How Love Fits within the Boundary of Being Distinctively Different

And then we read stories in the Old Testament.

Old Testament Violence

We read about the Israelites who purged the Promised Land of all the people who lived there. Plus, we study Biblical passages where God instructs the Israelites to destroy complete cities, annihilating everyone, because they are serving other gods. We perceive it as excessive, because we read with the 21^st century mindset to love and tolerate everyone.

I struggle to understand why God instructed the Israelites to be so violent. We discover discernment in God’s holiness and righteousness. Unfortunately, Scripture authors tell us the mind, character, and choices of God are often beyond our understanding (Ecclesiastes 8, Isaiah 55, and Job 11).

Be Set Apart

As I read the Torah, I grasp the idea that God called the Israelites to be set apart. He commanded them to be entirely different from all the other nations around them. God gave them specific instructions in how to worship Him, honor Him, and live their lives.

Ambassadors for Christ

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “…we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.” Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2 that we are chosen, royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. Jesus teaches us in His Sermon on the Mount that we are the light of the world, and we are to let His light shine through us (Matthew 5).

We don’t freak out too much as we learn the above instructions from God’s Word, because we view them all through the lens of love. We assume our task is just to love everybody and be nice. However, we forget the other aspects of God’s character such as holiness, righteousness, and justice.

Help with Understanding

Understanding all the various things God commanded the Israelites to do is beyond me. If you are truly struggling with the God of the Old Testament, I recommend listening to The Bible Project podcast as they discuss Deuteronomy. They present a point of view that is helpful.

I have also found it helpful as I read the Old Testament to remember God is teaching the Israelites to be unique in comparison to their neighbors. He provided instructions and trained them how to be utterly distinct. God didn’t want the Israelites swayed by what looked good as they viewed their neighbors from afar.

Deuteronomy 7

God made several things clear in Deuteronomy 7.

• God demanded obedience. If the Israelites were faithful to God, He would bless them.
• The Israelites were to burn the idols belonging to the other nations. They were not even to covet the silver or gold that covered the idols.

As I read the list above, I grasp that God chose to protect the Israelites from their own weaknesses. I relate the idea to when you first go on a diet, and you eliminate all sugar and unhealthy snacks from your pantry. You remove any and all temptation.

Dealing with Rationalization

Concerning the gold or silver on the idols, God told the Israelites, “You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 7:25b) Even the silver and gold on the idols God considered an afront to His holiness.

God calls us to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16). We are to be pure like God is pure, righteous like God is righteous. We find it difficult to comprehend, but we are to abhor any taste of evil.

Balance Love and Distinctiveness

First of all, we must know who God says He is. The more we know God intimately, the easier it is to choose to believe and trust what He instructs us to do. In our current culture, many of us know more about celebrities and/or influencers than we know about the character of God.

Second, we must remember we have an enemy and he is sneaky. Just like the Israelites were to not keep even the silver or gold from the idols they destroyed, we must be aware of choices we rationalize as being beneficial. We must purge our lives of the things that tempt us away from honoring God with all our heart, soul, and strength.

Third, we need to be okay with being different and/or weird. We aren’t to be looking at our neighbors across the street, perceiving they are living life better than us, and then copying them. We must not look for ways to blend in, instead, we are to focus on continuously honoring God.

Love God First

Jesus identified the greatest commandment to be “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” God comes first. Jesus then said, “The second [commandment] is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

When we love others, we always love them within the parameters of loving God first. We are to first honor who He is and be holy like He is holy. As we live within those boundaries, we then love others as Christ would. We love beyond being nice, turning the other cheek and following the Golden Rule. Only then are we as distinctly different as God has always called His followers to be.

Different Rubber Duck Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash