And you shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5 Love – The first action of the Shema is to listen-respond. The second is to love. The second verb (ahav) begins the series of demands. YHWH demands that we love Him. The…
“I have loved you,” says YHWH. Malachi 1:2 I Have Loved You – ʾahabti ʾēt-kem. What comforting words! The Lord Himself speaks to us. “I have loved you.” Could we ask anything more than to be loved by YHWH? This is glorious revelation. This is joy unspeakable. This is the foundation of purpose. God loves…
“He who has My commandments, and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21 Will Love – We could spend some time looking at this verse from the perspective of obedience. …
Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. Song of Songs 1:3 Perfumes – Song of Songs does more than provide the reader with an exuberant poem about the power of love. Of course, it’s reassuring to find that the biblical record includes an elaborate endorsement of one of…
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them. Colossians 3:19 Be Embittered – OK, so husbands are supposed to love their wives. We know this is not just “feel good” love. Of course, love between a husband and a wife should feel good, but what Sha’ul has in mind is love that…
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you,” John 13:34 Love – Why does Yeshua say this is a new commandment? Doesn’t the Torah teach us to love one another? Isn’t that the point of loving your neighbor? What makes this particular statement so unique?…
“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God demand of you? Only this: . . .” Deuteronomy 10:12 Demand – We don’t like the sound of this, do we? What God demands doesn’t sound much like the gentle, compassionate God we hear about in church. We would rather have this Hebrew word translated…
1 Thessalonians 4:7-9 The implications of purity If you have ever felt as though your problems and trials just got left out, then katharos is a word for you. Most of the time the Greek word, katharos, is translated by some English word that implies purity. Christians talk a lot about purity. We are exhorted…
And He said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there” Genesis 22:2 Love – There’s a first time for everything. First times are usually quite significant, especially when the occurrences are in the Bible. For example, the first time we encounter…
And we the strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those not strong and not please ourselves. Romans 15:1 Ought – We have been persuaded. We are convinced. We understand. We realize that there is room for both Torah and grace. We see that the two paths converge in the purposes of God. We know…
