All God’s promises of blessing are conditional upon obedience. It could not be otherwise. The laws of nature as well as those governing moral conduct are the laws of God, and whoever violates those laws sins against himself. All God’s laws are given for the benefit of man and for the world in which he lives. When these laws are violated the inevitable result is sorrow, sickness, pain, woe, and death. This is true for the individual as well as the nation, for the community as well as the world. The pathway of obedience is the only pathway of peace and prosperity, of life and health. The well-being of society, the peace of the nation, the hope of the world—all require that men learn the wisdom and practical worth of obedience to every command of God. When Israel still was prosperous and Solomon still was young, God desired to make it plain that transgression would not bring joy but sorrow, not blessing but disaster and death.