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Perhaps you miss the point, dear ANOMOS (peace to you?): there was/is no command TO love God; the first and greatest command is HOW to love God if you want TO love Him. And while dear Armand is correct, that love is inherent in a marital CONTRACT, the fact that there IS a contract... AND divorce/breakups... shows that it'a not necessarily in one or both of the parties TO the contract.
In entering ANY contract, however, the parties have a right to set the TERMS, yes? "I promise to... if YOU promise to...". I have a RIGHT, in contracting for marriage, to say "Here are my terms: you can't have any other wives while married to ME. In exchange, I...", whatever my "offering" is.
Same thing with JAH. He didn't FORCE Israel to serve Him THEN, nor does He NOW. Nor does Christ. Unfortunately, you may have been victim of the LIE that most believe: that if you DON'T serve God, He will kill you. That is a lie and is NOT the covenant He made with ANYONE. Not with Adham/Eve, not with Israel of old, not with us. Before I share what He DID covenant, I'd like to share a little about contracts, which is actually what a covenant is ("contract" is modern word), if you will indulge me. Thank you!
First, a covenant... or contract... is a promise. To do... or not do (forebear) something in exchange for something else. Sometimes in exchange for money, sometimes in exchange for something else to be done/not done. There are two KINDS of contracts/covenants:
1. Unilateral, where one party promises to do/not do something even before the other party's but-in. A good example of this a per owner offering to pay a reward for the return of a lost pet. The other doesn't have to come and say, "Hey, okay, I'll LOOK for your lost pet and you pay me when I bring her back to you." No, the party can just bring FiFi back and he is entitled to be paid (and can sue if he isn't). That's because the pet owner PROMISED to pay ANYONE who returned his dear pet. This is not the most common type of contract, though. That would be a...
2. Bilateral contract, where two or more parties make reciprocal promises to do/not do something in exchange for the other party's agreement... BEFOREHAND... to do/not do something.
Regardless of which kind of covenant/contract, both have the same three elements which MUST be present to FORM a valid contract:
1. An offer;
2. Acceptance; and
3. Consideration (the thing of value that is the basis FOR the agreement)
The first two are pretty self-explanatory:
a. "I OFFER to/WILL PAY YOU... will do/not do... if YOU... do/don't do... will pay ME..."
b. "I ACCEPT your offer to do/not do... pay me... and in exchange I will/will not do/pay you..."
The consideration is a little trickier. It is the VALUE of the AMOUNT (of money or thing(s))... or the DEED (thing to be done)... or FORBEARANCE (thing NOT to be done).
When you have those things, you have the beginnings of a covenant/contract. I say beginnings, because contracts must also include TERMS on how it is to be CARRIED OUT. For instance, when the Acceptor/Offeree must do their part, HOW they must do it, WHEN it is considered done... when the Offeror must PAY... HOW they must pay... etc. Usually (although not always), someone also has to put up some kind of collateral, which could be simply their good name.
So, now to JAH. First, His promise to Israel:
1. The Offer - To be their exclusive God, having no other people as His chosen nation, in exchange for them having no other Gods... and loving their neighbor Israelite/alien resident.
2. The Consideration - To deliver them out of the hand of their enemies, give them the land of their forefathers, go before them and protect them, greatly prosper them, AND remember their spirits when they died and bring them BACK to life at some future point. These were the things of VALUE that validated His offer.
3. The Acceptance - The Israelites unanimous "yes." As a nation, certainly, but most importantly, as individuals.
4. The Terms - They had to listen to ALL that Moses said. Including... no ham, no shrimp, no tats, no sex at certain times of the month... and another 680 or so do's and don't's.
Did JAH put up collateral to show the Isralites His word was good, that He could "make good" on His offer? He did: he delivered them from Egypt, handling their enemies in the process, including 10 pretty remarkable plagues.
And once the Israelites said "Yes", He continues to make good on HIS part. They, on the other hand...
Now, lets look at JAH's promise to US, those of Israel and the nations who CLAIM want to know, serve, love, belong to Him:
1. The Offer - To be our exclusive God, having no other people as His chosen nation, in exchange for us having no other Gods... and loving not just our neighbor, but even our enemy.
2. The Consideration - To deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, primarily Death, and give us the land promised our forefathers, the "city" Abraham and others were waiting for... which will be the entire earth... im the meantime going before us and protecting us, to greatly prosper us SPIRITUALLY... and remember our spirits if/when we die and bring them BACK to life as kings and priests in HIS kingdom, at some future point. These are the things of VALUE that validate His offer.
3. The Acceptance - Any time anyone says "Yes, I (will) love/serve (you), God... Lord... Jehovah... Jesus... Adonai... Elohim... El... JAH... JAHVEH... Yahweh... Yeshua... JAHESHUA...", etc., etc.
4. The Terms - "This is my Son... listen to HIM"... and so WHATEVER that Son says, INCLUDING... "You must love God with your WHOLE heart, soul, mind, and strength," "You must love your neighbor/enemy," "Do not judge," "Eat my flesh/drink my blood," "Wash one another's feet," and about 9-10 or so more things... all of which are summed up in love God, neighbor, and even enemy.
Did JAH put up collateral, though, THIS time... to show that His word is good, that He could "make good" on His offer? He did. THIS time He put up the greatest thing of value in the universe, the thing that was with to Him than ANYTHING else. This time... He put up His own Son. And the blood of that Son. And brought that Son BACK... AS PROOF... that He CAN do what HE promised.
Now, the question is, for those of us who answered "yes" (and it doesn't matter if you answered it pursuant to the WTBTS questions, or the RCCs, or the LDS'... or you were 12... or 20. If, IN YOUR HEART... your INTENT was to respond to GOD with "yes"... then YOU accepted His offer.
With man's laws, you don't get out of a contract without performing with NO consequence. The courts may not punish you, but your your good name... and credit... can suffer. And if you KEEP not honoring contracts, eventually no one will do business with you. And so, no one has your back when your creditors come a-calling.
Same thing with the MOST HOLY One of Israel, JAH of Armies. He won't punish you; He's just less likely to go YOUR bail when your creditors come to collect. And Death... is a creditor. The wage is sin is death... and so SOMEONE'S gotta pay the wage.
Praise JAH, He gave His precious SON... the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One OF JAH (MischaJah) to pay it for ANYONE who want to benefit from the "Offering." Not everyone does, of course. Many still don't even know about it. Many more, however, PROFESS to know about it... and need our prayers. Because while they may know about and have accepted the OFFER... they have let themselves believe the lies of the FALSE christs and FALSE prophets... as to the TERMS.
I hope this helps, dear ANOMOS, and that YOU are given ears, if you TRULY wish them, so as to hear when the Spirit and his Bride say to YOU:
"Come! Take 'LIFE's water'... which water is the breath, blood, and seed of God... and is poured out from the innermost parts of His Son, the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJah)... FREE!"
Your servant and a slave of Christ,
Shellamar, who typed this out on her tiny phone so asks your patience with any typos, etc.
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