God’s attribute: The Love of God Part 1

This is a series on the attributes of God.

 

The Love of God Part 1: God’s Love for others in the Old Testament

Establish the need: Sometimes you hear people say that the God of the New Testament is a God of love but the God of the Old Testament is not a God of love; but is that true?

Purpose: In this session we shall explore the attribute of the love of God as taught in the Old Testament and also draw implication for the Christian life as a result of our study.

 

What is the love of God? The words in the Old Testament:

1. Aheb
   1. Most common verb to describe love.
   2. Verb that is most frequently used to describe the love between humans but also in relations to God and humans.[1]
2. Ahabah=A noun that has the same sense of meaning as the verb form Aheb.[2]
3. Habab
   1. This verb has the connotation of “having in the bosom.”[3]
   2. It has the idea of tenderness and closeness of feeling towards the object of love.[4]
4. Hasaq
   1. This verb is used more frequently to talk about divine love than Habab.[5]
   2. “This word emphasizes that which attaches to something or someone…this is the love that won’t let go of the object of love.[6]
5. Summarizing definition:
   1. Love is one of those things that we know but can be hard to define.
   2. From John Frame: “Jack Cottrell offers an excellent definition of God’s love: “his self-giving affection for his image-bearing creatures and his unselfish concern for their well-being,that leads him to act on their behalf and for their happiness and welfare.”[7]
   3. Love of course is described in 1 Corinthians 13.
   4. My definition: Strong emotions and will that results in action for the good of others which also produces the effect of joy in seeing others being better off.

What does the Bible teaches about the love of God in the Old Testament?

1. How many times does the word “love” appear in the Old Testament? “In the New American Standard Version, love is mentioned 348 times — 133 times in the Old Testament and 215 times in the New Testament. In the New International Version, it is mentioned 551 times — 319 times in the Old Testament and 232 times in the New Testament.”[8]
2. God’s love of inanimate object:
   1. “Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.” (Malachi 2:11)
      1. Here in this verse it describes the sins of Judah which includes Judah having “profaned the sanctuary of the Lord”
      2. It turns out that the sanctuary of the Lord is what the Lord loves.
   2. God loves the gates of Zion: “The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.” (Psalm 87:2)
   3. God loves righteousness and justice: “He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.” (Psalm 33:5)
3. God’s love for Israel:
   1. (This is by far the biggest emphasis of God’s love in the Old Testament)
   2. “but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:6)
      1. This is the first reference of God’s love. Previous reference to love in the book of Genesis describes the love of humans to humans.
      2. The context of Exodus 20 is God presenting the ten commandments with verse 6 following the prohibition in verses 4-5 of not worshipping idols.
      3. Here in verse 6 we see the description of “those who love Me”
      4. To those, God Himself says He will be “showing lovingkindness to thousands”
   3. “Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,” (Deuteronomy 4:37)
      1. Deuteronomy is Moses’s sermon to the second generation of the Exodus who would be entering into the promise land.
      2. Here in this verse Moses is referring to the previous generations when he said “your fathers”
      3. Moses notes that God “loved your fathers”
      4. The result of God’s love?
         1. Israel being chosen: “therefore He chose their descendants after them.”
         2. Israel free from Egypt: “And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,”
   4. “Nevertheless, the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.” (Deuteronomy 23:5)
      1. Notice “the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you.”
      2. The reason? It is “because the Lord your God loves you.’
   5. See also Deuteronomy 7:13, Deuteronomy 10:15 and Deuteronomy 33:3.
      1. All these are from Deuteronomy.
      2. In this book there is a lot of discussion about God’s love for Israel and the requirement of Israel to love God (23 times “love” appears, more than any other book in the laws of Moses).
   6. ““I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob;” (Malachi 1:2)
      1. Here the Lord speaks and He says “I have loved you” with this in reference to Jacob, and through corporate solidarity, this is talking about Israel.
      2. God’s love reiterated here twice: “Yet I have loved Jacob”
      3. What is significant here is that this is the last book of the Old Testament and God is still affirming His love for Israel despite all the sins we have seen in the Old Testament!
4. God’s love is not based upon the recipients deserving it
   1. “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,” (Deuteronomy 7:7)
      1. Notice here Moses says it quite directly that the Lord’s love is not because Israel were numerical: “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples”
      2. Moses even added “you were the fewest of all peoples”
      3. We should never have the mentality that God should love us because “we are too big too fail.”
   2. ““Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them out before [a]you, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you. 5 It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6 “Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people.” (Deuteronomy 9:4-6)
      5. Moses denied that the reason for God’s loving act towards Israel of granting the promise land is because of self-righteousness according to verses 4-5.
      6. Verses 6 affirms the opposite was the case when Moses points out “you are a stubborn people.”
5. Duration of His love:
   1. Recall earlier how God’s love is mentioned from Exodus to Malachi. That is a long and patient love shown by God.
   2. “The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)
      1. The context of this verse is the description of Israel’s restoration after their exile which is brought about by the work of God.
      2. Here we see the Lord Himself says “I have loved you” which is incredible because it is despite their sins.
      3. This love is “n everlasting love.”
6. God’s love extends beyond Israel
   1. “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.” (Deuteronomy 10:18)
      1. Here we see that God “shows His love for the alien”
      2. How? “by giving him food and clothing.”
   2. God’s love beyond Israel is hinted in the Old Testament but will further be developed in the New Testament.

Implications

1. His people are commanded to love God: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
2. Since God loves aliens/strangers, God’s people are too as well: “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:19)
3. Love even strangers even like yourself! “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:34)
4. Let the motivation for why you love God be the love of God towards you.
5. Let the motivation for why you love others be the love of God towards you.
6. Pray knowing that He loves you; let that be a motivation for you to pray like the way it is when we know someone loves us we want to talk to them!
7. Also show your love by prayer like the way we talk lovingly to those whom we love!
8. Do you thank God for His love to you?
9. Do you confess how you fall short of loving Him?
10. Do you pray to God that your love for Him would increase?

 

[1] John Feinberg, No One Like Him (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001), 349.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] John Frame, The Doctrine of God (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 2002), 414.

[8] Source: https://www.reference.com/art-literature/many-times-love-mentioned-bible-f8eb228f4fe0a4#