The Loyalty of Love

We know already that God is love. It’s a simple statement, but for some of us there’s a process to truly learning and being perfected by this truth. That’s not because we are not intelligent. It’s because God's love is truly divine. (And we… just… ain’t.) The Bible gives us permission (and grace) to not fully comprehend God’s love (Ephesians 3:14-19). But I do believe the limits of our understanding are due to, in part, to our own human experience and the multifaceted existence of His love. He speaks in many ways (Hebrews 1:1) and I’ve found that He loves in many ways, too. (Like not saying yes to some of our requests, but I’ll save that topic for later.)

One of the ways He loves us is through His LOYALTY. His faithfulness. It’s seen all through Scripture, and especially in His relationship with the Israelites. This could never be more clear (aside from Jesus) than in the book of Deuteronomy. 

This book, written by Moses, is a covenant renewal document. A covenant is “a legally binding agreement between two parties. It is often solemnized or ratified by an oath or other means and usually places demands on one or both parties” [1]. Deuteronomy renews the covenant made between God and the Israelites (Abraham’s descendants) while they were on Mt.Sinai (some 38 years prior). Like other written covenants, it includes a history of the relationship and stipulations of the agreement. But in the first few chapters we also find a key attribute of God’s love—the call to loyalty in loving Him back. 

The Required Belief In One God

Deuteronomy 4 gives the Israelites a warning against idolatry. “Idolatry technically refers to the worship of an image or figure considered a representation or copy of a deity” [2]. (A deity is another god. The Bible teaches there is only one God, Yahweh. To worship another deity alongside or instead of Yahweh alone is Biblical idolatry.) Here is the warning: 

15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. 16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, 17 an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, 18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. 19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. 20 Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today. ~ Deuteronomy 4:15-20 (NLT)

To get a better understanding of this, we need to look at ancient culture. (We are so removed from the original writings of the Bible that it’s easy to plot our modern time and culture into its passages, but to do so gravely misses the marks of true understanding and beneficial application.) 

Back then, idol worship was a real thing. Idols were usually made out of wood and overlaid with beaten silver or gold. These “gods” were not real, but people imagined them to be all sorts of creatures and combinations of creatures—distortions of Creation, really, and made statues of their likeness. The thing about these idols, though, was that people believed the deities they represented actually embodied the idols, or became present in some type of way along with the idol. This belief led them into acts that included spells, incantations, and other magical acts in order to get the deity to do what they wanted. They also took care of the statues, bringing them food (Jeremiah 7:18), burning incense (Jer. 44:23) and dressing them in fine clothes. The Bible strongly warns against participation in these things (Jeremiah 10). But the Israelites were surrounded by it. 

Astral worship (that is, worship of the sun, moon, stars (which we now know were actually planets) was a thing, as it had been in Abraham’s day, (and still is today). But in Deuteronomy, God told His people not to go that route. As His covenant people they were called to be different fro, the polytheistic people around them. This covenant required worship of Yahweh alone. As the only God, worship of Him was—and still is—different. 

He tells them why worship of Him could not include idols. In Deut. 4:12 and 15 they were reminded that God did not reveal His form to them when He spoke to them. They heard His voice, but did not see Him. So what could they possibly create to represent Him? No part of Creation or combination of Creation could ever do His majesty any justice. Furthermore, only man and woman are made in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-27) and He said in Deut. 4:16 to not mind an idol that looks like a man or a woman, so… He didn’t want one. What God wanted instead, and what He still desires from His children, is loyalty. If we look past the tangible nature of idols we’ll see that ultimately a rejection of them is a rejection of the belief in the existence of the deities they represent. 

32 “Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? 33 Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? 34 Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes. 35 “He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. 36 He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. 37 Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. 38 He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today. 39 “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other.” ~Deut. 4:32-39 (NLT)

This passage is a call to remember the mighty acts God performed for the Israelites, particularly the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. (Side note: the plagues bestowed upon Egypt were direct declarations of victory over their false gods. They worshipped various aspects of Creation (such as the Nile River) and gods who supposedly reigned over them. The plagues proved that Yahweh is the only God. Also, the New Covenant belief is that Jesus holds all of Creation together (Col. 1:17).) 

This passage also highlights God’s own loyalty to His covenant people. The Israelites were Abraham’s descendants, and at this point were as numerous the stars, just as God promised to do through Abraham and his then barren wife, Sarai (Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4; Deut. 1:10). Verse 37 points out that God’s love for their ancestors was the reason He brought them out of Egypt with a great display of power. (This is further explained in Deut. 7:7-9.) It wasn’t that they were great, numerous, or any other quality that would place them above the other humans on Earth. It was simply because of his loving loyalty to their ancestors who also were in covenant with Him, and who also chose to worship Him alone instead of the other gods (Josh. 24:2). 

So where does this leave us today? As New Covenant believers, the call to loyalty included in the Sinai covenant is still to Yahweh, but He requires belief in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18; 17:3; 1 Tim. 2:5). It still rejects those other gods in submission to the Father, the one and only God (Deut. 4:39; 32:39; Isaiah 43:10.) Worshipping Him alongside other gods is disloyal and a violation of our union with Him (Eph. 1:11). How could anything less that devout loyalty be fitting for His bride (us, the church; Eph. 5:21-33)? 

References 

[1] Michael R. Jones, “Covenant,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014). 

[2] Douglas Mangum, “Idolatry,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).