Blessed by Love's Law

Introduction. . .

Every precious Word ...  found in the Word of God 

... is placed in the Holy Scriptures by the very hand of God ... in the specific order He has ordained 

... while at the same time ... layered in countless ways 

... for believers to discover and apply to their own ... individual ... experiences 

... while sojourning on this earth 

... every Word ... amazingly designed to meet their unique needs ... while waiting to move into our permanent ... eternal home

... all provided ... through the Blood shed ... in love ... by the Lord Jesus Christ ... Creator of all that exists

... the One Who IS LOVE.

Let's take note of the specific order in which "love" has been placed in Scripture ... for the message God has intended for our generation. . .

First mention of the Word ..."love"... is found in:

Gen. 27:4...

"And make me

savoury meat,

such as I love,

and bring it

to me,

that I may eat;

that my soul

may bless thee

before I die."

"Love"

H157

(...as Isaac uses this Word)

= human love

= appetites of the flesh

= food .. sleep etc.

Isaac calls his eldest son, Esau ... to hunt ... and prepare ... the type of meat he "loves."

Isaac senses that he is about to die ... so we could consider that perhaps he is very weak and needs food for strength to carry out the blessing upon his firstborn son 

...or... 

maybe he requests his favorite food because ... at this point ... his appetite could also be waning 

...in any case... 

we are unable to discern the real reason Isaac has the need to satisfy his fleshly "love" of food ... before he can complete the work of God in imparting the final blessing to Esau.

Therefore ... we are unable to judge the desire of this physical ... fleshly "love"... coming before the "love"... of the things of God.

Nevertheless ... because the fleshly desire has superseded the spiritual desire ... it must be noted ... as well ... that Isaac's eldest son, Esau ... has also ... like his father ... already ...  minimized the value of his spiritual blessing ... to satisfy his fleshly desire ... by selling his birthright to his younger brother for a bowl of red pottage ... mere lentils.

We cannot deny that a mutual displacement of priorities of life is seen in this father/son relationship ... as they both appear to lack preeminent regard ... concerning the things of God ... making them secondary to their own fleshly desires.

Why should this concern us?

It should be of great concern ... because this is a vital lesson regarding the importance of priorities from our heavenly Father's perspective ... establishing the value found in putting the cravings of the flesh on hold ... while making spiritual considerations our primary concern.

If self control would have been exercised ... the broken relationships and much pain could have been avoided.

So ... similar to the fall of Adam and Eve in the beginning ... God's first mention of the Word ... "love"... in the Holy Bible must be established with a negative example ... of man's inherent ... self-centered ... type of love ... based on powerful fleshly desires ... before He can introduce us to His generous ... redeeming ... self-less ... eternal type of love.

The next mention of "love" is found in:

Genesis 29 ... verses 20 and 32 ... where Jacob loves Rachel ... and Leah gives birth hoping that giving Jacob a son will kindle Jacob's love for her.

It isn't until Exodus 20:6 ... that the Word of God introduces the unique type of love relationship He desires to have with us:

v.1

And God spake

all these words,

saying,

v.2

I am

the LORD

thy God,

which have

brought thee out

of the land of Egypt, 

out of the house 

of bondage.

God has the power to deliver His people out of bondage (spiritual as well as physical bondage) ... with the desire and purpose of establishing a loving covenant relationship with them.

Today ... through learning about the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ ... we are able to understand the great love His sacrifice required ... but so often forget that the covenant the Father first established in Exodus ... was a law covenant also based on love.

We fail to consider this passage in Scripture that reminds us that because "God is love" He has used the conditions of His initial covenant to ultimately measure and define the true meaning of His Word, "love"... as revealed in the following verses.

v.3

Thou shalt have

no other gods

before me.

The Father is telling us that IF we love Him ... He will be preeminent in our life ... coming before anything else in our life ... "gods"... meaning anyone ... or anything ... that we might worship in any way.

v.4

Thou shalt 

not make 

unto thee

any graven image,

or

any likeness

of any thing

that is in 

heaven above,

or

that is in

the earth beneath,

or

that is in

the water

under the earth:

God also gets specific about defining "gods"... referring to physical objects one might make with one's own hands ... a likeness of anything He has already created in heaven ... on earth ... or even in the water.

v.5

Thou shalt

not bow down

thyself

to them,

nor

serve them:

for I

the LORD

thy God 

am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity

of the fathers

upon the children

unto the third 

and

fourth generation

of them

that hate me;

Worshipping other "gods"... also involves bowing down to and serving these entities.

God considers the physical practices of worshipping false "gods"... as expressions of hatred toward Him ... which brings a curse upon families to the third and fourth generation. 

v.6

And

shewing mercy

unto thousands

of them that

love me,

and

keep

my commandments.

While it us true that we are not saved by the works of the law ... once we are born-again by the power of the Holy Spirit of God ... we love His law because it brings:

• order

• wisdom

• knowledge

• health

• peace

• protection

. . .and a multitude of blessings too numerous to mention

. . .in addition to abundant love and mercy flowing into our life from the heart of God.♡

So the questions that beg to be asked are:

"Do we love His law?"

"Do we really love Him?

"For this is

the love of God,

that we keep

his commandments: 

and

his commandments 

are not

grievous."

(1Jn.5:3)

* * * * *

If doing what is right ...  is still a grievous thing to you ... but ... in your heart ... you desire assurance of eternal life ... and long to experience the love of God ... instead of the fires of hell ... scroll to the top of this page ... click on the gift wrapped in gold in the left column ... and follow the directions ... sincerely ... with your whole heart, mind, and spirit.

♡♡♡