COMMUNIQUE: Before there was "Agape'" , there was "Ahavah"

In this week’s Church at Home, we are looking at the Hebrew word for “love” in the Old Testament, Ahavah.

What we learn from the story of the Bible is that Yahweh not only feels love for all the world, he also acts from love. We are told that when Yahweh rescued the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, it was because he loved them. He felt love, and he showed his love by rescuing them from oppression. After Israel was restored, they were called to show that same kind of active love to those who were socially disadvantaged in their midst. God’s love is a gift to share.

Most of us feel overwhelmed by the immense pain and suffering in our world today. It’s easy to see how much there is to remedy and conclude that our actions won’t make a meaningful difference. But God’s love equips us to face these important issues in practical ways that make an impact. Let’s consider this together as we reflect on the meaning of ahavah.

Question 1:

Video Question

The video talked about Yahweh’s love being both a feeling and an action. How do you feel when you think about the fact that God feels love toward you? Name a few specific ways God has acted out his love for you.

Read:

Deuteronomy 4:32-40 The Voice

32 Moses: Ask anyone who’s ever lived: has anything this great ever happened before? Has anyone even heard of anything like it? Not since the day God first created humanity, not anywhere in the cosmos, from one end to the other. 33 You heard the voice of God speaking from inside the fire at Mount Horeb, and you survived! No other nation has ever done anything like that. 34 You saw with your own eyes what the Eternal, your True God, did for you in Egypt: He claimed you as His own nation, and He took you right out of another nation that was holding you captive. He rescued you by testing them with plagues, by warning them with signs and omens, by fighting against them with overwhelming strength, and by totally terrifying them! No other god has ever tried to do anything like that. 35 You saw all this so you would know the Eternal is the only God who truly exists. There is no other. 36 You heard His voice from heaven as He admonished you; He showed you His blazing fire on the earth, and you heard His words from inside that fire—all at His will. 37 Because He loved your ancestors, He’s also committed to their descendants who came after them, and that’s why He personally brought you out of Egypt by His own great power. 38 He defeated nations that are greater and stronger than you, and He let you live on their land. It will belong to you! 39 You just need to know with every fiber of your being that the Eternal, and no one else, is God up in heaven and down here on the earth. 40 If you remember His rules and keep His commands, which I’m teaching you today, things will go well for you and for your children after you. You’ll live a long time on the ground the Eternal your God is giving you. He wants you to have it forever.

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Here Moses asks the Israelites what other deity has done something like what Yahweh did for Israel. Yahweh rescued them out of slavery in Egypt and then gave them his own divine wisdom and justice in the laws of the Torah. Why did he do it? The passage makes it clear that it is because Yahweh loved Israel’s ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Question 1:

No other power can rescue like Yahweh (Hebrew word for The God of Israel), but we can sometimes forget this. We can then try to remedy painful feelings or hard situations apart from Yahweh. Do you find yourself doing this? What are some practical ways you can commit to rely on Yahweh instead?

Question 2:

God loves us because it’s central to who he is. But we can struggle to really believe this. Why do you think that is? What would it look like to receive and respond to his love instead? Take a moment to remember that God loves you and the people around you. Pray for new strength to receive and respond to his love.

Read:

Deuteronomy 10:12-22 The Voice

12 Moses: And now, Israel, what is the Eternal your God asking of you? Only that you fear Him, live as He wants you to, and love Him; serve Him with every part of you, heart and soul; 13 and obey His commands and rules, which I’m giving you today for your good.

14 Think of it—everything already belongs to the Eternal your God: the sky and His own dwelling place beyond the sky, the earth and everything on it. 15 Nevertheless He devotedly loved your ancestors; and out of all the peoples He chose you, their descendants, to be His own, as you still are today. 16 Cut away that hard covering around your heart, and do not harden your neck against me, 17 because the Eternal your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great and mighty and amazing God! He doesn’t favor the powerful, and He can’t be bribed.

18 He enforces His justice for the powerless, such as orphans and widows, and He loves foreigners, making sure they have food and clothing. 19 You must love those foreigners living with you in the same way. Remember how you were foreigners in the land of Egypt! 20 So fear the Eternal your God; serve Him, and be devoted to Him. Show your loyalty by swearing oaths only in His name. 21 He’s the One you must praise—He’s your God who has done such great and amazing things for you, as you’ve seen with your own eyes. 22 When your ancestors went into Egypt, there were only 70 people in their whole clan.[a] But He kept increasing your numbers, and now there are as many of you as there are stars in the sky!

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Moses agrees that Israel exists because of Yahweh’s love for Israel’s ancestors. But this time he concludes that because Israel’s rescue from Egypt was an act of Yahweh’s love, the most consistent way to return love for Yahweh would be to turn one’s affection to the orphans, widows, and immigrants in the community. Do you see the mirror effect? Yahweh’s love is Exodus-shaped in Deuteronomy. In other words, it is an active love expressed toward the oppressed and hurting. So Israel’s love for God and neighbor is also meant to reflect that same pattern.

Question 1:

Orphans, widows, and immigrants have a couple things in common. They are loved by God but are usually unloved by their neighbors. Do you know someone specific in your community who might be overlooked or unloved by those around them? Take a moment to think about how much God loves them. What is a practical way you can step outside of your comfort zone to reflect God’s love to them this week?

COMMUNIQUE

Saturday, July 25, 2020

Before there was "Agape'" , there was "Ahavah"

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