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TAMMUZ 9

Not an Option

“And these Words, which I COMMAND you this day …” (Deu 6:6 HRVS, emphasis mine)

Tsâvâh (Strong’s H6680) is the Hebrew word that has been translated as ‘command’, and it means what it says: to command. Noah Webster gives us a further insight into the word ‘command,’ with this definition: “implying authority, and power to control, and to require obedience.”[1]  The Ancient Hebrew Dictionary adds this definition of tsâvâh to the mix: “give instructions or orders for a path to be taken.”[2]

There is no way around it; ‘these Words,’ these ‘instructions in moral and righteous living,’ are not optional. This is something that is required of us, if we claim to be children of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Obedience to ‘these Words’ is part of our identification; it tells the world around us who we are.

The phrase ‘this day’ tells us of the when: today, now, at the present time. Not yesterday, or last month, or tomorrow, or next year, but right now, today. I would present to you the idea that this phrase could mean every day, that every day we are commanded to adhere to ‘these Words’ and live them.

However, it all comes down to our choice, as to whether we will be obedient or not, and heed the voice of instruction.

“If it seems bad to you to serve Adonai, then choose today whom you are going to serve! Will it be the gods your ancestors served beyond the River? or the gods of the Emori, in whose land you are living? As for me and my household, we will serve Adonai!" (Jos 24:15)

©2025

1 American Dictionary of English Language, Noah Webster, 1828

[2]Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible; ©2006 Ancient Hebrew Research Center; ISBN: 1589397762 Author: Jeff Benner