There is something about ancient literature that most of us seldom think about. The Bible often uses the middle section of a verse, chapter, or passage to express its main idea or theme—quite the opposite of our writing style now, where the main thought is found in the opening and closing sentences.
To understand why this different style of writing was used by the Hebrews, try to imagine how they opened a scroll. The first thing you would see would be the main theme in the middle section. As you unrolled it from side to side, you’d find ideas supporting that central thought.
After discovering this, I wondered what might be the central theme of the ten commandments found in Exodus. Knowing that Jesus often expressed the commandments in terms of loving God and loving our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40), I wondered if the word “love” was anywhere in the ten commandments.
How amazing to find the word “love” right in the center of our duties to God in the first four commandments. Exodus 20:6 says, “showing mercy to thousands, to those who LOVE Me and keep My commandments.” There it was: the word “love”.
God could have easily skipped the love part and just said “to those who keep My commandments”, but our obedience has to go beyond that. God is full of love and mercy to us, and when we love Him in return, it’s easier to be merciful and loving to others. So, God only needed to include the word “love” once in the Law–in the middle, the heart, of the commandments to love Him.
Revelation also talks about keeping the commandments. Revelation 14:12 identifies saints as those “who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” We may wonder if the faith of Jesus is related to His love.
Married couples who have experienced unfaithfulness in their relationship would verify that love and faith are closely linked. That’s why Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please Him”. Our faithfulness to God is certainly one of the most visible indicators of our love for Him.
As Seventh-day Adventists we tend to put a lot of emphasis on keeping the Sabbath commandment. But I hope pondering these things about love expands our thoughts about what it means to keep any of the commandments, including the fourth one.
It isn’t that difficult when we remember the “love” part. It says in 1 John 5:3 that “His commandments are not burdensome.” When we love God, keeping them is actually much easier than we thought.
For a fresh look at other core beliefs that you might want to share with others, see these:
Who Am I in the Holy Place of God’s Sanctuary?
Who Is the King of kings and Lord of lords?
