HOW ARE YOU LIVING?

“So now, Isra’el, all that Adonai your God asks from you is to fear Adonai your God, follow all his ways, love him and serve Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being.”
Deuteronomy 10:12

I want to dive right in to this verse and define the things Adonai asks from us. I think that with a better understanding of what is asked we may be able to find the areas we fall short so as to make the changes needed to honor Him with all our heart and being. How about it; are you ready to jump into some Hebrew understanding? Good. I have taken the liberty to define the words as follows per the Hebrew:

1) Fear = YARE’ = revere, stand in awe, honor, respect
2) Follow = YALAK = to go, walk, proceed, live in
3) Love = ‘AHAB = act of being a friend, lover, love for another
4) Serve = ‘ABAD = to labor, to work, serve as a subject

If we were to look with this understanding at the words of Deuteronomy 10:12, we might find the verse to read more like this: “So now, Isra’el, all that Adonai your God asks from you is to stand in reverence and awe of Adonai your God, live in His ways, be His lover, and labor under Him as a servant to Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being.” This doesn’t seem to look like much, but the problem is we do not do it. Maybe better said, we do not do it consistently.
I think about this in regards to a diet or New Year’s resolution. In the beginning we are denying the sweets or making the purposed effort to go to the gym. But as the diet continues, or the mornings drag on, we find excuses to cheat on the self-control or talk ourselves out of going to work out. Don’t worry, I speak from experience. And I also speak from experience when it comes to the ways of doing as Adonai commands. I start out with awe for Him, coupled with the longing to live in His ways. I vow love and service, and boldly state that nothing can take this love away. But in time, be it soon or late, I find myself taking back pieces of the devotion I promised, taking my heart back and reclaiming my being.
What does Adonai ask? He ‘asks’, (or in the Hebrew the word is SHA’AL, meaning to beg), that we fear, follow, love, and serve. These aren’t things we are supposed to do only when they are fresh, but rather traits we are to live in constantly. His ways are not to be casual, but purposeful. So then, ask yourself, how are you living?

Deuteronomy 10:1-11
Deuteronomy 10:12 – 11:9