The subsequent text gives the famous quote that Jews to this day quote.
"Hear, O Israel: YHWH our God, YHWH is one. You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deut 6:4-9)So "the commandment" begins with the recognition of God, the "one." "The commandment" is the one that Jesus called "the great and first commandment" (Matt 22:37-38). Love God with all your heart. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). And the singular effort described in that text -- "You shall teach them diligently to your children ... " (Deut 6:7-9) -- lays out the supreme importance of this command ... that encompasses all commands.
I think no one questions this fact: obedience is highly prized in the pages of Scripture. On one hand, John wrote, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love" (1 John 4:18). John says "perfect love" casts out the fear ... of punishment. Lay that up against Jesus's, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15), and I think it's clear that John's "perfect love" is referring to ... when we love Him perfectly ... and are perfectly obedient. So perfect obedience from perfect love is a wonderful thing. And the perfect love begins with "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart." (No small task when you consider "all your heart.") But there is another side to obedience. We think of it as "duty," but God says, "You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you" (Deut 6:18). Obedience ... is good for us. It goes well for us when we obey. God, the Maker, tells His creation, "You work best this way." It's not "rules" as much as "best operating procedures." So it makes no sense to struggle against it. If God loves us perfectly (Lam 3:22), then His commandments would be an act of love on His part as well. We shouldn't forget that.
8 comments:
If the Bible is in fact God's words, it makes sense that we would want to obey it. We are the most complex machines ever. If you fail to adhere to the operating manual of machinery, it tends to not go well for the machinery. God is our manufacturer, and it only makes sense that He would know how best for us to operate. These are rules to restrict us, but to free us to work to our best potential.
Many people contend that an all-loving God would make no demands of His creatures--that real love permits complete liberty and license. Yet, Scripture makes clear that our full obedience is the proper response to God’s love towards us, and “the Commandment” you highlight reveals the full scope of that submission. Obeying the Lord fully and perfectly, as He commands (and deserves), however, is undoable, and therefore this Commandment seems to set us up for sure failure and then rejection by God. Fortunately, however, “perfect love casts out the fear of punishment,” as you say, and we persevere in our devotion, even as we continue in our love for Him.
Many years ago, during a conversation with a Christian friend (and young mother) about child-rearing, she told me, “We seek to teach our children these two points above all: (1) ‘we love you’ and (2) ‘you must obey us.’” The second point seemed harsh to me, but I later learned the wisdom of this when I became a parent myself, and I can also now appreciate these same points as coming from my Heavenly Father to me. The Lord can be trusted to do what is the very best for His children--engaging those “best operating procedures” you mention to our benefit, as is fitting coming from the loving Supreme Being that is our Heavenly Father.
David, that strikes me as a very practical and relatable way to think of it--i.e. God as the Ultimate Manufacturer/Machine Operator, so to speak. (Stan’s mention of “best operating procedures” made me think along the lines of Standard Operating Procedures as well.)
P.S. I think you meant to say “these are not rules to restrict us…,” right?
That is correct. Typos are sometimes hard for me to catch while typing on my phone.
Not me, David. I NEVER miss typos. (Said completely tongue in cheek.)
We just went through a sermon series about the 10 Commandments, and the point was made repeatedly that obedience to YHWH's commandments is about what is best for us and not merely following the whims of YHWH. That some people have taken a good things, obedience, and made it something to be feared is simply one more example of human pride. "Did YHWH really say?"
It would be nice if those “Smart phones” truly were!
Luckily, my Eagle eye is at work for the two of you. :)
I wish that Blogger would permit us commenters to Edit our published comments (for when we see our typos after the fact). We are able to delete a comment of ours but not Edit it. You are fortunate to be able to fix your typos.
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