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The Four Words (2)

Monday, April 22nd, 2013 | Author:

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.  Psalm 130:4  ESV

May be feared – YHWH pardons!  Rejoice!  YHWH is salah.  I can be straightened.

But this is no surprise to the serpent, and he is prepared to manipulate YHWH’s pardon for his purposes.  Never underestimate the craftiness of the yetzer ha’ra.  After all, you have been training it all your life.  There isn’t anything you can devise to fool it into cooperating.  When it comes to the yetzer ha’ra, the only line of defense is “No!”

The serpent, through the yetzer ha’ra, simply suggests that if you aren’t going to delay your repentance, if you are really going to take YHWH’s offer of pardon, then you haven’t fully appreciated your past unfaithfulness to this gracious offer.  The serpent reminds you that you have been here before – and you have failed to live up to your end of the bargain.  In fact, many times before.  So what makes you confident that this will be any different?  In a little while, you will once more slip back into the dark.  Oh, of course you are sincere now, but you have always been sincere when it came to the point of agonizing distress.  And what happened?  You failed!  That’s because (and you should know this by now)  you are a failure.  You just can’t keep God’s instructions.  Everyone knows this.  Even your theology professors taught you that no one can keep all the  commandments.  So, here you are again, trying to convince yourself that you will stay on the straight and narrow.  But don’t you already know you are lying to yourself? Every bit of your history says this is a lie.  You will fall again, and because you will fall again, the pain will be even worse, knowing that you have fallen again!  Why pretend?  Why be convicted of another misstep?  Why add arrogance to your list of sins?  Just admit you aren’t any good and live with it.

In order to overcome this seduction, I must recognize the importance of the last two words in this verse.  lema’an tivare’ (in order that you may be feared).  We don’t think of pardon and forgiveness as the grounds for yare’ (fear).  We think that pardon and forgiveness are “Get out of Jail Free” cards.  They are the reason for celebration, for joy and relief.  And they are, but not without consequences.  Sin has consequences.  We are quite familiar with that arrangement.  But pardon also has consequences and unless we fully understand these consequences, we will be seduced by the serpent’s voice into imaging that forgiveness brings a return to life before distress.  Forgiveness is about return, but not to the life we once had.  It is a return to God’s highway, a walk on the elevated roadway of the King.  I don’t go back to myself!  I go back to the Lord!

To experience pardon or forgiveness is to become aware of the debt and the debit.  Both affect the balance sheet.  Forgiveness isn’t free!  Once I realize and account for the cost of my forgiveness, I discover the fear of YHWH.  And that reminds me of the parable of the unforgiving servant where unworthiness resulted in the offer being withdrawn.

Topical Index:  forgiveness, salah, fear, yare’, debt, Psalm 130:4, Matthew 18:21-35

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The Expert

Thursday, January 10th, 2013 | Author:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom  Proverbs 9:10  NASB

Fear – Do you fear God?  That might seem like a strange question in an age where God is portrayed as the kindly grandfather ready to overlook all mistakes.  But it would never have seemed so innocuous when this verse was written.  In those days, royalty held the power of life and death in the hand, and God was the Supreme King of kings, not to be trifled with in the least.  So we come before Him in “fear and trembling,” even if He shows Himself to be merciful – because He isn’t required to show us mercy!  If no man can see YHWH’s face and live, what do you suppose we should think when we contemplate our position before Him?

Ah, but sheer terror before a Supreme Ruler is not what is meant by this verse.  As we discover from an examination of yare’ (to fear), the idea of fear in Hebrew thought is connected with ahav (to love), not with dread or terror.  As Fuhs notes, “the connection with [Deuteronomy ] 6:4 makes it clear that yr’ means ‘worship’ in the sense of fidelity to the covenant God; the element of obedience to the law is secondary to that of faithfulness to the covenant.  According to [Deuteronomy] 5:9, the people should ‘fear’ Yahweh with their heart; according to 6:2, they should ‘love’ him.  In other words, yr’ and ‘hb belong to the terminology of the general clause in the covenant treaty and are to this extent synonymous. . . . ‘Heart’ (RSV) or ‘mind’ in 5:29 does not refer to feelings or emotions but to the conscious and deliberate decision to be faithful to Yahweh and Yahweh’s covenant.”[1]  This is why “fear” can be learned.  It is behavior (not feelings) appropriate to faithful loyalty and behavior can be taught!

In this verse, YHWH reveals that the origin of wisdom begins with the learned behavior of faithful loyalty.  All human wisdom originates in this covenant behavior.  “No one can be expert in the complexities of life who does not begin with the knowledge of Yahweh and dependence on him,” says Fuhs.[2]  Perhaps you will need to read that again.  According to the Bible, anyone who does not trace his expertise and understanding back to God is a fool!  Wisdom stands or falls according to the attitude and behavior a man shows toward God.

The world, of course, rejects this revelation.  It portrays wisdom as the acquisition of knowledge through the application of reason.  In the Greek world, reason accounts for expertise.  Training merely assists the mind in deciphering the complexities of life.  But Scripture teaches something radically different.  Scripture claims that a man without covenant behavior has not understood the source or the purpose of wisdom. How do we know?  Don’t look at the words.  Look at the deeds.  God-fearers are those who act according to the covenant.  All the rest are expert fools.  Which one are you?

Topical Index: wisdom, fear, yare’, Proverbs 9:10


[1] H. F. Fuhs, yare’, TDOT, Vol. VI, p. 307.

[2] Ibid., p. 311.

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True Religion (1)

Tuesday, October 09th, 2012 | Author:

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. James 1:26 ESV

Rodney Baker (Adelaide, Australia) has contributed several TW’s on Religion while I am in South Africa.

Religious  – threskos. What a loaded word! A word that occurs only once in the entire NT, right here. And, yet, it appears 3 times in the LXX, in Job 1:1, 1:8 and 2:3. Each time it refers to Job as a man who is upright and blameless, who fears God and turns away from evil. The word corresponding to threskos is yare’ – to fear, reverence, stand in awe of, respect or honour.

James uses the nominal form of the same word, threskeia, later in the same verse. This time it describes religious worship, especially ceremonial observances or religious discipline. Paul uses the same word in Acts 26:5 to describe the observance of the Pharisees.

But what is James really saying here? Quite frankly, it doesn’t seem to fit the context (we’ll get to verse 27 soon). Is James talking about gossip? Slander? Inappropriate language? How does this fit with being a doer of the Torah and not just a hearer? How does it fit into the context of awe and reverence for God and religious observance? Most of our English translations aren’t very helpful. But, perhaps there is one that provides a clue:

James 1:26 YLT – “[26] If any one doth think to be religious among you, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, of this one vain [is] the religion;”

I think what James is speaking of here is people who make a show of being religious, but spend more time talking about it than actually doing it. Perhaps boasting about it. The word “bridle” is chalinagogon which is made up of two words; chalinos – a bridle or bit – and ago, to lead by laying hold of, to guide, direct, therefore to lead with a bridle or to keep in check. [Ago can also have another meaning too – to pass a day or to keep or celebrate a feast (e.g. a religious ceremony or observance) so maybe there is a little play on words going on here.]

James suggests that it is also possible to deceive one’s own heart to think that you are worshipping God appropriately, when in fact the opposite is true. Religious observance without action is vain. Sobering thought, isn’t it?

As one teacher said, “Don’t tell me which God you serve, show me which commandments you keep.”  Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words.

Topical Index:  James 1:26, religion, threskos, yare’, fear, chalinagogon, tongue

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The Joy of Fear

Sunday, October 07th, 2012 | Author:

How blessed is the man who  fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.  Proverbs 28:14  NASB

Fears always – It is quite popular to encourage believers with the thought that we do not need to be afraid.  We are often reminded that Scripture tells us, “Do not fear” more than 300 times.  Since human life is fragile, such encouragement is needed.  But there is a danger lurking in the background of this sort of exhortation; a danger we dare not forget.

When Solomon penned the words mippahed tamid (“who fears continually”), he didn’t make a mistake.  Nor did he add, as we sometimes find in translation, the words “the Lord.”  The NASB is correct.  This verse is about the man who fears always, not the man who fears the Lord always.  The reason that the verse is qualified (with “the Lord”) is because of the parallel in Proverbs 23:17 and the need to somehow suppress the idea that fear is an essential ingredient of believing.

Moses Luzzatto cites this verse in his discussion of the necessity of fear, but he does not mean trepidation in the face of an enemy.  He means that a true follower of YHWH will recognize just how far he is from holiness and just how stringent the requirement for holiness actually is.  He will confront his failure and realize that YHWH judges every action no matter how seemingly inconsequential.  He will tremble at the thought of standing before the Judgment Seat of the Most High God while his sins and failures are inspected.  This will drive a true believer to utter despair.  He will not dismiss his true state with a swipe from the forgiveness brush nor will he discount the enormous price paid on his behalf.  He will acknowledge that sin is very serious business.

But this is only obvious.  Luzzatto mines the verse for something deeper.  Fear like this awakens a man to his proclivity toward excuse, rationalization and dismissal.  Therefore, fear like this focuses attention on the need for stringent watchfulness.  For Luzzatto, this means training ourselves to anticipate the possible and probable consequences of an act before we take steps to perform it, and once evaluated, avoiding any action that would in the slightest regard jeopardize our standing before the Holy One of Israel.  Because this fear motivates us toward righteousness, it is a blessing, not a curse!  Solomon can shout, “Blessed is the man who fears always,” for this fear is a sign that the man is entering into a state of full awareness of his condition before YHWH.  This fear results in joy!

Luzzatto goes on to demonstrate that the ultimate means of achieving happiness within the framework of Hebraic thought is the unfettered worry and concern for another.  In other words, loving my neighbor as myself is the vehicle that brings happiness to me!  Furthermore, by acting on behalf of my neighbor, I convert this exquisitely essential fear into an act of worship since I fulfill the mitzvot that is near to God’s own heart.  So I ask you, “Are you afraid?”

Topical Index:  Moses Luzzatto, fear, Proverbs 28:14, always, pahad, tamid

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A Little Scared?

Sunday, April 15th, 2012 | Author:

Then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:5 NASB

Fear – In Hebrew the word is yare.  The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) tells us that this word is used in five different senses:  1) the emotion of being afraid, 2) the anticipation of evil without emotion, 3) reverence or awe, 4) religious piety and 5) formal religious worship.  What confusion this causes when one English word translates so many different concepts.  When we read the Old Testament, how often do we come across this phrase “fear of the LORD” and think to ourselves, “What can this possibly mean?  Why should fear be the basis of my relationship to God?”  Of course, those questions come from having only one word in English to express all these different concepts.

But there is a sense in which fear is the basis of all of our interaction with God.  We see this when the people reacted to one of Yeshua’s miracles of healing.  They were afraid.  Often they wanted Yeshua to leave them alone.  In spite of their recognition that God was acting in startling ways right in front of them, they could not cope with the situation.  This gives us a clue to understanding what fear has to do with our reactions to God.  Just for a moment, think about this:  God made everything.  Everything actually stays in existence from one second to the next because God sustains everything.  God is in control of everything.  God has a purpose for everything.  And God will judge everything by His standard.  Now imagine that this one insignificant, temporary, finite, fragile being called me stands before the God of everything.  This is not like meeting a friend or even a stranger.  This is meeting the One who is all-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere at once.  The One who for His own reasons could, if He chose, wipe away my existence and the existence of everything else with a single thought.  If that doesn’t give you a little bit of fright, then you probably haven’t taken it to heart.  Is it any wonder that anyone who came into contact with this God fell to the ground trembling?

The truly amazing fact of Scripture is that this God, whom I rightly fear, actually wants me to love Him.  More amazing still is that He loves me.  He is not out to get me.  He really wants to care for me.  Who could be better at that than God?  The flip side of my fear of the Lord is the statement, “If God is for us, whom shall we fear?”

Sometimes I think we have heard the “God is love” theology so much that we forget just how big God is.  The Bible warns us that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  Maybe we need to get a good dose of fear before Him.  Respect, awe and honor are all tied to falling on our faces when we confront the living God.  We might be a good deal more serious about all this if we first realize how fearful the living God could be.  Sometimes I wonder if worship shouldn’t begin with trembling rather than hand-clapping.  Sometimes I fear that we aren’t afraid at all.

Topical Index:  fear, yare, Proverbs 2:5

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Unforgivable

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 | Author:

But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth.  Mark 5:33 NASB

Fearing and trembling – What is the relationship between sin and healing?  That question plays a significant role in the gospel accounts.  The disciples voice their opinion (John 9).  The religious leaders have their ideas (Luke 13).  Even the common people seem to believe that the miracle of physical healing requires spiritual purity.  If your sins haven’t been forgiven, God won’t take care of the rest of you.  This ancient connection between righteousness and physical health continues to exert theological influence today.  When it comes to healing, we are more likely to first ask about sin than we are to ask about blindness, bent spines or bleeding.

But the gospels give us a different perspective.  It is rarely the case that forgiveness precedes physical healing.  In fact, in most stories the idea of forgiveness of sins isn’t even mentioned.  The story of the woman who was hemorrhaging for twelve years is a good example.  She is healed without even the conscious awareness of Yeshua.  Quite clearly, forgiveness plays no role in this miracle.  Perhaps that’s why she comes in fear and trembling when her action is discovered.  She is afraid that what she has done and the results of her action will be erased, or worse, condemned.

The Greek text uses the words phobeo (to fear) and tremo (to tremble).  The first verb, phobeo, carries the sense of fleeing.  It is a verb about running away scared to death.  TDNT points out that the use of this word always places a human being in an encounter with some force, often a force that cannot be controlled.  The Hebrew equivalent is almost always yare, which as we know, has five different senses.  This woman is not just scared.  She (of all the people in the crowd) knows without doubt that she is confronted with a power beyond her understanding.  And she is filled with angst.

The second verb (tremo) adds another component to her emotions – dread.  Here the Hebrew is probably hared, a verb which means “to shake,” usually with emotion in the face of unusual circumstances (cf. TWOT #735a).  This woman’s physical body, now healed of its impairment, quivers in fright.  She can’t get away.  She can’t hide.  She anticipates the worst.  But nothing in the text suggests that she fears because of sin.  In fact, just the opposite seems to be the case.  She fears because God has blessed her and she doesn’t know what the consequences of that blessing will be.

Yeshua confirms her action calling it a sign of great faith.  He never asks about her spiritual condition.  He doesn’t ask if she has been forgiven.  He doesn’t mention a single word about sin.  In His typical manner, He acknowledges faith, not forgiveness.

Perhaps reflection on Yeshua’s approach to healing helps us see that sin isn’t always the issue when it comes to disease or deformity.  Sin can cause these problems, but it doesn’t necessarily cause these problems.  Sometimes there are other purposes.  Perhaps our tendency to connect all things spiritual with sin and forgiveness needs to be revised.  Just ask this woman or the man born blind.  God’s grace sends the rain on the just and the unjust.  Perhaps the real issue is compassion without strings attached.

Topical Index:  sin, healing, compassion, Mark 5:33, fear, trembling, phobeo, tremo

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The Heresy of Fear

Friday, October 21st, 2011 | Author:

 “Do not be afraid.  I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”  Revelation 1:17-18 NASB

Do not be afraid – “. . . the opposite of the believer was not the heretic but the coward.”[1] God commands us not to be afraid.  It is an impossible command – if it is understood as an imperative concerning emotions.  I can no more command someone not to fear than I can command someone not to let his knee jerk when the doctor hits the right nerve.  Emotions are not subject to acts of the will.  Control of emotions might fall under the topic of volition, but emotions themselves are much more like a reflex reaction.

Since God is obviously aware of this fact, this verse cannot be about God asking us not to feel.  “Do not be afraid” means that He asks us to act according to His truth in spite of how we feel.  “And yet God does not need those who praise Him when in a state of euphoria.  He needs those who are in love with Him when in distress, both He and ourselves.  This is the task:  in the darkest night to be certain of the dawn, certain of the power to turn a curse into a blessing; agony into a song.  To know the monster’s rage and, in spite of it, proclaim to its face (even a monster will be transfigured into an angel); to go through Hell and to continue to trust in the goodness of God – this the challenge and the way.”[2]

That’s why the opposite of a believer is a coward.  A coward is someone who fears in spite to God’s promises.  A coward is someone who will not believe, who chooses not to trust in the sovereignty of God.  In fact, you might say that anyone who contends with life without trust in God is a coward no matter how heroically we think of them.  To fight against the tsunami of evil circling the earth without fighting because of the goodness of God is cowardice.  Will such a fight result in righteous acts?  Perhaps.  But the real hero is the one who refuses to dishonor God’s reputation even if the world is evil.  That hero fights not only against the evil in the world but also against the more insidious idolatry that says God is impotent.  That hero fights on two fronts, both critical to victory.  That is the hero or heroine who can go through Hell and still believe.

“Do not be afraid,” says the living One.  But without His promise, without His guarantee, fear is all that I can have.  It might motivate me to surmount impossible odds, but my efforts will not change the direction of the world.  To act in spite of my fear because I trust in the Lord – that changes the direction.

Topical Index:  fear, emotions, trust, coward, hero, Revelation 1:17-18


[1] Abraham Heschel, A Passion for Truth, p. 315.

[2] Ibid., p. 301.

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The Joy of Being Afraid

Monday, September 26th, 2011 | Author:

How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.  Proverbs 28:14  NASB

Fear always – We are apt to recite the fact that Scripture exhorts us some 366 times not to fear.  This could lead us to imagine that fear has no place in the life of a believer, but that would be a tragic mistake.  As we can see from this verse, fear is the basis of bliss!  One of the problems with this verse is simply a translation difficulty.  The Hebrew word here isn’t yare, the most common word for fear.  Yare is the word that is often translated with concepts of awe and reverence.  But that’s not what’s happening here, as we shall see.

First we need to clear up the “blessing” in this verse.  Like many proclamations in the wisdom literature, the opening Hebrew word here is ashrei, an adverbial form of the verb ‘esher.  Ashrei does not mean “Blessed is.”  This is not a formula statement for being blessed.  Ashrei is a description of the inner state of a man or woman, not a method for attaining some spiritual goal.  The same condition applies to the Beatitudes where this Hebrew word is used by Yeshua.  “O happy day, O happy day” is more like it.

Secondly, ashrei implies that the man or woman brings about this condition through human effort.  That’s the enormous difference between baruch (a verb used to describe God’s blessing action) and ‘esher (a verb used to describe favor produced by human beings).  In other words, this state of bliss is in our hands!  We don’t have to wait for God to drop it on us or pray for God to “anoint” us with His Spirit.  This is ours for the taking.  All we need to do is be the kind of person who fears always.

Mefahed tamid  rests on the verb pahad.  Occurring only twenty-six times in Scripture, it certainly isn’t the basis of the 366 “do not fear” exhortations.  Pahad is dread.  Deuteronomy 28:66 tells us that those who keep the Torah have no reason to dread (fear) but those who do not follow Torah will come to terror.  By extension, a man who “fears” always is a man who puts himself under strict obedience to Torah.  Because he takes most seriously the commandments of the Lord, his dread becomes the basis of his bliss.

From a pictographic perspective, pahad means “the word that separates the door.”  Dread is the action of distinguishing the open door from the closed one.  Dread is tied directly to what is spoken, what comes from the mouth, and for a Hebrew the most important words come from the mouth of the Lord.  Those words open the door to life itself.  To ignore or refuse them is the equivalent of death.  According to Jacob, Isaac served the God of pahad.  Isaac, the obedient one, the one who willingly laid down his life on the altar, served the God of dread, the God who provided the only way to life.  If mefahed tamid is the direction of your life, you have nothing to fear.  If it is not, it’s time for serious reflection.  Only the one who dreads finds bliss.

Topical Index:  fear, dread, pahad, mefahed tamid,  fears always, Proverbs 28:14

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The Secret Treasure

Friday, March 04th, 2011 | Author:

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. Psalm 56:3 NASB

When – Are you afraid?  I am.  I have had a growing sense of fear for about a year now.  I am concerned that our civilization is rushing toward the brink at breakneck speed.  I look at my own financial circumstances.  Things don’t look very reassuring.  In fact, they appear more fragile than ever (and I have gone through a lot in the past).  I worry about my children, my wife, my purpose in life.  The Hebrew expression fits – yom eera, literally “the day I fear.”  The verb yare is a Qal imperfect.  That means the action is incomplete and fluid.  The day of my fear isn’t over with.  That day keeps happening in my life like rain in the Spring.  One minute the skies are blue.  The next minute there’s a thunderstorm.  The “fear day” catches me by surprise, but it’s just as real as the rain.

David was afraid too.  Did you notice that David doesn’t chastise himself because he is afraid.  Being afraid is a natural human response to impending threats.  Being afraid is not the kind of emotional reaction you can simply dismiss.  The “No Fear” gang seems just a bit disconnected from reality.  Just like David, we often find we are afraid – and for apparently good reason.  Having someone tell you that God is in charge so you don’t need to be afraid seems a bit callous.  What does that person know about my fears?  Just being told that I shouldn’t be afraid makes very little difference.

David doesn’t hesitate to express the remedy to his fear.  “I will put my trust in You.”  Ani elekha evtah.  Shout it out!  “I in You will trust!”  Trust – batah – a great verb, used only once for safety and security between human beings (Proverbs 31:11) but used many, many times for the feelings of safety and security between a man or woman and God.  The basic idea of trust is reliability.  “I can count on You, Lord, and I will count on You.  You promised to care for me.  I am banking on that promise.”  The opposite of the Day of Fear is the Day of Trust.  But there is more than an antonym here.  The Day of Fear is an on-going experience of human existence forever projected into the future.  It rides on the wings of what might happen to us.  But the Day of Trust is not a Qal imperfect.  The Day of Trust is a finished action in the past.  It is anchored to the character of the promise-maker and it has been that way since He spoke the world into existence.  The same God who enabled the sun to rise on the Day of my Fear is the God who asks me to trust Him with the rest of the hours in this day.

And I will.

Topical Index:  fear, day, yare, yom, trust, batah, afraid, Psalm 56:3

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Triathlon

Sunday, January 09th, 2011 | Author:

“Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Fear/Walk/Serve – Gear up!  Prepare!  Get going!  Three Hebrew words tell you basically all you need to know about attitude and action when it comes to answering life’s most important question.  What does God ask?  Fear-Walk-Serve.  Let’s look at these three and how they fit together.

Yare is a verb that covers a lot of ground.  While it can describe frightening emotional reactions, when it is used of YHWH it usually, but not always, implies awe and reverence.  Moses tells us that the first action of righteousness is respect.  If I don’t respect who God is, I will not do what He asks.  This is a case of saying what I believe but doing what I value.  I have to value God before I will follow His instructions with my heart.  Since compliance is not what God desires, yare must be the foundation of all further action.  This is the place to begin.  Do I value God?  Actually, do I value Him as God?  That implies I give Him ultimate value in my life.  How will I know if I give ultimate value to Him?  Ah, easy.  His requests come first – always.

Once I have my values in place, then I am able to walk in all His ways.  Here the verb (yalak) is a metaphor.  Its common physical usage (to come, go, walk) is used as an analogy for a way of life, not an occasional step.  This is a direction.  Everyone stumbles.  Everyone gets distracted.  The verb is about the long-haul, the way that I am going, the day-to-day progress.  Eugene Peterson’s book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, summaries the idea of yalak.  Over time we strive to be obedient to all of God’s ways.  Of course, there is no logical or moral reason why we can’t be obedient to all of His ways right now, but the Bible isn’t sugar-coated.  The text acknowledges probable mistakes.  Walking is measured in terms of miles, not inches.  But then every mile begins with the span of an inch.

Finally we come to the verb ‘avad (to serve).  If yalak covers all the inches on the road of life, why do I need another verb to describe what God desires?  Isn’t walking according to His ways enough?  ‘avad is a common description for ordinary labor.  Walk and work.  That sums it up, doesn’t it?  Walk and work with your face turned toward God.  But ‘avad is not just about work.  It’s also about service.  It’s about God’s desire for Man to serve His creation.  Service in the light of the ultimate values of life is an act of worship.  Maybe that’s why we need this third verb.  We need the right attitudes and values; we need to be traveling in the right direction; and we need to experience everyday common tasks as a form of worship.  We are tri-athletes.  Three things are needed to finish the race.  All the rest is elaboration on preparation and technique.

Today’s Word:  walk, yalak, fear, yare, serve, ‘avad, Deuteronomy 10:12-13

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