Have you ever played “Opposite Day”? According to Wikipedia, “Opposite Day is a make believe game usually played by children. Conceptually, Opposite Day is a holiday where things are said and done in an opposite manner. It is not a holiday on any calendar, one can declare that today is Opposite Day (sometimes retroactively) to indicate something which will be said, or has just been said should be understood opposite to its original meaning.” While some might have fun with this “game,” those who “played it” in the Bible lost every time.
Nadab and Abihu played Opposite Day and lost. As priests, they were responsible before God for taking “a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord,” but instead they “offered unauthorized fire before the Lord” (Lev. 16:12; 10:1). As a result, “fire went out from the Lord and devoured them” (10:2). Don’t play Opposite Day with God!
Moses played Opposite Day and lost. In Numbers 20, God told Moses, “Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water,” but instead “Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod” (Num. 20:8-11). As a result, Moses was not permitted to enter the promised land (20:12). Don’t play Opposite Day with God!
King Saul played Opposite Day and lost. God had chosen the tribe of Levi to stand before Him and to offer sacrifices (Deut. 10:8), but instead King Saul (of the tribe of Benjamin) “felt compelled, and offered the burnt offering” himself (1 Sam. 13:9-12). As a result, his kingdom was taken from him (13:13-14). Don’t play Opposite Day with God!
Uzzah played Opposite Day and lost. God had specified that the ark of the covenant was to be transported on poles and that “they shall not touch” the ark (Num. 4:15), but instead Uzzah transported the ark on a new cart and “put his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled” (2 Sam. 6:3-6). As a result, “God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God” (6:7). Don’t play Opposite Day with God!
Certainly none of us would intentionally play Opposite Day with God! We know that would be a foolish venture! But, is it possible that we do it without even knowing? God tells us to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Do we play Opposite Day? God tells us to “repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38), for “baptism saves us” (1 Pet. 3:21). Do we play Opposite Day? God tells us to “sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19). Do we play Opposite Day? Everyone who “played” this “game” in the Bible lost. Let us not try it ourselves!