Cleave
“Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.” Deuteronomy 13:4
I know it has been an extremely long time since my last post. I am sorry for that, but I tend to post as things strike me. My biggest fear is to post something that God does not want posted. So, therefore, if there is not a strong movement within me to post, I tend to stay quiet. My kids probably wish I would take on more of this attitude at home. Tough luck kiddos!!
At the time I write this, I am attempting to prepare myself for a dreadful day as a parent. My first born will be graduating high school in a couple of weeks. I thought I was ready for this, but as the days go by, I realize I am woefully not. It has really gotten me thinking about all the things I have tried to teach her over the years, and of all the things I am afraid that I may have missed. I hope she can say that I have taught her more than I have missed, but I don’t know. As a result of my uncertainty, yall will have to suffer through this post as I indirectly try to pass on a vital life lesson that I hope she understands.
In our verse today, we find Moses getting close to his last days trying to teach the children of Israel everything he can before his death. Moses is officially in Grandpa mode and dishing out the words of wisdom to his “children” so that he can rest easy. Moses knows that the children of Israel are about to go into the Promised Land. A land that they have never seen and only heard about. They are about to go from being homeless to being essentially rich. He knew that they were about to face temptations that they could never imagine. All they have known is Egyptian slavery and the wilderness for all their lives. They are about to have freedom beyond their wildest dreams. With that freedom, comes temptation.
Moses wanted to make sure that he shared with the Jewish people the secret to the ultimate success in life. Not the success as recognized by the world. He wanted them to focus on the important things in life. The permanent things in life and not the temporary.
Moses told them to follow God, fear God, keep his commandments, obey him, and serve him. When you consider what the Bible says in other passages, Moses comes across as pretty smart. Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Jesus said if we love him we will keep his commandments. Evidently Moses knew what he was talking about. Imagine that, listening to God made Moses pretty smart. That kind of knowledge goes a long way. I mean later on, hundreds of years after his death, Moses returns to the Mount of Transfiguration to consult with God’s own Son. That, my friends, is being held in pretty high standards with God. We should all strive for such a status with God.
The one thing I want us to focus on though is the last thing that Moses told the people to do in the verse. He said to “cleave” to God. What does “cleave” mean? According to the handy dandy Bible dictionary, the word cleave means to “cling to”, “hold to”, or “stick to” something. When you cling to something you hang on tight to it. You don’t want it to get away from you. If you are a parent, you have probably experienced a moment when your young child was scared and afraid. Their arms wrapped around you so tight you could hardly breathe. They wanted your comfort. They needed to feel close. They needed you to ease their anxiety. That is the way Moses wanted the children of Israel to hold onto God. Cling to Him as if you will die without Him. Let Him comfort you. Let Him ease your anxiety. He is worth sticking to. He will provide you everything you could ever need.
I hope this helps someone in some way. And Mattie, if you read this, the best advice I can give to you is this verse in Deuteronomy 13:4. Read it. Learn it. Apply it. If you will do this, I have no doubt, you will have the ultimate success in life. God’s success.