Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar;
Deuteronomy 10:20: “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.”
In past studies I looked at what it meant to “fear God.” I also looked at the word for “serve.” Here is a third command to consider in our relationship to God. We are to “cling to Him.”
Again, today, I am following the “daleth.” The word for cling is “daveykut.” It literally means to cling. It also means to adhere, cleave, follow close. A modern day rabbi described it as “welding” yourself to God. In a more poetic sense, it is you and God sharing a hug.
Rabbinic literature teaches that daveykus is a high and deep stage of spiritual development where the seeker attaches himself or herself to God and exchanges individuality for a profound partnership with the Holy One. The force behind a daveykus is the love of God and desire for intimacy or closeness with God.
Many othodox Jews view the requirements of the Sabbath as the gift of the Sabbath. The requirements are not a burdensome bother filled with restrictions, but an opportunity to draw closer to God to enter into a daveykus. The do’s and don’t’s of the laws are opportunities to connect with God. This is why David said in Psalms 1:2: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
How can anyone get so excited about laws? David could because the law of God was an opportunity to enter into a daveykus with God. The law is the gateway to a daveykus, a clinging or an intimacy with God.
Consider the “gift” of the Sabbath. Why do you keep the Sabbath? Why do you go to church? Some people see it as a obligation to maybe win some favor with God so they can get some blessing or good luck or go to heaven. For others, it is an opportunity to draw closer to God.
You do not get to heaven by keeping the law. You can only get to heaven through the finished work of Jesus Christ. The law, however, is the way of getting to know this Jesus who is taking you to heaven. As the old saying goes: “To know Him is to love Him.” When you start loving Him then you start to desire a daveykus, a hug.
But soft, there is a flip side to this clinging business. God is not calling us to be a parasite. We do not cling to him like a leech to your leg. This thing is two sided. God will cling to us if we cling to him. The picture is that of two lovers embracing each other. Daveykus is not a group hug. It is a hug between two individuals, you and God. When God embraces you it is as if there is no other being in this universe than you. He gives you his full, complete attention in a daveykus. C.S Lewis describe God living outside of time such that he can spend every moment or second with you. When He finishes he just runs back in time and picks up with someone else. That is how He is omnipresent. Thus, you have His complete and full attention every second of your life. He has nothing else to do but stand in front of you with His arms open waiting for you to step into His arms so He can give you a hug (daveykus).
We come to God with a lot of “give me’s.” How about coming to him for a special “give me.” “Give me a hug.”
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