HEBREW IS A LANGUAGE much more limited than English. Modern Hebrew has about thirty thousand words, some with multiple meanings depending on context, while English, a more precise language. has at least one-hundred-seventy-one thousand words. In Hebrew, and in particular in Judaism, the Hebrew word *“halakha” means both “to walk” and “to go.” Walking and going are linked in the Hebrew; in ancient times, most people walked in order to go to their destination. The Rabbis teach in the Midrash—the Jewish commentaries—that it is the ‘daily walk’ of moral conduct, leading to right actions and observable righteousness.
So we begin to understand Isaiah when he says, “The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.” (Isa. 26:7) For Isaiah, it is Yahweh who not only makes the path smooth before his servants, but who also compels each of them, and each of us, on the pathway, ‘the going to’ of those who seek God. He adds, “Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” (Isa. 26:8) Proverbs illustrates such thoughts well. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6)
There is this wisdom from the Psalms to consider, also. “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water.” (Psa. 1:1-3) There is both blessing and woe in these last verses; blessing for the faithful, but woe for those who are evil. Isaiah is specific about the woe. “But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness. Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it.” (Isa. 26:10a, 11a) Such is the life of the evil, who have turned away from the living God to idols.
But the life of the righteous is a different story, for they have turned their attention, in belief and in force of will, to God as their unending source of strength. Isaiah says, “My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you.” (Isa. 26:9a) This is at the heart of worship. God has said that he will eventually rescue everyone, “who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.” (Isa. 43:7)
When we become parents, we stay close to our young children in order to encourage them to get up when they fall, to keep him or her from making bad life-changing mistakes, to walk alongside them in times of trouble. “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Pro. 22:6) Once our child has grown up, they become independent, and also responsible for their own actions. We should then give them the space to walk on their own and find God’s path for their life. Our parents did this for us, if we are fortunate, and we bear the same righteous and sacred responsibility to pay this forward.
Each person’s daily walk in righteousness is their own, and is carried out under the gaze of God. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.” (1 Pet.1:12) We need the strength that comes only from him in order to stay centered in our path, pace, and persistence. “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13) But his standards are so high! Yet, John says, “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:3, 5b-6)
Our daily walk is a long journey, a ‘going to’ on a singular pathway. Our destination is heaven, and who knows how many steps that will take? We do know that it is a life-time walk before God’s and towards a final destination. Father, we pray you walk with us in our daily trials, and that we will know the full measure of your presence as we stay centered in faith and obedience. Help us, Father, each step of the way.
Q. Is my walk consistently guided by the inerrant word of God?
*Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Halakhah.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Sep. 2019. Accessed 27 September, 2022. “Halacha” – the totality of laws and ordinances that have evolved since biblical times to regulate religious observances and the daily life and conduct of the Jewish people.
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