Musing – What’s our relationship with Almighty God?

Hebraic Musing – What’s our relationship with Almighty God?

How much should we honor and respect our elders?

The popular fifth mitzvah, commonly known as the fifth commandment, tells us to “Honor your father and your mother…” Dt. 5:16  The meanings include (a) respect and honor your parents as they are older, wiser and responsible for you; and (b) learn to respect and honor authority so life will go well for you.  It makes sense to me that someone with grey hair is older and therefore probably wiser than the younger person who is in need of knowledge and still seeking wisdom. So it seems that the bigger the age gap, there should be more wisdom and therefore the more honor and respect due the grey-haired person. (I recognize this is self-serving logic when I look in a mirror!) 

So if respect, honor and wisdom are based on the age differential…

Point to ponder

How much older and wiser is Father God than any of us?

Is holiness something I should strive to become, or am I holy already?

Leviticus is a book about “holiness”. In my NIV, Lev. 19:2 concludes with a common statement we quote often “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” NIV

The statement starts with “Be holy…” and I have always thought of this as a command to action on my part to live a “holy”, set apart and righteous life. The CJB starts with “You people are to be holy…” which again I have interpreted as a call to action on my part.  In the NLT and TLB the statement starts with “You must be holy…” which sounds like an even more threatening command for me to do something.

However the NKJV, ESV, NASB, ASV and the JPS start with “You shall be holy…” which implies that we chosen peoples are holy “because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”  Is God saying that we chosen peoples are (both present and future tense) “holy” (simply) because He is holy?  Has he imputed His holiness to us.  Thus we are not “holy” because of what we do.  I’ve been assuming I had to make myself behave in a holy manner, striving to be like Him, God?

Point to ponder

Is ‘holiness’ a gift from God to His chosen people?
or

Is ‘holiness’ something I need to strive to become?

Two thoughts from Torah study last week. No wonder Tuesday Torah is my favorite event!

Shalom

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                                   May 6, 2014

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”
And weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings” 
Yosef1@cox.net  or  www.InsightsByYosef.com