CHESHVAN
12
My
Own Good
“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,
emphasis mine)
Some
years ago, I heard a statement that I myself have referred to many times: “The banks of a river are what define the
river; without its banks, the river would soon become a flood, a lake, a marsh,
and a swamp. The banks of the river are
what determine the functionality of the river, to move water from one place to
another.” This same principal
applies to the Torah given to us by our Creator; Torah is the bank on either
side of us, defining who we are, and determining how we function.
The
Hebrew word that has been translated as ‘good’ is the word tov
(Strong’s H2896), and, as with many of the Hebrew words, means more than what
has been translated. This is the same
word that is used in Genesis chapter one, where our Creator defined what He had
created as ‘good’. In Hebrew, this word also means
“functional”, or “Fulfilling
the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used, or for
which a thing exists”[1].
How does this relate to our
opening verses? Our Father, our Creator,
is asking us to accept, acknowledge, follow, and do five basic requirements that we might function in the capacity
we were created for. These requirements
have been the focus of this series, and are as follows: to fear and revere Him who created us; to
walk in the ways He has laid out for us in Torah; to love our Abba with everything in us; and to faithfully watch over
and guard His Torah, that we would not compromise what He has given to us. It is only when we meet these requirements,
when we are faithful to do them that
we will then “fulfill the actions for which we exist”.
“Oh, that they had such a heart in them, to fear
Me and to guard all My commands always, so that it might be well with them and
with their children forever!” (Deu 5:29 ISR)
“Walk after יהוה
your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve
Him and cling to Him.” (Deu 13:4 ISR)
©2018
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