A friend recently inquired of me, “So what does GOD want from me?”
Shortest answer is: “He wants us to choose HIM”!
Now Wait, wait just a minute. That answer was really short, but was it accurate?
We will come back top that in a little while.
My second answer comes from Isaiah 56: א כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, שִׁמְרוּ מִשְׁפָּט
וַעֲשׂוּ צְדָקָה: כִּי-קְרוֹבָה יְשׁוּעָתִי לָבוֹא, וְצִדְקָתִי לְהִגָּלוֹת.
1 Thus saith the LORD: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come, and My favour to be revealed.
ב אַשְׁרֵי אֱנוֹשׁ יַעֲשֶׂה-זֹּאת, וּבֶן-אָדָם יַחֲזִיק בָּהּ–שֹׁמֵר שַׁבָּת מֵחַלְּלוֹ, וְשֹׁמֵר יָדוֹ מֵעֲשׂוֹת כָּל-רָע. {ס}
2 Happy is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast by it: that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
That was a little more meat in the answer, still it is True.
The protracted answer is:
Initial explanation, we must personally choose GOD or Not(choose anything other than GOD). Alternate explanation, we do as GOD has said to do, hence we are for GOD, or we are against GOD and refuse to do as GOD commanded to be done.
Consequence stated by GOD: Exodus 32: 31) And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said: ‘Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them a god of gold. 32) Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.’ 33) And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. –Death of the SOUL, the soul is marked for death the moment of sin. Only you mark your soul with SIN and death, only GOD can remove the mark. Hence the saying, the wage of sin is death, it only takes one sin.
Isaiah 56: א כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, שִׁמְרוּ מִשְׁפָּט
וַעֲשׂוּ צְדָקָה: כִּי-קְרוֹבָה יְשׁוּעָתִי לָבוֹא, וְצִדְקָתִי לְהִגָּלוֹת.
1) Thus saith the LORD: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come, and My favour to be revealed.
ב אַשְׁרֵי אֱנוֹשׁ יַעֲשֶׂה-זֹּאת, וּבֶן-אָדָם יַחֲזִיק בָּהּ–שֹׁמֵר שַׁבָּת מֵחַלְּלוֹ, וְשֹׁמֵר יָדוֹ מֵעֲשׂוֹת כָּל-רָע. {ס}
2) Happy is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast by it: that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
The basic parts of those two verses are in my mind, to execute justice(According to Writings of Moses) and be righteous { Both of these require that you KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT to do and Doing It YOURSELF(Righteousness), while Justice is performing Righteously when dealing with all others. Add to that verse 2) above, Keep the Sabbath(Do Not Profane It) and Keep your hands from doing any evil(Self restraint so that the hands are not allowed to act without the Heart and Mind ruling over your hands.)
When we have chosen poorly, we are to Return to GOD, Repent and Strive Diligently to Follow GOD, examples:
Deuteronomy 30: [Note:: This chapter is very interesting, in that I have found, that in the Torah(Five Books of Moses) everything of importance, which we are to observe and diligently follow is presented at least twice. Here we have many repeats in various styles, return unto GOD; follow HIS LAW; with all of your heart; with all of your soul;]
2) and shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and hearken to His voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul;
8) And thou shalt return and hearken to the voice of the LORD, and do all His commandments which I command thee this day.
10) if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.
15) See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil,16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances; then thou shalt live and multiply, and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.
19) I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed;20) to love the LORD thy God, to hearken to His voice, and to cleave unto Him; for that is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
[Leviticus 26: 40 And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their treachery which they committed against Me, and also that they have walked contrary unto Me.]
[Jeremiah 3:12 . . . . I will not frown upon you; for I am merciful, saith the LORD, I will not bear grudge for ever.
13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every leafy tree, and ye have not hearkened to My voice, saith the LORD.]
I will bring this one to a close, but not before “He wants us to choose HIM”! ; giving two examples of Not Choosing GOD, and the results.
Adam in the Garden of Eden, while GOD Spoke with Adam in the Garden and yet Adam did what Eve said and ate thereby choosing Eve over GOD. The text Genesis 3: 17 …. ‘Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee’ Adam chose Eve against GOD, result: the ground was cursed.
Another similar event is Moses at the Waters of Strife where he struck the rock. GOD’s complaint is: Numbers 20: 12 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron: ‘Because ye believed not in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, . . . .’ First, the word for “Believed or Believe” more correctly translated should be “Trust or Trusted”, where in my research Trust and Believe are evidence based words. In this discussion both Adam and Moses had direct communications with GOD, and both had evidence that GOD Watched over them, provide for them and for Moses, GOD always defended Moses against those against him. This defense was not needed for Adam. In this even Moses allowed his frustration and pain to overwhelm him instead of remembering that GOD was with him, he raged against the Israelites and forgot GOD for a moment, thereby taking glory from GOD for himself. Although, I see that Moses did not intend taking glory from GOD before the Children of Israel, it did happen and was a great sin on Moses’ part. Moses should have TRUSTED GOD!
There is no lack of examples, but to restrain myself from overloading the reader, I close with that. If you have questions or comments, please let me know. Thank you.
p.s. I put in the Hebrew for those that can read/understand it properly. Both the Hebrew and the quoted text here will be from http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1056.htm which is a JPS 1917 translation – very similar to the King James Translation.