THE ONE WORD ORDER
by Kolyah
January 26, 2020
NOTE: Do not share this material with those who are not of like mind; especially those who are hostile to our faith and values. There are individuals and organizations, who would like to keep this voice from speaking and from being heard. Please use Divine discernment. Thank you so much!
“HOW DEEP IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP … HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE?”
We all know that the scriptures warn us about the end time phenomenon of human love growing cold in the world. Even those closest to our heart are foretold to cool down in their level of love and trust for us. At a time, when the love thermometer is dropping, and when people are becoming unwilling to protect/preserve the precious gifts of intimate relationship, truth, and faith, it’s no wonder that betrayals will be common in these days … particularly among family members and friends. Let’s look at some scriptures, which will point out to us the cost of growing cold and indifferent.
Turn to Hosea 4:1. (NASB)
1 Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel,
For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness or kindness
Or knowledge (daat in Hebrew) of God in the land.
Daat comes from the Hebrew verb yada. This word indicates more than just knowing facts. Daat knowledge is achieved when we connect with a person, or with a piece of information that we absorb, digest, and cherish to become part of us. Daat is an intimate connection. Daat always means an intimate connection … as in a marital union. A personal investment is indicated … a close contact that is up close, personal, and deep. It is not a surface understanding, but rather an intimate knowing. Daat includes an intimate valuing of another’s feelings because of a deep affection for, and a deep cherishing of, that person and of his/her relationship with us. That kind of knowing ... that kind of investment and love … is not easily shaken. It bears all things thrown at it and continues to stand in place, unmoved.
Now go down to verses 10 and 11.
Vs. 10-11
10 They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the harlot, but not increase,
Because they have stopped giving heed to the Lord (giving heed is):
11 Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.
The words that I want us to focus on in this text are “giving heed”. In Hebrew that word is lishmor. This kind of giving heed, is not merely to take notice of something, but rather to keep watch, to preserve, to keep (maintain) something.
The sin against the Lord, as described above, begins with two things that have been neglected by the people.
1. the knowledge of the YHVH in the Land
-- giving heed to the Lord … keeping watch over the relationship with Him and preserving it as a priority.
The consequences to the people and nation are horrific. Sin engulfs the Land and the hearts of the people. They lose their way, and no longer understand what is real truth and what is actual treasure. They are rife with idolatry that feeds their flesh. They are devoid of understanding regarding what actually is false and true, and unaware of what is happening to them. They have stopped prospering and growing. In essence, they are clueless. They don’t care at all about attending to the Source of life and meaning, because YHVH has been replaced by the carnal and by the perverse. They have established idolatrous substitutes as their highest joy. They are too busy feeding the inclinations of their flesh … being seduced by the world … to notice that they are dying spiritually and relationally. They don’t even know that they are naked, blind, and starving … as they careen toward destruction. Does that sound familiar regarding a large population of our society?
Now look at Ezekiel 23:28-30.
28 For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hands of those you hate, from whom you turned away in disgust. 29 They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity 30 have brought these things upon you, because you have prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
Read Rev 16:15
15“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
These texts indicate that we must remain in the Lord, attend to His will, way, and word at all times. We need to be in a deep and continuing relationship with Him, so that we will have knowledge … DAAT knowledge … of Him most intimately. In this way, we will be awake and fully dressed when He returns, and in the meantime, we will prosper.
In this hour the Lord is asking us: “HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE FOR ME? HOW COMMITED IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ME? HOW MUCH DO YOU CARE FOR MY HEART?”
What the Lord is saying in the Hosea texts is that the sin of the people is not just a dearth of obedience on Israel’s part. We all know that we can obey without any element of love or investment in the person making demands upon us. We can do things out of compliance or out of loveless duty. Sometimes we may find it merely practical to obey, so that we get a benefit from the obedience, or perhaps, to avoid potential loss. We can obey without any element of our hearts being included in our actions or motives at all … basically without loving the person making the request. Such is the obedience of a slave, and not of a son. When the commandment says “children honor your father and mother”, obedience is innate to that command; however, it is much more than just that. Giving true honor always involves the heart. Within the commandment, the Lord is saying that children should also respect and cherish their parents, as they follow their lead in the Lord. They are not to give parents resentful, robotic, compliance. They are to have their heart invested in obeying, in order to receive blessings and safety, but also to bring joy to their parents … caring for their parent’s hearts. He gives the same message to parents regarding loving and caring for their children. Many places in scripture tell us to honor each other with loving service and obedience. Wouldn’t we assume that honoring YHVH also involves this kind of love and care from our hearts being extended to Him?
I find it amazing that the Lord wants us to relate to Him intimately. It’s even more amazing that He loves us with an “all-in” love that cherishes us, and which cares about, and cares for, every need, hurt, and aspect of our lives. That is exactly what He longs from us toward Him. We are to love Him and to cherish Him, as well as to be concerned about His heart and what He desires. That is what comprises a relationship of daat knowledge. His word indicates that our relationship to Him is to be like His version of a marriage covenant. Daat knowledge includes a mental, emotional, and spiritual unity that comes from the pursuit and discovery of the deep things (sometimes unspoken things) in another. This kind of relationship is framed in a serious commitment of care and value for the person with whom we have made covenant.
Can you imagine (or perhaps some of you have sadly known this by experience) what it is like to be married to someone without DAAT knowledge operating in your relationship? That would be a relationship comprised of being merely housemates, who get physical needs met with little personal work or investment, and without the desire to truly know the deeper things of each other. This kind of relationship would be very unlike the way the Lord wants our marriages to be. Take a look at some of the manifestations of a “daatless” marriage.
In this type of marriage …
--You somewhat know the history of your mate, but you aren’t interested in KNOWING (daat) how that history has impacted the heart and journey of him/her. Instead, you make assumptions, form conclusions and templates, so that you can formulate interpretations of his/her behaviors on a judgmental level … because of what you are certain you understand.
--The routine of communications is this: Give me the facts and only the facts. Give me the bottom line and do it quickly. Don’t cloud the issues with feelings and with reports of your pain, or of reports from your history. I don’t want the details. Make your point and get it over with.
--You don’t have the best interest of each other at heart. You don’t see the positives before you note the negatives in the other person. You focus on what needs to be fixed in the other person and then pound home your fix, until the other person “gets it”.
--You think of yourself first, and then of what outside onlookers will think, before you consider the pain and the impact that a conflictual situation (involving your spouse and someone else) may be having on him/her.
--You don’t serve as a champion for your spouse nor he/she for you. You don’t stand up for your spouse when he/her is getting accused or attacked. You stay silent, or join in with the negative charges made against him/her.
--You often count the cost to yourself first, rather than automatically stepping into an advocate position in support of your spouse.
--The emotional pain of your spouse is not YOUR pain, so you let him/her work it out on his/her own. In a “daatless” marriage, giving comfort means that you are taking sides, so you stand back to stay neutral and uninvolved where there is a conflict between your spouse and another person. You call it fairness for all, but it’s really a selfish stepping aside, rather than sharing the burden or finding a solution to a problem, and caring for a heart.
--You assume the worst and don’t give the benefit of the doubt of him/her when you hear of a conflict that your spouse is involved in. You pile on with accusations and with negative charges, which have been mined from your own past experience of conflict with your spouse.
--Both parties, or one party, insist on having things her/his own way (or having the last word), so apply strong-arm methods and manipulation to get one’s way. Anger is often the tool used to take control, and to direct an outcome with the spouse.
--Judgements are instant and often arise from unexplored erroneous conclusions. They are spouted out without regard to the impact on the other person’s heart or perspective. It’s more important to be the loudest, and to get the last word in, than it is to gain a deeper understanding, which would involve personal time and investment.
--Personal power is wielded, as well as is personal position, in order make a point in a dispute or in a situation of uncertainly and confusion.
--Gentleness, kindness, tenderness, and self-control are lacking or are infrequent. There is little passion and little concern for the wholeness of the other person, or of the relationship itself.
--Few affirmations of the other person are given or deemed necessary. Few genuine, selfless gestures of love are extended.
--Gestures of love toward either of you, whenever given, are frequently ignored or rebuffed … perhaps even dismissed with the charge of “just being manipulative”.
--Serving each other does not happen often, but when it does it is not out of loving care, but rather out of fulfilling some kind of expectation, or to manipulate the other in order to gain something or to avoid something.
--I’ll scratch your back, if you scratch mine is a common modality/requirement for getting what you want.
--Selfishness abounds. It must be MY WAY, in MY TIMING, ACCORDING TO MY PERSPECTIVES, STYLE, OR TERMS … whether in conversations or in actions. It suggests that things have to be said and done to accommodate MY comfort, standards, and satisfaction.
--When there is conflict or misunderstanding, someone walks away in a mad huff; blaming or accusing the other person for the upset or the impasse. It’s easy to cut off the person with whom you are in conflict, or with whom you are displeased.
--Each does not allow the other to speak his/her full point of heart, while at the same time accusing the other of talking too much and of controlling the conversation
--There is not an inquiry about what the person meant by his/her words or actions. Conclusions and judgements are instant, often based upon past experience or personal definitions, filters etc. These conclusions and judgments are expressed/declared with the authority of being the truth.
--Extending forgiveness or apologies are rare. Most often they are intentionally withheld.
--The couple has a perfunctory relationship … speaking only about carnal things and basic information regarding operations and schedules, without any depth or interest in the other person’s life. They are sharing space … perhaps finances … maybe meals … and little else.
--There is little or no prayer being done together, and little desire to seek the Lord for the fulfillment/ the destiny of the marriage … or that of the partner. Being transparent before the Lord together … or before each other … is not a desire or a priority.
--Other people and other things, such as television, hobbies, the internet, novels, sports, shopping, and outside relationships are as satisfying (or more so) than interacting with the spouse.
--It doesn’t matter if you are together in proximity or physically apart from each. It’s all the same … or maybe it’s more comfortable being apart.
--You tolerate each other and give up the desire for something more between you.
Now, go back over that list and put the Lord in each of the statements … with YHVH being your spouse. Do we treat/regard Him these ways at any time? How exactly to we treat Him in that way? Does He ever treat or regard us that way? Consider the difference between having legal obligations as the foundation of the relationship, as opposed to having the relationship established upon the attitudes and the priorities of love and care. According to the spiritual legalities of sin and death, the Lord should have banished or eliminated all of us a long time ago.
Where are our passions … are they in carnal things and in the self … are they in the spiritual and in the selfless love of the other? This is why Israel went astray from YHVH. The flesh began serving as the foundation of life, rather than Eternal One. The love of self and of personal desires/ pleasure were more fulfilling and gratifying than intimacy with the Creator, in the assessments/values/priorities of the people. What is the evidence of the passion in our life?
Literally having DAAT knowledge for YHVH speaks of having compassion and sympathy for what YHVH is feeling in His heart. It means that we would value His heart even more than our own. That translates as: What breaks His heart breaks ours. What He longs for in agony, because of His passionate love, is what we long for. The people at Hosea’s time couldn’t care less that YHVH’s heart was breaking because of their spiritual adultery and lack of interest in relating to Him. It wasn’t even on their radar screen, because they had turned their backs against His face, against His heart, and against His word.
In this hour we need to assess how deep our love is for YHVH. We need to consider if we have daat knowledge of Him, and if we are preserving that relationship and honoring Him in our part of the covenant. NOTE: If we do not have daat knowledge and love of Him, we WILL NOT have that for each other … even within the Body of Messiah. Perhaps this is why we see so much pettiness, accusation, lovelessness, and hard heartedness in the church. Perhaps this is why the divorce rate of proclaimed Christians is almost exactly that of the unbelieving world.
**How eager and excited are we to spend time with Him and to know what He is saying, asking, or thinking?
**How precious is His word to us? What are we willing to sacrifice to be in His word and to glean from it? How much do we consult His word to determine our course, to renew our mind, and to change our heart?
** How much do we seek after, listen to, and cherish His voice? How much time do we sit in silence at His feet attending to Him … waiting for Him? Patiently, silently, lovingly waiting for Him in trust?
**Do we offer Him each day before it begins, and seek His guidance and help for living it according to His plan? Or do we consult Him only after our plans have failed?
**How concerned are we for His reputation and for the sanctity of His name? How much do we grieve when the name of a false god is declared greater than His? (HINT: allah hu akbar in Arabic declares that the [false] Islamic god is greater than YHVH) How often do we respond interiorly with sadness when YHVH’s name is used as a curse or as an expletive?
**How much personal pain do we suffer when we see rebellion, abortion, false-doctrines, transgenderism, culturally endorsed/affirmed homosexuality, pedophilia, idolatry, false prophets, lies, and many varieties of sin … in our life, in our family, in our society and in our world?
**How many deep and genuine tears rise up during our times of intercession and repentance?
**What are we willing to risk or to sacrifice that YHVH might be introduced to others … so that the prodigals can come home?
**How far will we go to stand up for Him and to stand with Him in the perverse world?
**What is our chief and highest joy?
Our loving Father wants to pour out blessing to us, His children. He longs for us to KNOW HIM and to want be more like Him. He wants us to be well fed and royally dressed in His word and in the spiritual gifts. He wants us to prosper, to grow, and to increase in our sphere of influence. He wants us to have daat knowledge of Him, even as He already has daat knowledge of us. Just as He treasures, preserves, and guards His relationship with us, He wants us to treasure, guard and preserve our relationship with Him; honoring His word of truth as part of that relationship.
So, it’s really up to us. YHVH has done His part. What changes do we need to make in our commitments, lifestyles, calendars, priorities, values, behaviors, choices, appetites, desires, and heart so that we can come into a deeper daat knowledge of Him? He is ALL IN. Are we? He has already laid it all down for us? What are we willing to lay down to honor Him, and to preserve this precious gift of relationship with Him? Oh, that He would be our chief joy and passion every moment of our day! How easily we could change the world, and at the same time bring immense joy and honor to YHVH, as we live and operate out of daat knowledge of Him.
Lord, help us to refocus what is of greatest value to us. Help us change our hearts, and enable us to go deeper! Help us to desire more of You and more daat knowledge of You than we have ever sought or acquired before! Help us to eagerly preserve this relationship that you offer us. Help us to be ALL IN with You … even if it costs us EVERYTHING. For YOU are worthy of it all. B’shem Yeshua Ha Mashiach, AMEN
How long, oh Lord, until we will be living more in your likeness?