What relationship are we to have to God?

Last updated on: April 20, 2016 at 8:52 am by Gerald McDermott

What relationship are we to have to God? 2016-04-20T08:52:24-04:00 Gerald McDermott

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Yesterday we saw that in the Constitution of the Old Testament (Dt 6.4-9), the God of Israel told his people that he–YhVh, the God who called Abraham and saved Moses and his followers out of slavery–is their God, and that they were to follow no other god on offer in the Ancient Near East.

Today we will look at the precise instructions God gave his people for how they were to relate to him. These instructions are in verse 4: V’ahav’ta eit YhVh Elohekha b’khol l’vav’kha uv’khol naf’sh’kha uv’khol m’odekha.

And you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

The Hebrew word for “love” was the same word used by ancient kings for the duties they assigned to their subjects. It meant things they were to do, not ways they were to feel. We need to hear this today in a world where feelings are dominant and too many Christians think their relationship with God is defined by their feelings.

The most important word in this verse is the Hebrew word eit, yet it is invisible in translation! It comes after the word for “you shall love,” and means that a direct object is coming. The idea is this: “You shall love in this direction” or “You shall love this particular being and no other.”

In other words, it is not enough to love, or to be a loving person. This directly opposes what our culture tells us, which is that all that matters is that we love, and it doesn’t matter what or whom we love. But the God of Israel, who is the only true God, tells us here that everything hinges on the object of our love. After all, Hitler loved. He loved himself and the Aryan race. Stalin loved–his own power. What matters ultimately is the object of our love, not that we loved.

The object of our love is not just God. After all, Allah is said to be God. So is Buddha (at least by Mahayana Buddhists). The key is not just the word “God” but the identity of that God. Which God?

The God of Israel gives us his name here again: YhVh, which is the sacred Tetragrammaton, the name He revealed to Moses, the name we explored briefly yesterday. The cause of all, He who gives life to all of reality. But not some abstract Cause, as for the philosophers. No, He is the Cause as revealed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The One whose character is revealed in great detail in the story of Israel in the Bible. The God of Isaiah and Daniel and Jonah and . . . His Son Jesus of Nazareth.

Notice the text says “your” God. The Hebrew here is singular. In other words, each Israelite was to make “our” God become “your” God. They were to personalize God, as it were, by entering into personal relationship with Him. But how?

By loving him and expressing that love in three ways. The next three phrases contain words of do-ing.

The first is a phrase in English, but two words in Hebrew: “with all your heart.”

This is commonly misunderstood as a word that is primarily about feelings. But the Hebrew root for “heart” (‌לֵב‎‏‎, ‌לֵבָב‎‏‎; levav, lev) was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one’s heart. So think of the first part of this command as follows: “Love YhWh with all of your thinking.” That changes the meaning of this all-too-familiar command, doesn’t it?

The next phrase in English is usually translated “with all your soul.” But the Hebrews thought of the “soul” (‌נֶפֶשׁ‎‏‎, nefesh), not as separated from body and spirit as did the Greeks, but as the person himself. Therefore it could be translated “being.” We are to love God with all of our being. The rabbis taught that part of what this means is that we are to be willing to give our lives for the God of Israel, to die for Him, and to die daily in little acts of self-denial. This is what Jesus meant when he said his disciples are to take up their cross each day.

The last way that God gives us to express our love for Him is “with all of our strength.” The Hebrew word means”power or might,” but was taken by the rabbis to mean our material resources. In other words, God calls us here to regard all our money and property as His, and to be willing to part with any of it for the sake of His kingdom. One of the concrete ways that this part of commitment is shown is through the tithe, giving one-tenth of our income to the work of the Kingdom. This is the minimum, not the maximum. In Israel, God’s people were called to give not only their tithes but also offerings over and above the tithe.

To sum up this verse, the God of Israel calls his people to commit to Him one-on-one, by giving him all of their minds, being willing to go to the death for Him, and regarding all of their money as His.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 19, 2016

The constitution of the Old Testament

Next Post

April 21, 2016 How to grow in love for God

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2023 November 2022 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz