English Standard Version: 551 times!
New Living Translation: 645 times!
For many years I struggled with the correct context for expressing love in general. In a word, I felt uncomfortable with how the expression would be received, i.e. wrong impression.
On Valentine’s Day, love can get reduced to cards, flowers and chocolates for a significant other. But is that what the Bible means by love?
Is "love" just a warm and fuzzy feeling? A pleasing emotion? A comfortable state of mind? Or does Scripture mean something more when it refers to loving God and each other?
As with all biblical interpretations, one must take into consideration the early period of time in which the Scriptures were written, as opposed to today when so much has changed in life as we know it.
Deuteronomy 6:5 states, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your life and with all your strength.” But what does it mean to “love” God according to ancient Israelite thought?
For the biblical authors, love isn’t just an intense form of “liking” or some kind of “warm feeling” for another; rather, the most common Hebrew word for “love” (אהבה; ahavah) expresses loyalty.
And it has nothing to do with the relieving of loins through sexual intercourse.
To understand love as “loyalty” in Deut 6:5, we need to read the verse in the context of what comes right before it: the Shema. Most English translations of Deut 6:4 read, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one (אחד; echad).” While the Hebrew אחד can mean “one,” echad can also mean “alone.”
To understand love as “loyalty” in Deut 6:5, we need to read the verse in the context of what comes right before it: the Shema. Most English translations of Deut 6:4 read, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one (אחד; echad).” While the Hebrew אחד can mean “one,” echad can also mean “alone.”
Here’s a stronger translation of Deut 6:4: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” That is, the Lord is Israel’s God, and the people of Israel must “not go after other gods” (Deut 6:14); they must “love,” or be “loyal” to, the Lord alone.
The loyalty we have for the God of the universe -- to the exclusion of all other gods -- extends to our fellow human beings, particularly those who are less familiar to us. Leviticus uses the exact same word for our “loyalty” to God in the command to love the stranger.
The loyalty we have for the God of the universe -- to the exclusion of all other gods -- extends to our fellow human beings, particularly those who are less familiar to us. Leviticus uses the exact same word for our “loyalty” to God in the command to love the stranger.
When it comes to the heavenly realm, we are to be loyal to God alone; but here on earth, God commands us to pledge that same loyalty to those around us.
So, to everyone reading this Wrights Lane post, I extend my sincere "loyalty" on Valentine's Day...and every other day.
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