Elul 29
Conclusion
“Let us hear the conclusion of the
entire matter: Fear Elohim and guard His commands, for this applies to all
mankind! For Elohim shall bring every work into right-ruling, including all
that is hidden, whether good or whether evil.” (Ecc 12:13-14 ISR)
Today is
the last day of the month of Elul. During
this month, we have learned that our King is in the field, extending His hand
to us in an invitation to come, do teshuvah
for the wrongs that we have committed, and turn again to Him, the One who
created us. It has not been a month of ease and contentment, for we have chiseled off
a little more of the flesh, trod down more of the yetzer hara (the evil, carnal inclination within us), and applied a
strong dose of ‘window cleaner’ – through the washing of the water of the Word
(Eph 5:26) – to our nefesh, our inner
man. We have learned to recognize our
frailties and short-comings, and we understand that it is only because of His mercy that we are not consumed (Lam
3:22), for our Elohim is a consuming
fire (Deu 4:24; Heb 12:29).
The word
‘conclusion’ means “a result, issue or outcome; final decision; the end or
final part.”[1] We have travelled through this month of Elul,
always looking inward with much
self-examination, in the attempt to come up to a new and better level in our
relationship with our Creator. And what
are the steps to this goal? “Fear Elohim
and guard His commands.”
This
‘fear’ is not one that is terrifying and horrifying; it is the healthy respect
and reverence of One who deserves all of
the honor and esteem due Him. I have had
the ‘fear of Elohim’ described to me as never
wanting to stand in the position where my Father says to me, “I cannot
believe you just did that.” Living out
our lives in the ‘fear of Elohim’ means to do our utmost to never disappoint Him with our words and
actions, to strive with everything in us to please Him in every way. The surest
way of doing this is through our obedience to His Torah.
Am I
becoming the kind of person that my King would wish to spend eternity with?
“And now, Yisra’ĕl, what is יהוה
your Elohim asking of you, but to fear יהוה
your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve יהוה
your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, to guard the commands of
יהוה and His laws which I command you today for
your good?” (Deu
10:12-13 ISR)
©2018
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