7.23.25 ~ My Debt, His Path
Good morning!
"There is a way/derek that seems right to a man, but the end is destruction" (Prov. 14:12; 16:25)
Just as there is a true vine (Jn. 15:1-7) and a true husbandman who takes care of the vine (Isa. 5), there is a false/seqer vine that will one day experience the wrath of God (Deut. 32:32; Isa. 63:1; Rev. 19:13).
All of us are on a journey/massei with many stops from the cradle to the grave, from Egypt to the Land of our inheritance (Num. 33); 42 to be exact.
The false/seqer path that leads to destruction is filled with lies, falsehood, and deception with use of words that are false in the sense that they are groundless (Ex. 20:16) and baseless (Psa. 38:19).
But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully/seqer are multiplied. (Psa. 38:19)
King David requested that God would remove every false way from his life and replace it with God's law/Torah (Psa. 119:29). He doesn't want to walk in a path that is based on false evidence; he's not talking about fibs. It’s habitual deception that scares him! We could dismiss this, couldn’t we? After all, we’re not habitual liars. We tell the truth most of the time. Sure, occasionally we might say something not quite true or maybe break a promise we intended to keep, but honesty is our usual character, right?
In Psalm 119, he's not talking about words, but actions. You don’t have to say anything to act in ways that deny the truth. For example, if you behave contrary to God’s instructions in Torah, that would constitute a false way. Now , let's ask ourselves the daily question: Am I willing to perform a ruthless examination of my actions? Let’s start with the obvious ones. Am I keeping the "big 10' towards God and men (don't forget #4)?
What would the false way look like that leads to destruction?
How do I know these so easily? I've done them, 'got the t-shirt' :-( and now in the burn pile :-).
Let's bring this into real focus. Let's say that someone has graciously, undeservedly given you something (God, through His Son, Yeshua). What would be a normal response from a biblical, middle eastern mindset (not western culture)? The answer is easy: Our lives should be filled with action of repayment to a loan made to him by God. Huh?
As far back as I can remember, preachers have said, "we can never pay Him back for what He did." That's not true. His payment is to utilize what He's given to you, multiply it and display it for the world to see to bring Him glory and honor (Matt. 5:16). This means that there is no end to the 'loan' before we end our journey (1 Cor. 10:31; Matt. 25:26,27). This mindset points to the divine ground from which it begins and the divine yield to which it leads!
We, speaking of me, myself and I, spend our lives seeking happiness and ... but, all of life is not contentment in this existence but an obligation and a debt towards God. (Eph. 2:10). We do not have our own independence and significance, we are not self-sufficient, but rests, or atleast should rest in someone else: our Master.
A false way is living under the pretense that we do not owe our existence to God. It is the tragically mistaken assumption that we are our own bosses and we call our own shots according to our own 'self-determined destiny'. And anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, who acts on the basis that he has the right to choose for himself is walking in the false way. Ouch!
In this week's Torah portion, Matot/tribes & Massei/journeys, we are challenged with actions of commitment (Num. 30), which leads us to a few more questions:
How many promises made to God, my covenant partner, have gone unfilled?
How many promises made to our earthly covenant partner have gone unfulfilled?
How many of my actions have denied His sovereignty, or His care? Or our obligation?
We are on the 4th day of counting towards the first fruit of the oil: it's all about complete dependence on His covenant provision (Rom. 11). As we head into the middle of this week, we have a lot to consider...how am I doing on paying off my debt? That's a good question! One day, I'll give an account for how I did; in word and deed (Matt. 12:36,37; 2 Cor. 5:10; etc.).
Shalom!
Just as there is a true vine (Jn. 15:1-7) and a true husbandman who takes care of the vine (Isa. 5), there is a false/seqer vine that will one day experience the wrath of God (Deut. 32:32; Isa. 63:1; Rev. 19:13).
All of us are on a journey/massei with many stops from the cradle to the grave, from Egypt to the Land of our inheritance (Num. 33); 42 to be exact.
The false/seqer path that leads to destruction is filled with lies, falsehood, and deception with use of words that are false in the sense that they are groundless (Ex. 20:16) and baseless (Psa. 38:19).
But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully/seqer are multiplied. (Psa. 38:19)
King David requested that God would remove every false way from his life and replace it with God's law/Torah (Psa. 119:29). He doesn't want to walk in a path that is based on false evidence; he's not talking about fibs. It’s habitual deception that scares him! We could dismiss this, couldn’t we? After all, we’re not habitual liars. We tell the truth most of the time. Sure, occasionally we might say something not quite true or maybe break a promise we intended to keep, but honesty is our usual character, right?
In Psalm 119, he's not talking about words, but actions. You don’t have to say anything to act in ways that deny the truth. For example, if you behave contrary to God’s instructions in Torah, that would constitute a false way. Now , let's ask ourselves the daily question: Am I willing to perform a ruthless examination of my actions? Let’s start with the obvious ones. Am I keeping the "big 10' towards God and men (don't forget #4)?
What would the false way look like that leads to destruction?
...Failing to stand up for God’s ways (allowing the public culture to dictate your actions).
...Pretending to agree when you really don’t.
...Not acknowledging another person’s value through dismissive actions.
...Failing to demonstrate compassion.
...Pretending to agree when you really don’t.
...Not acknowledging another person’s value through dismissive actions.
...Failing to demonstrate compassion.
How do I know these so easily? I've done them, 'got the t-shirt' :-( and now in the burn pile :-).
Words matter, but so do attitudes and actions. They can be just as misleading, fallacious, deceptive, and malicious. To some, this may sound like the negative form of legalism, but in reality, more than this, there is a sense in which none of us are free of an infinite obligation to God (1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 2 Cor. 5:19,20). We owe a debt to the One Who loved us (Rom. 13:8), by loving one another in the true way. (1 Jn. 3:11-18).
Let's bring this into real focus. Let's say that someone has graciously, undeservedly given you something (God, through His Son, Yeshua). What would be a normal response from a biblical, middle eastern mindset (not western culture)? The answer is easy: Our lives should be filled with action of repayment to a loan made to him by God. Huh?
As far back as I can remember, preachers have said, "we can never pay Him back for what He did." That's not true. His payment is to utilize what He's given to you, multiply it and display it for the world to see to bring Him glory and honor (Matt. 5:16). This means that there is no end to the 'loan' before we end our journey (1 Cor. 10:31; Matt. 25:26,27). This mindset points to the divine ground from which it begins and the divine yield to which it leads!
We, speaking of me, myself and I, spend our lives seeking happiness and ... but, all of life is not contentment in this existence but an obligation and a debt towards God. (Eph. 2:10). We do not have our own independence and significance, we are not self-sufficient, but rests, or atleast should rest in someone else: our Master.
A false way is living under the pretense that we do not owe our existence to God. It is the tragically mistaken assumption that we are our own bosses and we call our own shots according to our own 'self-determined destiny'. And anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, who acts on the basis that he has the right to choose for himself is walking in the false way. Ouch!
In this week's Torah portion, Matot/tribes & Massei/journeys, we are challenged with actions of commitment (Num. 30), which leads us to a few more questions:
How many promises made to God, my covenant partner, have gone unfilled?
How many promises made to our earthly covenant partner have gone unfulfilled?
How many of my actions have denied His sovereignty, or His care? Or our obligation?
We are on the 4th day of counting towards the first fruit of the oil: it's all about complete dependence on His covenant provision (Rom. 11). As we head into the middle of this week, we have a lot to consider...how am I doing on paying off my debt? That's a good question! One day, I'll give an account for how I did; in word and deed (Matt. 12:36,37; 2 Cor. 5:10; etc.).
Shalom!
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