IN ALL YOUR WAYS, KNOW HASHEM

“He sent redemption to His nation, He commanded His covenant for eternity; holy and awesome is His Name!” Psalms 111:9

Today as I quickly put this Op together, it is 25 August 2023, deeper into the time of Teshuavah (Repentance) as we approach The Day of Judgement i.e. Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur next month! We know during this time of Teshuvah, HaShem makes Himself ever more available i.e. the King is in the field! He is ever more willing to accept our Teshuvah and help us get on the right path in our service to Him

This said, as we literally watch our world tear itself apart around us and society crumbles ever closer to total chaos, many may be thinking to themselves, ‘How are we going to get through this in one piece? How are we going to not be overwhelmed, overcome and smothered by the constant assault of the filth, debauchery, idolatry and insanity?’

Each of us today is facing trials and tribulations in our own personal lives unlike anytime before! The pressures of daily life seem to have become much more intense and occur more often. We get one issue resolved and immediately four more take its place combined with the added issue of not having enough funds just to live each day! In the carnal world it does indeed look hopeless and is utterly frustrating!

But this morning HaShem reminded me of a very important concept which each of us need to be reminded of as He reminded me! He reminded me of the simple verse in Proverbs 3:6 “In ALL your ways KNOW HaShem, and He WILL direct your paths!”

What does this mean exactly and how can we apply this to our daily lives? We will discuss this in this Op, but as always, never forget the eternal characteristics of HaShem and His Torah:

• HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
• His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
• He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
• He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
• He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
• He says His Torah is the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
• He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 and Psalm 119:160
• He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
• He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
• He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm 119:45 and James 1:25
• He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
• He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
• He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
• He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
• He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
• He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
• He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
• He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
• He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
• He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
• He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
• He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
• He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
• He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
• He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
• He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
• He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
• He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
• He says Messiah Yeshua is the GOAL of His Torah, meaning without His Torah, Messiah cannot be known per Romans 10:4
• He says if we had believed Moshe/Torah, we would have believed Messiah per John 5:46
• He says His salvation is far from the wicked for they sought not His Torah per Psalms 119:155
• He says to hold fast to and guard His Torah, for it is our life per Proverbs 4:13
• He says His Torah is the bread of life per Proverbs 9:5

The significance of this verse in Proverbs 3:6 cannot be underestimated! This one single verse, seemingly insignificant and glossed over, encapsulates the entirety of the Torah of HaShem! Berachos 63a from the Talmud Bavli describes this verse with the following statement: “This verse (Proverbs 3:6) encapsulates ALL the main ideas of the Torah!” Meaning, we all need to train ourselves to see HaShem in every part of our day and night, to include the seemingly meaningless and mundane parts! And further, to train ourselves to know what we do in our days and nights, are all in the service of HaShem! We have to learn to our lives are not our own, but each of us has been put here today in this world, for the service of the Great King, HaShem, the Sovereign of the universe!

A statement from the Perkei Avos (Ethics of our Fathers) 2:17 expounds on Proverbs 3:6 and says “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven. Even matters of choice, such as eating or drinking, sitting or standing, walking or resting, marital obligations, your conversation, and the needs of one’s physical body, they should all be for the service of our Creator.”

This is to reinforce just how close of a relationship HaShem desires to have with each of us on a personal level! When we can train ourselves to keep HaShem as our focus in everything we do, to include the mundane, we can always be reminded, He is in control over everything going on in the world and He promises to shelter, provide and protect His people even in the midst of raging storms of insanity, such as what we are seeing today!

HaShem gives us the recipe for how to succeed in this life! He says in Deuteronomy 6:1-3 “This is the commandment, and the decrees, and the ordinances that HaShem, your Elohim, commanded to teach you, to perform in the Land to which you are crossing, to possess it, so that you will fear HaShem, your Elohim, to observe all His decrees and commandments that I command you, you, your child, and your grandchild, all the days of your life, so that your days will be lengthened. You shall hearken, O Israel, and beware to perform, so that it will be good for you, and so that you will increase very much, as HaShem, the Elohim of your forefathers, spoke for you, a land flowing with milk and honey.” In other words, we are to have reverence and respect for HaShem and strive to keep Him as the focus of lives in everything we do and then we will succeed in this life, here and now in this world, regardless of what is going on around us! Keep this in mind!

What is very interesting is the commentary concerning Proverbs 3:6 all point to one very important prayer which we are commanded to recite twice a day, every day as a foundation of our walk and faith in HaShem! I am referring to ‘The Shema’ as given to us by HaShem in Deuteronomy 6:4 and following!

The Shema begins with “Hear, O Israel: HaShem is our Elohim, HaShem is the One and Only. You shall love HaShem, your Elohim, with all your heart, with all your soul, and will your resources. And these matters that I command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them while you sit in your home, and while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise. Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be ornaments between your eyes. And write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.”

First and foremost when we recite ‘The Shema’, we must understand we are choosing to accept HaShem as our King and afterward accept the yoke of His Torah! “We must internalize the understanding HaShem is the only One, Who has created all that is in existence, and is the Master of everything, with no partnership!”

Is this an easy thing to do? Unfortunately no, it isn’t! We must take small steps towards the goal, each and every day and yes, we will fall, but HaShem in His mercy and compassion, will pick us up and clean us of the garbage and we choose to keep walking forward, one small step at a time. HaShem doesn’t expect us to run like an Olympic athlete, but we take just one small step at a time.

Is this something Yeshua supported and taught? Absolutely yes! Remember, if He didn’t teach the Torah of HaShem, He isn’t Messiah! Yeshua said in Mark 12:29-31 “And Yeshua answered him (The Scribe asking Him what the greatest commandment is), the first of all the commands is ‘Hear, O Yisrael, HaShem our Elohim, HaShem is One (Quoting Deuteronomy 6:4), and you shall love HaShem your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength (Quoting Deuteronomy 6:5). This is the first command. And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other command greater than these!”

The command to love your neighbor as yourself is derived from Leviticus 19:18. But more importantly, this command is encapsulated in the Oral Torah, specifically tractate Nedarim 9.4 from the Talmud Yerushalmi states “And you shall love your fellow as yourself. This verse is the great principle of the Torah. One who complies with this principle will obey all of HaShem’s commandments, just as a person wants others to obey his wishes. By following the dictate of this verse, a person frees himself from selfishness and egotism and is capable of properly fulfilling all of HaShem’s commands.”

My point for highlighting this verse is Yeshua is not only pointing to HaShem but also to HaShem’s Torah….His entire Torah i.e. Written and Oral, as the means to learn to walk with HaShem!

So, to sum this short Op up, is to reiterate what HaShem said in the beginning…learn His Torah and walk in His commandments, not perfectly, and then we will succeed in this life. Does this imply there won’t be trials and problems and storms to endure? Not at all, but it means by staying close to HaShem, holding onto Him and His Torah, we will better endure the storms which strike in our lives! Remember He says it rains on the just and the unjust per Matthew 5:45!

This Op is meant solely to be a helpful reminder for all of us to include myself! There is hope and we cannot let go of this fact! Study His Torah and see how many times He saved Israel from disaster even when they didn’t merit His favor, He still saved them! He is unchanging and reveals the end from the beginning! Thank HaShem His Word is firmly established and His Torah is still today a tree of life to those who take hold of it! Thank HaShem His Torah was NOT done away with nor tossed aside and replaced but is available for all of us today!! Much to consider!

In all our ways KNOW HaShem and He WILL direct our paths! May it be so very soon in our days!

SOURCE MATERIALS:

• Artcroll Tanach
• Artscroll Talmud Yerushalmi Nedarim
• The Scriptures by the Institute for Scripture Research
• Perkei Avos by Artscroll