Those Who Clung Were Alive
“Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.”Deuteronomy 4:3–4 (KJV)
Near the end of his life, Moses reminded Israel of a terrible day. “Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor.” The men who followed that idol were destroyed from among them.
Then he pointed to the people standing in front of him. “But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.” The difference between death and life was what they held on to.
That word cleave appears at the very beginning, when a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife. It means to cling, to hold fast, to be joined. And Paul says, “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”
Following Jesus isn’t holding him at arm’s length. It is clinging to him. Whatever else pulls at you this week, hold on to him. Those who cleave to the Lord are alive.
Read it yourself
Read Deuteronomy 4:1–9. What does Moses tell Israel to take heed to, and to teach whom?
What are you clinging to most tightly right now? Is it the Lord?
Lord, I want to cleave to you. Hold me close, and help me hold on to you above everything else. Amen.