Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Loyalty & Knowledge


Our nation has been through quite a lot the last few months. Despite the pandemic, the unemployment and the political and social instability we seem to actually be doing pretty good. So good in fact that I haven’t personally seen much evidence of new spiritual brokenness and seeking after G-d among people, something that I have been praying quite regularly for. I guess people are doing well over all, and G-d isn’t really relevant went things are going well, right? Of course wrong, but for the “spiritual but not religious” age we are living in, let’s be honest, seeking a deep passionate faith in an all-powerful G-d isn’t really high on people’s priorities.

The Scriptures, especially the prophetic books, put a big emphasis on just this issue: “it’s not what you’re doing, it’s how serious your commitment to G-d really is!” We often recall King Saul’s disobedience in offering a sacrifice, and Samuel’s rebuke – “It’s better to obey then sacrifice”, but the prophets take it a step further and state, “It’s better to be in serious committed relationship with G-d then to sacrifice”. In my recent reading of Hosea I was reminded of this, and especially was impacted by the Hebrew words translated “loyalty” and “knowledge” in Hosea 6:6:

For I delight in loyalty and not sacrifice, knowledge of G-d more than burnt offerings. (TLV)

The Hebrew word for “loyalty” is chesed which has the meaning of deep commitment from one individual to another! The word “knowledge” is da’at having the meaning of intimacy of relationship. Deep commitment and intimacy is really what matters to G-d. Not our religious habits and customs, no matter how Scripturally aligned they might be!

May we be renewed in our loyalty to G-d and our passionate desire to know him more intimately each and every day. May we be humbled before G-d and spiritually refreshed in the knowledge of his commitment to us.  This is what G-d desires from us and this is the message our messed up world needs to see and hear right now from us as believers in Messiah Yeshua.

Forward for Messiah,
Kirk Gliebe
Rabbi & Director