- From Deuteronomy 10
There are a lot of words, phrases, and idioms, that we use all the time, without knowing their actual meaning. We may even use them inaccurately, while intending to sound intelligent or creative. For instance, when you are signing a credit card bill, and the retailer says "Put your John Henry right here." Of course the person's way off . . . the correct formulation is "John Hancock." The meaning is lost . . . in fact there is no meaning. We understand what they meant, but the wording is wrong. Or likewise, in the same scenario, when they say "Now sign your autograph on this line," when they should be saying "signature."
We like these cool-sounding phrases. We want to sound hip. We like the way it feels and it makes us accessible to the people around us. It's all okay.
What about the phrase "hold fast"? This one gets tossed around a lot. It's a great pair of words, and we all know how to accurately insert it into our conversation. We know that it means "Hold on tight." But that doesn't tell us the literal meaning, the historic rendering of the phrase. When we know where it comes from, we might be more careful how we use it in the future.
"Hold fast" is actually referring to the way that a parasite clings to its host. Or, it also describes the mechanism by which a plant's roots cling deep into the soil.
So it's not just "Hold on tight." It actually means "Hold on in this way, because your life depends on it." And I would go a bit further. It's not even describing, for instance, a safety belt in an amusement park ride. They do hold you in, but they are an external force placed upon you. They might even be fastened by someone other than yourself. Holding fast means clinging to something in your own strength, voluntarily. It may even be that, while so attached to another entity, you are able to feel the life-force flowing into you. An unborn baby holds fast to his or her mother.
That's our healthy relationship to God.
It's Independence Week in the U.S. Deuteronomy 10 describes the relationship that any godly nation should have with the Lord. It talks about the ethical purity of God. His impartiality. We are commanded to care for widows and orphans, as well as immigrants. It has challenges for both the modern Left and Right (each of which has its own emphases that they do not execute well).
The call to America is as it always has been:
Hold on to God . . . for dear life.
See "My Prelude to 2020" here.
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