ELUL 21
ALL Evil
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
displeasure, and uproar, and slander be put away from you, ALONG WITH ALL
EVIL.” (Eph 4:31, emphasis mine)
The Greek word that has been translated as ‘along with’ is the word sun (Strong’s G4862), and has an interesting definition that paints a more
thorough picture of what is going on in this verse. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines sun as a word that “denotes
accompaniment and fellowship, whether of action,
or of belief, or of condition and experience”[1]. In other words, the list of negative behavior
that we find in the first part of this verse (bitterness, wrath, displeasure,
uproar, slander) is in fellowship – and is a companion - of “all evil”. That is certainly something to ponder.
The Scriptures define ‘evil’ as everything that
is against and in opposition to all of Torah (see 2Kin 17:13; Jer 6:19; Rom
13:10). It would stand to reason, then,
that as we continue to live our lives according to the teachings and
instructions that are laid out for us in the Torah, we must banish ‘all evil’
far from us. Nonetheless, what happens
to those times when we fall into that
‘stinking thinking’, and allow it to bleed through to influence our
actions? This season of teshuvah, of repentance and restoration,
is the answer to this dilemma.
This month of Elul is also known as the time
when ‘the King is in the field’, meaning that Elohim is closer and more
accessible than at any other time of the year.
Yes, He is always with us, and always available. However, Jewish tradition believes that it is
at this time – the month of Elul -
that our Creator reaches out with His heart in response to us reaching
out to Him with ours, in sincerity and truth[2]. Again, there is the need for teshuvah,
for turning away from all those things that are in violation of Torah,
and for turning to Him, the One who fashioned and formed us, and
knows us better than we know ourselves.
Though I cannot accurately prove and pinpoint this, I have often
wondered if it was not during the month of Elul that our Messiah Yeshua gave
his ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Mat 5), with the
admonition of “Blessed are the clean in heart, because they
shall see Elohim” (Mat 5:8).
Yom Teruah, also known
as Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets, is rapidly approaching, as
well as Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonements), the day when
our King sits upon His throne, and is no longer in the field. Are we ready?
Have we been faithful to engage in the self-examination, the internal
auditing, that we all periodically
need to go through? And can we all
stand, clean in heart, before our King, on that day?
“Examine
yourselves whether you are in the belief – prove yourselves. Or do you not know yourselves,
that יהושע Messiah is in you, unless you are
disapproved.” (2Cor 13:5)
©2021
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