posted 06-24-2002 12:45 PM            

It has come to my attention through a conversation with a brother that there is no where in the LAW a command to fast on the Day of Atonement.

Can anyone explain why people say that we should fast on the Day of Atonement, when no such command (that I can find) is given?

I this another "Tradition of Men"?

Your help in this matter would be much appreciated.

Shalom,

posted 06-24-2002 01:32 PM            

Since the Jewish people have always fasted on the Day of Atonement, it seems logical to me that it was Atonement that was referred to in Acts 27:9.

Acts 27:9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them...

G3521. nesteia, nace-ti'-ah; from G3522; abstinence (from lack of food, or voluntary and religious); specifically the fast of the Day of Atonement:--fast (-ing.)

Surely there are some who come here who could give us some documented history that the Day of Atonement was always observed while fasting.

posted 06-24-2002 01:49 PM            

I understand that there were many times that the Jewish people fasted. I also understand that there were many things that they did because the religous leaders "built a hedge around the Torah."

I am just asking if it was a command from YHWH or not. In all my studies, I have never found a command to fast on the Day of Atonement. I just thought it was there because I was told that "we" do that.

Again, if this was a command from YHWH, I would think that it should have been placed somewhere in the Law. But, I do not find any such thing. This leads me to believe this was another "tradition" handed down.

I ask this question with all sincerity...especially because there are soo many here that talk against the traditions of men. Just how many people actually know that there is not one single command in the Law that tells us to do this?

Shalom,

posted 06-24-2002 03:12 PM            

While I will be the first to say I'm no scholar, I will say that a brief perusing of Leviticus and Isaiah turned up something that answered a question that came to mind while investigating the claim put forth by this thread.

I turned to Leviticus 23 (the Holy Day chapter) and confirmed that there is no mention of the word "fast" in association with the Day of Atonement. However, there is a Sabbath command, and a command to "afflict your soul." Anyone not afflicted was cut-off. I decided it is extremely important to understand what it means to "afflict" myself. I opened my Strong's and found "afflict" and "afflicted" (both OT #6031, sometimes confused with 6030, although upon inspection of the script and the phonetics, I can't make a distinction -- must be why they are often mistaken) -- hoping to find "fast" in the translation, only to find nothing. I started to think that we were to beat ourselves or otherwise depress ourselves -- but that goes against the character of Yah (IMHO). So I remembered some of the threads on Sabbath observance, and Isaiah came up a lot. People debated whether it was just for the Day of Atonement, the Weekly Sabbath, both, or any fast. I turned to Isaiah 58 and found a referance to "a day for man to afflict his soul" in close proximity to "such a fast that I have chosen." Surely, this must be a synonym or definition. I hereby offer this up for you to decide.

quote:

---

Isaiah 58
1: Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
2: Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their Elohiym: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to Elohiym.
3: Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
4: Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
5: Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to YHVH?
6: Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7: Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8: Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of YHVH shall be thy rereward.
9: Then shalt thou call, and YHVH shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10: And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
11: And YHVH shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
12: And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
13: If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of YHVH, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14: Then shalt thou delight thyself in YHVH; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of YHVH hath spoken it.

---

I have posted the whole chapter so that context will not be a question. In further investigating, it seems as though the fast Yah has commanded is to assist those who can't assist themselves; to feed the hungry and cloth the naked; do his work and not ours. When I read this I picture myself finding someone without a home and taking them to buy a new set of clothing, sitting down to eat with them, learning who they are and sharing the love of Yah with them. To the rest of the world it may seem cheap that I am only doing this for one day for one person (maybe two or three -- however many Yahweh provides a way for I will provide for), but if the whole body did this once every year, how many lives would be touched? How many would hear the voice that has been calling them for so long? How many of us would be loosed from bonds that have been holding us down? It would truly be wonderful. Alas, how many of us will be doers of the word, and not hearers only?

I feel like such a Pharisee sometimes -- I know and understand much of the scriptures and what I am commanded to do, but somewhere between knowing and doing it all gets lost. I ask for your prayers that my spirit would overcome my flesh and I would do more of the work of Him who gave me Life.

posted 06-24-2002 03:17 PM            

I have never actually seen it in the law either. I guess I just didn't ever hear of any other way to afflict the soul without fasting. (You did ask a fair question and it is something that I hope that someone can enlighten us on the subject.)

posted 06-24-2002 03:58 PM            

I would like to call your attention to the following verses of Isaiah 58:

3: Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

Here the Israelites (whom Yahweh has been chastising) say "Why have we fasted and you havn't seen it? Why have we afflicted our souls and you take no knowledge of it?" Yahweh answers that in the day of your fast you find pleasure and exact all your labors." Yahweh calls this their fast, and not His, because He is about to tell what His true fast is. But also notice He says they "exact" their labors. In the Hebrew this is nagas, to press or oppress, to exert demanding pressure. So they were acting oppressed in their labors when they fasted. Question: If this were the Day of Atonement being spoken of, why were they laboring?

4: Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

Yahweh continues here chastising the Israelites for fasting in the way they have been - for strife and debate, to moan and wail.

5: Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to YHVH?

Here Yahweh asks more questions. "Is this the kind of fast I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? To bow down his head in sorrow and spread ashes and sackcloth? Is this what you call an acceptable fast day for me?" In the next two verses, Yahweh shows that the answer to these questions is "No". It is NOT a day to afflict the soul or bow the head.

6: Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

7: Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

This is the fast that Yahweh chooses (not commands). We aren't supposed to be moaning and wailing over our misery, acting like we're about to faint from weakness.

8: Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of YHWH shall be thy rereward.

And here is the promise of reward IF we do fast in this way that Yahweh has chosen. Now, compare all of this to the following instruction:

Matthew 6:16) Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17) But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18) That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Just something to ponder for a while.

------------------
Allelu YH El Shaddai

[This message has been edited by Male' 'im Rwach (edited 06-24-2002).]

posted 06-24-2002 04:29 PM            

Idioms or slang are always going to be dependant on the context. By like token, this is a common middle eastern idiom in Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic.

posted 06-24-2002 05:36 PM            

Striking examples of "afflicting one's soul," have been Munky + Ahab's readiness to come to the aid of IT peasants like Aripawz777 + myself, with carefully worded instructions as to how to work html etc. -How rare it is these days, to get clear instructions on anything.

Also particularly The Physicist + Ahab, with the trouble they take to explain the different nuances, grammatical variances, + historical developements in the Hebrew language.

We're very blessed to see Father's spirit given room to move within men of much learning. We've grown accustomed to the learned confounding the less-endowed, with unintelligible language, lest they learn also.

Humility, is a virtue to all experiencing it.

posted 06-25-2002 12:48 AM         

I also notice in the phrase "afflict your soul" from Lev 23, the word for soul(nefesh) also carries the meaning of "appetite". "Nefesh" is also used in Isaiah 5:14 as "...Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth...", so I can see the use of the phrase as an idiom as Ahab mentions.

Shalom,
Howler

posted 06-25-2002 12:30 PM            

The tricky part about idioms is that you have to know when they are actually used metaphorically, and when they are used more literally. There is also the question of whether a phrase or figure of speech was an idiom when it was written in Scripture, or if it later became an idiom through tradition. Such is the case, I believe, with the phrase "afflict the soul" referring to fasting - that it became an idiom for fasting after it was written in Scripture because it was tradition to fast as part of afflicting the soul.

There are two reasons why I think this is true. First, there is no mention of a fast associated with the Day of Atonement (or any other day, for that matter). The only way a fast can be seen as being commanded for Yom Kippur is if we take "afflict your souls" as an idiom for fasting. But at what other time has Yahweh ever hidden a command within an idiom? Answer: Never.

Yahweh is always very clear and detailed in revealing His commands. No one could dispute that after reading Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The slightest details of how to perform a sacrifice, how to cleanse a person or object and how to observe each of the Feasts is laid out very clearly. Why, on this one occasion, would Yahweh choose to be unclear?

Second, there is Isaiah 58:5. Here Yahweh is speaking and says "Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul?" If we see this phrase as an idiom here, we end up with a pretty ridiculous comment from the Father. "Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to fast?"

Looking at the context of these questions, we can see that Yahweh is saying the answer to each of them is "No". It is not the fast He has chosen, it is not a day for a man to afflict his soul, or bow down or spread ashes and sackcloth. But once again, if we assume this to be an idiom for fasting, then the message here is that the fast Yahweh has chosen is not a day for a man to fast. It makes no sense at all.

For these reasons, I believe it is much more appropriate and accurate to take this phrase as literal. To afflict the soul means to humble oneself. This is what we are commanded to do on Yom Kippur, but it is what we are told NOT to do when fasting.

posted 06-25-2002 02:44 PM            

I believe the command to afflict our souls on Yom Kippur means that we should be humbled and sorrowful for our sinfulness. This is not a day to joyfully celebrate, as the other Feasts of Yahweh are. It is a day to mourn for our own wretchedness and to be truly humbled by the awesome love and mercy of our Father in making an atonement possible through His Son.

Do you remember the way you felt when Rwach haKodesh first led you to Moshiach? That terrible feeling of inadequacy, unworthiness, and shame, but at the same time such overwhelming gratitude for the offer of salvation? That, my friend, is afflicting our souls.

posted 06-25-2002 10:23 PM            

YOM KIPPUR
Leviticus 23:26-32
26. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 27. Also on the tenth [day] of this seventh month [there shall be] a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 28. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it [is] a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29. For whatsoever soul [it be] that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30. And whatsoever soul [it be] that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31. Ye shall do no manner of work: [it shall be] a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32. It [shall be] unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth [day] of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath

We see in the above passage that the Day of Atonement is the 10th day of the seventh month. We are not to do any work on this day and we are to afflict our souls. It is a time to be remorseful for our sins and to repent if we haven't already. To ask Yahweh to show us if we have any hidden or unknown sin in our lives and to ask for forgiveness. To ask for His mercy. In what way are we to afflict our souls? And for just how long? We get a glimpse of David's remorse for his sins with Bathsheba as he afflicts himself knowing that his son is going to die.

2 Samuel 12:15-23
15. And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17. And the elders of his house arose, [and went] to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 19. But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. 20. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed [himself], and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. 21. Then said his servants unto him, What thing [is] this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, [while it was] alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 22. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell [whether] God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23. But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

Here we see David not eatting, sleeping on the floor, not washing, or changing his clothes. He was asking for Yahweh to be gracious unto him and to spare the child. This is what we need to be doing on the Day of Atonement. We need to be in deep sorrow for our sins. Knowing that Yahweh's innocent son Yahushua has died because of us. Because of our sins. We need to ask for him to be gracious unto us.

The Encyclopedia Juaica under the topic of Day and Night states that there are a number of fasts that are day only that begin at dawn. We see in the following scriptures that when people fasted for a day that it was from sunrise to sunset. The house of Yahweh was only open during the day.

Judges 20:26
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

1 Samuel 14:24
And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed [be] the man that eateth [any] food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted [any] food.

2 Samuel 1:12
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

2 Samuel 3:35
And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.

The Day of Atonement is different from a regular day fast though because it begins on the preceding evening. It begins the evening of the 9th and runs til the evening of the 10th. In the following verses we see that people use to work in their fields until evening.

Genesis 30:16
And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

Judges 19:16
And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which [was] also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place [were] Benjamites

Ruth 2:17
So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.

Psalm 104:23
Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

It appears that people ate breakfast and lunch in OT times as well.

Proverbs 31:15
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

Ruth 2:14-15
14. And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched [corn], and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. 15. And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:

Taking all this into consideration makes me believe that they wouldn't have had their evening meal (dinner) until late. So perhaps instead of doing our fast the way we have in the past, we should be missing the evening meal of the 9th as well as breakfast and lunch on the 10th. Then once night has fallen on the 10th we may eat again. We also see in the writings of Josephus that the fast ended at evening.

Antiquities 3:10:2,3

2. But on the seventh month, which the Macedonians call Hyperberetaeus, they make an addition to those already mentioned, and sacrifice a bull, a ram, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins.

3. On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness, within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver, upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt-offering.

Something that has also struck me about afflicting our souls is the fact that we pleasantly sleep 8-10 hours away. Perhaps we should follow David's example and lay miserably on the floor or ground. Some may even be convicted to stay awake all night in prayer visual as Messiah Yahushua did the night before he died. We aren't to go to work and shouldn't worry about our physical cares such as food, showers, or clean clothes but should be focussing on the hidden man of the heart. May Yahweh be merciful unto each of us.

posted 06-27-2002 07:09 AM            

I posted this on the Exercising on the Sabbath thread. I wanted to make one more comment for the Day of Atonement though. I see this is the only Holy Day where He say no work; but all the others He says no Servile work. I am not sure as to why...any thoughts?

------------------------

Shalom All,
I want to thank all of you for taking the time to post your thoughts on this subject. I have gone back and looked at what each of you have said and to see if it "fits" to what I can get out of this chapter.

There are two general points that I want to make about the way I see this.

First, I think we need to know whether or not "afflict" means to fast or not. Ahab brought up the point that it is an Idiom. While I can see that this can be the case, Male has also brought up the idea that this idiom could have come from the tradition of them and not because it was commanded. I think this is a very important point that needs to be addressed to come to the conclusions of what is exactly being said here.

The second point that I want to bring up is the specific commands of YHWH laid out in His Law in Lev. I want to bring this point up because He has made a distinction between two different types of work for different types of Days. I will explain how I see this and would welcome comments.

If you will notice YHWH's command for the weekly Sabbath has a simple command to not do any "WORK" on this seventh day Sabbath. The word used here is # 4399 melakah. From the same as #4397 Malak ( to dispatch, same as where we get angel from). #4399-- deputy-ship i.e. ministry: gen. EMPLOYMENT (NEVER SERVILE) or work , also property (as the result of LABOR); business, cattle, industrious, occupation, officer thing (made), use (manner of )work.

Now if we look at the commands for the HOLY DAYS we see a different command. This command is in direct opposition to the kind of work not commanded for the weekly Sabbath. This command say not to do any SERVILE WORK. The word servile is #5656 abowdah. From #5647 abad ( ANY LABOR...serving self). #5656...WORK OF ANY KIND.

So YHWH knew the difference between the two types of commands that He gave for the different types of Sabbaths. One says no work (occupation) and the other says no SERVILE work (No work of any kind).

If we go back to the context of Is. 58, we see that YHWH is talking about the fasting. Now if we conclude that this is the Day of Atonement, then the commands that are given go right in line with what He had commanded in His Law. This talked about not serving one's self but serving others. He says not to do your own pleasures...this is right in line with doing NO SERVILE LABOR.

Using the context of the chapter, and seeing how these commands fit right in line with the commands that He gave for the Holy Days, not the commands for the weekly Sabbath... I can only read this as a further clarification on how they should be keeping the Day of Atonement.

Now, the flip side...the only problem that I can see with the way that I see this is, if "afflict your soul" does not mean to fast. If it does not, then I will still have problems with this line of thinking. But, that still does not mean the v.13 is speaking of the weekly Sabbath. If YHWH made sure He made the distinction between Servile work and Occupational work, then I am going to be sure to do the same. He had a specific reason for doing so.

I look forward to all your comments on these issues.

Shalom,

JourneyHome

posted 06-27-2002 09:35 AM            

First of all, yes, part of the command for observance of Yom Kippur is the same as for the weekly Sabbath - that we do no work (as opposed to servile work). So on both types of Sabbaths we are prohibited from engaging in our work of employment or profit, whereas on the Feast Day Sabbaths we are prohibited from any kind of labor.

Now, onto the issue of fasting for Yom Kippur. The Hebrew words for fast or fasting (tsuwm or tsowm) are used a total of 46 times in the Old Testament. It was not an uncommon word at all. But each time it is used, the fast was voluntary on the part of the person or people fasting. As clear and specific as Yahweh was in detailing observances of Feasts and Sabbaths, I cannot imagine why He would say "afflict your souls" if He actually meant to fast.

The word translated as "afflict" in these passages is the Hebrew 'anah, and there are many usages of this word (84 times). In every instance, it means to make low, to humble, to oppress, to make downcast, etc. I can see no justifiable reason to strip away that meaning when studying Yom Kippur and replace it with an idiom that may or may not have been in use at the time these Scriptures were written.

Concerning verses 13-14, and which Sabbath they apply to, the instruction to not seek our own pleasures fits with any Sabbath. No Sabbath should be considered a day for us to go out doing what we enjoy, like bowling or playing in a softball game or watching TV or reading a good mystery novel or something. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy what we do to observe a Sabbath - certainly any child of Yahweh enjoys being in His presence and the Feast Days are a time of celebrating and rejoicing. The point is that we should not be seeking pleasures outside of serving Yahweh. And this holds true for any Sabbath day.

This instruction in Isaiah, however, is NOT a command. At no point in Torah are we ever given this command in regard to any Sabbath day. The command for the weekly Sabbath is to abstain from work of employment or profit. The command for Feast Sabbaths is to abstain from all labor. The command for the Day of Atonement is to abstain from work of employment and profit and to afflict our souls. But never are we commanded to abstain from our own pleasures. This instruction from Isaiah is "over and above" the minimum requirements of the commands. There is a special reward promised for those who follow this added instruction but it is not a command. This is how Yahweh DESIRES us to keep His Sabbaths, but not how He COMMANDS us to keep His Sabbaths.

This general instruction can be applied to any point of the law as well. We can obey the bare minimum, or we can go over and above by obeying cheerfully, willingly and joyfully - seeking His will and not our own. Instead of just doing the bare minimum to observe a Sabbath day, we can devote the whole day entirely to serving Him - not seeking our own pleasures or our own thoughts or our own words, but seeking His. This "extra" devotion will bring extra blessings.