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.
