Thursday: Cling to God
Daily Lesson for Thursday 18th of December 2025
The only way Israel will be able to avoid the temptation of idolatry and the wrath of God is not by constantly remembering the “don’ts” of the covenant but by fostering a conscious and consistent allegiance to the Lord. The same verb, “to cleave, adhere” to the Lord (see Deuteronomy 4:4), also is used to describe the marriage covenant that was intended between wife and husband (Genesis 2:24) or the loyalty of Ruth to Naomi (Ruth 1:14). It is important to note that, according to Joshua’s evaluation, such faithfulness has characterized Israel as a nation “to this day.” Unfortunately, the same assertion will not be true for later periods of Israel’s history, as the book of Judges sadly demonstrates (Judges 2:2,7,11; Judges 3:7,12; Judges 4:1, etc.).
Joshua appeals to Israel to love the Lord their God (Joshua 23:11; compare with Deuteronomy 6:5). Love cannot be forced; otherwise, it will cease to be what it essentially is. Yet, in what sense can love be commanded?
Image © Kevin Carden from GoodSalt.com
In order for the Israelites to continually enjoy the blessings of the covenant, they will have to stay loyal to God. The Hebrew is extremely emphatic: “Be very careful for the sake of your own soul.” The word ’ahabah, “love,” can refer to a wide range of human affections, including friendly attachment, sexual intimacy, maternal tenderness, romantic love, and loyalty to God. If we understand love for God as a conscious commitment and devotion to Him, it can be enjoined without violating its true nature (compare with John 13:34). God always intended that obedience to His commands should spring from a personal relationship with Him (“I . . . brought you to Myself” [Exodus 19:4, NKJV]; Deuteronomy 6:5; compare with Matthew 22:37) based on what He has done for them in His great mercy and love.
The command to love God also expresses the mutual, but not symmetrical, nature of divine love. God desires to enter into an intimate, personal relationship with every person who reciprocates His love. Thus, His universal love to all constitutes the framework for the manifestation of our voluntary, mutual love.
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Jesus gave a new commandment to His disciples. In what sense was this commandment new and old at the same time? (Read John 13:34, John 15:17, and 1 John 3:11; compare with Leviticus 19:18.) |
When my PhD supervisor was at university as a student, he was also a keen Rugby Union player. Rugby Union is a very physical game and people get hurt playing it. Sometimes people get hurt so badly they become dysfunctional in many ways. During my PhD years most of my meetings with my supervisor took place in his home. Sometimes, when we had a meeting in the morning, there would be a man sleeping on the couch in the lounge room. This man had been a player in the same Rugby team as my supervisor and in one game suffered a severe concussion from which he never fully recovered. He was essentially homeless a fair bit of the time. My supervisor told me his story and that the team members kept an eye on him to make sure that he was always looked after. I met some of the other team members over the years; They were all big men and carried injuries of their own from their football days, but their loyalty to the team member who needed a bit of special care was an example to us all. As my supervisor explained it to me, “You don’t give up on your mates, just because they‘ve gone bonkers!”
In the church environment we often express the idea that our loyalty is to God and that is more important than our loyalty to a church. We read that the first great commandment is to love God with all your heart, and then almost as an add on, that the second is like it; love your neighbour at yourself. But they are parts of the whole, not separated but intertwined. Love and loyalty are the bread and butter of the Christian experience.
Christianity is very much a team experience, and the bond of love and loyalty does not stop at the church door but should continue even when some of the team become weak and incapacitated.
We often think of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in terms of doctrine; Sabbath-keeping, tithe-paying, investigative judgement, the apocalyptic second coming, healthy eating, disparaging jewellery, nature of the Godhead, and so on. Many of us can talk (write) about justification, sanctification, perfection, grace, and works with verbosity and occassional clarity. We can quote the Bible and Ellen White with ease. But are we showing loyalty to one another? Are we known as the church who loves one another, to put it in the words of my supervisor, “even when they have gone bonkers”? What does the parable of the sheep and the goats tell us about what is important in the judgement?
We can learn a lot about loyalty from our Rugby-playing friends.
Thanks so much My Mentor yours illustrious usually opens my eyes wider and uplifting.
Loyalty that persists when usefulness, productivity and even social respectability are gone.This kind of loyalty is how genuine faith becomes visible in the world.It is faith taking flesh in sustained relationship, especially when that relationship becomes difficult.Biblical loyalty always involves cost.It demands time, resources, emotional energy, reputation and sometimes personal safety.Ruth stays with Naomi when there is no advantage to doing so.”Where you go, I will go your people shall be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).Ruth’s loyalty is her conversion; she does not first believe and then later act loyally—the two are inseparable.
Biblically, the test of community is not how it treats the strong, articulate or doctrinally fluent, but how it keeps faith with those who can no longer contribute, conform or cope. Loyalty is proven when staying becomes inconvenient.It is meant to shape a people who do not give up on their mates.
Jesus does not abandon his disciples when they misunderstand, deny, betray, or flee. He stays. He bears wounds. He carries the broken.
Loyalty is the lived grammar of love, the everyday faithfulness that reveals whether our theology has taken flesh. The rugby team that refuses to abandon its injured player reflects something profoundly gospel-shaped.
What a beautiful, beautiful comment. So very true. This is another kind of a religion: transcendental, defying reason and transforming. The heart ♥️ of Christianity.
I truly appreciate your story and believe we need to apply the “love your neighbors as yourself” with more desperation. Our Churches are full of lonely elderly that live by themselves, single moms with kids with no financial help and lonely men who receive love from no one. We need to be aware of these individuals in our churches and be there for each other faithfully. Adopting someone from our Church to love and care for is what Jesus meant when He said : What you do to the least of these you do to me.
Thank you for your insightful response. This kind of love could only come from the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us. This is important because many people who don’t believe in God also do incredibly patriotic things. Our focus should be based on Romans 12:1,2. Then the Holy Spirit will motivate us to perform good works to the glory of God.
Laura, l am one of those very elderly people who live alone and would be extremely lonely but for a very loving SDA couple from Kenya who have “adopted” me as their American grandmother! They walk with me for about an hour 5 days of every walk, sharing Bible passages and our faith in God’s goodness. They often bring me food they’ve prepared. Neither will allow me to pay them. They have extended my spiritual, emotional and physical life! Would there were many more like them in our churches. How thankful to God l am to be so blessed!
Mooris Venden said it beautifully. You cannot “will” to love somebody; if however you take the time to know someone and you discover for yourself that they are lovable and trustworthy, you naturally grow to love and trust them. Similarly, you cannot “will” to love my Lord and certainly not with all your might and strength. However if you take the time to know Him, you will discover that He is both immensely lovable and trustworthy and as you grow to trust in Him ,you will be enabled to do miracoulous things such as not telling lies,not coveting my neighbours goods honouring my parents , etc. In other words the Lord that I have grown to love and trust has enabled me to love my neighbour as myself.
We can not love Yahweh without loving one another, we as a church of Christ at this very age must learned to love, because we are at the end times, happy Sabbath to us all.
“The occasional clarity” made me chuckle. Because it is so true. This is such a beautiful story. I often find that people that are not of our faith, and maybe even non-believers, show grace and love toward another much more than many SDA’s. I also know so many people who have been faithful Adventists who are extremely lonely. How many stories I have heard of those who, when adversity hit, were never truly reached out to by the church. When they needed support there was a deafening silence.
I’ve always wondered about the pastors who have been disfellowshipped for having fallen (gone bonkers; we recently have that happen to ours). We know a lot about what’s wrong, but not so much about what your supervisor exhibited.
I used to live in Middle East and I will admit that the grace I saw Muslims extend to others is admirable. I thought we as SDA’s could learn a lot from them .
“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:1–2, NLT).
The blessings that accrued from the Promised Land were closely connected to love for God that was expressed through obedience. “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15, NLT). The Children of Israel were only to enjoy the blessings of the land by being faithful to the covenant. Disobedience caused them to lose the blessing of the land. The same principle applies to us today. God desires to bless, but disobedience robs us of the enjoyment of God’s many blessings. The experience we derive from God’s many blessings are attached to our relationship with Him. We cannot fully enjoy God’s blessing in disobedience. Disobedience keeps us outside the environment where God’s blessings can be truly meaningful to us.
The following are some of the reasons why we fail to maximise the full enjoyment of God’s many blessings:
1. By neglecting prayer and the Word of God – We will not experience inner peace if we fail to cling to God through prayer and His Word. The many anxieties, stresses, confusion and spiritual dryness are the result of having no meaningful relationship with God (Isaiah 26:3).
2. Ignoring God’s Health Principles – God has provided clear health principles (Exodus 15:26; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20). In the world today, there are multitudes of people who have neglected God’s principles and suffered terrible health consequences. God want us to enjoy the gift of life – vitality, longevity, and effectiveness.
3. Broken Relationships – God wants us to have wonderful relationships here on earth. Many times, human relationships are damaged due to pride, unforgiveness, bitterness and envy. If we cling to our Father in heaven, He will give us abundance, which is only found in His Son, Jesus Christ. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4, NIV).
4. Neglect of the sabbath rest – Many people in the world today have burnt out to their destruction due to lack of rest. The sabbath is a physical, spiritual, emotional and mental rest. We miss out on the blessings of the six days by neglecting the sacred time with our Maker.
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” (Isaiah 1:19)
The word “cleave” is such a special action; it’s actually intense, and quite deep – from the root verb דָּבַק (dabaq) which could have a myriad meaning gives the intensity of the original understanding of what “cleave” really is. That, added to, the noun דְּבָקוּת (Devekut) meaning communion has this (Psalm 63:8, Deuteronomy 4:4, Deuteronomy 10:20).
Just reading the beautiful words of Joshua 23:8 , shows the urgency and momentous nature of this command from Joshua to the children of Israel. Moses’ last address to Israel pointed to this kind of super-intense relation with God. Moses and Joshua knew how great a gift it would be if Israel would just allow God in their lives to be the thread, fibre, and fabric of their walk and lives.
Likewise, today, nothing changes; for us to prosper, it comes down to holding fast to God; with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). God has made it so special for us to stick on, and tap from Him, but how do we do this? These four steps can be a beginning:-
1. Prayer and Supplication: Asking God for strength to stay close to Him (Psalms 62:8; Hebrews 4:16; Philippians 4:13)
2. Reflect, Repent, and Relate: Internalize and inquire about moments you’ve leaned on Him as well as moments you’ve pulled away from Him (Plead for mercy and His perfect correction) – (Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalms 55:22; Hebrews 10:39; Isaiah 59:2; James 4:8)
3. Study His Perfect Word: Keep studying His Word; understand His laws and the Gospel. (Ezra 7:10)
4. Purpose and Act: Living His Word and being a witness of His great Gospel – telling the story through word and action. (Daniel 1:8; Acts 1:8; Luke 8:39)
I would love to hear takes on the question that is posed in today’s lesson, “in what sense can love be commanded?”
How can love be commanded, considering what the word ‘command’ means.
Love can be commanded in the sense that it is a matter of will and choice.
You may not feel affection toward someone but you can act kindly,forgive, serve or seek their good.Example: Loving an enemy (Luke 6:27–31) you may not feel love, but you can choose behaviors that reflect love.
God commands love because His law reflects His character. We are to mirror God’s love through our actions, even if our emotions are weak.
The Bible repeatedly commands love.
a) “You shall love the LORD your God…” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
b) “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18)
c) “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another” (John 13:34)
In biblical sense, love is more that a feeling or emotion. It is a choice, a commitment, a decision and it is an action. All these can be commanded. If we claim to love, then we are demanded to make firm choices, commitment, decisions and actions. We cannot escape all these and yet claim that we have love. These actions will be demanded of us.
“Let us not love in word or in tongue, but indeed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18).
Mere feelings and emotions are spontaneous and voluntary; however, true love demands faithfulness. Married spouses are commanded to be faithful to one another, otherwise love between them ceases to be love but mere feelings and emotions. This is a moral responsibility/obligation if marriage has to be in its truest context. No spouse can escape this and claim to be in a love marriage. Love has command boundaries beyond which it ceases to be love.
Love is commanded as a call to choose where one’s loyalty lies. We are commanded to choose who serve. We cannot sit on the fence. A choice must be made. That is a command. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15). God demands love because we need to be His children. This is a command for becoming the children of God. Outside this command, we cease to be God’s children. God does not command feelings and emotions, but He demand faithfulness and allegiance. Thanks be to God, because He makes commanded love possible.
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.” (Ezekiel 36:27)
“The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans
Joshua’s appeal for Israel to love the Lord their God (Josh. 23:11) raises an important question: how can love be commanded if love cannot be forced? Scripture does not present love primarily as an emotion that can be manufactured on demand, but as a covenant response rooted in choice, loyalty, and action. When Joshua urges Israel to love the Lord, he is calling them to deliberate allegiance—to choose faithfulness to Yahweh over all competing loyalties.
In Deuteronomy 6:5, love for God encompasses the whole life: heart, soul, and strength. This kind of love flows from remembering who God is and what He has already done for His people. It is a response to grace, not a coerced feeling. Love can therefore be commanded because it involves the will. While affection cannot be forced, commitment can be chosen, and obedience becomes love expressed in action.
Seen this way, the command to love God is an invitation to live in faithful relationship with Him. It calls for exclusive loyalty and grateful remembrance, both of which must be freely chosen if love is to remain genuine.
If one becomes attached to an existing commandment, the supreme God who owns the commandment will outline rules to regulate behavior, in which the person must agree to the terms and conditions of the commandment. God could force anyone to be submissive to His love because He owns everything in the universe. In a broader sense, if one becomes aware of himself or herself and acknowledges the fact that God, who owns everything, requires everyone to love Him, the person must consider God’s love as a commandment to obey.
To draw a parallel between Moses’s and Joshua’s versions of love, it would be appropriate to infer that they are both advising the people of Israel to adhere to God’s statutes to make Him feel loved. God delivers the people of Israel from the Egyptians and declares Himself unto them as the God of their ancestors, and He created the heaven and earth, and they must observe His commandment (Exodus 20:2-26). Because I considered myself to be a Christian Jew who believed in the Sabbath and had to commit to the Lord’s commandment, God’s love must always be a command to obey.
1 Corinthians 13 speaks to the type of love God has established for man to experience. Engaging in this type of love is essential for us to live by. Ultimately, it is the creed which ought to govern all of our life; how we see ourselves and engage with our fellow man – 1Cor.13:5.
It is a high calling. Can we do this? I say yes! We can love others because God has loved us first. He freed us from fear and allows us to see Him as the source of all that is ‘good’, all that is ‘righteous’, and all that is ‘pleasant’ in our life. Can we fall ‘in love’ with God – certainly! Why would we not love Him who represents Life? – James 1:17; Psalm 16:2; 1Tim.6:17.
There is something special about God’s type of ‘Love’. It seeks to heal, to uplift by the ‘resonance’ of His Spirit and Truth. God made us, reaching out to again draw us to Himself through/by acts of His gracious Kindness – Gal.5:13.
God, in Jesus Christ, personifies Love, and as our life is in Him now, He seeks to come close to us – to trust Him; allowing Him to touch our heart and change our mind that we will be able to see Him for Who He IS – the Sustainer of all of life – and fall in love with Him! Matt.22:36-40; 1John4:20-21;
There are definitely verses where the command is given to love God or others. But I wonder if we are really understanding the nuances of what’s meant there. Someone more recently mentioned that “obey” in the Torah is more accurately translated “listen”. Perhaps command is the same. We imagine a military officer barking out orders, but a command to love like this is meaningless. Love can’t be forced.
I perfer to understand Joshua and Jesus appealing or guiding when they tell us to love. It’s invited us to live God’s best life for us. It’s not “love or else” which is not very nice, but “this is the way you need to live to live the best life”. Or perhaps, this is the way you will live if you are connected to me. I heard a sermon that changed the way I looked at John 14:15 (which is a similar type of verse). The speaker suggested that Jesus is not saying “Since you love me, make sure you keep my commandments” (which really is impossible in our own power), but “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. And why will you? Because if you love Jesus, the Holy Spirit will live in you and enable you to keep the commandments. Not necessarily perfectly immediately, but He will begin that work. Similarly, Jesus is calling us to love, but the Holy Spirit actually empowers that love.
I genuinely do not have the words to describe how much God loves us. It is unbelievable! Our love for others can never match His love or what He can do for you and me! God is amazing!