Nailed Together

And showing mercy to thousands of those who love me, and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:6 Jewish World translation

Love Me, and keep – Back to the pictographs. Here is the phrase “of those who love Me” in pictographic Hebrew.

Once again the word begins with the preposition le signifying “control” or “authority.” It is followed by the Aleph of “strength” or “leader.” The thought is closed with the Yod (“behold” “to reveal”). So we begin this word with “control/authority of strength revealed.” The remaining letters produce “household/family of work” or “to make the household.” Combining the pictographs we might translate this as “those who make up the household or family behold the authority of the leader.”   Who are the ones who love YHVH? Those who exhibit control of the household. Those whose lives are governed by the authority of the leader, in this case, YHVH. Those who behold (and as a result conform to) the control exercised by YHVH over their community.

Notice that “love” is not sentimentality. It is obedience. Love is recognizing, acknowledging and obeying the authority of YHVH. The fabric of the word ahab is found in the relationship between the authority and the one who obeys that authority. There is no love without obedience.

If we had only the root word ahab, we would have only the pictographs of “control/authority,” “behold,” and “household/family.” But that is enough to notice that love in Hebrew pictographic form is still about respect and obedience. Love is literally revealing the authority of the family. In Hebrew thought, this can never be simply cognitive recognition. It is not a word of static state of mind. Love is a word of active submission. To love is to do what the authority asks. This places new light on the Pauline dictum, “Husbands love your wives.” Although we acknowledge that Paul’s command requires action, perhaps we do not recognize that it implicitly involves acknowledging the wife as the authority in the relationship. Fortunately, Paul is quick to supply the complement. “Wives, be submissive (an ellipsis in the text) to your husbands.” Both love and submission are essentially relational and both work so that the active party acknowledges the authority of the other.

Moses adds the final Yod. It is not quite enough to acknowledge and obey the authority in the relationship. That acknowledgment must be worked out in deed and decision. The hand of purposeful effort must be applied. Love means little if it is curtailed at the entrance of the relationship. Proclamations of affiliation carry no weight if the subsequent behavior isn’t in alignment. To love is to do what the other party asks. It is not to think about it, proclaim its validity, offer justification or plan to execute. To love is to do it.

Imagine the impact on current theology. All protestations in favor of the possibility of “love” without change of action evaporate. Eternal security is a figment of theological excuse. The judgment is real. And so is the fear of the Lord.

“and keep”

Of course, given the pictographic expression of ‘ahab, we must notice that the requirement of keeping the commandments is not an optional extra. The conjunctive expressed in the transliteration as u- does not designate two separate components or two distinguishable activities. The conjunctive communicates the inextricable meshing of recognition of authority and commitment to behavior. The nail is hammered home. There is no difference between love and obey, just as there is no difference between hear (shema) and do (shema).   The children of Israel understood this. That is why they can proclaim, “we will do and we will hear” (Exodus 24:7 Jubilee Bible 2000), completely at odds with our paradigmatic methodology of hearing and then doing (cf. https://skipmoen.com/2012/04/18/backwards-obedience/). To love is to do, period! And in this case, to love the Lord is to do what He says, without question, rationale or examination. “To those who love Me” is recognizable behavior, not theological creeds. How do I know that I love the Lord? I do what He says. The conjunctive anchors my actions to my declaration.

Topical Index: love, ‘ahab, keep, shamar, Exodus 20:6, Exodus 24:7, commandments