Let’s examine Solomon’s opening words at the Temple dedication.
“Adonai, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep covenant with your servants and show them grace, provided they live in your presence with all their heart.” – 1 Kings 8:23
When we reprint this theological declaration with certain key Hebrew words, this is what we get:
“YAHWEH, ELOHIM of Israel, there is no ELOHIM like you in SHAMAYIM or on ERETZ. You keep BRIT and CHESED with your servants provided they live in your presence with all of their LEB.”
So a couple of key things here.
First, we see Solomon invoking God’s formal name, YHWH.
He declares that YHWH is Israel’s god (Elohim) and that there is no other deity that comes close by comparison.
It doesn’t matter if we’re speaking of the realm of heaven (shamayim) or the realm of earth (the eretz).
No matter what sphere of existence, YHWH’s uniqueness reigns supreme.
Solomon then goes on to declare that YHWH continues to honor the covenants (the b’rit) he made with Israel.
And that He will continue to show them CHESED.
CHESED is a tricky word to translate properly into English.
It can mean “grace” or something like “loving kindness.”
The next word I wanna take a good look at is LEV.
This is the Hebrew word for “heart.”
Now, this brings us to a point a lot of folks overlook.
In both the “Old” Testament and New Testament eras, the heart was NOT considered to be the seat of emotions.
The heart was considered to function the way we know our brain operates today.
In other words, it was the seat of our rational and conscious thought processes.
Not understanding this has resulted in some seriously flawed theology in the Christian world.
The gentile church uses the word “heart” to describe our feelings and emotions.
But again, that ain’t what the word meant in its biblical context.
In the Biblical era, the “heart” was considered to be the center of our conscious thoughts.
This distinction ultimately shapes how we live out our faith.
Ya ever wondered why a pork-eating Christian places so little importance on obeying God’s commands?
Well, in addition to having thrown the Torah in the trash…
Their theology downplays the importance of physical obedience to the Lord’s instructions because of what I’ve just explained here.
For the Christian, it’s the lovey-dovey maple syrupy emotions that reign supreme in their lives.
By contrast, for the Jew, it is obedience that’s important irrespective of feelings.
And by the way, the Jew isn’t obeying God’s commands to gain or maintain salvation.
That weird theological paradigm doesn’t even exist in their minds.
The Jew obeys God’s commands because they have already been chosen.
They have already been called out of Egypt and rescued from bondage to Pharaoh.
Thus, their obedience is an expression of love for the God who has already redeemed them.
Or to put it in terms a Christian would understand:
“I obey God’s commands BECAUSE I am saved, not to be saved.”
So what’s the takeaway?
Simple.
Wherever in your Bibles you see the word “heart,” you should scratch that word out and write the word “mind” in its place.
Because that’s what the word LEV really meant to the Biblical writers.
I’ll leave it at that for today.
See ya all next time.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Rabbi, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Yeshua replied:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your might.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments.”
-Matthew 22:36-40
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