders and the recipient of the command will obey. Demanding doesn’t imply that agreement between the parties. And mandates upon an unwilling population spell trouble. But commanders have authority to give commands and the vast majority of commanders are also under someone else’s command.
We were reading in the Book of John the other day, and it struck me how Jesus is a really awesome military commander. The centurion in Matthew 8 noticed it long before I did, and Jesus commended him for his faith.
His thinking was something like this:
“This man, Jesus, is a commander like I am, but He is much higher in rank. Like me, He has been given authority from His commander, but His commander is God Himself. So, He can give an order for my servant to be healed and it will be done, without my troubling Him to even step into my house.”
And that was exactly what happened.
We know Jesus is the Lord of Hosts. We know He had the power and authority to command legions of angels to come to His rescue when the Romans were putting Him to death. We even know that He will be leading the charge when He comes back to Planet Earth on a white horse to do battle against all His enemies -- with the rest of us in tow. But the centurion’s words were: “I know that You are a man under authority.” This was important. And I had missed the significance.
Jesus was on earth on assignment -- deployed by command of the Father.
Let me repeat that:
Jesus, our Lord, walked the Earth for three years, on assignment, deployed by command of the Father.
“But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do…”
~John 14:31
I never really thought of Jesus as Someone who could be commanded. But He is! And what was His mission? Well, there were at least two major parts of it. Just look at this:
“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
~John 10:17-18
Jesus was not walking the earth on a lark, nor was He taking a dare. He was commanded to go by His Father, the King of Kings who sits on the throne. And He was commanded to lay down His life and then to rise from the dead. He was given the commandment and had the power to execute it. Only Jesus, God’s own Son, had the power to do that.
Here’s another part of Jesus’ mission.
“For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
“And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
~John 12:49-50
It was to speak God’s words of everlasting life to a dying world. This commandment was executed by the willing Christ mere days before He was arrested and ordered to be killed. Jesus knew they were out to get Him that week, but still, as a soldier running to the roar of the cannons, He did not flinch from saying what had to be said.
Would that we could be so consistently bold in our witness! We are usually far more afraid that people won’t like us if we say something, than we are obedient to Jesus’ command to speak life. God commanded Jesus, not just that He should speak, but what He should speak. Sometimes, we just need to open our mouths, so that God’s words can come out.
To us, the Church, Jesus says:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
~John 14:15
That makes so much sense! Jesus showed the Father that He loved Him when He obeyed His commands. That’s what we should be doing. And what are His commands?
“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”
~1 John 3
We have a commandment to believe in Him, and to love one another. And one more important one:
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
~Matthew 28:18-20
Yes, we, as good soldiers, are to be training instructors under His command. (Also known as “drill instructors.”) We are tasked with training others -- in all nations! -- to also obey His commands. And we can do this confidently, knowing our Commander is not on the other side of the Universe with drones. He is with us, leading by example. And He loves us!
Here’s something else to consider. What if a voice says “At my command!” but they have no authority to command you? We must never yield to their direction. For instance, in Canada, it is now the “law of the land” that certain teachings in the Scriptures are myth, and that anyone teaching that the Word of God is Truth is subject to hefty fines. This is particularly speaking to “conversion therapy,” which is where Biblical counselors can convince a person out of their delusional thinking concerning their sexuality. It is now illegal in Canada to try to change someone with gender confusion back to the way God created them to be.
The problem is, this is not a lawful command. We as soldiers need to see that it does not matter even if it was passed in the Canadian legislature by unanimous consent. It is directly counter to the Commands of the Living God. To a man, God commands:
“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
~Leviticus 18:22
This past Sunday, many of the churches of America stood with their Canadian counterparts against government tyranny and preached against this blasphemy. Here’s one example, a sermon by James White of Apologia Studios: Christ's Lordship Over Sexuality
Here’s a quote from a Daily Wire article about White’s sermon:
White also issued a stern warning to governments willing to pass laws in opposition to God’s created order. “A governmental bureaucrat that comes along and says ‘That’s what you have to believe’ is putting themselves directly against the authority of Christ… and they need to be told that.”
“If, at some point in the future,” White continued, “you, because of your boldness and your committedness to Christ, are brought before a magistrate… then your duty is to look that individual in the eye and say ‘Sir, with all due respect to your position, you do not have the authority to contradict the very Word of God that He has preserved for His people down through the ages.’”
“‘That Word tells me what is right and wrong. That Word tells me that God created us in His image — male and female. Jesus confirmed that… and if you dare stand against Him, you will stand before Him someday, and you will have no one to intercede for you.’”
Yes, this would be our duty. Our duty is to obey our Commander-in-Chief and to take commands from Him only. Beware, my friends -- this may be coming to a community near you. Apparently, it has been quietly going on in W. Lafayette, Indiana, with the introduction of Ordinance 31-21 under consideration, which is aimed directly at the one church that has an active ministry to homosexuals but totally without the church's input. We must oppose this.
Finally, what awaits the faithful soldier who loves Commander Jesus and obeys Him?
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
~Rev. 22:14
It is Eternal Life in the New Jerusalem. Not a temporary barracks, but a forever home.
“Our Commander Yeshua, we love you because You first loved us. We are at Your Command and no one else’s. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For You are mighty in battle and we look to You as our tower of strength against the enemy. We thank You that You are ever present in our lives, and will be with us until that day when we see you with new eyes in the Father’s house. Amen”
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