Tammuz 23
Halacha
“One who walks in integrity, walks securely, but one who takes crooked
paths will be discovered.” (Pro 10:9 TLV)
The
Hebrew word that has been translated as ‘walk’ in our opening verse is the word
hâlak
(Strong’s H1980), and
is a verb, requiring action. Yes, it
does mean to walk, but it also includes with it the sense of our walk of life, of how we live our lives, our lifestyle. Integrity is for the most part explained as
doing what we know to be right, even
when no one is watching. Therefore, when
our lifestyle reflects a commitment to doing
what is right, what we understand as Torah, we are walking in integrity.
Halacha is a kin to the word halak, and is the way a believer is
“directed to behave in every aspect of life”[1],
according to the instructions of Torah.
Again, this encompasses our way of life, and our lifestyle. When we choose to live according to the
divine instructions in righteous and moral living, our lives are, most
generally, above reproach. However, when
we begin to replace our commitment to the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
with own self-sovereignty, our halacha
goes out the door, and our paths become crooked and perverted.
‛Aqash
(Strong’s H6140) is the Hebrew word that has been translated as ‘crooked’ in
our opening verse, and yet means much more than that. There is the sense of taking something that
was once pure and undefiled and polluting it, compromising the integrity of the
original unit. It then becomes a
perversion, something to be thrown out and discarded. Interestingly enough, this word is only found
five times throughout the Tanakh, the Old Testament, and 80% of the time has
been translated as ‘perverse’.
How does this relate to us? When we make the deliberate choice to turn aside from our ‘walk of integrity’,
engaging in and doing (remember, hâlak
is a verb,
requiring action) anything that is not according to Torah, we have become polluted, perverted, and
compromised. If it is a conduct that we
are attempting to hide, this verse guarantees that it will be uncovered. Boom.
“For if, after they
have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Master
and Saviour יהושע
Messiah, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse
for them than the first. For it would
have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than
having known it, to turn from the set-apart command delivered unto them. For
them the proverb has proved true, “A
dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “A washed sow returns to her rolling in the mud.” (2Pet 2:20-22 ISR)
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