Prayer: Father, You demand my whole heart. Help me to give You my whole heart, withholding nothing. Amen.
Reading: 1 Samuel 7 key: vs. 3-4 “Then Samuel spoke to the whole house of Israel saying, “If you are returning to Adonai with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, direct your hearts to Adonai and serve Him only. Then He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” So Bnei-Yisrael removed the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served Adonai alone.” TLV
Attention: There are many conditional statements which Adonai makes in scriptures. Conditional statements are statements which begin with “if” you will do this, then “I” will do such and such. Today He tells the children of Bnei-Yisrael through Samuel, “if you are returning to Adonai with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, direct your hearts to Adonai and serve Him only. Then (Adonai) He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”
What were Baalim and Ashtaroth? According to the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “Astaroth appears to be the sister of the goddess Anath and the spouse of the god Baal. Anath was also the spouse of Baal, as well as the goddess of love and war. Astaroth was a Canaanite goddess of fertility, love, and war.” The name “Baal occurs in the OT as a noun meaning ‘lord, owner, possessor, or husband.”
Baal and Ashtaroth were both worshipped by the Canaanites and proved a great temptation for Bnei-Yisrael. Through Samuel, Adonai demanded that Israel forsake the worship of Baal and Ashtaroth, give Him their whole hearts and serve Him only. According to Samuel, Israel turns their whole hearts toward God and served Him only. He in turn, delivered Israel from the oppressing Philistines.
Is this not what Adonai demands of us? The New Covenant Yeshua spoke in Matthew 22:36-37 says, ““Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
The Covenant has not changed. Adonai still demands the same from us today. He demands our whole heart.
Action: I choose today to give God my whole heart and strive to serve Him with my whole heart too.
Yield: I choose to yield to God, giving Him my whole heart.
Engage: I choose today to engage with the Holy Spirit in worshipping Adonai only, in spirit and truth.
Relationship: I choose today to live in intimate relationship with Adonai.
Prayer: Father, You are consistent throughout history. You demand the same from me, that you demanded of the nation Israel. You are faithful. Help me to be faithful too. Amen.
Memory Verse: Micah 6:8 “He has told you, humanity, what is good, and what Adonai is seeking from you: Only to practice justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” TLV
Music Video: Pat Barrett—Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly https://youtu.be/dk7llf2LkKc
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”