Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn
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and we welcome you to
Heaven's Point of View.
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Our special guest,
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host who will be
our teacher today
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is Dr. Tom Sheperd.
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And, Tom, we're so glad
that you are back with us again.
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It's good to be back.
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You know, no
matter where I travel,
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if people cannot
think of your name,
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they will tell me,
you've done two series,
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you've done the Gospel of Mark
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and First and Second
Peter on "Books of the Book"
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and people always tell me,
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you know, the
guy with the bow tie
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and I immediately know.
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That's your
trade mark, isn't it?
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It's true.
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I'm wearing them about,
oh, may be 15 years or so.
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Well, I think it's,
I think it's lovely.
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But we're very excited to
have Dr. Sheperd with us today
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because we are
going to be starting
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a new series on
Heaven's Point of View
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and it is on Love,
Marriage, Sex, and Divorce
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according to the New Testament.
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And it's going to
be a fascinating study.
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We want you to get your Bible
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and pen and paper because
this is going to be something
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that will be very enlightening
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and Tom teaches this
as a seminary course.
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He is the professor of
New Testament Interpretation.
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He is also the
director of the PhD in Religion,
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Doctoral studies and the ThD
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and this is at
Andrews University seminary.
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And this is the class had that
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you've actually
been teaching at Andrews.
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Yeah, I've taught it
for a number of years.
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Actually, years
ago I had a professor
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when I was doing my PhD studies
who taught this very class.
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And when I came to
seminary nobody was teaching it
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and I said, "You know, I
would like to teach that class."
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A very important class for
our students to understand.
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In the course, I
tell the students,
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"Well, now look, this
is not a counseling class,
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this is-- I'm not a psychologist
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or something like
that but I want you
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to understand what
the New Testament says
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about these subjects, love,
marriage, sex and divorce."
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I think it's
vital for our pastors
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to be able to turn to the Bible
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and to know what
the scripture say
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on this topic so they
can counsel people well.
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Amen. Yeah.
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And, you know, there is
so much confusion today,
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the word love is
used very loosely
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in the English language
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and if we don't understand
when the Bible is using
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because it's translated
into English with one word.
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But in the Hebrew there
were numerous words for love
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as in the Greek.
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And today, we
thought even though
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this is a New Testament study,
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we thought we would start
by laying a little foundation
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of the Old
Testament words for love.
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So how is the word love
used in the Old Testament?
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It's used in a variety of ways.
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Actually, there is a number
of background words in Hebrew
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that are translated
into English to say love.
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There is like
six different words.
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Four of them are fairly
rare, two are very common.
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So first I want to
talk about the rare terms
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and kind of set
those in their place and,
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you know, understand them
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and then we will come
and spend a bit more time
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with the two more common terms
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that are used and
translated as love.
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Of course, sometimes these words
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won't be translated
as the word love at all
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because the meanings of a word
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vary from language to language.
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The term we use for
this semantic domain
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how many different ways
do you translate the word.
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I'll use sometimes
an example with students
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and I'll say to them,
"Now, if I take the word grass,
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that has several
meanings in English."
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Yes.
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You know, if I say,
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"Well, he went
out to cut the grass."
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Then we know it's
that green stuff outside,
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you know, he cut his lawn.
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But if I met somebody
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who was into
drugs and they said,
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"Well, the grass is really good
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or the grass has been legalized
in this state or something,"
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then we know
that they are talking
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about marijuana
because the word grass
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has it like two
different meanings.
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So when we go to
a word in Hebrew,
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we'll say well, it
means this but sometimes
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it means this and it depends on
the context and how it's used.
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All right, the first term that
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we're gonna look at
is kind of interesting.
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It is-- well, they
are all interesting terms,
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but this term is yed-eed.
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Okay.
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And this Hebrew word
means, beloved or lovely.
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And it's not used many times
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but it's used
most often to refer
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to Israel as God's beloved.
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God has a covenant with
Israel and God loves Israel.
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So a nice example of
this is in Psalms 60.
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Okay.
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So we want to
read the entire Psalms.
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It's just 12 verses
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and the love doesn't
appear here many very times.
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In fact, just kind of like
once but we will see where it is
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as we read through the passage.
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Okay.
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And Psalms 60,
this is an urgent prayer
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for the restored favor of God.
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David writes, "O
God, You have cast us off,
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You have broken us down,
You have been displeased,
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oh, restore us again!
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You have made the earth tremble,
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You have broken it,
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Heal its
breaches, for it is shaking.
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You have shown
Your people hard things,
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You have made us
drink the wine of confusion.
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You have given a
banner to those who fear You,
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that it may be
displayed because of the truth.
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That Your
beloved may be delivered,
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save with Your
right hand, and hear me."
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Answer me.
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"God has spoken
in His holiness,"
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you know, this is God speaking.
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"'I will rejoice, I
will divide Shechem,
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and measure out
the Valley of Succoth.
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Gilead is Mine,
and Manasseh is Mine,
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Ephraim also is
the helmet for My head,
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Judah is My lawgiver.
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Moab is My washpot,
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over Edom I will cast My shoe,
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Philistia, shout in
triumph because of Me."
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That's the end of God's part.
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Now David says, "Who will
bring me to the strong city?
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Who will lead me to Edom?
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Is it not You, O
God, who cast us off?
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And You, O God, who did
not go out with our armies?
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Give us help from
trouble," but the help of man or
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"for the help of man is useless.
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Through God we
will do valiantly,
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for it is He who shall
tread down our enemies."
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Now that's interesting
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because you've got 12 verses
that are talking about war
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and about losing
God's favor and trouble.
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Yeah.
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There's only one verse,
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verse 5 that
uses that word love.
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Yes.
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"That Your beloved
ones may be delivered,
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give salvation by Your
right hand, and answer us."
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So here is David and his
armies in trouble and he is,
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you know, he lays it all out.
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It's so bad it's
like it's an earthquake.
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Yes.
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And so he is very
kind of graphic description
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of their problems
and he calls on God
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to come to the
aid of and the reason
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why is because Israel
is the beloved of God.
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So he says, come to my aid.
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And then God speaks and
it's kind of interesting
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because He uses these
different place names,
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Shechem, Succoth,
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the Valley of
Succoth, Manasseh, Ephraim.
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Now if you look at
some of those names,
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you know, particularly
Manasseh and Ephraim
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are both names
of tribes of Israel.
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"And Manasseh is mine."
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He says, "Ephraim is my
helmet, Judah is My scepter."
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So these are positive
terms and then suddenly He says,
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"Moab is my washbasin."
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So it's like Moab is down.
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And then He says,
"Upon Edom I cast My shoe."
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So the enemies of
Israel are gonna go down
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and Israel is gonna come up
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because Israel is God's beloved.
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Or yed-eed. Yeah,
yed-eed, that's right.
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Yed-eed, okay.
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Now it's not a very common term
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and the other one
that's, another one
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of the uncommon terms
is that the term hashaq.
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It's like that
like guttural sound.
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The Hebrew clearing your throat.
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Yeah. Its hashaq.
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Hashaq.
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And this is an interesting term
in that it talks to be attached
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to love somebody but also
to add bands to something.
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So actually the term
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it's sometimes not
translated love at all.
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They used it when
referring like a pillar
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and they put bands so
they call them fillets.
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Bands around the pillar
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and so that was used
the same term hashaq.
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Hashaq is kind of to
be bound to somebody.
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Yeah, somebody to be
bound, to be tied to.
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Now, the interesting, one
of the interesting use is here
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for of in
relationship to love or well,
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you have to
determine it's real love.
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It's in Genesis 34.
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It's the story of
Shechem and Dinah.
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So we turn over to
Genesis Chapter 34,
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read the first eight
verses of this chapter
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and see what happened to Dinah
who was the daughter of Jacob.
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Okay.
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"Now Dinah," this is Genesis 34
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and we're gonna
read verses 1 through 8.
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Genesis 34, "Now
Dinah the daughter of Leah,
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whom she had borne to Jacob,
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went out to see the
daughters of the land.
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And when Shechem, the
son of Hamor the Hivite,
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prince of the country, saw her,
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he took her and lay
with her, and violated her."
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In other words he raped her.
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He raped her. All right.
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"His soul was
strongly attracted to Dinah
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and the daughter of Jacob,
and he loved the young woman
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and spoke kindly
to the young woman."
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Now that's interesting
because he's raped her
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but now he is
speaking kindly to her.
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Yeah.
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"So Shechem spoke to
his father Hamor, saying,
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'Get me this
young woman as a wife.'"
00:10:00.90\00:10:03.26
So he was hashaq, bound to her.
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Oh, that's, we
haven't come to hashaq yet.
00:10:06.37\00:10:08.40
Okay. Let's jump later.
00:10:08.44\00:10:09.77
"And Jacob heard that he
had defiled Dinah his daughter.
00:10:09.80\00:10:13.78
Now his sons were with
his livestock in the field,
00:10:13.81\00:10:17.15
so Jacob held his
peace until they came.
00:10:17.18\00:10:20.45
Then Hamor the father of Shechem
00:10:20.48\00:10:24.49
went out to Jacob
to speak with him.
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And the sons of Jacob
came in from the field.
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When they heard it, and the
men were grieved and very angry,
00:10:29.76\00:10:34.56
because he had done a
disgraceful thing in Israel
00:10:34.60\00:10:38.27
by lying with Jacob's daughter,
00:10:38.30\00:10:40.54
a thing which
ought not to be done.
00:10:40.57\00:10:44.07
But Hamor spoke
with them, saying,
00:10:44.11\00:10:47.21
'The soul of my son
Shechem longs for your daughter.
00:10:47.24\00:10:50.98
Please give her
to him as a wife.'
00:10:51.01\00:10:53.55
Okay.
00:10:53.58\00:10:54.92
Now this is not the
end of the story of course,
00:10:54.95\00:10:57.35
but here we notice,
00:10:57.39\00:10:59.25
it's in verse 8 actually that
we come to this word hashaq.
00:10:59.29\00:11:02.06
The longs for?
00:11:02.09\00:11:03.43
Yeah, he longs
for, he is bound to her.
00:11:03.46\00:11:05.36
He's like tied his soul,
his life, he is tied to her.
00:11:05.39\00:11:09.70
He is interested in
her. He has his mind for her.
00:11:09.73\00:11:12.00
Now, does he
really love this girl?
00:11:12.03\00:11:15.50
Are you asking?
00:11:15.54\00:11:16.87
I'm asking you. I would say, no.
00:11:16.91\00:11:18.24
No, he raped her.
It's a lustful thing.
00:11:18.27\00:11:19.77
Yeah. He is
bound to her by lust.
00:11:19.81\00:11:21.68
And so he says that
he loves her but I mean,
00:11:21.71\00:11:26.61
what he's done is to rape her.
00:11:26.65\00:11:29.42
So the first thing
that's mentioned is he rapes her
00:11:29.45\00:11:31.79
and then he talks kindly to her.
00:11:31.82\00:11:34.16
Well, I mean, what
kind of a attitude is that
00:11:34.19\00:11:40.53
where a person
mistreats and abuses somebody,
00:11:40.56\00:11:44.33
you know,
doesn't ask just takes.
00:11:44.37\00:11:46.94
That's not love.
00:11:46.97\00:11:48.30
No, he is-- rape is
not about love or sex.
00:11:48.34\00:11:51.91
It's really about control.
00:11:51.94\00:11:53.27
Control, yeah.
00:11:53.31\00:11:54.64
So he saw something he desired.
00:11:54.68\00:11:56.85
He took it. He took it.
00:11:56.88\00:11:58.21
Yeah.
00:11:58.25\00:11:59.58
And then he tries to cover it up
00:11:59.61\00:12:00.95
by speaking gently.
00:12:00.98\00:12:02.32
He liked her so he now says
00:12:02.35\00:12:03.69
he is now trying to
persuade her to like him.
00:12:03.72\00:12:05.85
Yeah, good luck with that. Yeah.
00:12:05.89\00:12:07.22
And, and but then his
other spirit comes back
00:12:07.26\00:12:10.03
and as you see
with his father he says,
00:12:10.06\00:12:11.73
"Give me this girl for my wife."
00:12:11.76\00:12:13.09
Yeah.
00:12:13.13\00:12:14.46
Now it's a
controlling kind of thing.
00:12:14.50\00:12:16.00
Now his father tries to put the,
00:12:16.03\00:12:18.93
shall we say
the best face on it,
00:12:18.97\00:12:20.30
you know, and he says,
"He is really bound to her.
00:12:20.34\00:12:22.00
He is really, he
is really tied to her.
00:12:22.04\00:12:24.04
You know, why don't
you, why don't you give him?"
00:12:24.07\00:12:26.34
You know the rest of the story.
00:12:26.37\00:12:27.71
It's very sad story
00:12:27.74\00:12:29.08
how they will get
slaughtered by Judas' sons--
00:12:29.11\00:12:31.91
Jacob's sons and it
just turns out terrible.
00:12:31.95\00:12:36.08
So there's not really love here.
00:12:36.12\00:12:38.05
The word love is
used a couple of times
00:12:38.09\00:12:40.22
and other one
of the common words
00:12:40.26\00:12:41.59
that's used there when
he says he loves this girl
00:12:41.62\00:12:44.79
and here this binding
but it's not true love.
00:12:44.83\00:12:48.20
This is a kind of
abuse that we must condemn.
00:12:48.23\00:12:54.20
And this is something
that in today's world,
00:12:54.24\00:12:56.94
we will see that these
kind of things still take place.
00:12:56.97\00:13:00.84
Oh, sadly.
00:13:00.88\00:13:02.21
And there are,
sadly there are some who,
00:13:02.24\00:13:05.21
domestic abuse
where you've got someone
00:13:05.25\00:13:08.78
who is proclaiming
their love for someone
00:13:08.82\00:13:11.79
and yet they are
being very abusive.
00:13:11.82\00:13:14.09
And in that case, it's
not really love. Is it?
00:13:14.12\00:13:16.56
No.
00:13:16.59\00:13:17.93
And, you know,
what's interesting is
00:13:17.96\00:13:19.29
sometimes the Bible
will describe things
00:13:19.33\00:13:22.16
and not tell you
what's the right or the wrong.
00:13:22.20\00:13:24.57
It just expects you,
as you read in the story,
00:13:24.60\00:13:27.14
to understand that
there, now this particular story
00:13:27.17\00:13:30.47
is quite clear negative
on what Shechem has done.
00:13:30.51\00:13:34.74
Jacob holds his peace
till his sons come home.
00:13:34.78\00:13:37.75
His sons come
home, they are indignant
00:13:37.78\00:13:40.48
and very angry because
he's done an outrageous thing,
00:13:40.52\00:13:44.79
something that
shouldn't be done.
00:13:44.82\00:13:46.92
So the Bible paints the picture
that this is very negative.
00:13:46.96\00:13:49.96
Very bad, yeah.
00:13:49.99\00:13:52.16
It's not that common
that the Bible will say,
00:13:52.19\00:13:54.10
you know, this is
a disgraceful thing
00:13:54.13\00:13:55.76
and so forth and it
just kind of describes it,
00:13:55.80\00:13:57.97
unless you see the
picture of the evil
00:13:58.00\00:14:01.07
but here it's quite specific.
00:14:01.10\00:14:03.10
So that's the word hashaq.
00:14:03.14\00:14:04.81
Now the other two terms
00:14:04.84\00:14:06.51
that are rare terms
are quite interesting.
00:14:06.54\00:14:09.44
They are in the
book of Song of Solomon.
00:14:09.48\00:14:12.81
And this is song about love.
00:14:12.85\00:14:16.52
It's after the Book of Proverbs.
00:14:16.55\00:14:17.92
Psalms,
Proverbs, Song of Solomon.
00:14:17.95\00:14:21.49
Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.
00:14:21.52\00:14:23.49
And what we want to read here
is verses, chapter 1 verses 12
00:14:23.53\00:14:29.50
through chapter 2 verse 1.
00:14:29.53\00:14:32.20
It's only about
eight verses or so.
00:14:32.23\00:14:34.67
And this is talking
about the Shulamite,
00:14:34.70\00:14:37.11
this is Song of Solomon 1:12.
00:14:37.14\00:14:41.78
Now there's
actually two terms here.
00:14:41.81\00:14:44.18
The two terms
are dod and rah-yaw.
00:14:44.21\00:14:47.78
Dod and rah-yaw. Okay.
00:14:47.82\00:14:49.32
So we will come
and we will explain
00:14:49.35\00:14:50.69
what those are but
first let's read the passage.
00:14:50.89\00:14:52.22
Okay.
00:14:52.25\00:14:53.59
"While the king is at his table,
00:14:53.62\00:14:55.76
my spikenard sends
forth its fragrance.
00:14:55.79\00:14:58.89
A bundle of myrrh
is my beloved to me,
00:14:58.93\00:15:02.30
that lies all
night between my breasts.
00:15:02.33\00:15:05.03
My beloved is to me a
cluster of henna blooms
00:15:05.07\00:15:08.47
in the vineyards of En Gedi.
00:15:08.50\00:15:11.21
Behold" Now that was
the Shulamite speaking now
00:15:11.24\00:15:16.18
the beloved, is speaking.
00:15:16.21\00:15:17.88
"Behold, you are fair, my love!
00:15:17.91\00:15:20.75
Behold, you are fair!
00:15:20.78\00:15:22.32
You have dove's eyes."
00:15:22.35\00:15:24.89
And then the Shulamite speaks.
00:15:24.92\00:15:27.16
"Behold, you are
handsome, my beloved!
00:15:27.19\00:15:30.06
Yes, pleasant!
00:15:30.09\00:15:31.69
Also, our bed is green.
00:15:31.73\00:15:34.23
The beams of our
houses are cedar,
00:15:34.26\00:15:36.93
and our rafters of fir.
00:15:36.97\00:15:40.00
I am the rose of Sharon,
and the lily of the valleys."
00:15:40.04\00:15:44.57
All right.
00:15:44.61\00:15:46.41
Now the two
words are the two terms
00:15:46.44\00:15:49.38
for the lovers, all right.
00:15:49.41\00:15:52.01
And the one term
is refers to the male
00:15:52.05\00:15:57.69
and the other term
refers to the female.
00:15:57.72\00:16:02.16
Rah-yaw is the
word for the female.
00:16:02.19\00:16:03.96
Dod is the word for the male.
00:16:03.99\00:16:06.63
So when she says "my
beloved" in verse 13,
00:16:06.66\00:16:11.87
She is saying, dod. Dod, yeah.
00:16:11.90\00:16:13.50
She is using that term.
00:16:13.54\00:16:14.87
And when he says
"my love" in verse 15,
00:16:14.90\00:16:18.21
he is using the term rah-yaw.
00:16:18.24\00:16:20.74
Now this book, the Song of Songs
00:16:20.78\00:16:24.58
is or the Song of
Solomon as it's called,
00:16:24.61\00:16:29.18
is quite an
interesting kind of read.
00:16:29.22\00:16:31.12
You know, you read this
and it's very, very suggestive.
00:16:31.15\00:16:34.52
It's very ironic. Sensual.
00:16:34.56\00:16:35.89
It's very
sensual. It's very sensual.
00:16:35.92\00:16:37.26
And sometimes people
look at this and say,
00:16:37.29\00:16:40.06
"Whoa, this is in the Bible?"
00:16:40.10\00:16:43.70
When it says, she
speaks of the king and she says
00:16:43.73\00:16:46.30
"While the king
was on his couch,
00:16:46.33\00:16:47.77
my nard gave
forth its fragrance."
00:16:47.80\00:16:49.90
Verse 13, "My beloved is to me
00:16:49.94\00:16:51.57
a sachet of myrrh that
lies between my breasts."
00:16:51.61\00:16:54.44
I mean, wow.
00:16:54.48\00:16:56.81
You know, now
most people out in,
00:16:56.85\00:17:00.52
they aren't
acquainted with the Bible,
00:17:00.55\00:17:01.88
they think, they tend to
think of the Bible's messages
00:17:01.92\00:17:04.65
rather negative on sex
00:17:04.69\00:17:07.19
and rather, you
know, against any kind of
00:17:07.22\00:17:11.66
physical
expression of love and--
00:17:11.69\00:17:15.10
And they forget who created it.
00:17:15.13\00:17:16.46
Oh, yes.
00:17:16.50\00:17:18.00
And when you read
these passages and,
00:17:18.03\00:17:20.44
you know, it goes on an on
00:17:20.47\00:17:21.80
and there's all
kinds of word plays
00:17:21.84\00:17:24.64
and back and forth,
between these two it's,
00:17:24.67\00:17:29.44
Richard Davidson in
his book "Flame of Yahweh"
00:17:29.48\00:17:31.78
which is all about sexuality,
00:17:31.81\00:17:33.31
a big thick book on
sexuality in the Old Testament.
00:17:33.35\00:17:36.25
He describes in there how
00:17:36.28\00:17:37.85
there is this
almost playfulness in this
00:17:37.89\00:17:41.22
and that there's this
play between husband and wife
00:17:41.26\00:17:46.90
in sexual arousal
and in sexual intercourse
00:17:46.93\00:17:51.53
and that here it's
described so explicitly.
00:17:51.57\00:17:54.70
It's just kind of like people
are a little bit shocked but--
00:17:54.74\00:17:56.84
Well, you know, I really think
that people, I had a pastor
00:17:56.87\00:18:01.11
when I was young and engaged,
he'd been my pastor growing up
00:18:01.14\00:18:05.78
and he and his wife
sat down to talk to me
00:18:05.81\00:18:07.38
and he said that they
nearly had gotten a divorce
00:18:07.42\00:18:10.25
because he'd
been brought in a home
00:18:10.29\00:18:12.52
where he thought of sex
00:18:12.55\00:18:14.46
is being something
naughty, something dirty.
00:18:14.49\00:18:17.66
And so they had very limited
00:18:17.69\00:18:22.90
physical
expression of their love
00:18:22.93\00:18:25.20
and it created a lot--
00:18:25.23\00:18:26.57
I mean, they
managed to have two children
00:18:26.60\00:18:28.00
but it created a lot of issues
00:18:28.04\00:18:30.67
and he finally
went to counseling
00:18:30.71\00:18:32.74
and went through
Christian counseling
00:18:32.77\00:18:34.54
and he said, "When
I actually recognized
00:18:34.58\00:18:38.18
that God is the one
00:18:38.21\00:18:39.91
who created
this wonderful thing,
00:18:39.95\00:18:41.92
He gave us this as a gift."
00:18:41.95\00:18:43.95
And he said I got that,
you know, that old filter,
00:18:43.99\00:18:47.89
that cloudy old filter that
had been put on his eyes off.
00:18:47.92\00:18:51.23
He said then he came
to understand God's love
00:18:51.26\00:18:54.80
even better because
God is such an intimate God
00:18:54.83\00:18:58.37
and He gave us
00:18:58.40\00:18:59.73
that physical
expression in marriage.
00:18:59.77\00:19:01.87
Yeah.
00:19:01.90\00:19:03.24
You see it's interesting both
in Judaism and Christianity,
00:19:03.27\00:19:06.64
this book is so explicit
00:19:06.68\00:19:09.28
that I guess that
maybe one of the reasons,
00:19:09.31\00:19:12.18
but they have taken,
the book has been taken
00:19:12.21\00:19:15.12
and made allegorical.
00:19:15.15\00:19:16.99
People will say, "Well,
that's not really about sex
00:19:17.02\00:19:19.99
and about love
between men and women."
00:19:20.02\00:19:21.92
That's about
God's love for Israel
00:19:21.96\00:19:25.23
or that's about
God's love for the church
00:19:25.26\00:19:27.86
and the woman is the church
00:19:27.90\00:19:29.76
and the beloved is God
and it's not about this stuff.
00:19:29.80\00:19:35.04
Well, actually it is.
00:19:35.07\00:19:37.64
You know, you can say does
it also apply that way in terms,
00:19:37.67\00:19:40.44
you know, that's been interpret
that way by many people.
00:19:40.48\00:19:43.38
But more modern interpreters
have looked at it and say,
00:19:43.41\00:19:46.75
"No, that's just,
this is a poem of love
00:19:46.78\00:19:49.82
between a man and his wife
00:19:49.85\00:19:51.99
and there's
nothing wrong with that."
00:19:52.02\00:19:53.56
The Bible affirms that, you see.
00:19:53.59\00:19:56.42
We're gonna study later
00:19:56.46\00:19:57.99
when we come to in great detail
00:19:58.03\00:19:59.76
about the subject of sex
00:19:59.79\00:20:02.40
and what the New
Testament says about it.
00:20:02.43\00:20:04.70
We'll see Paul's
teaching and on and on.
00:20:04.73\00:20:07.07
We'll discuss
this but sex is good
00:20:07.10\00:20:11.47
when it's in the right place.
00:20:11.51\00:20:13.38
When it's in a place
it doesn't belong that's
00:20:13.41\00:20:15.91
when it creates problems
and trouble and heartache.
00:20:15.94\00:20:20.18
So God created the differences
between male and female,
00:20:20.22\00:20:26.35
the attraction, the
hormones, the whole thing.
00:20:26.39\00:20:28.42
Yeah.
00:20:28.46\00:20:29.86
And sex, he intended
sex to be a beautiful thing
00:20:29.89\00:20:35.10
so that you could be fruitful
and go forward and multiply
00:20:35.13\00:20:39.20
but it wasn't just
for the purpose, I mean,
00:20:39.23\00:20:41.80
it was obviously you
read this Song of Solomon.
00:20:41.84\00:20:45.11
It's full of purpose
of physical expression--
00:20:45.14\00:20:49.01
Of joy and love for each other.
It's joy and joyful thing.
00:20:49.04\00:20:50.61
Yeah.
00:20:50.65\00:20:51.98
Now, but He intended it
00:20:52.01\00:20:54.15
to be within the
context of marriage.
00:20:54.18\00:20:58.12
And within the
context of marriage to know
00:20:58.15\00:21:00.46
this kind of joy is
like the icing on the cake,
00:21:00.49\00:21:04.76
you know.
00:21:04.79\00:21:06.13
I mean, it's just wonderful.
00:21:06.16\00:21:08.16
The problem is for people,
00:21:08.20\00:21:10.47
who the heartache
and the problems come in
00:21:10.50\00:21:13.30
when people become involved
00:21:13.34\00:21:16.50
with the physical
expression of love--
00:21:16.54\00:21:19.27
Outside of
marriage. Outside of marriage.
00:21:19.31\00:21:20.68
Yeah. Right.
00:21:20.71\00:21:22.18
And we will
have, in this series,
00:21:22.21\00:21:23.61
we will have a lot
more to say about that
00:21:23.65\00:21:25.68
and we will look at passages
00:21:25.71\00:21:27.05
in the New Testament discuss it.
00:21:27.08\00:21:28.42
Amen.
00:21:28.45\00:21:29.78
But those are
the four rare words.
00:21:29.82\00:21:31.15
Okay.
00:21:31.19\00:21:32.52
So now we want to look at
one more word in this time
00:21:32.55\00:21:34.99
that we have
and that's the word,
00:21:35.02\00:21:37.43
one of the common words for love
00:21:37.46\00:21:38.83
and that's the word ahab.
00:21:38.86\00:21:41.60
Ahab is a term that
means a friend or beloved.
00:21:41.63\00:21:45.47
It can even mean
an illicit lover.
00:21:45.50\00:21:46.97
It's a rather flexible term.
00:21:47.00\00:21:48.74
You know, the term
in English is flexible.
00:21:48.77\00:21:50.77
We say I love my
dog. I love pizza.
00:21:50.81\00:21:55.04
I love my cello.
00:21:55.08\00:21:57.35
I love my wife. I
love my grandchildren.
00:21:57.38\00:21:59.21
You know,
there's different terms
00:21:59.25\00:22:00.62
that you will use
the word for love.
00:22:00.65\00:22:02.32
So this word was
a fairly common word
00:22:02.35\00:22:05.15
used maybe 200 or more
times in the Old Testament.
00:22:05.19\00:22:09.42
So between people,
00:22:09.46\00:22:12.26
this term refers to desire
or attraction between people.
00:22:12.29\00:22:18.40
It can be with
end goal of marriage
00:22:18.43\00:22:21.37
or simply a
sexual encounter that
00:22:21.40\00:22:23.44
they have in
mind that's involved.
00:22:23.47\00:22:26.37
It's also a term that's
used for positive attachment
00:22:26.41\00:22:30.18
between family members.
00:22:30.21\00:22:32.95
You love your relatives.
00:22:32.98\00:22:35.72
It's used in the book
of Ruth's to refer to.
00:22:35.75\00:22:37.92
Noami.
00:22:37.95\00:22:39.82
Yeah, Ruth loved for Naomi
00:22:39.85\00:22:42.46
that Ruth loved
her and cared for her.
00:22:42.49\00:22:45.46
It's used for political loyalty.
00:22:45.49\00:22:49.93
You're loyal to your tribe
or you are loyal to-- well,
00:22:49.96\00:22:53.84
it's used as
David is loved by Saul
00:22:53.87\00:22:57.21
they say and Saul's servants
00:22:57.24\00:22:59.64
and all of Israel
and Jonathan loves him.
00:22:59.67\00:23:02.31
This is the term
that's used for that
00:23:02.34\00:23:03.95
and they will say political
00:23:03.98\00:23:05.38
kind of connection between them,
00:23:05.41\00:23:06.92
not simply a
sort of a friendship.
00:23:06.95\00:23:09.35
It's interesting that,
that's a very interesting point
00:23:09.38\00:23:12.05
because there are people
who try to make something else
00:23:12.09\00:23:14.42
out of David and
Jonathan's relationship
00:23:14.46\00:23:17.49
just because the word used,
00:23:17.53\00:23:19.06
love there but this
is political loyalty.
00:23:19.09\00:23:21.03
Yeah. Okay.
00:23:21.06\00:23:22.40
Then there is--
sometimes the term is not used
00:23:22.43\00:23:25.90
between
relationships between people.
00:23:25.93\00:23:28.10
Sometimes it's used of an object
00:23:28.14\00:23:31.01
that you set your heart on,
00:23:31.04\00:23:32.37
you mind of like righteousness
00:23:32.41\00:23:34.11
or God's law or
wisdom things like that.
00:23:34.14\00:23:36.38
Okay.
00:23:36.41\00:23:37.75
Then interestingly this term
00:23:37.78\00:23:39.45
is used in the commands
that we have to love God.
00:23:39.48\00:23:43.32
Turn to Deuteronomy 6:4-6
00:23:43.35\00:23:46.79
we are looking at
the-- Great Shema.
00:23:46.82\00:23:48.32
Great Shema which is
the confession of faith
00:23:48.36\00:23:52.93
of the people of Israel
00:23:52.96\00:23:55.50
and the word ahab is used there.
00:23:55.53\00:23:57.40
Okay.
00:23:57.43\00:23:58.93
Deuteronomy 6:4-6
is where we begin.
00:23:58.97\00:24:02.90
"Hear, O Israel, The
Lord our God, the Lord is one!
00:24:02.94\00:24:07.48
You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart,
00:24:07.51\00:24:11.11
with all your soul,
and with all your strength.
00:24:11.15\00:24:14.45
And these words
00:24:14.48\00:24:15.98
which I command you
today shall be in your heart.
00:24:16.02\00:24:18.75
You shall teach them
diligently to your children,
00:24:18.79\00:24:21.12
and shall talk of them
when you sit in your house,
00:24:21.16\00:24:24.23
when you walk by the
way, when you lie down,
00:24:24.26\00:24:26.73
and when you rise up."
00:24:26.76\00:24:28.50
All right.
00:24:28.53\00:24:29.86
So you notice
here there it says,
00:24:29.90\00:24:31.23
"You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart,
00:24:31.27\00:24:33.84
with all your soul,
and with all your might."
00:24:33.87\00:24:35.20
Yes.
00:24:35.24\00:24:36.64
And people wonder,
sometimes they say,
00:24:36.67\00:24:39.64
"Well, now, how can
you command somebody
00:24:39.67\00:24:42.01
to love somebody else?"
00:24:42.04\00:24:43.81
You know, that just seems so--
00:24:43.85\00:24:45.88
Especially when
we talk about the,
00:24:45.91\00:24:48.48
in contrast that God
has given us free wills
00:24:48.52\00:24:51.75
because He isn't controlling.
00:24:51.79\00:24:53.12
So...
00:24:53.15\00:24:54.49
Yeah. We love God.
00:24:54.52\00:24:56.22
Well, you know,
that isn't that something
00:24:56.26\00:24:57.59
that you just kind of
has to arise from you.
00:24:57.63\00:24:59.73
Well, the concept
here in Deuteronomy
00:24:59.76\00:25:03.60
is actually
based in the rhetoric
00:25:03.63\00:25:06.00
of international relationships
in the ancient Near East.
00:25:06.03\00:25:10.04
So in those relationships,
00:25:10.07\00:25:12.61
there was
faithfulness to a treaty,
00:25:12.64\00:25:15.71
a treaty of protection
and where you had somebody
00:25:15.74\00:25:20.08
who is gonna protect you
00:25:20.12\00:25:21.45
and then you would have
a relationship with them
00:25:21.48\00:25:23.22
and obey them
00:25:23.25\00:25:24.59
and have some kind
of linkage with them.
00:25:24.62\00:25:25.95
So this actually comes out
of this international relations
00:25:25.99\00:25:29.62
rather than the
concept of marriage.
00:25:29.66\00:25:31.59
And so when we
think of love, and we say,
00:25:31.63\00:25:34.83
love God we think of it more
in terms of relational terms,
00:25:34.86\00:25:38.53
in terms of, you know,
00:25:38.57\00:25:40.64
you're thinking
about loving your relatives
00:25:40.67\00:25:43.04
or something like that.
00:25:43.07\00:25:44.41
And we don't think of
it in terms of the loyalty
00:25:44.44\00:25:46.71
to a treaty but that's
really the context here.
00:25:46.74\00:25:49.51
That's interesting.
00:25:49.54\00:25:50.88
It helps us to
understand a little bit better
00:25:50.91\00:25:52.55
that the command is a
command not to sort of,
00:25:52.58\00:25:56.75
develop some sort of feelings
but rather to be faithful
00:25:56.79\00:26:00.99
to the treaty
that you have with God,
00:26:01.02\00:26:02.42
the covenant relationship.
00:26:02.46\00:26:03.79
So that would be the
same then for the command
00:26:03.83\00:26:05.76
to "love your
neighbor as yourself."
00:26:05.79\00:26:07.63
It is. It is. It's the same?
00:26:07.66\00:26:09.16
It's the same kind of concept
and that's over in Leviticus,
00:26:09.20\00:26:12.20
"You should love
your neighbors as self."
00:26:12.23\00:26:13.57
These two great commands
both use this terms ahab
00:26:13.60\00:26:17.37
and it has this sort of,
00:26:17.41\00:26:19.31
you could say
almost ethical sense to it.
00:26:19.34\00:26:21.84
So is it ever used of
God's love for Israel?
00:26:21.88\00:26:24.91
I mean, is that His loyalty?
Is ahab used of God for Israel?
00:26:24.95\00:26:28.48
Well, you see when you're in
a treaty with two individuals,
00:26:28.52\00:26:33.69
you have now a
relationship between them
00:26:33.72\00:26:36.26
and so you have
one where you're,
00:26:36.29\00:26:38.99
where you're being
faithful to them and the other
00:26:39.03\00:26:42.13
where you're now
linking up with them.
00:26:42.16\00:26:44.83
So this relationship
and when it uses this term
00:26:44.87\00:26:48.20
in terms of Israel loving God,
00:26:48.24\00:26:54.51
the term in
Hosea is flipped around
00:26:54.54\00:26:58.11
where its God's love for Israel.
00:26:58.15\00:27:00.42
And there you almost get a sense
00:27:00.45\00:27:02.18
maybe that it has that
sort of marriage sense too
00:27:02.22\00:27:04.15
because he has the whole
case of his wife that is,
00:27:04.19\00:27:10.13
needs his help and
God comes to their aid.
00:27:10.16\00:27:12.69
So yeah, it's used
from both side of the issue.
00:27:12.73\00:27:16.10
This has been a fascinating
study today and particularly,
00:27:16.13\00:27:20.10
about the command to love
God which was-- that was ahab
00:27:20.14\00:27:26.41
and that means
to be loyal to God.
00:27:26.44\00:27:28.11
That helps me
understand a whole lot better.
00:27:28.14\00:27:30.08
It's a very flexible term
that's used in variety of ways
00:27:30.11\00:27:32.51
but that's one of
the important uses.
00:27:32.55\00:27:34.58
It's there in
Deuteronomy describing God
00:27:34.62\00:27:38.19
that we are to love God and then
00:27:38.22\00:27:39.95
we are to love in
Leviticus to love our fellowman.
00:27:39.99\00:27:42.39
Amen.
00:27:42.42\00:27:44.26
Fascinating study as I
said, we've been through
00:27:44.29\00:27:46.53
a five of these six
Old Testament words so as--
00:27:46.56\00:27:49.66
Yeah, one more to go.
00:27:49.70\00:27:51.03
Very fascinating.
00:27:51.07\00:27:52.40
And we're out of time today
00:27:52.43\00:27:53.77
so that will be
on our next time.
00:27:53.80\00:27:55.94
But we just want to
thank you for joining us today.
00:27:55.97\00:27:58.81
Hope you are enjoying
this as much as we are.
00:27:58.84\00:28:01.48
And may God multiply His mercy,
His love, and His grace to you.
00:28:01.51\00:28:06.88
That's our prayer. Good bye.
00:28:06.92\00:28:08.95