Believing Loyalty
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many places throughout the Bible talk about God’s love in conjunction with His faithfulness
We will be looking at one passage where this had lasting consequences
This is not only a quality that God has, it’s a quality that we should be being conformed to as well
Not only that, but many of us either had a mother or are a mother, and we know that a motherly love is faithful and it lasts, it’s a deep true love
ultimately, this is the kind of love that we are called to love God with, He first loved us this way, so we ought love Him that way as well
7 The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
We can look at this verse and see it’s application for Israel, just one of many nations on the earth - originally was just one family with Abraham
God took Israel up from a state of being the fewest of all people, to a very strong nation who had victories over the Egyptians
so many stories of how God with a great and high hand delivered His people through trials and tribulations - think of the conquest
God does the same thing in our lives
we are just one person, on this earth of many people - why are we special?
God takes us, lowly ole us, and brings us to a point of great victory
victory over the world, victory over ourselves, victory over even death - all achieved through the Lord and His love and faithfulness
It takes a great love to take on something like this - those with no reason to be loved, nothing special, just one out of millions - even billions
even still, He shows us His love - a true love and a real love
What does a real love look like?
a real love wants what is best for someone
a real love is a forgiving love
a real love can withstand trials and tribulations
a real love stands the test of time
So essentially, a true love produces faithfulness as its fruit, as it’s product
9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
What a wonderful thing that we can fully rest in God’s faithfulness
wouldn’t it be terrible if we had to constantly worry about whether or not God would honor His promises to us?
we’ve probably all been through situations where we just can’t count on someone
or maybe we’ve dealt with people who love you one day and hate you the next, or love you one moment and hate you the next moment
It also serves as a beautiful example for us - God shows us what real faithfulness looks like - it originates from a place of love - will discuss further later
lets look just a bit more at what God’s love for us looks like
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, And from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, And under his wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
What is a refuge and a fortress? it’s a place where we can find safety and rest
a fortress in a world of sin
v3 - a snare is a tool of deception, it’s something a hunter uses to catch it’s prey
and we know that the powers of evil are on the hunt to lure us into straying from God, to committing evil
these evils are destructive to ourselves
these evils are destructive to the world around us
these evils are an anti-God action
when we sin, it’s not just an action of us failing to meet some standard that God decided to set one day
it is a fundamentally anti God action, since God is the ultimate good
God and His love delivers us out of these traps, He looks out for us and He does so faithfully
v4 - We see a thought similar to the armor of God passage here - God’s love and God’s truth protects us in this world of sin where there are so many pitfalls
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; Nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
terrors of the night here may refer to sneak attacks and night by the enemy - as this was a common military tactic back then
pestilence, war, destruction of various kinds - these things can be quite intimidating - but we don’t have to fear because we have God on our side and whatever happens - we know He has His will and His reasons and will get us through one way or the other
So we’ve seen that because of God’s great love, He is faithful - the love produces the faithfulness and the longsuffering
as believers, we are ideally supposed to be faithful - we are supposed to keep God’s commands, do what He says, and be what He wants us to be like
so since we here are believers, an important question that we ask ourselves from time to time is the question of, “Why am I being faithful?”
are we being faithful because we feel like we have to be faithful? because we feel like we need to tick all the boxes?
are we concerning ourselves too much with technicalities and nuts and bolts?
because if that’s the case, then that is a really dry an uninspired way of believing - frankly it must be a miserable way of believing
if we are in that state - then we have to realize that God can see our hearts and HE ALSO knows why we are being faithful and what our motivations are
if this is what God sees, do you really think He would be satisfied with your motivation being like that - “well, i have to technically keep all the commands because God said to do so even though I really don’t want to down deep”
these efforts to be faithful are also likely significantly hampered because it’s missing the real key to true faithfulness
this key is the fact that it must ultimately come from a place of love - not a place of box checking
4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, And as the early dew it goeth away.
Both the northern kingdom and southern kingdom are referenced here, almost like they are wayward children
God talks about their goodness being fickle, it’s fleeting, it’s transitory - they needed to understand how the order of things worked - you can’t just shoehorn in being faithful and make it work
5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: And thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
God is saying that He’s put them under judgement by the words of His mouth
We see a very similar phrase being used in revelation when Christ will return to rule
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
but what does God say in the next verse in Hosea
6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
The hebrew behind the word mercy here is a hebrew word which carries lots of meaning - not only does it mean kind, merciful, etc.
but it also carries a notion of loyalty as well
So God is essentially telling the people of Israel, “Hey, I wanted your loving loyalty, your steadfast love, your believing loyalty, not just your sacrificies and your technicalities.”
this very same word for a kind, merciful loyalty that we are talking about having toward God in this passage shows up somewhere else that we’ve talked about in this lesson as well - Deuteronomy 7, where God talks about loving Israel and choosing them to lift up
This goes to show the why the apostle John wrote that we love Him because He first loved us
Think about the love that God showed for us- that He would willingly watch His own Son be offered up and crucified so that lowly us could have life
that He would work with us all - each with our own unique flaws and issues
is it not the least we could do to love Him? and to love Him with all our heart soul mind and strength?
because this is what God wants first and foremost - if we don’t have this base level of foundation then we are doing something wrong
you cannot build on top of that if you don’t first have the foundation - so you cannot be faithful at following His commands for a long time genuinely and successfully UNLESS YOU START FROM A PLACE OF LOVE FOR HIM
Our desires change because of a love for Him, this is how it should work - not that we just barely contain our evil urges just enough to be able to tick a box and say “ok I didn’t commit this or that sin”
if we want lasting change, true change that will truly be truly faithful and pleasing in the sight of God, we have to start with the foundations first - loving Him with all our heart and mind and building up from there