relationships

Relax, take it easy

I’m not really sure what the Israelites’ lifestyle was like during the time they were settling in the land of Canaan, but I imagine it was a little like when I go camping with my family. We like to tent camp, so we are pretty much out in the open spaces of the campground most of the time. There is little privacy and it is difficult not to get in each other’s way or interact with the campers around us because we are all sharing the common areas. Therefore, most everything happens in public including our emotional upsets and the tension that may develop between us.

A couple of years ago, we had a big family blow out on one of our camping trips and it resulted in so much tension that the trip was cut short because we couldn’t deal with the public airing of our dirty laundry  so to speak and wanted to go back to the safety of our homes where we had four walls to contain things.

Camping among the inhabitants of Canaan had to be challenging for the Israelites. Their presence was a constant reminder that war was inevitable and their track record of annihilating their enemies left no doubt that they intended to conquer every nation within the territory that God had given them to possess. When it says “the land had rest’ (Judges 3:11, 30), during the interim periods of their engagement in warfare, it means there was a period of time when the atmosphere was peaceful, a time when the people were able to relax and take it easy.

When I was growing up, it seemed like our home was always filled with tension, at least it was when one or more of my parents were there. My mom and dad fought constantly and my dad who was an alcoholic had a tendency toward violence. Aside from the fear that was always present in my life, I had a problem with not being able to relax. I was always on the alert for my dad being triggered or my mom having a bad day at work. There was never any relief, even when I was sleeping. I was often awakened by shouts and screams and witnessed my dad beating up my mom on more than one occasion.

For the past 3 1/2 years, I have been living alone and have begun to enjoy the benefit of being able to relax whenever I am at home. I think the rest that came to the land after conflicts were resolved was God’s way of showing the Israelites what things would have been like if they had obeyed him and driven the occupants of the Promised Land out. The 40 years of rest may have been a type of compensation for the 40 years they spent in the wilderness or it may have been how long it took the Israelites to forget that peace and prosperity are a whole lot better than being unequally yoked to someone that believes a marriage license gives him or her the right to treat you like a sex object.

I still love you

If you have your eyes closed, how close does someone have to be for you to sense his presence? I cannot see God, but there are times when I can feel his presence. Part of what affects my awareness of someone’s presence is my feelings toward that person. In particular, fear and love have a strong baring on whether or not I will be affected when someone gets close to me.

In Joshua’s final address to Israel, he reminds the people that they must remain close to God, “But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day” (Joshua 23:8) and warns them against letting their affection toward God diminish because they are living among foreigners. “Take good heed therefore unto your selves, that ye love the LORD your God, else if you do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you” (Joshua 23: 11-12).

The word translated cleave, dâbaq (daw – bak′) means to keep close and is the same word that is used in Genesis 2:24 where it says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.” It appears there is a connection between love and cleaving to someone because Joshua tells the Israelites to love the LORD and cleave to him rather than the foreigners that are living among them.

When my love for the Lord is strong, it seems like I am more aware of his presence. It’s as if the stirring of my heart tells me he is near. The only way I can control my emotions when I am in love with someone is to either constantly be with that person or to try and not think about him at all. The feeling of love is very powerful and it tends to be an all or nothing emotion in that you can turn it on and off, but you cannot regulate its strength or duration. The thing I have learned about keeping my love for the Lord strong is to never turn it off. It is much easier to stay in love than it is to fall back in love after you have stopped loving someone.